What to Do If You Get Stung by a Scorpion? Introduction to the Correct Treatment Methods

A scorpion has a curved, sharp tail stinger connected to a venom gland, which can inject neurotoxic venom into the human body when it pierces the skin. The injured area becomes extensively red and swollen and is accompanied by severe pain. In severe cases, chills, high fever, nausea and vomiting, muscle rigidity, increased respiratory rate, and a weak, thready pulse may occur, ultimately leading to death from respiratory failure. So, what should you do if you get stung by a scorpion?

Symptoms of a Scorpion Sting

A scorpion sting site often develops extensive redness, swelling, and severe pain. In mild cases, the symptoms disappear after a few days. In severe cases, chills, fever, nausea and vomiting, muscle rigidity, drooling, headache, dizziness, lethargy, night sweats, and increased respiratory rate may occur, and even convulsions, internal bleeding, and edema may develop. In children, severe stings can lead to death from respiratory or circulatory failure.

What Should You Do If You Get Stung by a Scorpion?

1. Emergency treatment: If the stinger remains in the wound, it should be pulled out quickly. At 2—3 cm above the sting site (the end nearer the heart), tie it tightly with a tourniquet, cloth strip, or rope, and loosen it for 1—2 minutes every 15 minutes. Use your hands to press firmly from around the wound toward the wound so that toxin-containing blood is squeezed out of the wound. If conditions permit, you can also use a cupping jar or breast pump to suction out the venom. If the oral mucosa is not damaged, you can also suction out the venom with your mouth.

2. Wound treatment: Wash the wound with any one of 3% ammonia water, the clear supernatant of limewater, 1:500 potassium permanganate solution, or 5% sodium bicarbonate solution. Ice packs or warm compresses with cold water can be applied around the wound to reduce the absorption and spread of the toxin.

① Apply the white milky sap of dandelion externally to the wound.

② Take equal parts of realgar and dried alum, grind them into powder, mix with tea water into a paste, and apply it to the wound 3 times a day; it can heal in 1-2 days.

③ Grind an appropriate amount of white alum and Pinellia ternata into powder, mix with vinegar, and apply it to the affected area to stop pain and draw out the toxin.

④ Take an appropriate amount each of Isatis leaf and Chinese lobelia, crush them, and apply externally or decoct and take orally.

⑤ Take 1 large snail, wash it, crush it together with the shell, and apply it to the wound.

3. Other treatments: In crude conditions, applying mud and your own urine to the affected area can also help reduce swelling and relieve pain. If necessary, use a small knife heated until red-hot to cauterize the sting site for a few seconds. In cases of severe poisoning and in young children, immediate further medical treatment at a hospital is required.

Effective Remedies for Scorpion Stings

1. Apply toothpaste to the wound: If you have been stung by a scorpion, pain is unavoidable. You can find some toothpaste and apply it evenly to the place where the scorpion stung you. After a few dozen minutes, clean the wound and apply toothpaste again. It will take effect the next day.

2. Use alkaline water to relieve pain: Because a scorpion injects a large amount of acidic substances into the skin when it stings, causing skin pain, you can find some alkali, sprinkle it into water to make highly concentrated alkaline water, and soak the stung area in the alkaline water. Use the principle of acid-base neutralization to reduce the pain.

3. Suction out the venom: If you have been stung by a scorpion, you can also suction the venom out with your mouth, then apply potassium permanganate solution to the wound. Note that after suctioning out the venom, you must immediately rinse your mouth to avoid accidentally swallowing the venom.

4. For severe patients, consider applying ointment, or immediately go to the nearest hospital for treatment.