Spider bites – Symptoms & causes

Overview

Spider bites are usually harmless, and spiders don’t usually bite unless threatened.

Spider bites can cause redness, pain and swelling, or you might not notice them at all. Many other bug bites and skin sores cause redness, pain and swelling. So unless you actually saw a spider bite you, it’s difficult to be certain that your wound was caused by a spider.

Worldwide only a few species of spiders have fangs long enough to penetrate human skin and venom strong enough to hurt humans. Among these are widow spiders, with about 30 species, and recluse spiders, with more than 140 species worldwide.

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Symptoms

Typically, a spider bite looks like any other bug bite — a red, inflamed, sometimes itchy or painful bump on your skin — and may even go unnoticed. Harmless spider bites usually don’t produce any other symptoms.

Many skin sores look the same but have other causes, such as a bacterial infection.

Bites from some spiders, such as widow spiders and recluse spiders, might cause serious signs and symptoms.

Widow spider bites

Signs and symptoms of a widow spider bite can include:

• Redness, pain and swelling. You might have pain and swelling around the bite, which can spread into your abdomen, back or chest.
• Cramping. You might have severe abdominal rigidity or cramping, which is sometimes mistaken for appendicitis or a ruptured appendix.
• Nausea, vomiting, tremors or sweating. You might experience nausea, vomiting, tremors or sweating alone or in combination.

Symptoms can last 1 to 3 days.

Recluse spider bites

Signs and symptoms of a recluse spider bite can include:

• Increasing pain over the first eight hours after the bite
• Fever, chills and body aches
• A bite wound with a pale center that turns dark blue or purple with a red ring around it
• A bite wound that grows into an open sore (ulcer) with the skin around it dying

When to see a doctor

Seek medical care immediately if:

• You were bitten by a dangerous spider, such as a widow or recluse.
• You’re unsure whether the bite was from a dangerous spider.
• You have severe pain, abdominal cramping or a growing wound at the bite site.
• You’re having problems breathing or swallowing.
• The area of the sore has spreading redness or red streaks.

Causes

Severe spider bite symptoms occur as a result of the venom that the spider injects. Symptom severity depends on the type of spider, the amount of venom injected and how sensitive your body is to the venom.

Risk factors

Risk factors for spider bites include living in areas where spiders live and disturbing their natural habitat. Widow spiders and recluse spiders like warm climates and dark, dry places.

Widow spider habitat

Widow spiders can be found throughout the United States, except Alaska, and are more common in the rural South. They’re also found in Europe. They are more active in the warmer months and prefer to live in:

• Sheds
• Garages
• Unused pots and gardening equipment
• Woodpiles
• Closets and cupboards during cold weather

Recluse spider habitat

Recluse spiders are found most commonly in the southern half of the United States and in South America, where they are known as brown spiders. These spiders are so named because they like to hide away in undisturbed areas. They are most active in the warmer months. Indoors, they prefer to live:

• In cluttered basements and attics
• Behind bookshelves and dressers
• In rarely used cupboards

Sometimes they get mixed up in bed linens and clothing, causing many bites to occur in the early morning.

Outside, they seek out dry, dark, quiet spots, such as under rocks or in tree stumps.

Complications

Rarely, a bite from a widow spider or recluse spider is deadly, particularly in small children.

A severe wound from a recluse spider can take weeks or months to heal and leaves large scars.

Prevention

Spiders usually bite only in defense, when being trapped between your skin and another object.

To prevent spider bites:

• Learn what dangerous spiders look like and their preferred habitats.
• Wear a long-sleeved shirt, hat, long pants tucked into socks, gloves and boots when handling stored boxes or firewood and when cleaning out sheds, garages, basements, attics and crawl spaces.
• Inspect and shake out gardening gloves, boots and clothing before use.
• Use insect repellents, such as DEET. Carefully follow directions on the package.
• Keep insects and spiders out of the house by installing tightfitting screens on windows and doors, sealing cracks where spiders can come in, and using safe indoor insecticides.
• Reduce debris or remove piles of rocks or lumber from the area around your home and avoid storing firewood against the walls of your home.
• Make sure beds aren’t pushed against the wall and that only the legs of the bed touch the floor. Don’t store items under the bed and don’t let bedding drag on the floor.
• Remove spiders and spiderwebs from your home.
• If a spider is on your skin, flick it off with your finger rather than crushing it against your skin.
• When cleaning tarantula enclosures, wear gloves, a surgical mask and eye protection.

Spider bites – Symptoms & causes

Overview

Spider bites are usually harmless, and spiders don’t usually bite unless threatened.

