Most people run in the opposite direction at the sight of bees, but a few patients in China are volunteering to be stung.
It is a cold morning and She Ruitao is wearing a hat with a veil and two pairs of gloves. He is going to catch live bees on an isolated hill in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.
He has raised these bees himself. With a pair of forceps he takes them from their hive and puts them into a glass bottle. Half an hour later, he and 100-plus bees are in his consulting room at Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Hospital.
Catching bees is his first job every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Since last March, he has been offering bee sting therapy to outpatients at the hospital three times a week.
Part natural medicine, part acupuncture, the therapy requires doctors to inject bee venom into points on the patient's body through a live sting.
"Not all patients can be treated with the therapy," he explained.
It is considered a valid treatment for various ailments, in particular, arthritis and rheumatism. Patients need to have X-rays and blood tests before he offers treatment.
Zhan has suffered from arthritis for years. She holds a bee in forceps and uses it to "sting" Zhan on points on his leg. "My swelling has gone down and my pain has lessened," Zhan said.
She does not rely on this type of treatment alone. "Bee sting therapy must be combined with other TCM and Western therapies," he said. Combining TCM and Western medicine has been the norm in China since the 1950s.
"After the bee stings the patient, the venom stimulates acupuncture points," said She, who claims that extracting venom is not as effective as using live bees because many constituents of the venom are volatile.
She treats more than 30 patients a day. A direct sting from a bee may cause minor allergic reactions such as redness, swelling and itching on skin or a serious reaction like anaphylactic shock, so patients stay in the hospital for 30 minutes of observation after the treatment.
Bee sting therapy has a history of more than 2,000 years in China. Proponents claim that there is some evidence of the anti-inflammatory and pain-easing properties of bee venom.
Currently, the therapy is found in hospitals and clinics all over China. In April 2016, the China Medical Association of Minorities established a sub-branch on bee sting therapy.
However, many health professionals claim that there is no orthodox medical evidence that bee venom is an effective medicine.
A Guangzhou-based allergy doctor, who only gives his name as Wang, asks patients to be more rational. "Even though the bee venom has medical properties, it's not a magical cure-all," Wang said.
The bee dies when it stings. At 7 p.m., She buries the dead bees under a tree in the hospital.
"Sometimes I feel I'm very cruel. I keep reminding myself that what I do is to relieve the pain of patients," he said.
NEUILLY-SUR-MARNE, France (AP) — Therapy donkeys are helping patients with mental health conditions recover in a psychiatric hospital unit outside Paris that's unique to France.
The 19th century farm buildings and wooded surroundings are a haven within the Ville-Evrard hospital complex in Neuilly-sur-Marne. On Friday, patients took the five donkeys for a walk and cared for them. Some confidently lifted their hooves to remove dirt. Many ended the session with a hug.
The couple behind the program say more scientific evaluation is needed of animal therapy, which is practiced around the world. They would like it to be formally recognized by the psychiatric community as a complementary form of care, citing their experience with patients and caregivers.
“It brings relief,'' said Nathalie, a 60-year-old patient. ‘’You stop thinking about everything else." She and others were identified by their first names only in accordance with French medical privacy rules.
Patients attend the sessions free of charge as part of their treatment, which is funded by France’s public health system.
Participants are usually paired with a donkey — Nono, Pitou, Oscar, Manolo or Malraux. Over time, they become familiar with each other’s personalities.
Audrey Seffar, a nurse at the animal therapy unit, said Nathalie's progress after only a few sessions was significant.
“At first, she wouldn’t get out of the cart (provided for people with physical difficulties). But little by little, with encouragement, she did," Seffar said. "The animal serves as a mediator. It’s such an extraordinary one that today she was able to leave the cart and stand beside her donkey."
Another patient, Jérôme, 52, said the program helps reduce his loneliness.
“Talking with people, taking part in activities I wouldn’t normally do, it helps me in my daily life,” he said.
He added, “It helps you break away from the routine of treatment and medication. Staying at home isn’t good for me.”
The first donkeys arrived at Ville-Evrard hospital in 2016 as part of a project launched by Ermelinda and François Hadey.
Ermelinda, a nurse specializing in psychiatry, strongly believed in animal therapy benefits and thought donkeys, known for their calm and social nature, would be perfect. Her husband learned how to train donkeys for therapy work. Some of the animals were adopted through shelters after experiencing neglect or mistreatment.
“A donkey is very intelligent. It understands things very quickly, but you have to explain slowly,” François Hadey said. “Donkeys are calm, serene animals that are generally close to people. Once they’re involved in these interactions, they connect very well with patients. They’re emotional sponges.”
Since 2022, the animal therapy program has had official status as a healthcare unit in the hospital, allowing it to employ three full-time nurses. Volunteers with a nonprofit group help care for the animals.
The program has expanded to include guinea pigs, chickens, doves, goats, turtles and rabbits. Sessions are tailored to people’s needs and preferences, and smaller animals can be brought to hospital rooms.
Alicia Fabi, an 18-year-old nursing student, said the activity gives patients a chance to leave the hospital environment.
“Every time we come back from the activity, they say they feel good, calm and relaxed, and that they enjoyed the outing. That’s really positive,” she said.
Walking together also allows patients and health workers to develop a deeper relationship.
“We talk about many different things, their illness, their lives and just about everything else. We don’t focus only on the illness because we don’t want them dwelling on it all the time,” Fabi said.
Health workers say the sessions are designed as therapeutic interventions for living with anxiety, depression, autism, schizophrenia or other conditions. Staff said they can help improve emotional regulation, communication, social interaction and self-esteem.
“Everything we do with the animals allows us to work with the patient,” Ermelinda Hadey said. “We work on feeding the animal, which helps us address the patient’s own eating habits. We work on the animal’s hygiene, and by mirror effect, we work on the patient’s hygiene as well.”
Many patients take intensive treatments, including antipsychotic medications or sedatives, which can make it difficult to find the motivation to participate in activities, she said. That’s where the relationship to donkeys and other animals play a role, she stressed.
“It does not replace a doctor or a medical prescription, but it can help patients regain confidence and a sense of self-worth," Hadey said.
To get animal therapy formally recognized, she said, ‘’We need research. We have plenty of accounts from patients ... Caregivers who accompany them see the benefits every day as well. But doctors have so many other responsibilities that they don’t necessarily witness it firsthand."
At the end of Friday’s session, as patients chatted, a nurse summed up the program’s appeal: “Donkeys are my best colleagues.”
Patients with mental health conditions, assisted by staff members and volunteers, participate in a therapy session involving donkeys at a psychiatric hospital in Neuilly-sur-Marne, in the eastern suburbs of Paris, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
Patients with mental health conditions assisted by staff members and volunteers participate in a therapy session involving donkeys at a psychiatric hospital in Neuilly-sur-Marne, in the eastern suburbs of Paris, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
A patient with mental health conditions participates in a therapy session involving donkeys at a psychiatric hospital in Neuilly-sur-Marne, in the eastern suburbs of Paris, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
A patient with mental health conditions participates in a therapy session involving donkeys at a psychiatric hospital in Neuilly-sur-Marne, in the eastern suburbs of Paris, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
A patient with mental health conditions cleans a donkey's eyes during the animal therapy session at a psychiatric hospital in Neuilly-sur-Marne, in the eastern suburbs of Paris, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
