A woman died in Spain after suffering an allergic reaction while undergoing live bee acupuncture - an alternative therapy promoted by Gwyneth Paltrow in which the patient is stung by the angered insects. 
 
 The 55-year-old woman had been undergoing the controversial treatment once a month for two years when she suddenly developed a severe reaction, according to a report by Spanish doctors. 
 
 She “developed wheezing, dyspnea, and sudden loss of consciousness immediately after a live bee sting,” the report, published in the latest issue of the Journal of Investigational Allergology and Clinical Immunology, said. 
 
 The woman, whose identity has not been revealed, was taken to the Ramón y Cajal University Hospital in Madrid but died some weeks later of multiple organ failure. She had suffered a “massive watershed stroke and permanent coma” due to severe anaphylactic shock, said the report’s authors, 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. ||||| Please enable Javascript to watch this video 
 
 A woman was critically injured after being stung “hundreds of times” by a swarm of bees in Lake Forest Monday morning, and three others — including two firefighters — were also injured, officials said. 
 
 The incident occurred about 10:25 a.m. when firefighters responded to a report of a bee sting in the 23000 block of Buckland Lane, the Orange County Fire Authority tweeted. 
 
 The woman was basically covered with bees from head to toe when officials arrived, said Ryan Wilson, one of the four firefighters credited with saving her life. 
 
 “As we approached her — I got maybe 15, 20 feet from her — and I could see clumps of bees all over her body,” Wilson told KTLA. 
 
 Several hundred were on her face alone, “in her hair, just kind of intertwined and kind of engulfed her whole head,” Wilson said. “They were in sheets, kind of, attached to her all over — in her ear, her neck.” 
 
 The swarm was so severe that firefighters didn't have time to put the special safety gear on that they would normally wear while responding to such incidents, according to Fire Authority Capt. Tony Bommarito. 
 
 “They got out, they started felling the bees, they saw the patient down this cul-de-sac completely covered — her face was completely covered with bees," he said. 
 
 They grabbed an extinguisher in an effort to remove the bulk of the bees off of the victim, then “basically dragged” her to a safe area about 200 yards away. 
 
 “She was kind of just struck over with fear, and I kept grabbing her, telling her, ‘Let’s go,’ and she had bees all over her arms," Wilson said. "So we made the decision just to grab her, and take off and get out of the area, because we didn’t know where the bees were coming from.” 
 
 The woman, a 48-year-old housekeeper named Maria, had gone out to a vehicle to grab cleaning supplies when she was attacked, according to the homeowner. 
 
 The victim was stung at least 200 times, fire officials said, and she was taken to a hospital in critical condition. A beekeeper who removed the hive estimated there were between 60,000 and 80,000 bees. 
 
 The woman was intubated an the intensive care unit Monday night, her family told firefighters, but was expected to recover and be released within the next few days. 
 
 The firefighters were also stung “multiple times” and taken to a hospital in stable condition, but returned to work later Monday afternoon. 
 
 A few hours after, an ambulance was sent to the home to transport the homeowner, who was also stung but didn't feel or complain about symptoms until later. Her condition was not immediately known. 
 
 KTLA's Erika Martin contributed to this report. 
 
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– It may not surprise you to learn that Gwyneth Paltrow has sought to treat her ailments—in this case inflammation and scarring—by subjecting herself to the stings of live bees. "It's a thousands-of-year-old treatment," the Goop mastermind told the New York Times in 2016. "It's actually pretty incredible if you research it. But, man, it's painful." Now a report published in the Journal of Investigational Allergology and Clinical Immunology reveals what's believed to be the first death related to bee-sting therapy—aka live bee acupuncture, aka bee venom apitherapy—in someone who had previously shown tolerance for the treatment. In the case from 2015, a 55-year-old Spanish woman died of multiple organ failure after two years of the treatment to relieve muscular contracture and stress. In bee-sting therapy, bees placed on a patient's body have their heads squeezed until they extend their stingers, the Telegraph reports. The idea is that the stings cause inflammation and lead to an anti-inflammatory response from the body. The unnamed woman started wheezing and having shortness of breath during one of her monthly treatments at a private clinic before losing consciousness. She died weeks later at the hospital. Researchers say severe anaphylactic shock caused a "massive watershed stroke and permanent coma," as well as the multiple organ failure. "The risks of undergoing apitherapy may exceed the presumed benefits, leading us to conclude that this practice is both unsafe and unadvisable," one researcher says. (Doctor accuses Goop of pushing "fake medicine" with $135 coffee enema.)