The Sting of Abstinence
The bee looks and lives like any other honeybee. It visits flowers, it gathers pollen and nectar. It returns them to a hive where it produces and stores honey. The honey of this bee is said to be sweeter and more concentrated than that of other bees, but apart from its unique flavor, it has no special properties. But this bee is not like other honeybees. The sting of this bee has special properties, and while it is not fatal, and is no more painful than the sting of any other bee, it is greatly feared by most grown Folk of Cartyrion. The sting of the Teetotaler Bee can change lives - and most of its victims would rather not have their lives changed in such ways.
The venom delivered by the teetotaler bee sting works its way into the digestive systems, where it produces serious nauseous responses any time a sugar-bearing substance is ingested. Anything with more than the slightest trace of sugar. This obviously includes fruits, sweet cakes and pies, but it also includes practically every fermented beverage whether they taste sweet or not. Beers, ales, meads, and wines all contain sufficient sugars to trigger the nausea. This effect can last for many weeks - often long enough to cause significant, and usually unwanted, changes in the dietary habits of victims.
The venom delivered by the teetotaler bee sting works its way into the digestive systems, where it produces serious nauseous responses any time a sugar-bearing substance is ingested. Anything with more than the slightest trace of sugar. This obviously includes fruits, sweet cakes and pies, but it also includes practically every fermented beverage whether they taste sweet or not. Beers, ales, meads, and wines all contain sufficient sugars to trigger the nausea. This effect can last for many weeks - often long enough to cause significant, and usually unwanted, changes in the dietary habits of victims.
Transmission & Vectors
The teetotaler venom is delivered by the sting of the teetotaler bee. There have been reports of some naturalists harvesting the venom from bees to be administered in potion form to people who are seeking assistance in dealing with alcohol and sugar addictions.
Symptoms
The symptoms of the sting itself are typical for any beesting: pain, itching, redness and slight swelling at the sting site. These symptoms fade within a few hours at most. The venom delivered by the Teetotaler Bee is, however, much more slow acting. It takes several days for the venom to insinuate itself into the victim's digestive systems where. Approximately three to five days after the initial sting, the victim will notice that they become nauseous upon ingensting any substance that contains more than a trace amount of sugars. In addition to the obvious fresh, ripe fruits, this also includes almost all fermented beverages, including beer, ale, wine, and mead most of all. The venom remains active in the body for approximately three to six weeks.
In most cases, victims are so conditioned to avoid the unpleasantness of the sugar-induced nausea that they continue to avoid the foods and drinks that triggered the reaction for months or even years afterward, even though the venom is no longer active. Some are so convinced they will become sick that they actually do - even without the venom's effects.
In most cases, victims are so conditioned to avoid the unpleasantness of the sugar-induced nausea that they continue to avoid the foods and drinks that triggered the reaction for months or even years afterward, even though the venom is no longer active. Some are so convinced they will become sick that they actually do - even without the venom's effects.
Treatment
There is no known treatment to accelerate the metabolism of the poison. As for treatment of the symptoms, the only recommendation is avoidance of sugar-bearing foods and drinks for a period of two months - time enough to ensure that the venom is no longer active.
Prognosis
Once the venom is metabolized, there are no physical after-effects. Assuming the victims have not psychologically convinced themselves that the nausea will occur, they are free to resume their previous eating and drinking habits without concern.
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