Raw unfiltered honey does contain protein.  Ultrafiltered (commercial) honey
contains only very minute traces of protein.

My guess, Susan, is that if you're reacting to the honey it may possibly not
be the protein(s) at all but the plant(s) or tree(s)  from which the bees
made the honey.  If you have an allergy to one or more of the primary
sources from which they fed, you may be reacting if you're eating very much
quantity at a time.  The converse of this is that "local" raw honey is used
(a spoonful daily) by some people to desensitize themselves to environmental
allergens in their immediate area.  I know people who swear that it works.

Formic acid, I suppose, could be a culprit.  I didn't even know it was
present in honey.  Learn something new every day.  Certainly it's an
irritant.

My father kept hives for almost 10 years until he started having
anaphylactic reactions to their stings.  Bye-bye bees instead of bye-bye
Dad.

And yes, bees do cool their hives.  It's really an awesome sight to see and
hear hundreds of them gathered on the outside of a hive furiously beating
their wings.  The air literally hums.

Theola