Woman killed by bee sting therapy backed by Gwyneth Paltrow
‘The risks of undergoing apitherapy may exceed the presumed benefits, leading us to conclude that it is unsafe’ Gwyneth Paltrow, right, founded Goop, an alternative lifestyle website
A WOMAN has died in Spain after suffering an allergic reaction while undergoing live bee acupuncture, an alternative therapy promoted by Gwyneth Paltrow, the actress.
The 55-year-old woman had been undergoing the treatment – in which the patient is stung by the insects – once a month for two years when she suddenly developed a severe reaction, according to Spanish doctors.
She “developed wheezing, dyspnea [difficulty in breathing], and sudden loss of consciousness immediately after a live bee sting,” a report, published in the latest issue of the Journal of Investigational Allergology and Clinical Immunology, said.
The woman, whose identity was not revealed, died at the Ramón y Cajal University Hospital in Madrid some weeks later of multiple organ failure.
She had suffered a “massive watershed stroke and coma” due to severe anaphylactic shock, said Ricardo Madrigal and Paula Vázquez Revuelta, of the hospital’s allergy unit.
The 2015 case is believed to be the first reported death from live bee acupuncture – also known as bee venom apitherapy – of a patient who had previously not been allergic.
The report said that repeated exposure to the allergen increased the risk of a severe reaction.
Apitherapy involves a practitioner placing bees on the patient’s body and angering them by pinching their head until the sting emerges. The venom can also be administered by injection. It has been popularised by celebrities such as Paltrow, the Shakespeare Love, Emma and Se7en actress who founded Goop, an alternative lifestyle website. The treatment was given to the Spanish woman at an unidentified clinic which offered it for muscular contractions and stress.
The centre did not have adrenalin on site so treatment was delayed until an ambulance arrived 30 minutes later, the report said.
The doctors warned that while some benefits of apitherapy had been reported, published evidence of its effectiveness and safety was “limited and scarce”.
Treatments were being performed by private clinics and non-medical practitioners without the facilities or training to deal with anaphylaxis, they said.
“The risks of undergoing apitherapy may exceed the presumed benefits, leading us to conclude that this practice is both unsafe and unadvisable,” the authors cautioned.
Paltrow told The New York Times in 2016 that she was a fan of the “painful” treatment – a form of which was used by ancient Greeks – claiming its effects were “pretty incredible”.
In 2017 Gerard Butler, the British actor, revealed how he had gone into anaphylactic shock after being injected with the venom of 23 bees in a bid to tackle muscular problems.
The Daily Telegraph reported in October last year how the 300 actor felt like he had “creepy crawlies all over me” after the treatment, and was admitted to hospital.