Saturday 25 June 2011

The Wonders of Bee Venom

Eros stung by a bee
Ran away and cried for plea:
Venus, mother, I cry,
Please help me or I'll die.
What a terrible disgrace
A dragon bit me on the face.
Venus, comforting her son
Speaking with a mocking fun - The little bee's tiny sting
Is for you an earnest thing
But far more painful and real hard
Are your stings in human's heart



from Anacreontean songs, 6 BC
Reprinted from Bee Venom: Composition, Health, Medicine: A Review


Apart from the obvious useful products that we get from bees such as honey, bee venom may also have great therepeutic value. Apitherapy is a medical term which encompasses the medical use of all honey bee products, and this can include honey, pollen, bee bread, propolis, royal jelly and bee venom. Apitherapy dates back thousands of years to Ancient Egypt, Greece and China, and the healing properties of honey are mentioned in ancient religious texts including the Bible, Quaran, Vedas and Ancient Greek writings. Although less is written of the use of bee venom in the ancient world, bee sting therapy is mentioned in Huandi Neijing, an ancient Chinese medical book, dating to around 500 BCE, and by Aristoteles in his Historia Animalia around 300 BCE. Hippocrates also used bee venom for therapeutic purposes, calling it Arcanum, a mysterious substance, who's healig properties he didn't fully understand. Pliny, the Elder, in his Natural History, prescribed honey and bee venom as a cure for baldness, and Charlemagne (742-814 CE) reputedly used bee stings to treat his gout. Monfat (1566-1634) is reported to have used bee stings against kidney stones and to improve the flow of urine. The use of bee venom in Shamanic ceremonies is also likely. The modern study of bee venom healing was, according to Wikipedia and a number of other sources, initiated by an Austrian Physician Phillip Terc, who published a document entitled Report About a Peculiar Connection Between the Bee Stings and Rheumatism, in 1888. Bee venom has also been used in homeopathy and in 1858 C.W. Wolfe discussed it in his book Apis Mellifica or the Poison of the Honey Bee Considered as a Therepeutic Agent. In homeopathic preparations, whole bees are used in different potencies. Although I certainly wouldn't aprove of killing bees to make medicine out of them, perhaps the "natural wastage" of dead bees that can be found around a hive, ones that have come to the ends of their lives naturally, could be used in medicine.
Bee venom is thought to be good for arthritis, rheumatism, bursitis, tendonitis, dissolving scar tissue, herpes zoster and a number of other conditions. Bee venom is a complex composition of enzymes, proteins and amino acids, which stimulates the release of cortisone. It can be applied directly or by intramuscular injections. It is hemorrhagic, unlike snake venom which is coagulant, and contains substances which have the opposing functions of stimulating the heart and adrenal glands and inhibiting the nervous system. It also contains antibiotics and sulphur, which is the main ingredient in inducing the release of cortisol from the adrenal glands and in protecting the body against infection. The most powerful ingredient however is thought to be melittin, which has powerful anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and antiviral actions. Bee venom therapists apply bee venom to specific points on the surface of the body. Applying bee venom topically has been found in many cases to provide a long lasting effect in helping rheumatism and arthritis.
More can be found on the healing properties of bee venom in the illustrated online Bee Venom Books

I also found this on the Internet - Cosmetics made with Bee Venom, Natures answer to Botox apparantly.







Bee Venom Therapy: Bee Venom, Its Nature and Its Effect on Arthritic and Rheumatoid Conditions

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