Sunday, April 17, 2011

Scorpion Sting, a Southern Mexico Folk Remedy (updated)

  While my home is under going a remodeling project, I am very fortunate to have a crew of hard working fellows from Chiapas doing the bulk of the work.
  Where I live in Utley, Texas the common Bark or Striped Scorpion is everywhere in dry weather.  I get stung often during the year...Not fun.

  It so happens that while I was "helping" the crew with some boards and trash I was stung on the inside of the thumb by a medium sized scorpion, a male I think as it was long and thin.  When I got stung, immediately "Skinny" and friend began looking thru the leaves and elsewhere for it fairly frantically but it had escaped.  They said that was to bad cause it had the "medicine" in it to make it stop hurting.  Well the sting throbbed for maybe 2-3 hours as usual then the rest of the day just sort of ached with that sort of strange over-all feeling you get when stung by one of these animals the day after.

 By golly the very next morning as we were moving some lumber, I was nailed again right in the center of the palm by a huge female.  This time it really hurt, and I knew this was gonna be a bad sting but Sergio was able to find and smash the large potent female.  Quickly and within a minute he ask to show me where the sting went in and I did and he promptly pressed the smashed scorpion body onto that location releasing as much of it's body fluids as possible, actually sort of forcefully rubbing those in.   Then he said "It will be OK" and that we "got it".....30-40 minutes later I could not tell I had ever been stung there, while I could still feel the sting slightly from the previous day...I asked him how he knew this and he said something to the effect that "everyone where he comes from knows this"...He says he is a Mayan.   Incredible stuff I never knew. Say what you will but, it worked for me!

Update:
  Later in June while moving some left over lumber I was once again stun in the palm and finding the culprit immediate smashed it and pressed it's juices into the sting location as hard as possible , basically reducing the animal's body into paste.  Within 15 minutes I could hardly tell I had been stung .   After this sting I decided it was for sure good medicine.  I have since saved a few fresh individuals in the freezer for future encounter where I may be unable to locate the scorpion after a sting.  As shown above, they are just in a sandwich bag .   Sort of insurance as I do not take kindly to these stings and this place swarms with scorpions.  NOTE:  According to the guys, it is critical that this remedy be accomplished as soon as possible for it to be of value,  before the venom spreads.   Wait too long and this remedy will not work.