Scorpion stings are painful and mostly harmless but have venom strong enough to cause severe symptoms. Scorpion stings are very serious in young children, older people and even pets. A healthy adult who sustained a scorpion sting do not usually need treatment, but if the victim is a child, there is a need for immediate medical help.
Symptoms of scorpion sting
- There is numbness and tingling around the affected area
- Pain that can become intense
- There is slight swelling around the affected areas
- There is an unusual movement of the head, neck and the eyes
- Muscle twitching and thrashing
- The person is drooling and sweating
- Vomiting
- A faster heart rate which is known as tachycardia or arrhythmia which is an irregular heartbeat
- Hypertension or hypotension
- Restlessness or there is edginess or grief-stricken crying in children
Scorpions are arthropods and a relative of insects such as spiders and crustaceans. Generally, they are about 3 inches long and can be smaller or larger and they have eight legs and a pair of crab-like pinchers. They usually sting rather than bite using the tail as the stinger. The venom of the scorpion contains a mixture of toxins that will affect the nervous system.
Scorpions are night-time creatures but they try to avoid stinging, unless forced or attacked. They regulate the quantity of venom they discharge and this will depend on how threatened they feel. Some stings of the scorpions might not contain any venom.
The elderly and the young children face a higher risk for death from an untreated scorpion sting since it causes heart or respiratory failure that tends to occur after an hour the sting was delivered.
Treatment and home remedies
- First, clean the wound with soap and water.
- Apply a cold compress to the bitten or stung area to minimize the pain and slow down the venom flow. It should be done in the first two hours after the sting happened. If you will enroll in a first aid class today, you can easily handle a scorpion sting.
- Keep the affected area raised to the level of the heart
- Just stay calm and quiet so that the spread of the poison is slow.
- Take over-the-counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen since it can help minimize the discomfort.
- Do not allow the individual any foods or liquids if he/she has difficulty swallowing.
- Make sure that the adult or child is immunized from tetanus.
Prevention
Scorpions usually avoid contact with people, but if the individual is living in areas where scorpions are present, prevent a chance of contact with the scorpions by doing the following:
- Keep the grass mowed closely and prune bushes and some overhanging branches which can be used by the scorpions.
- Remove logs, boards, trash, stones, bricks and other objects that serve as a good hiding place for scorpions around the house.
- Do not store firewood inside the house.
- Install weather-stripping around the windows and doors and repair all torn screens of the windows.
- When traveling to other places and camping outside, first shake out the clothing, bedding and packages and sleep under a mosquito net. If the individual is allergic to insect sting, always bring along an epinephrine auto-injector such as EpiPen.
- When hiking or camping, the person has to wear long sleeves and pants. Before sleeping, check the sleeping bag before the person crawls inside and always wear shoes.
- If there is a scorpion close to the house or a camping site, you can utilize tongs and quietly move the scorpion away from the people.