[Who dat?]

People on my dad’s side of the family always claimed bee stings prevented arthritis. Seriously.

But then they were bee keepers, among other things. I think maybe it could have been something good to justify getting stung.

I always thought it was weird because on TV you’d see people messing with the bees wearing a fancy bee suit. My relatives didn’t have a suit or a special hat either. Never used gloves from what I could tell. Only used that smoke can. Either they were sort of tough or the bees were pretty docile. They always claimed they didn’t get stung very often.

[i.l.e.]

Bee stings are not a folk remedy - they do work on arthritis and other joint problemns. Rasins soaked in alcohol are just plain dumb though. The casual observer would learn that Terry Kerry is only a cash cow for John "the suit" Forbes Kere. What other use does she have?

[blackdog]

I keep bees and I can tell you that when my mom had Lou Gherig's disease that a bee sting would allow her to speak for about an hour, where without the sting, she had no ability to speak or swallow. I suspected however that it may have just been the adrenaline from the anticipation of and the actual sting.

And I no longer wear a bee suit either. After years of bees, you learn them. In the last years before I gave up the suit I used to only get stung when one got caught inside my suit. The same with gloves too. You can't feel the bees with them and you crush one or two under your fingers when picking up heavy stuff. The smell of the crushed bees pisses off the rest of the bees and it can escalate into an unpleasant time for all. Best to leave the gloves in the closet.

Never open or work a hive before ten or after four. Never work a hive if there has been no rain for a week. Never work a hive if it's below 60 degrees. Never leave combs or equipment covered inhoney outside for the bees to clean up if you don't want bee riots. That's pretty much it.......