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We had an experience this summer like no other. I wouldn’t normally blog about it, but there was very little information online when I went looking. When a doctor says “Look for a red line from a bee sting” what exactly does that look like?
My son got stung by a bee. He’s had bee stings before, but this one was different. His hand swelled incredibly, and when I called our pediatrician’s nurse advice line, they warned about a red line going up the arm that would indicate infection. Hours later, I wondered “Is that a line?” I hit up Google images but couldn’t find anything that showed photos and gave an outcome (I found photos of lines, of other people asking “Is this a red line?” But none answered the question.) So…this blog post. Hopefully you’ve found this post because you, too, need to know “Is that a line?”

It started here: a field of purple flowers near Eugene, Oregon. We were dropping my daughter off at a church camp in mid-May and the flowers were gloriously in full bloom. We noticed the bee boxes lining the field. Twenty minutes later, 1/4 mile away, my son put his hand on a fence post and felt the unmistakable sting of a bee. None of us saw the bee, though, so we can’t be sure it wasn’t a yellow jacket. While I took my daughter to her cabin, my husband took our son to the nurse’s shack for some ice. End of story, so we thought.
Swelling and Fever
Since he was still feeling puny, I gave him some ibuprofen and called the nurse advice line at our pediatrician’s office. She suggested buying some oral Benadryl just in case it was an allergic reaction. She also warned me to watch for a red line on his arm that would indicate infection. Meanwhile, our son fell asleep, something he never does in the middle of the day.
Is that a red line?
I ran back to Walgreens to buy the oral Benadryl. When I got home, our son was awake. His hand was now so swollen that he couldn’t bend any of his fingers even a little, and it was hot to the touch. And…was that a line? What does a line even look like? I took this photo outside in natural light, then hit Google looking for photos of “red line on skin” and “blood poisoning red line”. I couldn’t find a single photo or post that gave me the answers I needed. Then I texted the photo to my mom. When I was little, she got bit by a spider and I remembered her story of the infamous red line. My husband and I had no idea what such a line would look like. Was this barely-there mark a line?
My mom didn’t text back. She called.
“ER. Go now.”
Emergency Room
I was a little sheepish checking into the ER: “I don’t know if this counts as a red line, but my mom said to come in.” The nurse behind the desk took one look and immediately ushered us back to triage. I took these photos in triage.
Triage took some basic vital signs, including his temperature, which was normal. They sent us from triage to the waiting room.
We sat in the waiting room for less than 5 minutes. They called his name before all of the people who were already waiting when we arrived. A nurse settled him into a room and within moments, a doctor arrived. Things happened fast. That subtle red mark was indeed a line, and by now it was to his armpit, and was pooling in the armpit.
First they piled ice onto his hand to relieve swelling, which was now threatening to split the skin. And his skin was so hot. On his other arm, they smeared a cream to numb the skin to prepare for an IV. By now, he felt really lousy. The nurse came in, over and over and over, to take his vitals, including temperature. The doctor also came in every few minutes.
Diagnosis: Staph Infection
The nurse put in an IV as the doctor watched. The doctor explained that our son was having a severe infection due to the sting. Blood poisoning. Staph. They were going to give powerful antibiotics intravenously to combat the infection before it reached his heart. And, the doctor said, he’s also allergic to bees. The infection and allergy were unrelated to one another, he thought, but both needed immediate treatment. So they also added massive doses of Benadryl to the IV.

I took these photos to help keep my husband informed as the day progressed.
As the IV dripped, the nurse sat with us a while. Our son was miserable by now and didn’t want to even watch movies. She explained that his temperature had spiked and he’d been running an ever-higher fever while in the ER. His blood pressure was also dropping, so they’d put an automatic cuff on him that took his blood pressure every 3 minutes. These are both signs of sepsis, meaning the infection was spreading to his whole body.
Happy Ending
Thankfully, our story has a good ending. After about 3 hours, his temp and blood pressure returned to normal and he started feeling a little better. The red line disappeared. The doctor prescribed oral antibiotics and an epipen. The antibiotics are for the infection, which he doesn’t thing is likely to happen again. That hopefully is a once-in-a-lifetime event. The epipen is for the allergy, which will almost certainly happen again as we’re an outdoor family and my kids each get stung about once a year. This particular episode wasn’t respiratory, but any future sting could be, so we have the pen for camping trips and hiking trips when we’re away from medical care. Otherwise, we carry Benadryl with us everywhere, and it’s stocked at school. Should he ever get stung again, an immediate dose of Benadryl is his best defense against a serious reaction.
If you see a red line from a bee sting…
The next day, his hand was completely back to normal size and he felt fine. The hospital discharge papers said he’d gotten a staph infection in his bloodstream due to a bee sting. Probably, the staph was already on his hand when he was stung. The bee sting was just the method for it to enter the bloodstream. Can happen anytime, to anyone, from any skin prick. If you see a red line, a pink line, a barely-there-maybe line, GO. This infection moved so fast in our son, if my mom wasn’t familiar with a “red line”, I’m afraid things would have turned out much worse. I’d would never have taken him to the ER for something so subtle. So I’m putting this post out there in the hopes of answering that question for someone else.
