Scorpion Venom Offers Innovative Pain Remedy in Cuba

At age 71, Cuban campesino Pepe Casañas fends off the typical aches and pains of his age in a unique and effective way. His secret: letting himself be stung every now and then by a scorpion, the venom of which — besides posing no danger — has analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties.

"About eight years ago, I started with this scorpion stuff. My bones were beginning to hurt me, arthritis, and it helped me to feel comfortable," Pepe told EFE at his home in the town of Los Palacios in Cuba's far western province of Pinar del Rio.

"My arm swelled up a few months ago. I couldn't do anything with it," he said, flexing his elbow. "I couldn't brush my teeth, or comb my hair. I got a scorpion, squeezed it, and it stung me twice, and look: My arm's doing fine."

Pepe, who comes from a family of beekeepers, began using insect bites, first bee stings, as a remedy against pain quite a number of years ago.

Scorpion venom is used in Cuba as the main ingredient in Vidatox, a homeopathic medication that is prescribed mainly to alleviate pain and other symptoms associated with cancer.

Some 17,000 bottles of Vidatox are produced each year and sold over the counter in pharmacies on the island, as well as in 15 other countries around the world.