Why does my nose sting so during an allergy attack?

When my allergies act up, I sometimes get a sudden, severe attack that feels like a bee has crawled into my nose and is stinging me over and over again. The pain is accompanied by paroxysmal sneezing, watering eyes, sore throat, and fatigue. But what exactly is going on in my mucous membranes that I perceive as pain? If I remember correctly, foreign proteins will bind with receptors in the nose and stimulate an allergic response, but that doesn’t explain why I have such a sharp, isolated pain.