A woman was shocked to discover that a group of bees were living inside her eye — and feeding off of her tears. The 28-year-old, known only as Ms. He, thought dirt had been blown into her eye while she was pulling out weeds around the graves of her relatives. Want daily pop culture news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo’s newsletter. However, several hours later the 28-year-old visited a hospital in southern Taiwan when her eyes started to swell and cause her pain. The woman was pulling out weeds when the insects flew into her eyes, according to news reports. (Photo: YouTube) Dr. Hong Chi Ting, who works at the Fooyin University Hospital, said he was “shocked” when he saw four bees living in He’s eye upon further examination. “She couldn’t completely close her eyes,” he told the BBC. “I looked into the gap with a microscope and saw something black that looked like an insect leg. “I grabbed the leg and very slowly took one out, then I saw another one, and another and another. They were still intact and all alive.” The insects are known as sweat bees because they land on people so they can drink beads of perspiration. Sweat bees are attracted to perspiration. (Photo: Flickr) The doctor believes that the fact the woman was wearing contact lenses saved her from potentially going blind. “She was wearing contact lenses so she didn’t dare to rub her eyes in case she broke the lens,” he explained. “If she did she could have induced the bees to produce venom … she could have gone blind.” The bees are still alive and have been sent to another organization so they can be studied. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.<doc-sep>Bees are terrifying. Something about them bypasses all reason and sends the brain directly into panic mode, despite their size. Actually, now that we know this story, their size makes them even scarier. In short, doctors in Taiwan found four bees in a woman's left eyelid. She was experiencing pain when she was cleaning a gravestone, the New York Times reports, and thought she'd gotten sand in it. She rinsed her eye with water, but it kept swelling. After three hours, she finally went to the hospital. "It was very painful. Tears wouldn't stop coming out of my eye," she said, according to CNN. "I was scared to death." Doctors found the four bees and a bacterial skin infection called cellulitism, plus corneal erosion. Halictidae, also known as sweat bees, are around 3 to 4 millimeters long and live off the salt that comes from human and animal glans. "I saw something that looked like insect legs, so I pulled them out under a microscope slowly, and one at a time without damaging things inside," said Hung Chi-ting, the head of the ophthalmology department at Taiwan's Fooyin University Hospital, at a news conference. Because she was able to refrain from rubbing her eyes, the bees were still alive and intact. "Thankfully she came to the hospital early, otherwise I might have had to take her eyeball out to save her life," Hung said. She's reportedly expected to make a full recovery. Whether anyone will ever be able to sleep again knowing this is possible is another question. h/t KRON 4, New York Times, CNN<doc-sep>The woman complained of severe eye pain and swollen eyelids before doctors found the sweat bees inside of her eyelid If you thought multiple bees flying around you were bad, just imagine having them inside your eyelid. That’s what a 29-year-old Taiwanese woman experienced last week after she began suffering from severe eye pain and found four bees under her eyelid feeding on her tear ducts, according to local outlet CTS News. Get push notifications with news, features and more. The finding was described by doctors as the “world’s first” and despite the terrifying encounter, the woman is expected to make a full recovery — due in part to the fact she did not excessively rub her eyes, which could’ve led to further inflammation of her cornea or blindness, The Straits Times reports. The woman, who was only identified by her last name He, said during a press conference that she first started feeling discomfort while she was cleaning a relative’s grave and the insects unknowingly flew into her eye, according to Business Insider Singapore. VARIOUS Sweat bee | Credit: Andre Skonieczny/imageBROKER/REX/Shutterstock Because it felt like dirt or sand in her eye, the woman said she tried to flush it out with water but was unsuccessful. By that evening, the woman was experiencing sharp pains and watery eyes so she sought out medical advice, according to the outlet. Doctors at Fooyin University Hospital in Taiwan then discovered that woman had four sweat bees under her swollen eyelids, feeding on her tear ducts. One by one, Professor Hung Chi-ting said he removed the insects, which were still alive, from her eye. “I saw something that looked like insect legs, so I pulled them out under a microscope slowly, and one at a time without damaging their bodies,” he said during the