Healing With Apitherapy

Using bee products for the benefits of healing and health is known as Apitherapy. The products that are generally involved in Apitherapy come from a European honeybee called apis melliferra. Bee venom, propolis, beeswax, honey, royal jelly and pollen are the most common products used in Apitherapy.

Bee venom is derived from the bee’s sting and may cause allergy where some are concerned. A bee’s sting causes a lot of reactions - the sting area is generally swollen and red, the reaction becomes severe when swelling increases causing movement problems.

Propolis is a product that the bee collects from the plants and trees. The bee uses it to cover the inside of the honeycomb cells and the beehive and this forms an antiseptic layer.  Propolis is a resinous substance and it is used in capsules, cosmetics, creams, tinctures and tablets. It is very effective in healing.

The worker bee secretes beeswax from special glands that are present on the underside of the body and uses it for building its home. Beeswax is made from the honey the bees consume. The bees need to eat four pounds of honey to produce one pound of beeswax. This beeswax is used to make lipsticks, creams, ointments, lipsalves and it is used by the pharmaceutical industry to make capsules and to coat tablets.

The bee produces honey from the nectar that it collects from the many flowers it visits, the nectar is stored in the hive, concentrated nectar is honey and is the prime food as far as bees go. Beekeepers collect the honey and sell it. Honey is popular and is used on your toast, drinks and cooking. Honey is antibacterial in nature and is also used to dress burns and wounds and helps keep them sterile and increases the speed of healing.

The bees produce royal jelly for the multiplying bees in the hives and it is used as food. The queen bees eat only royal jelly when they are pregnant - that is during their larval period. Worker bees eat royal jelly only for three days of the larva period. It enhances proper growth and development. It is a complex mixture and the glands of the worker bees produce it. It is used in capsules and cosmetics and this product has youth giving properties besides being used to cure a lot of illnesses.

Pollen is collected from flowers by the bees as a source of protein. Pollen may be collected by the beekeepers as soon as they are brought into the hive by the bees. This pollen is then processed and used in food supplements. Some people are found to be allergic to pollen so before consumption of products with pollen, certain tests are required. Pollen promotes resistance to allergens.

Sometimes a beesting can have disastrous consequences and people have been know to suffer from bad allergic reactions. This reaction is called an anaphylactic reaction and requires immediate medical assistance. If it is not attended to immediately, it can prove to be fatal.

A person suffering from this condition is advised to carry epinephrine or adrenaline and that requires a prescription from a doctor. These must be only used when the reaction is severe and not mild. Bee venom is generally used to make the immune system strong and as a therapy.

There is a lot of literature that is available on bee venom therapy and is widely used to treat arthritis, multiple sclerosis and rheumatic diseases. It is not approved by a lot of organisations. This treatment must be used with a lot of care and with the advice of your doctor, requires monitoring and is not a layman’s cup of tea.