My wife Annie has been asked to assist in a research project being set up in
the English East Midlands UK (Leicester) to investigate the effects of honey
in the treatment of hay fever.  Annie is a nurse lecturer and also a capable
beekeeper has been deemed the ‘bee keeper’ advisor to this research group.

 

Here is the brief, any help would be gratefully received with perhaps
pointers to existing research or relevant experts in this field.

 

Anne Law wrote.........

RESEARCH INTO THE EFFECTIVENESS OF LOCAL HONEY AS A TREATMENT FOR ALLERGIC
RHINITIS (HAYFEVER)

 

Research team;

Consultant physician specialising in allergies

ENT Registrar

Clinical Nurse specialist ENT

Beekeeper as advisor

 

Background;

The research team (excluding the beekeeper) treats patients with allergic
rhinitis, usually those people who have tried the treatments that can be
purchased from a pharmacy with no success or those who have severe symptoms.

 

They have experience from anecdotal patient reports that taking honey every
day from a local source has been effective in relieving their symptoms.

 

A search of the medical literature showed virtually no valid and reliable
research into this subject.

 

The team are developing a research protocol to submit to the local ethics
committee.

 

I (the beekeeper) was invited along to their first meeting as I was known to
keep bees locally to the research site.

 

Following initial discussions there were several questions raised which I am
investigating and it is with these I am asking for help from fellow
beekeepers.

 

Questions;

•           Do honey bees collect pollen from grasses?

•           What would be a reasonable radius to take to guarantee "local"
honey

•           How can you get honey analysed for its pollen content - place,
cost, timescale etc?

•           Is there anyone else undertaking this type of research at
present?

•           Has there been any research carried out in the past?

•           Are there any organisations that can be applied to for funding
for reserach of this type?

•           What would be the recommended "dose" of honey per day?

•           What could be used as a placebo

 

Many thanks

Annie Law

................................................cut


Graham & Annie Law
Email:  [log in to unmask]
Web:    HYPERLINK
"http://homepage.ntlworld.com/gandboss"http://homepage.ntlworld.com/gandboss

 


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