Overall, healthy adults usually don’t usually need
treatment for scorpion stings. A child, though, needs
to be watched closely. A doctor visit might be in
order. The majority of scorpion stings only cause
local pain at the site, but some bites are worse than
others. The pain usually lasts about two hours, and
sometimes there is no swelling or redness to show
the “scene of the crime.”
A scorpion sting is caused by the stinger in a
scorpion’s tail. When a scorpion stings, its stinger can
release venom. The venom contains a complex mix
of toxins that affect the nervous system (neurotoxins).
If you’ve spent any time in houses that are not
frequently occupied, or do work outside moving
rocks, logs or working with trees, you have probably
seen a scorpion. On Little Gasparilla Island, our
neighbor to the north, it has become a common
pastime to take the kids out scorpion hunting at
night, as the scorpions show up as glowing neon
Giana Striped scorpion
creatures under a black light. If you don’t like scorpions, remove piles of rocks or lumber from
mowed, prune your bushes and anything that touches the house, caulk the cracks in your
home and use weatherstripping around doors and windows, and repair torn screens.
Also, inspect and shake out gardening gloves, boots and clothing that haven’t been used for
a while. If you are stung, clean the site with soap and water and use a cold pack for pain. Use
over-the-counter medications as needed.
Jellyfish
so. While we don’t have as many varieties of these stinging sea
venom to kill 60 people, on average), we do have the Lion’s
mane, the Portuguese man-of-war (primarily in the Atlantic),
and sea nettle.
across in size, has 24 tentacles that can measure well over six
feet in length. The sting from a sea nettle can be very painful, and
often leaves a rash on the skin where it made contact for up to an
hour or more.
The Sea Nettle
colony of organisms living as one. The name was given as it resembles a ship that utilized an
These are some heavy hitters when it comes to stinging pain, as
the aftereffects of coming into contact with one can leave a person
in pain anywhere from an hour to several days. The pain can be so
exquisite; some people have died from systemic shock.
urinate on the site of contact, but that isn’t really the case: The best
thing to do is to soak the sting in vinegar. Fresh water cleansing isn’t
a good idea either, as water with no salt content will change the
balance of salts inside and outside the stinger cells and set them off
again.
Man ‘O War
Florida Bark scorpion