Where to get stung on purpose?

[Javin]

So I've been trying the whole bee sting therapy (mostly when I'm drinking) to see if there's any noticeable affect on my arthritis  (premature rheumatism diagnosed when I was 12).  So far, I can't really tell.

But the problem I'm having is when I was a kid and started keeping bees, the stings were a total non-issue.  Maybe a second or two of minor pain, then nothing.  Now, 15 years later, I still have the virutal-nothing-pain, but the next day, TONS of swelling and pain.  Feels like a deep bruise.  Then the itching starts.  This lasts from 3 to 5 days. 

To try and build up an immunity, for the last two weeks I've been regularly stinging myself as soon as the swelling and itching subsides.  I've been using the elbows for the stings, as the swelling doesn't seem to affect me so much there, but the itching is insane.

So has anyone else tried this?  And if so, did you find a place to sting yourself that didn't result in miserable itching/swelling for days on end? 

At one point, I got drunk and stupid and decided to prove to my brother in law that you could "pet" the beard without getting stung.  Worked the first 3 times, but the 4th time I got a sting that made my hand swell up so bad that I thought the skin would split.  Did I mention I was drinking? 

As a side-note, someone had mentioned that leaving the stingers in for 20 minutes was recommended.  However, I found the allergic reaction was the same, except those left in more than 60 seconds resulted in puss pockets like bad zits.  Probably TMI.  But hey, I'm drinking.  And just got stung.

Any info would be helpful!

[Joe D]

Yeap, you might consider not drinking. 



Joe

[Javin]

The hell you say...

[AllenF]

 :-D

[VolunteerK9]

The hell you say...

Rehab is for quitters  :-D

[BeeMaster2]

<The hell you say...>
Then at least do this before you start drinking. Better control.
Do you put anything on the sting after you remove it.
I put Benadryl cream and Hyrocortizone cream over the area. I put one on, rub it in and then the other. They each help in different ways. It seems to help eliminate the allergic reaction. Since doing this I have been stung on the ears and face with no reaction. Several times, right between the eye brows and the tip of my nose and 10 minutes later you cannot tell that I got stung. Found this trick out after taking 7 stings to my right hand, my first year, and my wife asked the pharmacist what to do to help reduce the swelling in my hand. The next day the swelling started to go down, by the 3rd day it was almost normal.
Jim

[Javin]

Ah, I'll try the benadryl/hydrocortizone cream trick!  Thanks! 

[Tim Bates]

When I get stung I usually wake up in the middle of the night itching. Ice water is the only thing I've found to kill the itch for any length of time. For instance if on the hand I put Ice in a bowl add water and soak my hand for about a minute, relieves the itch for about 4 or 5 hours.

[JP]

The knee is as good a place as any to deliberately sting yourself.


...JP

[BlevinsBees]

I think beer and bees go well together. I love to have a few ice cold ones and sit with my girls and read them American Bee Journal. I don't think they agree with half the articles I read them but hey, what do they know. I don't know what it is about beer that makes you want to do hive inspections at 6:00pm but that's a very good way to get stung all over!

[Javin]

I don't know what it is about beer that makes you want to do hive inspections at 6:00pm but that's a very good way to get stung all over!

LOL!  Exactly. 

JP:  Think I'll give my system a week or two to calm down.  The last sting got a much bigger reaction than any before, so don't want to push it too hard.  The next one I try though I'll do the knee.  Dunno why it didn't dawn on me before to try there. 

[JP]

Javin, since you are having some rather harsh reactions perhaps you should remove the stinger quicker than you are. When I conduct apitherapy on myself (mostly to my finger joints) I only leave the stinger in for a few seconds and get very good relief.


...JP

[divemaster1963]

I have RA in the right hand elbow and shoulder. I get stung mostly in the hands. swelling lasts about half a day and the joints stiffin then loosen. If I was you I would check with a Dr. the swelling that produces boiles is a concern. just be careful. The sting therapy should last for about 2-3 weeks until your body becomes resitant. then last short amount of time.

John

[Javin]

Again, JP, don't know how it didn't dawn on me to take the stingers out sooner to get a lesser dose until I was more immune.  I'll definitely give that a try next time.  Thanks again!

[JP]

Hopefully you can get back to it if you need to after your body makes an adjustment. Best of luck.


...JP