Apiterapia do Dr. Abelha
APITHERAPY
Apitherapy - what is it?
Apitherapy, or "bee therapy", is the medicinal use of products produced by bees, including the use of apitoxin - bee venom. This use of bee products is intended to prevent and treat diseases, both for humans and in veterinary medicine.
Apitherapy is also a holistic medicine. Holistic means using the "whole" or treating the "whole". It influences our emotional and spiritual life, the nervous system and blood flow, influencing the entire body.
Apitherapy can sometimes be known as Bee Venom Therapy - BVT.
Bee products include apitoxin, honey, pollen, propolis, "bee bread", royal jelly, drone larvae, worker larvae, queen larvae, bee energy, hive air and beeswax.
HISTORY OF APITHERAPY
Ancient Treatment
Therapies involving bees have existed for thousands of years. Bee venom therapy was practiced in ancient Egypt, Greece and China - three Great Civilizations known for their highly developed medicinal systems.
Hippocrates (460-377 BC), the Greek physician known as the "Father of Medicine", recognized the healing virtues of bee venom to treat arthritis, inflammation, pain and other problems.
Over the years and the advancement of medicine, Apitherapy gained space among great scholars and academics. In the 14th century, a prestigious Austrian general practitioner named Philipp Terc, who suffered from rheumatism and severe joint pain, was accidentally attacked by a group of bees in 1868. To his surprise, from that day on his pain began to disappear!
This personal experience impressed him and he began to believe that clinical studies conducted in Russia in 1864 by Dr. M. I. Lukomsky on the therapeutic effects of bee stings should have been taken seriously and subjected to scientific research. Terc carried out 20 years of research and scientific studies.
In 1888, Terc described in his report the effectiveness of bee venom treatment for people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. He left his legacy through his children, and today, he is called the "father of modern Apitherapy".
Today, advances continue with more and more research and scientific articles on the therapeutic effects of bee venom. Although there is still great resistance from the medical profession in general, many interested academics and health professionals support this research and the propagation of Apitherapy worldwide.
Photo: Tomb of Pabasa, 7th-6th century BC – Late Period
Photo: Philipp Terc
APITOXIN
The Venom of Good
Today, growing scientific evidence shows that Apitherapy (therapy with venom and its products) has the main effects of activating the immune system, being anti-inflammatory, vasodilating and a powerful analgesic.
Apitoxin is very important for Apitherapy treatment due to its properties:
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Anti-inflammatory, because it stimulates the hypothalamic axis, the pituitary gland and the adrenal glands and induces the production of endogenous corticosteroids.
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Analgesic, because it releases endorphins which are endogenous analgesics.
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Antidepressant, because it stimulates the production of serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine: neurotransmitters responsible for our sense of well-being.
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Immunomodulatory, because it stimulates the formation of multicellular cells, monocytes, macrophages and lymphocytes A and T.
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Hypotensive, because it dilates blood vessels.
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Antitumor, because, although it is not the preferred treatment, it has a destructive effect on tumor cell membranes
"Apitherapy (...) has the main effects of activating the immune system, being anti-inflammatory, vasodilating and a powerful analgesic."
Apitoxin also has the following effects: cardiotonic, anticoagulant, erythropoietic, muscle relaxant, endocrine stimulant, neurotrophic, immunostimulant, metabolic stimulant, antioxidant and radioprotective.
Apitoxin administration methods (Physiotherapy methods):
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Direct bee sting
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Injection of standardized preparations
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Ultrasound (phonophoresis)
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Electrophoresis
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Local application
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Inhalations
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Oral sublingual
Before treatment, a test is performed on the patient, in case they are allergic. And does the treatment hurt? Ice is applied to the area, numbing the region, making the treatment almost painless.
Are there any contraindications?
Yes, there are. See what they are:
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Do not use ibuprofen on the day of application.
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Pregnant and lactating women.
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People who use anabolic steroids.
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People who use cocaine.
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People who take the Covid-19 or flu vaccine in the week of the application.
APITHERAPY IN THE SUS
Approved in the Unified Health System (SUS)
Integrative and Complementary Health Practices (ICPs) are therapeutic resources that seek to prevent diseases and restore health, with an emphasis on caring listening, developing therapeutic bonds, and integrating human beings with the environment and society.
These practices were institutionalized through the National Policy for Integrative and Complementary Practices in the Unified Health System (PNPIC).
Scientific evidence has shown the benefits of integrated treatment between conventional medicine and integrative and complementary practices. In addition, there is a growing number of trained and qualified professionals and a greater appreciation for the traditional knowledge from which many of these practices originate.
Here in Brazil, Apitherapy was integrated into the PICs (Integrative and Complementary Practices) in the Unified Health System (SUS), by Ordinance No. 702, of March 21, 2018.
