Ten years ago, Cuban resident Pepe Casanas decided to do something very unorthodox in his fight against rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pain; he purposefully got a scorpion to sting him. Since that time, the 78-year-old farmer has self-medicated himself once a month using the testy arachnids. Because he has no way of harvesting the venom from the scorpions on his property, he actually has to hunt for one and make it angry enough to sting him.
This might sound like a kooky home remedy based on an old wives’ tale, but a pharmaceutical company followed his lead in 2011. Of course, the Cuban-based Labiofam doesn’t subject patients to the painful sting of a blue scorpion, or Rhopalurus junceus, as its scientific name is known. Instead, the venom of these creatures has been extracted and is now inside a popular homeopathic medication. Known as Vidatox, Reuters reports that this unusual treatment method is now used in 15 countries.
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