Spider bites

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Note to physicians: Many spider bites are misdiagnosed

Also Lyme disease can resemble spider bites. http://spiders.ucr.edu/necrotic.html

Please note: The Pressure Immobilization method is recommended only for Funnel Web Spider bites and specifically recommended against for Red Back Spiders. Please see the treatment for Red Back bite below.

The old methods of treating bite and stings are now discouraged by the medical profession as often they only increase and spread pain. The pressure/immobilisation method is now widely used as a simple and effective way of slowing the spread of poison throughout the body. This method involves placing a firm but not tight, bandage along the entire limb that has been bitten or stung. This compresses the tissues, thus reducing the flow of venom along the limbs. Quite often the venom will be trapped exactly where it enters the body.

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	The patient should be kept calm and rested; all undue movement should be avoided. The pressure/immobilisation bandage should be applied. If the bite is on a limb, the bandage should start at the bite site, work down to the fingers or toes, then back to the armpit or groin.
	The patient should be kept calm and rested; all undue movement should be avoided. The pressure/immobilisation bandage should be applied. If the bite is on a limb, the bandage should start at the bite site, work down to the fingers or toes, then back to the armpit or groin.
	If it is necessary to improvise for the bandages, strips of clothing or pantyhose could be used. A splint should then be applied to immobilise the limb. This is run along the affected limb, and bandaged to it, after the pressure bandages have been applied.

Medical aid should then be sought and it is better to send for an ambulance rather than attempt to transport the victim.

FUNNEL-WEB SPIDER

The Funnel-web Spider is the cause of much anxiety along the east coast of new South Wales. Many people still believe that a bite from this creature means death within minutes. This is quite wrong. Many people also believe that the larger female of the species is more deadly; in fact it is the male that is more dangerous. But as long as the pressure/immobilisation method is applied, in the same manner as for snake bite, the chances of death are very slight.

Unlike snake bites, the casualty usually feels great pain at the site of the bite. Nausea and abdominal pain follow. The casualty will also experience difficulty in breathing and a general weakness or numbness of the muscles.

The body also secretes heavily in several areas. Profuse sweating is usually obvious, along with excessive saliva production. Heavy coughing, producing secretions is common.

Now that all major hospitals in 'funnel-web country' carry an effective antivenom, there is little risk of death resulting from a bite. Once pressure/immobilisation method has been applied, medical aid should be sought immediately. A few days in hospital is the usual outcome with no lasting damage.

RED-BACK SPIDER

As the venom of the Red Back Spider moves very slowly, any attempt to restrict its progress would only serve to increase the associated pain. No restrictive bandage should be applied. The fangs of this spider are quite small and its bite may often go unnoticed, but often a sharp pinprick may be felt. This is followed by pain at the site of the bite, leading to more general pain. Other symptoms include nausea, dizziness and partial loss of muscle control.

Sweating occurs in varying degrees, and is sometimes apparent around the site of the bite. Swelling of the affected area is common, as is a quickening of the heartbeat.

As with other bites, the victim should be kept calm and reassured. The only first aid recommended is to apply a cold compress to the wound, this may take the form of iced water in a plastic bag. The wound should under no circumstances be frozen. Where possible, take the spider to hospital for identification. Medical aid should be sought immediately. Most hospitals carry an effective antivenom for the Red Back Spider. Latest news is that the male Red Back has now hospitalised people after being bitten!!

Spider Bites

Also see link to spider bite wounds from University of California / Entomology / Rick Vetter, M.S

Unlike mosquitoes, spiders do not seek people in order to bite them. Generally, a spider doesn't try to bite a person unless it has been squeezed, lain on, or similarly provoked to defend itself. Moreover, the jaws of most spiders are so small that the fangs cannot penetrate the skin of an adult person. Sometimes when a spider is disturbed in its web, it may bite instinctively because it mistakenly senses that an insect has been caught.

The severity of a spider bite depends on factors such as the kind of spider, the amount of venom injected, and the age and health of the person bitten. A spider bite might cause no reaction at all, or it might result in varying amounts of itching, redness, stiffness, swelling, and pain--at worst, usually no more severe than a bee sting. Typically the symptoms persist from a few minutes to a few hours. Like reactions to bee stings, however, people vary in their responses to spider bites, so if the bite of any spider causes an unusual or severe reaction, such as increasing pain or extreme swelling, contact a physician, hospital, or poison control center (in California, the number is 1-800-876-4766 or 1-800-8-POISON).

Sometimes a person may not be aware of having been bitten until pain and other symptoms begin to develop. Other species of arthropods whose bites or stings may be mistaken for that of a spider include ticks, fleas, bees, wasps, bedbugs, mosquitoes, the conenose (kissing) bug (Triatoma protracta), deer flies, horse flies, and water bugs (Lethocerus spp.).

For first aid treatment of a spider bite, wash the bite, apply an antiseptic to prevent infection, and use ice or ice water to reduce swelling and discomfort. If you receive a bite that causes an unusual or severe reaction, contact a physician. If you catch the critter in the act, capture it for identification, preserve it (or whatever parts of it remain), and take it to your county UC Cooperative Extension office. If no one there can identify it, ask that it be forwarded to a qualified arachnologist.

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