Using Bee Stings To Treat Pain

Healthy Living, KUTV (USA), 9/26/2006

Could the cure for pain relief be right in front of us? A small group of people think so.

They’re called apitherapits and in this Healthy Living report we’ll see why they’re trying to create a buzz about bees.

Apitherapist Frederique Keller says, “It’s been around for 5,000 years, all over the world.”

It’s called apitherapy the use of bees and bee products for medical purposes. Believers say the beehive holds some of the best treatments for pain associated with disease.

“For M.S., osteo-arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, the list goes on and on,” says Keller.

It’s not a philosophy shared by the mainstream medical community. Andrew Kochen says he’s one of just a handful of medical doctors in the U.S. who treats pain patients with bee stings.

“I’ve been treating people 17 years,” says Doctor Kochen, “primarily shingles pain, nerve pain, scars…painful scars.”

Gerald Emshwiller gets about 90 stings a week to help with pain management. He says it hurts every single time but it’s worth it because he’s now off pain medication.

“It’s the alternative,” says Gerald, “do I go back to meds or do I put up with pain for 5 minutes? I put up with pain for 5 minutes.”

Not all these therapies hurt. For instance, many people eat local honey to treat allergies.

Frederique Keller says, “You can de-sensitize any local allergy, including the most sensitive person.”

Pollen and royal jelly are also said to help with countless medical and cosmetic issues. Apitherapists say these treatments aren’t a cure-all, and won’t work for everyone. But they’d like more people to open themselves up to the possibility that effective therapies could be in their own backyard…