Scorpions in Cuernavaca

My least favourite part of day to day life in Cuernavaca are the scorpions.  They are small, but there are lots of them. Just about everyone has either had a scorpion sting, or knows someone who has.  It's so common, that upon arriving at a clinic or hospital with a scorpion sting, you receive immediate, free and fast attention, after only giving your name and place of residence.  It's not a shock or surprise, but they know that it's urgent, and easy to cure. On average, we killed on scorpion a day.  The house we were staying in was especially bad because of being surrounding by forest with a nearby river.

The evening we were planning to leave Cuernavaca, my wife reached into one of our bags to take out a diaper, and was stung by a hidden scorpion; they like to hide in dark, small places. We had been keeping all our bags well closed, but this one we had left behind, and partially open when we went to her grandpa's village.

Within 30 minutes we had visited a local clinic, where a doctor gave her an injection to slow the spread of the poison, and sent us off to the general hospital.  She was admitted immediately into emergency for supervision.  When she started complaining about a dry throat and trouble breathing, they gave her an anti-scorpion injection, which is, ironically, scorpion poison.  I have no idea how an injection of scorpion poison stops scorpion poison, but somehow it works. Within another 20 minutes, she felt better, and they sent her home.  The place where they injected the I.V. hurts her more than the scorpion sting itself, which felt less drastic than an ant bite.

Despite common belief, most people don't react severely to scorpions and do fine with a simple injection to stop the spread of poison, or, as my wife's uncles later told us, a magnet, which supposedly draws the poison out. (This is a folk remedy, and I would only try it once I were already on the way to the hospital.)

A handful of people experience anaphylactic shock.  It's more common to experience anaphylactic shock from a scorpion than from a bee sting (I guess since the poison is more potent), so it's highly recommended for anyone who gets stung to go the hospital for supervision and an anti-scorpion injection if necessary.  I guess my wife is one of the people who suffers anaphylactic shock from scorpions - a point we'd have to consider if we ever moved back to Cuernavaca.