press conference, according to Business Insider Singapore. Though sweat bees do not attack people, Dr. Hung said they are attracted to human perspiration and are often found near graves, which is where he suggested the woman contracted the unwanted visitors in her eye. She is now on her way to making a full recovery and will likely be wearing goggles at the next visit to her relative’s grave, per Dr. Hung’s suggestion. India Thousands of Bees - Jun 2003 Sweat bees | Credit: Harish Tyagi/EPA/REX/Shutterstock Sweat bees are incredibly small, which makes them difficult for humans to notice as they fly around, according to Terminix. Though they can appear in large numbers, they typically do not show any signs of aggression — the sweat bees have the least painful sting of all stinging insects — and will only sting someone if they’re pressed against their skin. Instead of attacking, the bees are merely interested in licking up human sweat with their short tongues as a way to supplement their diets, Terminix reports.<doc-sep>Prince William slams BBC after report on methods used to secure Diana interview The wait is over, you can finally see this adorable panda cub Viral 'Charlie bit my finger' video to be taken down. Here's why See the highlights from the 2021 Billboard Music Awards See the bees living in this woman's eye Doctors found four sweat bees in a woman's eye after she visited a relative's gravesite in Taiwan. (CNN) — Doctors treating a Taiwanese woman for a swollen eye were shocked to find four tiny bees living under her left eyelid. The miniscule insects, known as sweat bees, are 3 to 4 millimeters (0.12-0.16 inches) in length, according to CNN affiliate CTS. “I saw something that looked like insect legs, so I pulled them out under a microscope slowly, and one at a time without damaging things inside,” Hung Chi-ting, the head of the ophthalmology department at Taiwan’s Fooyin University Hospital, told reporters at a news conference. Sweat bees, also known as halictidae, “nest near graves and in fallen trees, so it’s easy to come across them while hiking in mountains,” Hung explained. According to CTS, the woman, identified by her family name of He, said she thinks the insects blew into her eye at a relative’s grave site when she visited it with her family. She washed her eyes with water but kept experiencing severe pain. “It was very painful. Tears wouldn’t stop coming out of my eye,” she said. “I was scared to death.” After three hours of agony, He visited the hospital, where doctors determined she was suffering from cellulitis, a bacterial skin infection, and severe corneal erosion caused by the sweat bees. “Thankfully she came to the hospital early, otherwise I might have had to take her eyeball out to save her life,” Hung said. He’s eyesight had been reduced to under 0.1, the equivalent of 20-200 vision on the Snellen eye chart measuring visual acuity, Hung told reporters. “Luckily, she didn’t have a high fever and it hadn’t affected her central nervous system.” The sweat bee feeds off nectar and pollen, but is also drawn to human perspiration, which provides “precious moisture and salts,” according to the Missouri Department of Conservation. Local media reported that He was expected to make a full recovery.<doc-sep>
A young woman in Taiwan reportedly had four bees living beneath her eyelid and "feasting on her tears." That's according to the Guardian, which cited a press conference where a doctor at Taiwan's Fooyin University Hospital described how he found the insects squirming within the woman's eye. "I saw something that looked like insect legs, so I pulled them out under a microscope slowly, and one at a time without damaging things inside," said Hung Chi-ting, the hospital's head of ophthalmology, at the conference, per CNN. The four insects measured less than a quarter of an inch in length, the network reported, and are known as "sweat bees" or Halictidae. The insects, which are typically non-aggressive, are drawn to human perspiration that "offers them precious moisture and salts," the Missouri Department of Conservation notes. Taiwan's CTS News reported that the woman, identified by her last name, He, said she felt a pain in her eye one day while tending the grave of a relative, according to reports. She was pulling weeds at the time and presumed it was soil, but a stinging sensation under her eyelid continued even after she washed it out with water. When she visited the doctor, Hung peered into her eye through a microscope expecting to find an infection. Instead he saw the tiny legs of the bees wriggling in her ducts, the Guardian reported. What saved the woman, her doctor said: She refrained from rubbing her eyes, which could have ruptured the bees and caused an infection. "Thankfully she came to the hospital early, otherwise I might have had to take her eyeball out to save her life," Hung said, according to CNN. CTS News broadcast the press conference in a report published last week: