Overview

Bee Venom Therapy is the part of Apitherapy which utilizes bee venom in the treatment of health conditions. Apitherapy is the use of beehive products, including honey, pollen, propolis, royal jelly, bee venom. It has been used since ancient times to treat arthritis, rheumatism, back pain, skin diseases and in this modern age as an alternative therapy to treat multiple sclerosis, Lyme disease and chronic fatigue syndrome. Bee venom comes from the stingers of honey bees who use it in defense of the bee colony.

Bee venom is a rich source of enzymes, peptides and biogenic amines. There are at least 18 active components in the venom which have some pharmaceutical properties. The effect mechanism of the venom is not entirely know yet. Scientists believe it can modify the way the immune system functions in the body and contribute to increased cortisol production.

History

2,000 year old Chinese manuscripts talk of bee stings being used to treat arthritis and it is also recorded by Pliny the Elder (14BC), Hippocrates and Galen (AD130). Even Charlemagne (742-814AD) was treated with bee stings. 

In the nineteenth century, French, Austrian and Russian doctors began the first clinical studies with Bee Venom Therapy. Then, between 1935 and 1942, Dr Bodog Beck from New York undertook new studies of Bee Venom Therapy.  His student, Dr C. B Warren, continued his work and demonstrated favourable results with arthritic animals. During the cold war, Gorki University also studied the use of Bee Venom Therapy.

Benefits

Areas in which bee venom may be beneficial:

• Hypertension
• Athritis
• Rheumatism
• Back pain
• Skin disorders 
• Enhance synaptic transmission in MS sufferers
• Improve neuro-functions

Procedure

Bee Venom Therapy is practiced by health practitioners and lay apitherapists. There are treatment protocols available to follow. In general, the therapy starts with the determination of whether the patient is allergic to the venom by administering a small amount of venom intradermally. If no allergic reaction develops within a certain time, the therapy is continued with the administration of one to two bee stings or injections. The therapy is carried out every other day (three times a week) by gradually increasing the number of bee stings or injections. The length of the therapy is determined by the nature and severity of the condition.

There is discomfort associated with the administration of bee venom including pain, itching, swelling, inflammation and redness. Symptoms like redness, swelling and itching are desired effects of the therapy showing the response of the patient to the venom. The more severe the reaction, but not anaphylaxis, the faster the recovery. Anaphylactic reactions which can be life threatening are also reported from bee venom, but they are rare.

Source of information: www.beevenom.com | www.nectarease.co.uk