21 comments
I’m so sorry your son had to go through that! I was also stung by a bee. It was a bumble bee. My thumb swelled so much that the creases and wrinkles in it were pretty much non-existent. I didn’t think much of it, however I was looking up remedies for bee stings and benadryl was one. So I asked my mom to get me some. Later in the day my mom pointed out a red line on my arm coming from the site of the sting. I wasn’t worried and neither was my mom as she didn’t know what it meant. At the end of the day my dad came home and I told him about the sting and the red line. He showed some concern but didn’t tell me why. I took some benadryl and went to bed. The next morning the line was gone. I showed my dad and he told me that was good since a red line indicates an infection in the blood. The line only went up to 3 quarters of my arm and I didn’t experience any abnormal symptoms. I was pretty lucky. Thank you for sharing your story!
Thank you for sharing. I’m recovering from an infection caused by a splinter! That red line is barely discernible to start with. I couldn’t decide if I was imagining it. I managed to get antibiotics quite quickly and I’m starting to recover. Best wishes . Karen
I’m so glad you’re okay! Thank you for sharing your experience. It’s so hard to tell at first, but then it gets serious very quickly. So frightening!
I stood on a bee and immediately the very distinct red line showed up starting at the sting point. I put it on ice for a few minutes then forgot about it (it had stopped hurting at that point) Then the next morning I woke up with a fever along with all the symptoms (clogged and runny nose, nausea, etc). I also woke up to a swollen through, but that went away within a few hours. the line was swollen but not the rest of the foot. it’s now 24 hours after the sting and I have read your blog. my mom won’t take me to a doctor because she says my body will fix itself. (I’m 13) also, I’ve had pretty bad swelling with bee stings before but it has been about 6 years since I was last stung. I’m replying to your comment rather than actually commenting because I couldn’t find where to comment.
Keep an eye on it. Ask your mom if you can take some Benadryl. Hopefully it goes away tonight. Don’t panic, your mom is probably right. But it doesn’t hurt to be informed and to know what to look for.
Thank you so much for this information.
My daughter texted me that she was bit/stung by something. The redness began to spread. I told her to mark the perimeter. That night it had doubled. By morning it began to shrink. I’ve known about the line and sent her your link. I told to read it because it’s the best link I’ve found concerning stings/bites if insects. No red line as of now but at least she has your pictures and story to let her know how serious it can get. Thank you so much!
I’m so glad she seems to be okay! And thank you for letting me know that my post helped. Have a wonderful summer!
I, too, have looked online everywhere (before your post) and could find NOTHING on blood poisoning from bee stings! When I was in 2nd grade, like your son, my hand (left) landed on a bee sting and not long after, I had two red lines, one shorter than the other, going up my inner forearm. My mom showed it to my dad and my dad said, ‘It’s probably nothing; go soak it in Epsom Salts.’ Well, thank God for Mom’s Instinct!! Mom immediately took me to the Pediatrician, and he said had I not gotten antibiotics, I would have been dead the next morning. Thank you, Mom! I’m 53 years old today and still feeling good!! Phew!! Yes, I got Staph from a bee sting! Why isn’t there more info about this online?!?!
Thank you for sharing your experience! It IS weird that there’s so little online. I was really surprised when I went looking for info.
Thanks for your post I’m at doctors now for I have the red line and pain and itching. I was bitten by the thumb and had surgery previously for a broken wrist . The pattern of redness is where the hardware ( metal plate) in my wrist is the worst .
Oh no! I hope you’re okay. I’m so glad you’re already at the doctor.
Thank you. I got stung by a bee yesterday at 1 pm. I developed a red streak but no swelling until 10 at night it was swollen and painful and the red streak spread from bottom heel around my ankle. Today it was still swollen and painful to touch when I arrived at San Antonio at 7 pm…I decided to look up red streak… your post appeared and I immediately jumped out of bed and was at urgent care..thank you for sharing your knowledge. It allowed me to get diagnosed with a cellulitis infection and get treatment early..♥️I am not feeling great yet but just took antibiotics and will probably be okay tomorrow to teach my 2nd graders. God Bless you!
Oh my goodness! I hope today you were much improved? I’m so glad you got antibiotics in time.
Thanks for your info and photos! My husband was stung by a bee or a wasp yesterday while working in our yard, and the swelling has been increasing, and today a red line showed up. He had a red line show up on his leg once after getting a little cut and then going into the ocean while he was in Guam with the Coast Guard. Thankfully, that made him aware of the danger of a red line! I, however, wouldn’t know quite what to look for…
Thank you again for your post, and I’m thankful your son received the care he needed!
Wow, is he okay today? It’s frightening, isn’t it? I’m glad he knew what to look for, it’s so hard to be sure in the moment.
Cat bite on thumb then red line hand to arm pit IV antibiotic for 3 days but have a rash now where the line was ? Bit on thumb healing and swelling gone down. Just the problem rash ?
Oh gosh! I hope everything is okay now? Thank goodness for antibiotics!
THANK YOU! This post helped me make the decision to go to the ED after a yellow jacket sting…my arm was red and swollen but what pushed me over the edge was the streak going up my arm…almost identical to what your son had. I was diagnosed with cellulitis…thankfully my infection had not yet entered my blood stream.
I am SO glad you’re okay!! It’s scary, isn’t it?!
I remember getting blood poisoning from a bee sting when I was 8. My parents saw the red line and took me the emergency. Yes blood poisoning from the bee sting. I just got stung last night on my neck and see an unusual red line in the swelling? Not sure yet if it is going to spread. Yes I too keep a supply of Benadryl. Thanks for this post!
I hope it ends up being fine! It’s good to keep an eye on it, though. Draw a line to see if it grows.