Spider bites can cause redness, pain and swelling, or you might not notice them at all. Many other bug bites and skin sores cause redness, pain and swelling. So unless you actually saw a spider bite you, it’s difficult to be certain that your wound was caused by a spider.

Worldwide only a few species of spiders have fangs long enough to penetrate human skin and venom strong enough to hurt humans. Among these are widow spiders, with about 30 species, and recluse spiders, with more than 140 species worldwide.

Products & Services

Symptoms

Typically, a spider bite looks like any other bug bite — a red, inflamed, sometimes itchy or painful bump on your skin — and may even go unnoticed. Harmless spider bites usually don’t produce any other symptoms.

Many skin sores look the same but have other causes, such as a bacterial infection.

Bites from some spiders, such as widow spiders and recluse spiders, might cause serious signs and symptoms.

Widow spider bites

Signs and symptoms of a widow spider bite can include:

• Redness, pain and swelling. You might have pain and swelling around the bite, which can spread into your abdomen, back or chest.
• Cramping. You might have severe abdominal rigidity or cramping, which is sometimes mistaken for appendicitis or a ruptured appendix.
• Nausea, vomiting, tremors or sweating. You might experience nausea, vomiting, tremors or sweating alone or in combination.

Symptoms can last 1 to 3 days.

Recluse spider bites

Signs and symptoms of a recluse spider bite can include:

• Increasing pain over the first eight hours after the bite
• Fever, chills and body aches
• A bite wound with a pale center that turns dark blue or purple with a red ring around it
• A bite wound that grows into an open sore (ulcer) with the skin around it dying

When to see a doctor

Seek medical care immediately if:

• You were bitten by a dangerous spider, such as a widow or recluse.
• You’re unsure whether the bite was from a dangerous spider.
• You have severe pain, abdominal cramping or a growing wound at the bite site.
• You’re having problems breathing or swallowing.
• The area of the sore has spreading redness or red streaks.

Causes

Severe spider bite symptoms occur as a result of the venom that the spider injects. Symptom severity depends on the type of spider, the amount of venom injected and how sensitive your body is to the venom.

Risk factors

Risk factors for spider bites include living in areas where spiders live and disturbing their natural habitat. Widow spiders and recluse spiders like warm climates and dark, dry places.

Widow spider habitat

Widow spiders can be found throughout the United States, except Alaska, and are more common in the rural South. They’re also found in Europe. They are more active in the warmer months and prefer to live in:

• Sheds
• Garages
• Unused pots and gardening equipment
• Woodpiles
• Closets and cupboards during cold weather

Recluse spider habitat

Recluse spiders are found most commonly in the southern half of the United States and in South America, where they are known as brown spiders. These spiders are so named because they like to hide away in undisturbed areas. They are most active in the warmer months. Indoors, they prefer to live:

• In cluttered basements and attics
• Behind bookshelves and dressers
• In rarely used cupboards

Sometimes they get mixed up in bed linens and clothing, causing many bites to occur in the early morning.

Outside, they seek out dry, dark, quiet spots, such as under rocks or in tree stumps.

Complications

Rarely, a bite from a widow spider or recluse spider is deadly, particularly in small children.

A severe wound from a recluse spider can take weeks or months to heal and leaves large scars.

Prevention

Spiders usually bite only in defense, when being trapped between your skin and another object.

To prevent spider bites:

• Learn what dangerous spiders look like and their preferred habitats.
• Wear a long-sleeved shirt, hat, long pants tucked into socks, gloves and boots when handling stored boxes or firewood and when cleaning out sheds, garages, basements, attics and crawl spaces.
• Inspect and shake out gardening gloves, boots and clothing before use.
• Use insect repellents, such as DEET. Carefully follow directions on the package.
• Keep insects and spiders out of the house by installing tightfitting screens on windows and doors, sealing cracks where spiders can come in, and using safe indoor insecticides.
• Reduce debris or remove piles of rocks or lumber from the area around your home and avoid storing firewood against the walls of your home.
• Make sure beds aren’t pushed against the wall and that only the legs of the bed touch the floor. Don’t store items under the bed and don’t let bedding drag on the floor.
• Remove spiders and spiderwebs from your home.
• If a spider is on your skin, flick it off with your finger rather than crushing it against your skin.
• When cleaning tarantula enclosures, wear gloves, a surgical mask and eye protection.

scientist spoke about dangerous species of spiders in the Volgograd region

Articles

3 Jul 16:18, 4 photos

These small representatives of the fauna begin to show activity in the region from May, and end in autumn.

