This woman is addicted to stinging herself with bees up to 100 times a week

We all know bees are essential to our ecosystems, but they can also be very dangerous. Indeed, some people can develop an allergic reaction to the sting, which can become lethal. A woman from the United States started getting stung by bees as a way to deal with her chronic pain, but things got out of hand. Here's what happened.

Margaret gets stung by bees because of her arthritis

Suffering from chronic pain can take a toll on your mental health, and some people would go to dangerous extents to get rid of it. Margaret, from Morningview, Kentucky, suffers from severe arthritis, which can be very painful. Since there is no treatment yet, she turned to other, more natural solutions. She claims getting stung by bees relieves her pain, which otherwise stops her from performing daily tasks. In her opinion, she has turned to 'folk medicine', and the venom reportedly improves her mood, as well as boosting her sex life.

Margaret appeared on TLC's My Strange Addiction in 2013, where she explained:

I brought it into the house and stung myself. The next day I was able to move easier... it was a surprise that it actually worked. The first time I stung myself, it didn't hurt as bad as I thought it would and it just got easier every time.

She developed a full-blown addiction

Margaret has been stinging herself for more than two decades now, and admitted to doing it about a hundred times a week. She explained bee venom has got some 'anti-inflammatory' and 'pain-relieving' properties.

I'm addicted to stinging myself with bees. I sting myself on my hip, elbows, on a finger, on my ankle, my forehead or the tip of my nose. The most I've ever given myself was between 15 and 20 in my left hip.

Margaret's 'hobby' quickly turned into an actual addiction, as she now carries bees in her purse to inject herself anywhere. It is important to note that bees pass away after they sting, and Margaret admitted she feels 'sad' as she watches them die, so she resorted to using older ones to make herself feel less guilty.

Her husband pushed her to see a doctor, who told her she was putting herself in grave danger. However, she insisted that getting stung by bees is good for her physical and mental health, so she does not intend to stop. Margaret concluded:

I really love stinging myself with bees!

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Sources used:

LADbible: Woman who started using bee sting's to relieve pain 'spirals into a full-blown addiction'