In a message dated 7/14/00 11:45:40 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [log in to unmask] writes: << This person proclaims that the effects of chronic exposure to bee venom (as would be the case with a beekeeper) is cumulative. The end result of this (according to our friend) is that each person has an individual and unique to themselves setpoint at which they have had their lifetime quota of venom. At this point, the person goes into anaphylactoid shock and either survives or doesn't according to treatment. >> <> ========================== Hello Wendy and Friends, I have come back into beekeeping strictly for the benefit of apitherapy. I can't eat the honey, I am a diabetic. I would ask your friend to prove HIS theory. You didn't tell us if he had any supporting documentation for his theory. How many human subjects has he observed to make such a conclusion? Where are his facts? Has he written a paper on this? What is the range of lethal numbers of bee stings in the human population? Does he have min/max, averages, real data? The burden of proof really is on him, after all, he is propounding the theory. There is really too much evidence to the contrary in the beekeeping community. We surely would have heard of this 'lifetime quota' of bee stings by now. We have plenty of archived information and it really doesn't seem worthwhile to hunt for support against his theory, because it is just plain silly. My beekeeping partner and I have taken thousands of beestings in apitherapy treatments and I have had some very large daily doses of beestings when I first started keeping bees back in the 60's. I remember once as a kid being stung so many times that I lost the feeling in my legs. We were taking the honey off of 50 hives during a particularly heavy citrus flow. The bees were driven from the hives by benzeldahyde and the ground was alive with them. We were working very fast and I didn't have as much protection as I probably should have. We were just waiding through a sea of bees. I received over 150 stings that day. That is the kind of stupid thing a kid will do. I didn't have any ill effects from that experience and I haven't had any ill effects from high daily doses of beestings to date (37 year later). I have used bee stings (on purpose) to take a mole off of my face and to treat the nodules of arthritis which appear on my finger joints at times, with great success. My partner has Multiple Sclerosis and he has hopes of regaining some lost functionality. We have other folks involved in our apitherapy sessions and all of them are seeing benefits. I can't speak for everyone, but my personal experience leads me to believe that your friend is speaking his opinion as fact. I'll bet he is not a beekeeper himself, or he wouldn't be spouting such bunk! (but that is the kind of stupid thing a kid will do) You said it was "hog wash," I say it is bunk!........I believe we are both right! Whew, I feel better now :o). Bob Bassett