Title: Bee Sting Therapy: Health Benefits + Side Effects - SelfHacked
Headings: Bee Sting Therapy: Health Benefits + Side Effects
Bee Sting Therapy: Health Benefits + Side Effects
What Is Bee Sting Therapy?
Components of Bee Venom
Snapshot
Proponents
Skeptics
Health Benefits
Effective
Venom Immunotherapy
Insufficient Evidence
1) Arthritis
2) Skin Health
3) Parkinson’s Disease
4) Chronic Pain
5) Adhesive Capsulitis
Animal and Cell Research (Lack of Evidence)
Lupus
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
Asthma
Lyme Disease
Cancer
Possibly Ineffective
Multiple Sclerosis
Side Effects
Stay Away From Anything That Causes Inflammation!

Content: Preliminary evidence found it can reduce Th2 cytokines while increasing Tregs, thus preventing allergic symptoms [ 10, 11, 12 ]. Snapshot
Proponents
Effective for immunotherapy
May help with arthritis
May improve skin health
May reduce chronic pain
May improve Parkinson’s symptoms
Skeptics
Insufficient evidence for most benefits
Frequent adverse effects
Risk of adverse reactions (including anaphylaxis) in people allergic to bee venom
Reported to cause Guillain-Barré syndrome and chronic inflammation of hair follicles
Bees die after stinging
Health Benefits
Effective
Venom Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy with bee venom is recommended as the first-line treatment to prevent severe allergic reactions in people allergic to the venom of bees and other insects of the same order ( Hymenoptera ). Two studies found it induces an immune shift from Th2 – (which causes allergies) to Th1 -dominant (triggered in response to infections) responses [ 4, 13, 14 ]. Multiple trials attest to its effectiveness. Unfortunately, the venom must be repeatedly administered at 3-month intervals to maintain its effects on the immune system [ 15, 16, 4, 17, 18 ]. Pretreatment with antihistamines such as terfenadine and fexofenadine enhanced the effectiveness of the therapy and reduced the incidence of adverse reactions in 2 clinical trials on over 100 people (one of them followed up for an average of 3 years) [ 19, 20, 21 ]. This therapy can be used in both adults and children. A clinical trial on 134 children and 207 adults found that it was relatively safe in both cases, with children experiencing fewer adverse reactions [ 22 ]. Insufficient Evidence
1) Arthritis
Bee sting therapy on acupoints has been traditionally used for arthritis in Asian folk medicine, especially in the case of rheumatoid arthritis [ 2 ]. Two trials found that it reduced joint swelling, tenderness, and stiffness, and improved health assessment.