Bee sting as therapy?

  Many people think that the honey bees' stings are harmful and poisonous that can harm our body. However, some medical doctors claim that this fixed perception is wrong. In fact, the bees' stings can be used to cure diseases. This method is known as "bee venom therapy", which is a part of Apitherapy (using products from bees in medication).

The medical doctors claim that bee venoms are very effective in curing diseases, such as arthritis, rheumatism, back pain and skin diseases. The bee venom is a rich source of enzymes, peptides and biogenic amines. According to the doctors, there are at least 18 active substances in the bee venom that possess pharmaceutical properties. They believe that the bee venom reacts with the body's immune system, bring some changes to the immune system's functions and modify the level of cortisol in our body, which can help to fight back against these diseases. Some of the patients claim that this method has helped them to cure some of the diseases. 

This bee sting therapy is actually based on the methods of acupuncture, which was practiced mainly in China traditionally. The body areas that are stung and the methods of this therapy is highly similar to acupuncture. A live bee is taken out of a container using pincers, and is stimulated so that it would sting the patient's body. Then the bee is slowly removed while the bee sting remains in the skin, together with the intestines that continue to pump the blood into the body even when it is out of the bees body. Here, the places that are stung are based on the acupuncture system, for example, where are the main bloodstreams. This method has been actively practiced in some regions of China and Europe. 

Later the area reacts with the body's immune system and the region that is stung gradually becomes swollen, red and itchy. The doctors say that the more intense the reaction is, the better it is for the body. 

here is a documentary about the practice of using bee venom therapy in a clinic in Taiwan: many people believe that this therapy is indeed effective. 

  However, despite all these doctors' claims, many scientists say that this theory is not true as there are no valid evidence. There has been no proof that the substances that exist in the bee venom is effective against strong diseases such as rheumatism, when it cannot be solved even by our modern medication technology. Moreover, experiments conducted by some scientists show the otherwise. A group of scientist researched on how the bee venom could affect the white rats which were suffering from Experiment Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis. The results show that, the rats conditions did not get better, but instead got worse due to the venom. Another example was done on human patients. 26 patients were treated with bee venom therapy for 24 days but there were no signs of improvement. Hence, bee venom was not an effective medical treatment. 

Reflection 
  This is a very interesting topic as it brings what you know to the exact opposite idea. As most of us do, I thought that bee stings were very harmful and poisonous that can even lead to mortality in some cases, and we should try to avoid getting stung as much as possible. However, this article suggests that some people do want to get stung by bees! The article also explained how bee venom could be effective in treating many of the known diseases. I was puzzled and at the same time, quite convinced by the explanations given by the doctors who support this therapy. The bee venom have substances such as peptides which can contribute to breaking down bacterias and help the body to fight against diseases. I think that if the venom can affect our own body cells, why can't it attack the bacteria's and viruses too? Moreover, if the venom activates our immune system and stimulates it to release some substances to fight against it, the substances can also be used to fight against the diseases too. Hence, I believe to a certain extent that this therapy is indeed true and effective. 

  However, much research needs to be done. This is just not scientifically proven, just that it has been practiced for a long time and several patients have claimed that this method is effective. The experiments and studies that the scientists have shown that the therapy do not possess any effectiveness.  If bees' venoms  really had these substances that could cure those diseases that have remained to be problems until now, why didn't the scientists notice them and use them in medications before? In addition, only a small sector of the total patients who received this care answered that it had indeed cured their diseases. Can this serve as a reliable evidence that the therapy is useful? The evidences are too small and weak to validate this therapy as scientific.

  In my opinion, I hope that more research is conducted and figure out whether the bees' venom could actually help humans deal with these diseases before. If the scientists discover some useful substances that have pharmaceutical value, they may be able to use it for different medications to treat diseases such as cancer that could never been cured before. You may never know the potential powers that nature possesses.