I had heard that bee stings were theraputic for arthritis
          sufferers, but had dismissed it as being an 'old wives
          tale'.  However, I happened to mention it to an older (late
          60's) member of our beekeeper's club.  He replied that he
          did indeed sting his wife when her arthritis was especially
          painful.  She usually attended meetings with him so I had an
          opportunity to verify first hand the effectiveness of bee
          stings.  She said that "Yes, Merlynn does get some bees and
          sting me when my arthritis gets bad."  As I recall, her
          arthritis is in her shoulders and Merlynn stings her 2 or 3
          times per shoulder.  She says it helps so I guess there may
          be some truth to that old wives tale.
          Isn't it nice to know that arthritis is one thing we bee
          keepers won't suffer from because of all the stings we get
          just tending the bees.