January 2018
Peter Steffen, Hannes Hofbauer, and Michael Noll-Hussong
Abstract
Chronic pain is a major problem of public health, and patients seek manifold forms of help to find relief. Here we present and discuss the case of a middle-aged woman suffering from mental disorders who treated her headache with the self-application of bee stings on her back.
Introduction
Chronic pain is a major problem of public health worldwide and is jointly responsible for an increase in health costs. The therapeutic options available for the treatment of chronic pain are often limited and unsatisfactory, accompanied by a high number of adverse reactions, tolerance, and dependence, and can also reduce the quality of life, (pharmaco)therapy adherence, and functional capacity [1].
Patients often seek help for their ongoing pain, and the means that they subjectively find helpful or pain-relieving could be surprising, one-sided, dangerous, or part of a psychopathology on its own. Here we present the case of a middle-aged woman suffering from chronic headache, and with a history of mental disorders, who ‘treated’ herself with bee stings.