The hot climate of the Volgograd region is not only a certain temperature discomfort for its inhabitants. The lack of heavy rains creates a favorable environment for the appearance of poisonous spiders. Many of the arthropod fauna have successfully migrated from neighboring Kazakhstan. The other day, in social networks, Volgograd residents shared messages that they had met a salpuga in nature, which they had never seen in these places before. Karakurts generally become almost an ordinary phenomenon for local residents, but at the same time no less dangerous. So, in May, a resident of the Novoanninsky district “boasted” that he had discovered a poisonous spider in the courtyard of his house. Fortunately, no one was hurt. The poison of the karakurt is painful and deadly, it is 17 times stronger than the poison of a rattlesnake. As they say, evaluate the odds.

Elena Ivantsova, doctor of agricultural sciences, professor, director of the Institute of Natural Sciences of the Volgograd State University, told Gorodskiy Vesti what types of spiders that are dangerous to humans live in the Volgograd region.

– Karakurt is the most dangerous species of spiders for humans, living in hot arid conditions of the Volgograd, Astrakhan regions, Kalmykia, Dagestan and the east of the Rostov region, – says the professor. – Directly on the territory of the city of Volgograd, the population of karakurt was noted from the end of 90s, but is not observed every year, but usually during outbreaks of the species.

The body of poisonous spiders is spherical. The female karakurt is much larger than the male, her body with a span of legs in length is approximately 2.5 cm, male individuals are much smaller – only 6-7 mm. Four pairs of limbs are located on both sides of the body. Two pairs of middle tarsi covered with hairs. The first and last pairs are distinguished by the greatest length. The color of spiders is distinguished by the presence of red or orange spots of various shapes. Sometimes a white border of each spot is added to the pattern on the body.

– The venom of a female spider can be fatal. After a bite, burning pain after 15-20 minutes spreads to neighboring parts of the body and organs, then, after 20-40 minutes, a burning sensation appears throughout the body, chills, weakness, mental arousal develops. The pulse becomes frequent, breathing is difficult, heart sounds are muffled; blood pressure initially rises. Some patients experience salivation and difficulty swallowing. After 2-3 hours, cramps of the lower and upper extremities appear. Later, nausea, vomiting, tension of the rectus abdominis muscles and constipation, puffiness of the face, swelling of the eyelids and heavy sweat, which is combined with chills, appear. The temperature is subfebrile from the norm to 38 ° C, less often normal or high. When bitten by a karakurt, you must immediately seek help from the nearest medical facility or call an ambulance, warns Elena Ivantsova.

In addition to karakurt, two types of tarantulas are considered dangerous for humans: South Russian and huge. Tarantulas are one of the largest spiders in the Volgograd region, reaching sizes up to 3 cm without legs and up to 6 cm with legs. The development cycle of individuals of both species reaches up to four years; in the first year after birth, spiders lead a wandering lifestyle, and in the second year they build burrows where they hide from predators and wait for prey running past.

Despite the reputation, the danger to humans from tarantulas is greatly exaggerated. The tarantula will in any case prefer to run away or warn with a threatening posture before launching the chelicerae.

– The venom of a tarantula is comparable in strength to that of a wasp, however, the amount of this poison is much greater than that of a wasp, that is, the feeling after a spider bite is comparable to the feeling from a bite of two or three wasps. Two punctures will be visible at the bite site, then swelling and redness of the skin appear, accompanied by burning and itching, and a short-term increase in temperature is possible. People who do not suffer from allergies do not need special treatment, Professor Ivantsova comments.

Help will consist in the speedy washing of the wound surface. Clean running water is suitable for washing, which will avoid infection. You can use soapy water. It is advisable to treat the wound with an antiseptic – hydrogen peroxide, chlorhexidine, if such medicines are at hand. In order to relieve swelling, you can use a cold compress from ice or another product that is in the freezer.

However, if symptoms of an allergic reaction are observed, medical attention should be sought immediately. Otherwise, a severe allergic reaction can be fatal.

Southern Russian tarantula is outwardly distinguished by the following features: body color varies from dark sand to dark brown, almost black. There are 6 pairs of lighter spots on the upper side of the abdomen. The whole body is covered with dense hairs. Legs with numerous spines, which are not very noticeable surrounded by hairs. The underside of the body is intensely black. The abdomen is oval, in size the female is slightly larger than the cephalothorax, and the male is slightly smaller. The legs are of medium length (approximately equal to the length of the body) and thick compared to spiders from other families.

