The edematous condition was by this means much reduced in a short time.

While thus engaged in stroking the lid he suddenly experienced intense pain in the eye as if it had been pierced by a sharp instrument.

The suffering was very severe, and he passed a wretched night, constantly feeling 'something in his eye.' "The next morning, the trouble continuing, he came to me for relief.
Upon examination of the lid, no opening could be made out where the sting had penetrated, and a minute inspection of the conjunctival surface with a good glass failed to reveal any foreign substance.
Cleansing the lid thoroughly, and carefully inspecting with a lens under strong light, a minute dark point was made out about the center of the lid.

Feeling that this might be the point of the sting, I had recourse to several expedients for its removal, but without success.
Finally, with a fine knife, I succeeded in cutting down by the side of the body and tilting it out.

Examination with a 1/5 inch objective confirmed my opinion that it was the point of the bee-sting.
"The barbed formation of the point explains how, under the stroking with the finger, it was forced through the dense tarsal cartilage and against the cornea of the eye." There is a story told in La Medecine Moderne of a seamstress of Berlin who was in the habit of allowing her dog to lick her face.