TUNISIA: Bee sting therapy causing a buzz in Tunisia

Record ID: 591229

  • Title: TUNISIA: Bee sting therapy causing a buzz in Tunisia
  • Date: 12th May 2010
  • Summary: IMAN BEING TREATED (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) BEE ACUPUNCTURE SPECIALIST RIDHA IAABIDI SAYING: "Western researchers have now begun studying the benefits of honey bees, the benefits of honey, pollen and bee venom. Researchers say bee venom contains 300 natural antibiotics." PATIENTS IN WAITING ROOM OF CLINIC WHICH SPECIALISES IN BEE ACUPUNCTURE BEE ACUPUNCTURE SPECIALIST MONCEF CHTOUROU TREATING DISABLE BOY IN WHEELCHAIR CHTOUROU TAKING BEE OUT OF JAR VARIOUS OF BEE ACUPUNCTURE TO BOY'S LEG CHTOUROU APPLYING BEE TO BOY'S LOWER BACK KORANIC VERSE ABOUT BEES ON DISPLAY ON WALL IN CLINIC (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) BEE ACUPUNCTURE SPECIALIST MONCEF CHTOUROU SAYING: "Scientific research shows that bees can treat some 499 diseases. Every type of liquid secreted by bees can cure diseases. Honey can cure some diseases, bee venom can treat some illnesses, and pollen can treat some illnesses. Royal jelly can treat many diseases, especially neurological ones." CHTOUROU TREATING MAN'S STOMACH AREA BEES STORE SELLING PRODUCTS MADE FROM BEES CLOSE OF JAR OF THYME HONEY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PHYSIOTHERAPIST HUAID IDRISS SAYING: "I have a patient who had 115 treatments of bee acupuncture without any results. I think that this type of treatment doesn't have any effect. It's like some cereals which don't have any effect but doctors nonetheless give them to patients, persuading them that it will cure them. I think bee acupuncture convinces patients psychologically that it's working but has no real medical result." OIL USED TO TREAT RHEUMATISM MADE FROM BEES MAN PURCHASING PRODUCTS FROM STORE
  • Embargoed: 27th May 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Tunisia
  • Country: Tunisia
  • Topics: Health,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVAAX1Y9JEG5JAX2SV2R6B7E61H5
  • Story Text: Being stung by a bee would have most people rushing to hospital. But, in Tunisia, patients are queuing up to be pricked into good health.
    Bee sting therapy, which involves placing live bees on a patient's body at certain pressure points, dates back over thousands of years and is thought to have originated in Egypt, Greece and China. This ancient remedy is believed to ease pain, curb diabetes and even cure cancer.
    It is similar to acupuncture in that it uses bees stingers instead of needles and the same principles. But the bees' toxin, which doctors say is a natural medicine, is essential, making the treatment like an injection.
    One patient at a clinic in Tunis says she has found a solution to her hair loss problems that conventional doctors have been unable to help with.
    "I have been receiving treatment here for three years. I went to conventional doctors and they were unable to find a solution, I tried many medicines. I came here and received treatment with bee stings, drank pollen and royal jelly and have been seeing results," she said.
    For the treatment, doctors use tweezers to pick up bees from the hive, placing them one by one on the pressure point of the painful area.
    The bee then instinctively stings its "enemy" and dies. The stinger is then left in the body for several hours, and patients say it helps to ease their discomfort.
    The practitioners, who are required to undergo strict training, decide how long the stinger should stay in body, and how many bees should be used in the treatment. At the very most, a patient can be stung more than a hundred times. At the very least, four or five times.
    One bee sting therapist in Tunis says he's found the therapy has proved effective in curing a long list of ailments.
    "Scientific research shows that bees can treat some 499 diseases. Every type of liquid secreted by bees can cure diseases. Honey can cure some diseases, bee venom can treat some illnesses, and pollen can treat some illnesses. Royal jelly can treat many diseases, especially neurological ones," said bee sting therapist Moncef Chtourou.
    Despite the therapy becoming increasingly popular in Tunisia, the country's health ministry does not recognise the practice medically.
    Western-trained doctors dismiss the treatment as unscientific and dangerous. One physiotherapist says she thinks the therapy has a placebo effect on patients.
    "I have a patient who had 115 treatments of bee acupuncture without any results. I think that this type of treatment doesn't have any effect. It's like some cereals which don't have any effect but doctors nonetheless give them to patients, persuading them that it will cure them. I think bee acupuncture convinces patients psychologically that it's working but has no real medical result," said Huaid Idriss, a physiotherapist.
    Bee products have been used for thousands of years and its highly-prized medicinal qualities are also documented in the Koran.
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