Scorpion Season
by Gonzo White

A few days ago I had a very nasty experience.  I was out working in my garden and felt this had heard that white scorpions were the worst so I went into the house and took an antihistamine (cold pill) and a pill that my neighbor said was good for scorpions’ bites. 

An hour later I was having trouble breathing through my nose but in another hour that was ok but now I was having trouble swallowing and at the same time I was salivating heavily.  I am thinking that any minute all those pills will kick in and everything will start getting better.  Wrong - it kept getting worse.  Soon I was having trouble walking (a bit dizzy) and I was having trouble seeing.  About this time my neighbor calls me and asks how I am doing.  I say I am horrible, I have to go to the doctor.”  She comes right over and says that I should go to the Red Cross Center, not a doctor.  I say OK and we go to the Red Cross Center  (behind the IMSS Hospital, just follow the signs).  I was taken in immediately after a tongue lashing for waiting so long.  They say the sooner you get there the easier and better the treatment.  They gave me anti-scorpion-toxin serum.  Then they made me lie there for a half hour to make sure I did not have a reaction to the serum.  The results were fantastic!  Within the first half hour, my headache was gone and I could see properly.

I went home and took a two hour nap  When I woke up I was almost 100% better.  The service at the Red Cross was fantastic. No waiting, and they didn’t charge me for anything but the supplies they used (386 pesos).

June is always a month where the scorpions are very active.  I think they are trying to find shelter out of the rain.  Anyhow, lots of people get bitten.  If you or someone you know gets bitten, you have to make some decisions.  I have been bitten previously by black or brown scorpions and had nothing but a really sore finger. 

How one responds to the scorpion sting depends on many factors, which include how poisonous the particular scorpion is (the white variety tends to be more venomous, and is plentiful around here). It also depends on the amount of toxin you received as well as the size of your body, making children more susceptible.

Quick response is key. Basically, you need to arrive at a hospital as soon as possible; preferably within 30 minutes of the bite. If symptoms are very mild, most likely only antihistamines will be necessary. In some cases, like mine,  the  treatment is the anti-scorpion-toxin serum which needs to be administered intravenously. The serum, used all over Mexico today, is a spliced antibody,  which recognizes the scorpion toxin and attaches to it.  This segment is highly purified and almost never causes serum sickness and may be used many times over. Treatment is very effective and very successful.

My feelings are that if you are dealing with a child, it’s probably best to go to the hospital right away.  If its an adult,  If there is trouble breathing, or swallowing, get some professional treatment right away; don’t wait hoping you will feel better.

On an aside, one of my friends here in Mexico has brain cancer, she heard of a experimental treatment in Cuba that has been very successful.  What they do is they have a scorpion bite the patient in a very controlled treatment and the scorpion poison kills the cancer cells.