Worth the sting: Cuba's scorpion pain remedy
Worth the sting: Cuba’s scorpion pain remedy
REUTERS
22 DEC 2018 AT 10:06 ET
Once a month for the last decade, Pepe Casanas, a 78-year-old Cuban farmer, has hunted down a scorpion to sting himself with, vowing that the venom wards off his rheumatism pains.
His natural remedy is no longer seen as very unusual here.
Researchers in Cuba have found that the venom of the blue scorpion, whose scientific name is Rhopalurus junceus, endemic to the Caribbean island, appears to have anti-inflammatory and pain relief properties, and may be able to delay tumor growth in some cancer patients.
While some oncologists abroad say more research is needed to be able to properly back up such a claim, Cuban pharmaceutical firm Labiofam has been using scorpion venom since 2011 to manufacture the homeopathic medicine Vidatox.
. . .
Casanas, a leathery-skinned former tobacco farmer who now primarily grows beans for his own consumption, said he sometimes keeps a scorpion under his straw hat like a lucky charm.
It likes the shade and humidity, he says, so it just curls up and sleeps.
More:
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/12/worth-sting-cubas-scorpion-pain-remedy/
Hooray for scorpions!
= new reply since forum marked as read
Bee venom therapy is a thing but not well-known. I'm pretty confident it will become more popular. Now whether it will be worthwhile or not, we'll see. 
TlalocW
