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Is Bee Venom a cure for rheumatism?

10 April 2010 [09:08] - TODAY.AZ
While most people would avoid contact with bees, in Beijing, China, patients are lining up outside hospitals to receive bee sting therapy, a practice which dates back over three thousand years! The process involves placing live bees on a patient’s body at certain pressure points and was legalized in 2007.

Similar in both technique and principles to acupuncture, bee stingers replace the traditional needles; the difference lies in the bee toxin, which transforms the treatment into an injection-like procedure.

At the Kang Tai Bee Clinic doctors firmly believe that this type of natural medicine has been highly effective in the cure and treatment of many ailments, including rheumatism and arthritis.

“The bee therapy has an obvious effect on patients with bone and joint diseases. This treatment relies mainly on the bees’ poison, which can help blood circulation, reduce inflammation and ease pain,” says Wang Jing, a doctor at this traditional medical facility in northeast Beijing.

Not just any bee can qualify for bee treatment therapy. The clinic maintains a facility on its premises, which houses a specific hybrid of the species with 0.3 mm-long stingers, which contain 0.3 mg of toxin.

The treatment is simple. Tweezers allow doctors to remove bees from the hive. One by one, they are placed on the different pressure points of the pain-target area. The bee does its thing and promptly dies, leaving the stinger iintact for several hours. It is within this time frame that patients experience significant relief from pain and discomfort.

Bee sting therapy requires rigorous training. How long the stinger remains in the patient’s body and how many bees should be utilized are important decisions that determine the success or failure of this ancient natural treatment.

A patient can be stung as many as one hundred times and as little as four or five, depending on the type of ailment and the number of pressure points involved.

This unique procedure costs about 120 yuan (about $18 US), which is infinitely cheaper than conventional medical therapies. According to the doctor at the clinic, more than 90% of their patients either recover or feel much improved after receiving treatment.

“After I am stung by the bees, the pain is gone by the afternoon. My legs feel lighter. It becomes easier to walk and my legs do not feel swollen,” says Han Lide, a patient suffering from diabetic inflammation of the veins.

So the next time you see a bee, show a little respect, but if it gets too close, find another friend quickly.


/Weird Asia News/
URL: http://www.today.az/news/interesting/65845.html

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