Honeybee Thumb Therapy

I now am wondering why I thought mentioning my arthritic left thumb to the doctor a few days ago was worth doing. Compared to the crises that other people are going through, just here in my weblog acquaintanceship, that "ailment" definitely rates a resounding zero, and the doctor said/didn't say as much. He made it sound as if it was just part of the aging process, and therefore, in that matter at least, since my thumb needs no x-ray, I'm strictly on my own.

But I have had deep appreciation for thumbs ever since I found out that they could be the chief reason why we are using computers and sending Rovers to Mars while the chimpanzees are still living clothesless in the African trees. Opposable digits! And I guess having a slightly less functional thumb represented a step backward on the evolutionary scale for me.

I am also wondering if it wasn't a clear signal for much worse to come -- for all 10 of my fingers to eventually become crippled. Now that would be really serious, not least because everything I do requires extensive use of my hands. And it can't be good that every morning I awaken with a certain stiffness through my whole collection of fingers.

So yesterday I got a friend and his son, who are making use of one of my former beeyards, the one here on my property, to grab two unsuspecting and unfortunate honeybees and put them right on my thumb, stinging it, so as to combat the adverse thing that is happening with the cartilage in the joint.

Actually this is something I've always wanted to do -- on purpose! In my past beekeeping career that ended 10 or more years ago, I certainly indulged in bee venom therapy extensively though not intentionally. I would easily end up getting the 200 stings minimum that every good beekeeper should endure per year, so as to keep his immunity in good shape, and as a result I never got sick during the winter, or usually at any other time.

And let's not forget -- unless it is something else that changed after I stopped looking -- honeybee venom therapy is a recognized method of treatment for arthritic joints in Europe, if not in the U.S.

So far I can't say it has helped my left thumb much as yet ...or even any. My wife thinks that, if it works, I'm supposed to get the bees to sacrifice their lives for this daily for a while, but I won't do that.

Now, among the myriad propositions that it has been my lot to test through the years, it looks as if the latest is to see whether it is still possible to stay evolved, with a straight thumb.