Doctors in Taiwan have found live bees inside a woman's eye, feeding on her tears.
The 29-year-old woman, named He, took herself to the doctors expecting to be treated for a standard eye infection, but was horrified to discover four bees living under her eyelid.
In what doctors at Fooyin University Hospital in Taiwan called a "world first", they managed to successfully remove all four sweat bees alive from her tear duct.
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At a press conference, the hospital's head of ophthalmology Dr Hung Chi-ting said: "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."
It's reported He was tending to a family member's grave, pulling out some weeds when she felt something go into her eye. Presuming it was soil, He washed her eye out with water, but later that evening her eye began to swell up and she felt a sharp pain under her eyelid.
He's eyesight and the bees' lives were said to be saved by the fact that she didn't rub her eyes, which is pretty incredible if you imagine how uncomfortable she must have been.
The bees, known as Halictidae, but more commonly known as 'sweat bees' as attracted to human perspiration and can be found all over the world. While they are not known to be aggressive bees, it's likely they would sting if touched or aggravated - for example if He had rubbed her eyes.
During the press release, Doctor Hung revealed the bees are often found in the mountains and near graves which would make sense for how He came into contact with them.
Featured Image Credit: Twitter/Raf_EpsteinTopics: Life News, Real, Health
