20-Year-Old Student Rushed to Hospital After Shocking Dressing Room Accident

A shopping trip turned into a nightmare for 20-year-old architecture student Alice Spies after she was stung by a yellow scorpion inside a Zara changing room in Guara, Brazil.

Alice says she was trying on clothes on August 20 when she suddenly felt “something crawling” up her leg. Moments later, a sharp piercing pain shot through her body. “I looked down and saw this huge yellow scorpion on my clothes. I screamed and felt dizzy,” she told local reporters.

Panicked Zara employees performed first aid and placed Alice in a wheelchair as paramedics raced to the scene. She was rushed to Asa Norte Regional Hospital, where she spent five agonizing hours under treatment and IV fluids.

“I’m home now,” Alice said afterward, “but the pain hasn’t gone away. It still burns.”

In a statement, Park Shopping mall said their emergency team “responded immediately” and claimed it maintains “strict pest control measures.” A Zara spokesperson said the retailer “deeply regrets what happened” and is in direct contact with Alice, promising “all necessary assistance” and “preventative measures” moving forward.

This isn’t the first time a scorpion sting has made headlines. Just last year, 62-year-old California tourist Michael Farchi filed a lawsuit after being stung in the groin by a scorpion while staying at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas.

“I just felt like somebody stabbing me in my private area,” Farchi told CBS affiliate KLAS. He claims the sting caused lasting trauma and even ruined his sex life. His attorney is suing the hotel, alleging it failed to provide a safe and sanitary room “free of vermin, bed bugs, or scorpions.”

Experts warn that scorpion encounters are becoming increasingly common worldwide due to warmer climates and urban expansion. While most stings are not deadly, some species can cause severe allergic reactions, intense pain, and even organ failure.

“Shoppers rarely expect to find venomous creatures in clothing stores,” entomologist Dr. Lucas Vieira explained. “But scorpions are adaptable hunters — if there are gaps in pest control, they’ll find their way in.”