Rheumatoid Arthritis Support

An internationally-known scholastic arthritis magazine has reported that controversial bee venom therapy can actually help ease the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. While it's not for everyone (as some people are allergic to bee stings, or can't tolerate the pain), studies are increasingly showing that bee venom can help a significant number of arthritis patients who don't respond well to conventional medication.Heading the bee venom studies is Dr. Christopher Kim, who is the medical director of the Monmouth Pain Institute in Red Bank, New Jersey. He wrote an article for German arthritis magazine "Rheumatologie" on the subject. Dr. Kim has been using bee venom therapy in his rheumatoid arthritis patients for many years with great success. For those who aren't allergic to bees, the therapy has proven to be remarkably free of side effects.Dr. Kim studied 108 arthritis patients for two years, injecting them twice a week with bee venom at first, then gradually increasing the number of weekly injections. Most of the patients showed a significant improvement after 12 injections. In addition to Dr. Kim, there are over 50 U.S. doctors who also use the therapy on arthritis patients. Its main benefit seems to be decreasing pain, but has also been shown to reduce inflammation in some cases. It is also said to help other conditions, such as high blood pressure, multiple sclerosis, PMS, hearing loss, and asthma.Surprisingly, bee venom therapy is not new. In fact, it's been used for thousands of years, but is only recently being studied in-depth by the medical professions. References to bee venom therapy are found in ancient Greek and Egyptian texts, and is widely used in Aisa, South America, and Eastern Europe today. It is commonly called apitherapy. While many doctors use an injectable form of bee venom on their patients, some doctors still use live bees to sting their patients.Bee venom contains mellitin, which is an anti-inflammatory agent that puts cortisone shots to shame in its effectiveness. The venom also contains adolapin, which treats both inflammation and pain. When injected, the bee venom prompts the body to release natural healing substances that reduce swelling and improve circulation. While the arthritis magazine report mentions that studies are still being conducted and the process is still controversial in some medical circles, it nonetheless offers hope for rheumatoid arthritis patients that something out there may be just the thing to help them heal, and that thing may be bee venom. If you're interested in apitherapy, ask your doctor about it.