My 9-yr old got stung by a scorpion last night (Phoenix: insurance, Home Depot)

[Angelcake4]

The good news is she is fine. I've never seen such a mild reaction. The site of the bite hurt quite a bit and then her arms went numb. After an hour the numbness wore off and she had nothing further. She slept fine through the night and had a great appetite in the morning.

I thought the effect would be worse, since she only weighs 60 lbs. I know all scorpion stings are different - maybe this one didn't have a lot of venom?

BTW, she got stung in my car (which we keep in the garage). How did a scorpion get in my car? Two possibilities: I bought plants earlier in the day at Home Depot and transported them in my car; lawn chairs for my kids' sports games regularly go from the garage into my car.

I'm thinking it was the plant. The other day my husband brought in a plant from the patio to the kitchen and the next morning there was a scorpion on the kitchen floor. My guess is they like to hide in the moist soil.

Anyway, for all those in AZ and Nevada - careful what you bring into your car and home!

[Ponderosa]

Her reaction is pretty typical. We've all been stung in my family at least once and the course you describe is what we have experienced: Sharp pain, some degree of numbness, and clearing over several hours. Serious reactions are relatively rare. I keep reminding people that no one in AZ has died of a scorpion sting in some 50 years. Mosquitoes, statistically, are a much bigger risk.

I have never seen one in my cars, but now that you mention it, it seems reasonable. There are a myriad of little holes here in there in cars where a scorpion could get in. And the garage is the main place that we see them around the house. It makes sense.

I saw where Chandler Regional charged a woman who did have serious reaction, $80,000 for two shots of an antivenin made in Mexico where it sells for about $100.00.

[LBTRS]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Her reaction is pretty typical. We've all been stung in my family at least once and the course you describe is what we have experienced: Sharp pain, some degree of numbness, and clearing over several hours. Serious reactions are relatively rare. I keep reminding people that no one in AZ has died of a scorpion sting in some 50 years. Mosquitoes, statistically, are a much bigger risk.

I have never seen one in my cars, but now that you mention it, it seems reasonable. There are a myriad of little holes here in there in cars where a scorpion could get in. And the garage is the main place that we see them around the house. It makes sense.

I saw where Chandler Regional charged a woman who did have serious reaction, $80,000 for two shots of an antivenin made in Mexico where it sells for about $100.00.

A $79,900 markup on a $100 item seems fair.

[observer53]

The insurance paid 59,000 or so of the bill, the rest was "out of network" At last report (I'm sure thanks to all the national publicity) Chandler Regional is working with her on that part.

To the OP- glad your daughter is fine. Yes, I vote for the plant, too.

[Angelcake4]

I got bit a few months ago and my experience was not as easy as my daughter's. I couldn't drive (my legs were numb), I couldn't read (my eyes were darting, couldn't focus), I couldn't eat or drink (my tongue was numb and felt furry). It was a very uncomfortable feeling - very hard to sleep. The discomfort lasted for about 12 hours although the numbness in my finger, where I was stung, lasted two weeks.

Thank goodness the reaction in my daughter was minimal. Phew.

As for the anti-venom - hope hospitals are telling folks that unless they have a severe allergic reaction (or they're dealing with an infant) there's no need to overreact and go for the anti-venom. The price tag on that is ridiculous. Are they trying to recoup all initial to-market fees in a year vs. the typical decade or what?

[johnp292]

After reading about the costs of the antivenin recently (not just this one case) I think I'm going to reverse my original opinion and buy a black light and start scorpion hunting!

[observer53]

The cost of the antivenin is high, but the case in question was complicated by out of network costs, which is a whole separate issue. Insurance paid almost 60,000. of the bill. And, the woman in question had a very rare reaction. That said, I do know people who do have scorpion issues who do as you plan.

[nurider2002]

Not a native but my friends have lived in Scottsdale for 15 years and, although they have problems with rattlesnakes, say they have never even seen a scorpian. My question, do most folks in Phoenix area come in contact with scorpians at some point. I'm visiting again in a couple of weeks and have done quite a bit of hiking there and never encountered one.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by nurider2002

Not a native but my friends have lived in Scottsdale for 15 years and, although they have problems with rattlesnakes, say they have never even seen a scorpian. My question, do most folks in Phoenix area come in contact with scorpians at some point. I'm visiting again in a couple of weeks and have done quite a bit of hiking there and never encountered one.

"Most" of several million people? There's absolutely no data on that, but i'll go out on a limb and say no. And, for many of those who did, the encounter didn't mean much as they weren't stung; for others the sting was not significant. Reading this forum would make one think scorpions are more of a problem than they actually are.

[hikernut]

Originally Posted by nurider2002

Not a native but my friends have lived in Scottsdale for 15 years and, although they have problems with rattlesnakes, say they have never even seen a scorpian. My question, do most folks in Phoenix area come in contact with scorpians at some point. I'm visiting again in a couple of weeks and have done quite a bit of hiking there and never encountered one.

I've never seen one while hiking either (over 7 years), but scorpions are mostly nocturnal and I don't hike at night in the desert.

I can easily find 20+ scorpions any night of the week in my yard, so if you want to see some... stop on by

hikernut