Scorpion bite: symptoms, first aid, consequences and treatment

Scorpio is an exotic arachnid, similar to a river crab, which is of the type of arthropod insects, which over the centuries has feared all life. His bite carries a huge danger to a person, up to partial paralysis and death.

Where can I stumble upon a scorpion? Scorpions are very aggressive and poisonous;are found mainly in the countries of Southern Europe, Central Asia, America, North Africa, the Caucasus, the Middle East and the Crimea. A special representative of this type of insect is the Israeli subspecies of the genus Leiurus quinquestriatus, which is translated from Latin as a "deadly pursuer".The risk of being bitten is the most exposed to residents and guests of southern countries, who first need to know what an insect looks like and what way of life it leads. If somehow the person got such a trauma as a scorpion bite, what to do? How to escape? What measures should be taken first?

Description of scorpion

Scorpio is impressive in size( sometimes up to 18 cm), outwardly resembling river cancer: segmented body, 2 claws, 6 limbs. A dangerous creature can be identified by a thick, curved upward tail with a sharp sting. Most of the life, which lasts about 5 years, the insect spends in places inaccessible to the human eye( small gorges, spaces under stones, burrows in sandy soil depth of 15-25 cm).Activity manifests mainly at night. A person can be attacked only because of fear or in the process of defense.

The venom of some species is very dangerous, so a timely recognized scorpion bite can save human life. It is believed that individuals with large claws are less poisonous.

Scorpion bite: symptoms

When a scorpion bite resembles a painful prick, the following symptoms appear:

• Acute, burning pain proportional to the degree of scorpion's virulence. The pain feels like a severe burn and can last for several hours, then increasing, then calming down.

• Redness in the lesion with a dark puncture in the middle. The appearance of edema, rapidly spreading with potent venom.
• Severe itching.
• Feeling of numbness in the lesion.
• Formation of bubbles filled with a clear liquid.
• Nausea, periodic vomiting, pain in the abdomen. Dizziness, headache, sometimes sore throat.
• Inflammation of lymph nodes.
• Active salivation, confirming the intoxication of the body.
• Swelling of the tongue, discharge from the eyes of a purulent consistency - with severe lesions.

• Tachycardia and loss of consciousness in particularly difficult cases.
• Unstable body temperature.
• General anxiety is the result of overexcitation of the nervous system.

Scorpion bite: first aid and treatment

It is very important to respond to the bite of a malignant insect in a timely manner, as passivity in such cases can lead to serious consequences. What should I do if I bite a scorpion? In the first minutes, actions should be taken to prevent and slow the penetration of poison into the body.

• Try to squeeze out the poison or make a small incision in the place of the bite and suck in the poison. The liquid needs spitting out periodically. After the procedure, thoroughly rinse your mouth with water. It is very important that there is no wound in the oral cavity. The method is effective in the first 10 minutes from the time of injury.
• Place the affected area with alcohol solution and apply an antiseptic dressing. This will protect from getting into the microbes, which could carry a scorpion on his sting.
• Apply cold or apply a tight bandage to relieve swelling and reduce pain. This slows down the spread of the poison agent through the body.

• Affected person is placed horizontally, ensuring complete immobility of the bitten limb.
• Make an injection of epinephrine or novocaine at the bite site, which temporarily blocks the absorption of the poison.
• Apply antiallergic drugs. The action on nerve cells will eliminate the "Atropine" prick.

• Immediately deliver the victim to the nearest medical institution for professional assistance and further treatment.

How to avoid a scorpion bite

In order not to become a victim of a scorpion, it is recommended:

• for overnight in nature, where there is a high probability of the presence of scorpions, to choose smooth surfaces, necessarily clearing them of foreign objects: dry branches, stones, etc.;
• tightly curtain the entrance to the tent;
• before going to bed, carry out scrupulous inspection of tents, sleeping bags;
• in the morning shake out clothes and shoes;
• not to wander at night on stony slopes, do not collect firewood;
• does not walk without shoes on sandy beaches and desert places, as scorpions like to dig into the sand to a shallow depth;
• at a meeting with a dangerous insect should not be teased, try to touch the tail.

It is worthwhile to understand the dangers of scorpion. It is a neurotoxic polypeptide, the substance is characterized by the ability to cause allergic reactions, stimulate the release of stress hormones and negatively affect brain tissue and nerve cells.

Treatment of

When bitten by a non-venomous scorpion, treatment consists of treating the wound and removing pain sensations with cold or pain medications. In cases where it is more difficult, the victim is required to ensure peace;in the presence of high blood pressure and muscle spasms, appropriate drugs and antitoxin serum, destroying the poison, are prescribed. In the first 12 hours after the bite, the patient is forbidden to take any food. In the severe course of scorpionism( as the scorpion bite is called in medical terminology), the patient is provided with blood circulation and patency of the respiratory tract with parallel use of drugs whose action is aimed at eliminating shock and dehydration. "Phenobarbital", "Diazepam", adrenoreceptors are prescribed - drugs that block symptoms arising from the action of the poison.

It is noteworthy that the suicidal venom of scorpion carries no danger for the latter, while a person can cause paralysis and cerebral edema.

Consequences of a meeting with a scorpion

A bite of a scorpion, if the latter is not toxic, does not have severe consequences for the organism, in light cases it even looks like a bee. To remind of an unpleasant vital moment small swellings in a place of a lesion which literally in couple of days will disappear can. In severe cases( for example, when bitten by a wood scorpion), poison can get into the blood, cause a severe allergy and even cause a fatal outcome. A scorpion bite is very dangerous, the consequences of which can be simply unpredictable, for people with weakened immunity, old people and children. It is worth knowing that the development of poisoning depends on the height of the lesion: the lower the bite, the less likely the occurrence of serious reactions.

This is useful

Approximately 95% of deaths and 80% of severe poisonings are recorded after meetings with the toadstocks of the species - androktonus( from the ancient Greek "killing men") that inhabit the forests and deserts of North Africa. The bite of a scorpion, whose treatment can sometimes turn into a huge problem, is insensitive because of the presence in the venom of strong neurotoxins, which exert a toxic effect on the nervous system and the heart. The poison of such an insect leads to a lethal outcome within 7 hours from the moment of defeat. A person has severe intoxication, the child has attacks of suffocation. In this case, life can only be saved by an antidote. Water scorpion is a scorpion?

The scorpion is a scorpion, a water scorpion that inhabits water bodies with inactive water, can also cause trouble for a person. In fact, it is a bug that resembles its southern counterpart. It bites as painfully, but is not dangerous. There is no need for special treatment;Itching and discomfort can be eased by attaching the cold to the bite and treating it with an antiseptic.

Scorpio is an insect that always evokes increased interest. Mysterious and inaccessible, he carries on his sharp sting a deadly danger to man. Therefore, when meeting such a representative of the world of fauna, one should maintain self-control and try to avoid biting as much as possible.