Mexican Living Survival Tip #6 - Medical Care

I am happy as a peacock to report that Mexico does not have much in the way of Creepy Dangerous Things that come out in the night to do you in while you sleep.

There are, however, some things that can give one pause. Unlike Australia where there are many things to bite you, sting you, poke you, and generally make you die as the result of your encounter with them, Mexico is relatively safe. Mexico does have a few things that you probably do not want to encounter on a regular basis.

Mexico has two lizards which are kissing cousins, The Gila monster (Heloderma suspectrum) and The Mexican beaded lizard (Heloderma horridum). The Gila monster (take careful note of the word, “monster”) lives in the desert regions of Mexico. The Mexican beaded lizard (Heloderma horridum)—horridum as in HORROR—is found from Mexico to South America. Both of these, while poisonous, are docile and do not seek you out to kill you.

Many years ago when I was a college student, a student in one of the dorms kept one of these hideous lizards in his room in a fish tank. When his roommate would go home for the weekend, he would take his poisonous pet out of the tank and let it loose in the room so he could clean the tank in which the venomous beast slept. His roommate came back to campus earlier than usual and failed to warn his roommate. The nasty creature was in his bed. The university student was bitten but survived the attack.

Did I mention it is called, “(Heloderma horridum)—horridum as in HORROR”?

“The venom apparatus is much less sophisticated than that of most venomous snakes. A pair of multilobed labial venom glands (modified submandibular glands) lie in the anterior portion of the lower jaw. Venom is conducted from each lobe through a duct and is deposited into a labial mucosal pocket adjacent to the anterior teeth.

The teeth (approximately 20 per jaw) are grooved and loosely attached to the jaws. Venom is conducted via capillary action along these grooves into the victim's tissues as the lizard bites and chews. The more irritated the lizard is when it bites, the more it salivates and the greater the venom yield. Effective envenomation in humans probably occurs in less than 70% of bites.

The venoms of these 2 lizards are relatively similar and contain a number of components, including hyaluronidase, phospholipase A, serotonin, and highly active kallikreins that release vasoactive kinins. In laboratory animals, the venom is as potent as some rattlesnake venoms. Rare hyper-- sensitivity to helodermatid venom has been reported. Bites are very infrequent and usually involve captive specimens. It is probable that a significant number of bites go unreported because private keepers of these protected lizards may be reluctant to seek medical attention.”

I would avoid these creatures if I were you.

The second creepy creature that you are most likely to encounter in Mexico is your friend and mine: THE SCORPION!

Mexico is host to the fifth most dangerous scorpion in the world. The most dangerous ones live in the Middle East.

“They sting in self defence using their tail sting which in most cases is very painful rather than life threatening.

However, potentially lethal scorpions do exist in Mexico, South America, The Caribbean, North Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent which can cause neurotoxicity with blurred vision and breathing difficulty, myocardial damage and pancreatitis. Immediate medical help should always be sought if bitten.”

The correct term should be, “stung”. Spiders bite. Scorpions sting.

Scorpions are amazing creatures and beneficial to the environment. There are a few species that can kill you and should be avoided at all costs. Mexico has one of those species and they are not that uncommon!

“You find scorpions (Buthotus species) in deserts, jungles, and forests of tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate areas of the world. They are mostly nocturnal in habit. You can find desert scorpions from below sea level in Death Valley to elevations as high as 3,600 meters in the Andes. Typically brown or black in moist areas, they may be yellow or light green in the desert. Their average size is about 2.5 centimeters. However, there are 20-centimeter giants in the jungles of Central America, New Guinea, and southern Africa.

Fatalities from scorpion stings are rare, but they can occur in children, the elderly, and ill persons.”

There are two classes of poisons in the world of these vile creatures. One causes a sharp and very unpleasant pain like a bee or wasp sting. You could suffer death if you have an allergy to this venom. The other class of scorpion venom is somewhat akin to the neuro-toxic Coral Snake and Cobras.
Isn’t that a lovely thought!

“The symptoms resemble poisoning with strychnine and frequently death results. Many fatalities from scorpion stings occur in parts of Mexico.”

In fact, in the yearly report we read in the papers here, there maybe as many as 2000 deaths per year from scorpions. Which species is involved in these deaths is hard to tell for many reasons.

All human hazardous scorpions belong to the Buthidae (Buthoid) family. In the New World, it is the most “notorious Centruroides suffusus (Pocock, 1902), respectively titled "alacran de Durango".

Where I live, south of Durango, we have both classes of scorpions. We have the ones that will try to kill you with the most hideously painful sting. Then, we have the one that is like having a cobra bite you. This one, however, is not indigenous to Guanajuato.

What happens is that The Leather Capitol of the World, Leon, Guanajuato, gets its leather goods from Durango. This is where the lethal scorpions live and make babies. They apparently hitch a ride in the leather goods that get sold in Leon. They hide in the pockets and get sewn up into the collars of different types of leather clothing. A favorite hiding place might be inside that new purse you just bought…the one that might now be the cause of your premature death!

These scorpions not only nail the leather goods sellers and buyers but escape to begin a new life in the state of Guanajuato. Most of the stings of these creatures with their cobra-like venom occur in Leon each year!

They have been seen in the city of Guanajuato, however. The thing to do if you expatriate to Mexico is to keep plenty of pain killer tablets, anti-inflammatory cream, and cases of antihistamines on hand at all time. If you get stung, panic will probably only hasten your demise. Take the pills, rub on the creams, then get to the nearest doctor. Mexican doctors are experts in treating scorpion stings.

So, what do you think now of possibly expatriating to Mexico? Can I expect you for La Cena?