It has been wonderful to see more and more scorpions out and about, especially after the rains.
However, this can also be a little bit unsettling for those that might be nervous of them. We’d like to share some information on a book and short course that might settle your nerves a bit. Understanding scorpions, and their venom, is vital to help you reduce the risk of getting stung and assist if you or your pet have been unlucky enough to get stung by one.
Jonathan Leeming's new book, Essential Scorpion Sting First Response, is almost out. In the meantime, he has developed a free short course using the main points of the book. The book focuses upon reducing the chance of being stung by a scorpion, and if there is a scorpion sting, how can you ensure the best possible outcome for stings in humans and pets. As Ingwelala staff, many of us have taken, or will be taking, this course and would like to encourage you to do the same - especially considering we are in an area where Parabuthus transvaalicus occurs.
Transvaal Thick-tail Scorpion (Parabuthus transvaalicus) is one of 2 species in Southern Africa that has been attributed to deaths in humans. The other, Parabuthus granulatus, does not occur in this part of South Africa. If you are concerned about scorpions and their stings, this book and course will help you identify and manage the factors that contribute to stings and recovery.
A very handy guide to take note of is the Venomosity Rule of Thumb. This is a visual guide, for Southern African Scorpions only, that can help you determine the venomosity of a species:
The Venomosity Rule of ThumbThe short course consists of 10 short modules, plus an online assessment and certificate.
If you’d like to give it a try, the link to the short course is https://scorpions.co.za/scorpion-sting-first-response-short-course.
Or you can scan the QR code.
by Tess Woollgar. Images courtesy of Jonathan Leeming