Medical value of Bee Venom: Species of honey bee are almost 20,000 in all over the world and closely relative to ants, wasps and hornets. All these species fall in one genus that is “Apis” and almost 44 species are known under it.
In Pakistan, there are four species of honey bee and these are Apis dorsta, Apis cerana, Apis melifera and Apis floera and following are the products of honey bee “honey bee, bee wax, pollen, royal jelly, and propolis and bee venom.
So, Bee Venom is one of the major product of honey bee which has been used in the field of medicine and my focus is on the use of “bee venom” of honey bee especially in the treatment of arthritis. Arthritis is a joint pain or joint disease.
First time, it was reported date back as far as 4500 BC, but it is most common disease of pre-historic people. Evidences suggest that it has been found throughout history e.g., from Egyptian mummies in 2590 BC, and then in other countries like Italy, Austria, China, Korea and Pakistan.
There are found more than 100 types of arthritis. Almost all ages and sexes of people are effected by arthritis and this disease is a cause major of disability in Pakistan. But most commonly, women are affected by arthritis frequently as they become older.
Symptoms of Arthritis:
The symptoms of a common arthritis are such as swelling, stiffness, pain and decrease in mobility range. In the beginning, it may be mild then moderate and later it becomes severe. Then in severe conditions chronic pain causing this disease is turned into inability of the patient to perform daily work.
A person which has been affected by this disease, for patients it is difficult to walk or climb stairs. It may cause permanent changes in joints. It may also affect the other body organs like lungs, heart, eyes, kidney and skin as well as the joints. There are different treatments available such as resting, weight control, applying ice or heat, exercise, joint replacement surgery and some medicines like Ibuprofen and paracetamol etc.
Benefits of Bee Venom:
The use of honey and its products in human treatment is not a new at all; it has been practiced in thousands of years ago. Due to its healing properties, the word “Honey” is use in many verses at many times in Quran. The term apitherapy is use in medical field which means the use of honey bee products for medicinal or medical purposes like propolis, royal jelly, pollen, bee venom, bee wax and raw honey.
However, the bee venom therapy is a live bee stings which is used in many treatments for various diseases like as arthritis (all types of arthritis like chronic arthritis, sub-chronic arthritis, poly arthritis etc)i.e; sciatica, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis (MS), low back pain and tennis elbow.
Composition & recommended of Bee Venom:
In this article, we have some extent mainly focused on bee venom which contains at least 18 pharmacologically active components such as various peptides, amines and enzymes. From them “sulphur” is the basic or main element which make possible the release of cortisol from the adrenal gland and protect the human body from infections.
When bee venom comes in contact with human body it produces a complex cascade of reactions in human. Recommended dose of bee venom against arthritis in adult and children is somewhat different. Here, in adult we can give an injection of bee venom or bee sting which is about 2.8 mg venom per kg of body weight.
Comparison between treatments of arthritis:
(Medical & Bee Venom) There are different treatments available such as resting, weight control, applying ice or heat, exercise, joint replacement, surgery and some medicines like Ibuprofen and Paracetamol etc. Arthritis cannot be cure but it can be managed by giving some treatments and slow down the pain so patient feels relief from pain.
All above mentioned treatments are expensive and money wasting but if we prefer natural way to treat it which will be less expensive and give relief in pain quickly as compared to the other treatments.
Conclusion:
So, when we have used bee venom against arthritis, it proved to be beneficial for its treatment and it is safe too. We can utilize bee venom to treat arthritis in human beings because it is safe for human treatment as compare with treatments of other human diseases, accidents and other unusual cases.
It is a transparent liquid which easily dries up at room temperature. It is odorless and has an ornamental pungent smell but a bitter in taste and hydrolytic blend of proteins which have a basic pH (4.5-5.5). It is also a rich source of enzymes, biogenic amines and peptides.
In short, when nature provide us a simple and cheap solution, then why are moving towards difficult and expensive ones. Therefore, it would be a better for us to avail natural, pure, easy and long lasting solution against the treatment of arthritis.
A great saying by a philosopher “Honey is the only insect-created food with therapeutic, Medicinal, nutritional and cosmetic value”