Scorpion Sting in Children: The Emergency Every Family in Morocco Should Know

One summer night, in a house in the Marrakech or Beni Mellal region. Your child wakes up screaming, a hand or foot red and painful, and you glimpse a scorpion dashing under the bed. A scorpion sting in a child is never something to watch from home: it is an emergency, and every minute counts.

In Morocco, the good news is that mortality has dropped enormously over twenty-five years, thanks to a national treatment protocol. But it only works if the child reaches a health facility quickly. Here is what you need to know, and above all what to do.

Scorpion stings in Morocco: the numbers

The Moroccan Anti-Poison and Pharmacovigilance Centre (CAPM) recorded 20,583 reported scorpion stings in 2025, up from 16,946 in 2024, according to figures reported by Médias24 in July 2026. They caused 27 deaths. The Ministry of Health cites an average of about 25,000 cases a year and has set itself a goal of zero deaths.

A few benchmarks show the risks:

• 28% of victims are children;
• 77% of stings happen at home, and 70% in rural areas;
• 70% occur between 6 pm and 6 am, that is, in the evening and at night;
• the Marrakech-Safi region has the most cases (5,971 in 2025) and deaths (11); the province of El Kelâa des Sraghna saw its cases double in a year.

Overall mortality fell from 2.37% in 1999 to 0.13% in 2025, and mortality in children from 5.7% to 0.53%. That is major progress, and it rests on a simple message: get seen quickly.

Why is a child in more danger than an adult?

Because the amount of venom injected is the same, but spread through a much smaller body. A Moroccan study published in the journal Santé Publique showed that children under 15 had a risk of death more than 15 times higher than adults, and accounted for all the deaths in the series studied. The authors explain this by the venom dose, which is proportional to weight.

The WHO notes the same for snakebites: children suffer more severe and faster effects because of their low body mass. An infant or toddler who has been stung must therefore always be seen by a health professional, even if the pain seems moderate.

What should you do right after the sting?

The right reflex comes in two steps: call, then go.

1. Call 141 (SAMU) or the Anti-Poison Centre on 0801 000 180 (toll-free, also reachable on 05 37 68 64 64). A doctor will direct you to the nearest facility.
2. Keep your child calm and as still as possible. Reassure them, and carry them rather than letting them walk.
3. Clean the area with an alcohol-free antiseptic and apply a cold compress to ease the pain, as a doctor interviewed by Hespress advises.
4. Remove rings, bracelets or tight shoes near the sting before the area swells.
5. Go straight to the nearest health centre or hospital, even if your child seems fine. Note the time of the sting.

Do not wait for signs to appear before leaving. The Moroccan protocol specifically provides for a few hours of observation in a health facility, because a sting that looks harmless can progress.

What you should never do

Some practices that are still common waste time and can make things worse. Moroccan doctors clearly advise against them:

• do not cut the sting with a blade or knife;
• do not suck out the venom;
• do not apply a tourniquet above the sting;
• do not put any traditional remedy, herbs, henna or paste on the wound;
• do not give any medicine on your own initiative: the doctor decides.

Time spent with a healer or trying a remedy suggested by relatives is time lost for your child.

How can you tell a sting is getting worse?

Severity is judged in three classes, according to the protocol used in Morocco:

In a toddler, the first general signs are sometimes subtle: unusual restlessness, non-stop crying, vomiting, paleness, sweating. These are all reasons not to stay at home. If your child has a seizure or stops breathing normally while you wait for help, the basic steps are explained in our article on baby first aid.

Keeping scorpions out of your home

The season starts in May, runs strongest from June to August and peaks in July, according to the CAPM. That is when to be extra careful, especially in single-storey houses, in rural areas or at the edge of a garden.

Inside the house:

• move your baby's cot and your children's beds a few centimetres away from the wall;
• do not let sheets and blankets trail to the floor, and check the bed before putting your child in it;
• shake out shoes, clothes and towels left on the floor before putting them on;
• seal cracks in the walls and the gaps under doors leading outside;
• keep the house clean and uncluttered: cluttered corners make a refuge.

Around the house:

• clear away stones, rubble, woodpiles and brush that give scorpions shelter, as an association cited by Le360 recommends;
• avoid standing water and piled-up rubbish;
• do not let children walk barefoot, especially in the evening and at night, or turn over stones with their hands.

These habits add to the prevention of the other summer dangers, which we cover in protecting your baby from the heat wave and in our guide to children's household accidents.