Journal of Emergency Practice and Trauma

The approach to the treatment of venomous and poisonous arthropod bites and stings in ancient medicine: A narrative review

Document Type : Review Article

Authors

Rouhullah Dehghani 1
Shahrad Tajaddini 2
masoomeh varzandeh 3

1 Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Environment Health Department Health Faculty, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran

2 Fellowship of Clinical Toxicology, Assistant Professor Of Emergency Medicine, Emergency Medicine Department, Kerman University of Medical Sciences. Iran

3 Department of Clinical toxicology and Poisoning. Afzalipour hospital, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran

https://doi.org/10.34172/jept.2024.04
Abstract
Objective: Arthropod bites and stings have always been of interest to humans; therefore, researchers have always been interested in their prevention and timely treatment. Considering the brilliance of ancient Iranian physicians, especially Avicenna, this study was conducted based on their views on diagnosing and treating venomous arthropod bites and stings.
Methods: This study is a narrative review conducted by surveying sources, especially The Canon of Medicine, and searching for the keywords “bites,” “stings,” “poisonous,” “venomous arachnids,” and“insects” as well as the diagnosis and treatment of bites and stings .The study was conducted in 2022 and in Kashan and Kerman universities of medical sciences. Sampling method was based onthe study objective.The collected data was then summarized.
Results: To diagnose the bite or sting, the clinical manifestations of the patient, local symptoms in the bite or sting site, and the classification of the venomous arthropods, such as spiders, wasps, scorpions, etc., are used. Venom suction and using medicinal plants and ointments of mineral compounds were proposed as treatment methods.
Conclusion: Therapeutic methods and the use of herbal and mineral compounds are widely mentioned in The Canon. There are a lot of connections and harmony between modern and conventional medicine, in the clinical description of bites and stings as well as their diagnosis, but more research is suggested on treatment methods

