Scorpions seen in homes throughout Texas

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - In a peaceful setting out at Hermann Park, Shari Manning tells me a not-so-serene story about the time a scorpion stung her, but it’s one I've heard before — I know this because she’s my mom.

“I felt the most excruciating pain I’ve ever felt," says Manning as she pointed to her right cheek. "It was a very sharp sting to my face, it was actually right here.” 

It happened a few years back when she was in bed sleeping.

“My husband and I threw the covers back and we looked and we were looking for possibly a spider," says Manning. "We didn’t know what it was and so we couldn’t find anything. My husband stripped the sheets off the bed. We were going to change them out and when I shook my pillowcase. Low and behold when the pillow fell to the bed, the scorpion was stuck to the pillow.”

Dr. Spencer Greene, the director of medical toxicology at Baylor College of Medicine, says it is common during the summer and most things can be treated at home with Benadryl, Tylenol, Advil or even a cold pack.

"The only people we really worry about in Texas, again this is different from the scorpions in Arizona, we worry about people who have anaphylactic reactions or severe allergic reaction‘s and there has been at least one death in Texas from an anaphylactic reaction from the Texas striped bark scorpion,” says Dr. Spencer Greene.

“The most important thing is anything more than a regular symptom go get checked out in the emergency room," adds Dr. Greene. "It’s better to be checked out and to turn out to have nothing, then to stay home and potential have a serious reaction."

Remember, scorpions are typically found in stacks of wood, tree bark or in rocks. Good news is that places like Tractor Supply sell a brand like Demon that can help you out.