Is Bee Venom Used As Medicine?
Bee pollen and honey have both been used for a variety of purposes since prehistoric times. Some people take bee honey in order to improve sore throat symptoms. The list of honey-related remedies is extensive, and bee honey has long been used in alternative medicine. Many nutritionists consider bee pollen to be an ideal source of protein as well as other nutrients. As far as humans are concerned, bees are a gift from the heavens, minus their venomous stings of course. It would be difficult to argue that bee stings can be beneficial, but the venom itself can actually be beneficial as a medicine.
The effectiveness of bee venom as a treatment for human illness has yet to be proven by scientists. However, bee venom has been used as a medicine for thousands of years, and even western medical professionals are taking bee venom seriously. The use of bee venom as a treatment for human illnesses is referred to as “apitherapy.” It is difficult for experts to determine just how long medicinal bee venom has been used by humans, but the ancient Egyptians believed that bee venom was medically invaluable. The medicinal use of bee venom is well documented throughout European history. Hippocrates used bee venom to treat general joint pains and arthritis. The popularity of bee venom as a medicine varied throughout Europe following the early Greek and Roman periods. Eventually interest in bee venom as a medicine was renewed during the late nineteenth century. In 1888 European researchers published an article that focused on the use of bee venom as a treatment for rheumatism. However, many western doctors became disinterested with the therapeutic effects of bee venom for many decades afterward.
The modern popularity of alternative forms of medicine has once again brought the use of bee venom to the attention of western medicine, but modern research has not yet confirmed any medicinal benefits of bee venom. Studies have shown that bee venom is ineffective when treating multiple sclerosis, but studies have also supported the benefits of bee venom in the treatment of arthritis. Since bee venom is a molecularly complex substance, medical researchers are still unsure as to how the human body reacts to the venom. Today, interest in the therapeutic effects of bee venom is at an all time high among western medical professionals.
Have you ever used any bee-related products as a medicine to treat a particular health problem?
