The next time Doug Melvin has a bug in his house, he might think twice before trying to get rid of it with his hands.
The Milwaukee Brewers general manager came back to his Arizona condo from dinner on Wednesday when his wife asked him to come in and take care of a bug crawling across the floor. Melvin attempted to get rid of the bug with tissue, but little did he know it was one of Arizona's dangerous scorpions.
The scorpion stung Melvin on the middle finger and he soon learned it wasn't a normal bug bite. Melvin took to Google and found out he had been stung by an Arizona bark scorpion. The swelling in his hand grew quickly and the shockwave went up his entire arm.
"I didn’t look what bug it was," Melvin said Thursday. "It could have been a rattlesnake and I might have just gone down and got it, too."
Because the numb feeling moved from his wrist up his arm to his elbow, he thought he better go to the emergency room given of how close it was to his heart.
"It said you should go to a clinic or get some care for it because there can be some unusual breathing patterns or blurred vision," Melvin said.
After spending a few hours in the hospital Wednesday night, the Brewers reported Melvin was back at work at Maryvale Baseball Park on Thursday morning.
"I was told it was not fatal but there would be some discomfort and pain for 72 hours, and that’s where I am now," Melvin said. "Now I’m feeling better this afternoon. I can feel it wearing off, but it’s like there’s a total electrical shock in my left arm. Nothing that’s dangerous, just a little discomfort that I can live with."
According to the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum, Arizona bark scorpions are usually two to three inches long and the only species of scorpion in Arizona whose bite is considered life-threatening.
Interviews for this story provided by the Milwaukee Brewers.
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