Hello All,
I said:
> My allergies never completely
go away but I do not take meds for the problem until the first killing frost
of winter.

The above should have read.

My allergies never completely go away ( but I do not take meds for the
problem) until after the first killing frost of winter.

I have learned if I do not take a tsp.of honey  daily  when my allergies are
acting up I get the same result. Sneezing and watery eyes. Once I resume
then the problem goes away but takes a couple days.

Many other beekeepers have said at meetings there is no science behind what
is happening however most do not have allergy problems. I NEVER had
allergies until around ten years ago.

 Maybe not proof beyond a reasonable doubt for researchers  but myself and
many on this list (maybe afraid to speak up) will still keep using raw honey
daily for allergy relief.

Another not fully understood area  is bee stings.

 My mother had crippling rheumatoid arthritis and arthritis runs in my
family. At a family reunion I was the only older member without signs of
arthritis in hands.

I have not got a single sign of arthritis and even passed a test for
arthritis my doubting doctor ran.
However:
I get plenty of bee stings throughout the year especially on the hands. I
keep an immunity. I got a sting yesterday under the fingernail and did not
swell. On the face I do not swell and you can not tell  I have been stung
except for the tiny hole the stinger went in.
Was not always the case and if I stop getting stings for say six months I
start swelling gain ( happened about 10 years ago after an injury and about
six months without a sting).

My doctor says my lack of arthritis is because the arthritis which cripples
my family jumped a generation. Maybe he is right but I am not convinced.

There is NO scientific proof (I am aware) of that bee stings for arthritis,
ms or other problems works. Arthritis is painful and crippling but I have
met others like me in the world of beekeeping which should  have arthritis
but do not but we have a single factor in common which is a lifetime of bee
stings.

I will say that those which run large bee outfits but do not work with the
bees directly (getting stings) do seem to get swelling when stung.

The medical profession does believe in the commercial beekeepers full
immunity to bee stings. Dr. Steve Carlston ( California) isolated a
substance in beekeepers blood samples( ABF convention 1993) which he said he
could use to make a shot which would make a person which had anaphylactic
reactions to bee stings immune for a period of time. Not sure of his
progress but he spoke and took donated  blood (from commercial beekeepers)
at the ABF convention in Kansas City in 1993.

I do not wash bee suits in the same washing machine my family uses as small
doses of bee venom it seems can cause reactions in family members when stung
in the future. Again we know not why.

 Also reports are that if I should quit getting the number of stings I do
and return to the level of a hobby beekeeper ( say 3-4 stings per year in
many cases) I could possible get a serious future single sting  reaction
including anaphylaxis.
 Has happened to others.

Sincerely,
Bob Harrison


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