Keywords

Venom
Insect
Arachnid
Arthropod
Envenomation
Subjects
1. Tews J, Brose U, Grimm V, Tielbörger K, Wichmann MC, Schwager M, et al. Animal species diversity driven by habitat heterogeneity/diversity: the importance of keystone structures. J Biogeogr. 2004;31(1):79-92. doi: 10.1046/j.0305-
0270.2003.00994.x.
2. Sedighi G, Dehghani R, Varzandeh M. Toxic reaction of a 3-year-old boy due to Hornet multiple stings in Kerman-Iran
province: a case report. Toxicon. 2023;221:106976. doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2022.106976.
3. Brouqui P. Arthropod-borne diseases associated with political and social disorder. Annu Rev Entomol. 2011;56:357-74. doi:10.1146/annurev-ento-120709-144739.
4. Sarwar M. Insect vectors involving in mechanical transmission of human pathogens for serious diseases. Int J Bioinform Biomed Eng. 2015;1(3):300-6.
5. Gondhalekar AD. 2018 highlights of urban entomology. J Med Entomol. 2019;56(5):1188-93. doi: 10.1093/jme/tjz093.
6. Stork NE. How many species of insects and other terrestrial arthropods are there on Earth? Annu Rev Entomol. 2018;63:31-45. doi: 10.1146/annurev-ento-020117-043348.
7. Dossey AT. Insects and their chemical weaponry: new potential for drug discovery. Nat Prod Rep. 2010;27(12):1737-
57. doi: 10.1039/c005319h.
8. Larsen BB, Miller EC, Rhodes MK, Wiens JJ. Inordinate fondness multiplied and redistributed: the number of species
on earth and the new pie of life. Q Rev Biol. 2017;92(3):229-65. doi: 10.1086/693564.
9. Otten EJ, Blomkalns AL. Venomous Animal Injuries. In: Emergency Medicine Concepts and Clinical Practices. NewYork: Mosby; 1998. p. 924-40.
10. Wirtz RA. Allergic and toxic reactions to non-stinging arthropods. Annu Rev Entomol. 1984;29:47-69. doi: 10.1146/
annurev.en.29.010184.000403.
11. Dehghani R, Taji K, Mahmoudi A, Varzandeh M. Compsobuthus matthiesseni sting from Bazoft: a case report.
J Emerg Pract Trauma. 2022;8(1):83-5. doi: 10.34172/jept.2021.37.
12. Senji Laxme RR, Suranse V, Sunagar K. Arthropod venoms: biochemistry, ecology and evolution. Toxicon. 2019;158:84-103. doi: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2018.11.433.
13. Rádis-Baptista G, Konno K. Arthropod venom components and their potential usage. Toxins (Basel). 2020;12(2):82. doi:10.3390/toxins12020082.
14. Herzig V. Arthropod assassins: crawling biochemists with diverse toxin pharmacopeias. Toxicon. 2019;158:33-7. doi:
10.1016/j.toxicon.2018.11.312.
15. Kim H, Park SY, Lee G. Potential therapeutic applications of bee venom on skin disease and its mechanisms: a literature review. Toxins (Basel). 2019;11(7):374. doi: 10.3390/toxins11070374.
16. Cavigliasso F, Mathé-Hubert H, Kremmer L, Rebuf C, Gatti JL, Malausa T, et al. Rapid and differential evolution of the
venom composition of a parasitoid wasp depending on the host strain. Toxins (Basel). 2019;11(11):629. doi: 10.3390/
toxins11110629.
17. Walker AA, Rosenthal M, Undheim EEA, King GF. Harvesting venom toxins from assassin bugs and other heteropteran insects. J Vis Exp. 2018(134):57729. doi: 10.3791/57729.
18. Dodou Lima HV, de Paula Cavalcante CS, Rádis-Baptista G. Antifungal in vitro activity of pilosulin- and ponericinlike peptides from the giant ant Dinoponera quadriceps and synergistic effects with antimycotic drugs. Antibiotics (Basel).
2020;9(6):354. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics9060354.
19. Alberto-Silva C, Portaro FC, Kodama RT, Pantaleão HQ, Rangel M, Nihei KI, et al. Novel neuroprotective peptides in
the venom of the solitary scoliid wasp Scolia decorata ventralis. J Venom Anim Toxins Incl Trop Dis. 2021;27:e20200171.
doi: 10.1590/1678-9199-jvatitd-2020-0171.
20. Kachel HS, Buckingham SD, Sattelle DB. Insect toxins- selective pharmacological tools and drug/chemical leads. Curr Opin Insect Sci. 2018;30:93-8. doi: 10.1016/j.cois.2018.10.001.
21. Tonk M, Vilcinskas A, Grevelding CG, Haeberlein S. Anthelminthic activity of assassin bug venom against the
blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni. Antibiotics (Basel). 2020;9(10):664. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics9100664.
22. Kellershohn J, Thomas L, Hahnel SR, Grünweller A, Hartmann RK, Hardt M, et al. Insects in anthelminthics research: lady beetle-derived harmonine affects survival, reproduction and stem cell proliferation of Schistosoma mansoni. PLoS
Negl Trop Dis. 2019;13(3):e0007240. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007240.
23. Dehghani R. Environmental toxicology. 1st ed. Tehran: Takderakht and Kashan University of Medical Science
Publications; 2010. p. 390-458.
24. Najmabadi M. Venom and poison. In: History of Medicine in Iran. 2nd ed. Tehran: Tehran University Publications; 1992.p. 246-8.
25. Dehghani R, Vallaei N. The review of Iranian traditional medicine vision on scorpion and scorpion sting. Research in
Medicine. 2010;33(4):269-79. [Persian].
26. Rezaei-Orimi J, Nasiri E, Moallemi M, Padashi S. A review on the diagnosis and management of bites in the canon
of medicine of Avicenna. J Mazandaran Univ Med Sci. 2019;29(176):175-88. [Persian].
27. Dehghani R, Ghannaee Arani M. Scorpion sting prevention and treatment in ancient Iran. J Tradit Complement Med.
2015;5(2):75-80. doi: 10.1016/j.jtcme.2014.11.007.
28. Avicenna H. Sting and bite of insidious insects. In: The Canon of Medicine. 2nd ed. Tehran: Soroush Publications; 1991. p. 43-106.
29. Dehghani R, Valaei N. Scorpion bite in Iran: review of the literature. Feyz. 2005;9(33):66-84. [Persian].
30. Farzanpay R. Scorpion Recognition. Tehran: Central University Publications; 1987. p. 205-10. [Persian].31. Radmanesh M. Androctonus crassicauda sting and its clinical study in Iran. J Trop Med Hyg. 1990;93(5):323-6.
32. Radmanesh M. Clinical study of Hemiscorpion lepturus in Iran. J Trop Med Hyg. 1990;93(5):327-32.
33. Najafian M, Ghorbani A, Zargar M, Baradaran M, Baradaran N. Scorpion stings in pregnancy: an analysis of outcomes in 66 envenomed pregnant patients in Iran. J Venom Anim Toxins Incl Trop Dis. 2020;26:e20190039. doi:
10.1590/1678-9199-jvatitd-2019-0039.
34. Boghozian A, Nazem H, Fazilati M, Hejazi SH, Sheikh Sajjadieh M. Toxicity and protein composition of venoms
of Hottentotta saulcyi, Hottentotta schach and Androctonus crassicauda, three scorpion species collected in Iran. Vet Med Sci. 2021;7(6):2418-26. doi: 10.1002/vms3.593.
35. Rapplinger DJ, Hahn IH. Arthropods. In: Nelson LS, Howland MA, Lewin NA, Smith SW, Goldfrank LR, Hoffman RS, eds. Goldfrank’s Toxicologic Emergencies. 11th ed. New York: McGraw Hill; 2019. p. 1543-54.
36. Harrison IS, Stein AP, Zeb L, Radhakrishnan NS. Bed bug (Cimex spp.) colonization of human host. JAAD Case Rep.
2022;23:103-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jdcr.2022.03.003.
37. Akhoundi M, Sereno D, Marteau A, Bruel C, Izri A. Who bites me? A tentative discriminative key to diagnose hematophagous ectoparasites biting using clinical manifestations. Diagnostics (Basel). 2020;10(5):308. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics10050308.
38. Mullen GR. Solpugids (Solifugae). In: Mullen GR, Durden LA, eds. Medical and Veterinary Entomology. 3rd ed. Academic Press; 2019. p. 505-6. doi: 10.1016/b978-0-12-814043-
7.00024-8
Journal of Emergency Practice and Trauma
Volume 9, Issue 2
July 2023
Pages 81-86

  • Receive Date 07 August 2023
  • Revise Date 20 November 2023
  • Accept Date 20 December 2023

Home

Editor-in-Chief: Shahrad Tajoddini, MD

Guide for Authors

Submit Manuscript

Reviewers

Contact Us

Editorial board