Apitherapy

The more I learn about bees, the more amazing the little critters are to me. Of course it's cool that they make honey and wax, and that they pollinate our crops...but they can do so much more!

Apitherapy is the practice of using bee products for health care and medicinal purposes. It includes taking honey for sore throats and taking bee pollen, propolis, and royal jelly for health related purposes. One major breakthrough in the battle against Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) appears to be the application of Manuka Honey! It's a very thick, dark, strong-tasting honey made from the nectar of the Tea Tree bush in Australia, and like all honey it possesses antibiotic properties. Unlike most honeys and even most antibiotics, Manuka honey applied directly to a wound containing MRSA seems to be capable of clearing the infection, without side effects and without drugs. Keep watching the news on this product...at least one drug company is patenting manuka-honey-infused bandages!

In practice, however, the term "apitherapy" is generally used specifically to refer to the practice of injecting bee venom to help with arthritis, bursitis, tendinitis, and other medical problems While the scientific community says there are no studies that prove it to be beneficial or effective, many people do believe in the therapy. I find it rather similar to acupuncture in that respect, though with far fewer practitioners OR studies.

I happen to be a more science-oriented person than many, especially within the "organic" and "green" movement, seem to be, at least in my experience. If someone makes an extraordinary claim, I want to see the proof. I want to look at the experimental data. I want to know about the confounding factors. But, I'm also firmly of the belief that "if it's stupid but it works, it's not stupid". I don't necessarily need to disprove everything, and if it works for someone, I'm good with it. I look askance at many of the more unproven health claims of alternative medicine; at the same time, I benefit from some that I've tried. In that vein, I was rather skeptical of the idea that bee venom could be helpful for arthritis or inflammatory problems, especially given how little venom a bee actually delivers.

Well, color me a believer.

I noted in my last post that I got stung at my class, right on the top of my head. What I didn't note was that for 2 months prior, I'd been suffering from what I'm assuming is a bursitis attack in my left shoulder, and probable early arthritis in my right hand, at the first knuckle of my index finger. This had been bothering me quite a bit, considering I've taken up fiddle playing as a hobby, and I use that hand for playing. And the morning after I was stung, I woke up pain free. The absence of pain was strange in itself. But it's been several days, and the two activities which used to trigger the most pain, typing and fiddling, no longer hurt.

I can't prove that the sting had anything to do with it, but it sure seems like a weird coincidence. The over the counter pain relievers and anti-inflammatories hadn't been doing anything at all, and I hadn't done anything else differently. Anyway, just one more anecdotal story to add to the large pile of non-scientific evidence!