Apitherapy

If the thought of getting a needle from a doctor leaves you woozy, how would you like to receive your medicine in a bee's sting?

For people who believe in the benefits of apitherapy, that's what a treatment can involve. Apitherapy has been around since the early Egyptians used bee products for a variety of ailments, but in recent years, complementary medicine has been experimenting more with the potential benefits of honey, beeswax, royal jelly — and even bee venom delivered directly from the insect.

Many in the medical establishment are sceptical of claims of medical benefits from bee products, especially apitoxin (bee venom). However, apitherapy has quite a following in eastern Europe and the Far East, and enthusiasts say it is slowly gaining popularity in Canada. In fact, they've even designated World Apitherapy Day on March 30 — the birthday of Phillip Terc, a European physician who was born in 1844 and was the first scientific researcher to investigate the medical uses of apitoxin.

Annie van Alten — who lives north of Hamilton in Carlisle, Ont. — is one of the believers. She and her partner have been beekeepers for 26 years. As an apitherapist, she uses bee venom therapy to treat people suffering from arthritis or multiple sclerosis.

"When you have an inflammation, you use bee venom to get the blood flowing. It releases tension in the joints," she explained.

Van Alten administers bee stings to her family members and tried them out on herself when she suffered from severe arthritis.

"You take a bottle of bees from the hive, let them out one at a time holding them with the tweezers, and then place their thorax down on the place where you want to sting," she said.

"You press the thorax of the bee down onto that point and it stings. The stinger goes in, it pulsates and then you pull it right out. Then you wait 15 to 20 minutes to see if there's a reaction. If there isn't, you apply one more sting. You have to gradually build up the number of stings you administer.

"But yes, it's a sting and it hurts: there's no getting around that."

If being stung by bees is not your cup of tea, bee venom can also be applied via ointment to pressure points or the venom can be injected using a needle.

Van Alten tests people to ensure they're not allergic before she proceeds with treatment. She thinks bee venom is extremely effective for people suffering with arthritis or multiple sclerosis.

Medical community sceptical

While van Alten sings the praises of bee venom therapy, the medical establishment is more cautious.

"We have studies from Amsterdam and the U.S. that have been done on animals and humans. They show no evidence that bee venom improves quality of life or potentially acts as a treatment for MS," said Stewart Wong, a spokesman with the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada.

"Because MS is so variable, it may seem like something is improving, but we tell our clients that these things have to be verified by scientific proof."

Dr. Paul Doering, a pharmacy professor at the University of Florida, agreed.

"Until they come up with some type of safety data, I'd certainly recommend against using it," Doering said.

"I'm sure there are cases of sensitivity and reactions and toxic side effects that might occur. If you want to proceed with this, use caution."

Honey as a healer

University of Guelph entomology professor Gard Otis said he has seen people benefit from using bee venom, but warned of the dangers of allergic reactions.

Honey, on the other hand, got a much sweeter review. Otis said honey can be used quite effectively for wound dressings on burns and cuts.

"It creates a barrier on wounds," he said. "Something in it stimulates wound healing — it moisturizes and once the fluids mix with the wounds, one of the enzymes becomes active and breaks down the sugars and creates hydrogen peroxide."

The curative powers of honey depend on which plants bees have been visiting, which is never a sure thing.

However, University of Illinois entomologist May Berenbaum said she has found that the darker a honey's colour, the higher its antioxidant level.

Honey can be taken orally, as anyone who has enjoyed it on their toast knows, but in Australia it has now been approved as an ingredient in medicine as well by the country's Therapeutic Goods Administration. The agency approved it for use by anyone in non-oral applications and oral use by people older than one year.

People with infants still need to be vigilant with the sweet stuff. Health Canada says there have been three cases of botulism poisoning of infants in Canada since 1979 after they were fed honey.

As for other bee by-products, van Alten says beeswax is used in skin creams, cosmetics and cone candling. Apitherapists use royal jelly, a substance created by worker bees and fed to future queens, for its vitamin B complex and say it boosts energy. Bee pollen is a multivitamin thought to boost the immune system.

Many people probably won't want to celebrate World Apitherapy Day with a bee sting, but a spoonful of honey might do the trick. It's medicine that doesn't need a spoonful of sugar to help it go down.