My First Bee Sting

Don't let the cute little photo on the right deceive you. Last night, during track practice, I got my very first bee sting ever. I can't believe how much it hurt!

We had just finished practice and were doing stretching exercises. After a few standing stretches, I got down on the grass to try to stretch my quads. As I lay back on the grass, I felt something sticking into my left ankle. Since it didn't go away when I shook my leg, I sat up and saw a bee sitting on my sock. I'll admit I freaked a little, seeing a bee actually on me, but I immediately brushed it off, then stomped on it to make sure it was definitely dead. In the meantime, the pain just took over. Wow! How can such a little thing cause a lot of pain?!?!

I wasn't sure if I was allergic to bees or not, so I was a little worried. Usually when I get mosquito bites, I swell up so bad that the skin hurts. My quick-thinking running partner, Elaina, said that she had just read two days ago that a copper penny would help lessen the sting. So we decided practice was over and took off to the car to get a penny. Right after putting the penny on the sting, it hurt even more!

But, I guess the penny did its work, since this morning I don't have any swelling and no pain. All the evidence is a pinprick of where I was stung. Thank you, Elaina! It's quite a coincidence that she had that just read about that a couple of days ago.