Huge Tarantula – this is the name of another dangerous spider – in size, shape and body proportions it is very similar to the South Russian one, but it differs significantly in color. It varies within shades of grey. On the abdomen there is a rather complex leaf-like pattern. The cephalothorax and legs are colored like those of the South Russian tarantula, but the abdomen is very different. In young animals it is orange and there is a black dot in its center. With age, this point increases in size and, by reaching its maximum size, occupies almost the entire abdomen. Thus, in an adult spider, the abdomen turns out to be black from below, and orange spots remain in front and behind.

It is possible to prevent a tarantula attack, the scientist says. To do this, you need to follow a number of the following rules: while on vacation, avoid places where there are a large number of various cracks in the ground, dead wood and stones; close the tent at night; while in the country or in a tent, constantly inspect your shoes for spiders or other insects in them. Do not allow children to get tarantulas out of minks and walk barefoot on dry grass.

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Author: Elena Silantyeva

Volga scientists spiders elena ivantsova

Whose bite is more dangerous: bees, wasps, bumblebees or hornets

August and September are the time to collect sweet fruits and berries making jam. The aroma of fruits is very fond of stinging insects, which, unfortunately, are called stinging insects for a reason. We tell you: how and when bees, wasps, bumblebees and hornets sting, what to do if you are stung and where to go to get rid of insect nests on the site or in the house.

Why do bees sting?

The bees themselves are not aggressive – they attack only to protect themselves from danger. They can sting if you try to enter the hive or, without noticing, accidentally touch the bee. Bees sting only 1 time, and then they die immediately – the sting comes off along with a bag of poison and a piece of the bee’s abdomen.

Why do wasps sting?

Wasps, unlike bees, are predatory insects. They are much more aggressive: the reason for the attack can be anything, and they can sting several times. Also, wasps bite! In addition to the sting, they can use strong jaws, otherwise called mandibles or mandibles. Wasp sting wounds are the most painful. And the allergen that wasps inject into the wound poses the greatest danger to people with diabetes.

Why do bumblebees sting?

Close relatives of bees also attack only when threatened, but they can sting several times. Only females sting in bumblebees, while males are practically harmless. The “bites” of bumblebees are considered less painful than bee stings, and their sting, again, unlike bee stings, does not have notches. Bumblebees attack humans only to protect nests, but can react to strong alcohol or perfume smells, as well as bright blue clothing.

Why do hornets sting?

Hornets are large insects with a body length of up to 4 cm. They sting, like bees, only in case of a threat to the nest, which is protected by making special sounds. The “bite” of a hornet is extremely painful, as a result of which up to 2 mg of poison can enter the human body, causing burns. Hornets can attack their prey several times in a row, which makes them especially dangerous. Also, they can easily bring an infection into the wound, as they feed on carrion and protein waste.

When do stinging insects attack a person?

The biggest reason: a threat to the hive. Most stinging insects become aggressive when defending nests. It is believed that a person can endure up to 500 “bites”, but for 1 in 100, even a single bite can be fatal.

The most dangerous for humans are “bites”: wasps, hornets, honey bees, gadflies and bumblebees. In people with hypersensitivity, a “bite” can cause severe allergies or even anaphylactic shock.

Reaction to “bites” of stinging insects

When bitten, a small amount of an allergenic substance is introduced into the wound, causing redness, swelling and irritation, which disappear after a few days. A strong or even life-threatening reaction to a “bite” is observed mainly in allergy sufferers. Bees, wasps and bumblebees do not inject irritating poison, their “bite”, despite severe local pain, redness and swelling, is often harmless.

The “bite” of a bee, wasp or bumblebee is dangerous in the following cases:

• if you have been “bitten” / stung several times at the same time;
• if you have an increased susceptibility to stinging insect “bites” and an allergic profile;
• if you get stung in the throat, it can cause severe swelling that will block the airways.

Hornets are a completely different story, they can “shoot” poison, which, if it hits the skin, causes severe burns, and their “bites” cause shortness of breath and even pulmonary edema.

What to do if you are stung by a bee, wasp, bumblebee or hornet?

1. Quickly remove the tip.
2. Apply a swab moistened with a mixture of ammonia and water (1:5) to the wound.
3. To remove the poison sac, scrape it off with a hard object. Do not pull on the bag – if it is damaged, there will be even more poison on the wound.
4. People with allergies should take an antihistamine after being bitten. By the way, dandelion milky juice will help relieve pain and inflammation.
5. Keep calm, take plenty of hot drinks.

How to avoid being bitten by stinging insects?

1. Keep sweet fruits and desserts out of the open.