This afternoon while helping me store Christmas decorations in our basement in suburban Minneapolis, my 19 year old grandson was bit by what appeared to be a daddy long leg spider. He had observed the spider doing its vibration defense routine in a web in a basement window well. We looked up the spider on line and determined it was a Pholcus phalangioides. The bite mark on the back of his left hand in the fleshy mound below and between the thumb and the index finger indicated two distinct fang marks. He immediately complained of local pain and a spreading warmth around the bite. He did indicate a felt a weak numbness in his had after about 10 minutes. The numbness was short lived. After about 20 minutes, a rough deep red rash formed in a 2 1/2 inch circle around the bite. The rash lasted for about 3 hours then cleared for about 90 minutes before returning in a blotchy pattern.
A call to the poison control center resulted in us being told to keep the wound clean by washing it often with warm soapy water. The administering of an antihistimine such as benedryl was suggested if the pain and irritation continued for more than 4 hours.
Approximately 1 hour after the byte the distinct appearance if two fang marks was replaced by what looked like a small black cut about 1/8 inch long. Discomfort from the byte lasted only about 90 minutes but the rash and black puncture mark remains now about 7 hours after the bite.
In talking about this incident, my grandson expressed surprise and amazement about the experience. He said he was never alarmed or afraid and found the whole event very interesting. The spider had very long legs, over 2 inches with dark bands at each joint. The body of the spider was about 1/4 in long and maybe 3/16 inch in diameter. By the way, we did not kill or remove the spider.
A call to the poison control center resulted in us being told to keep the wound clean by washing it often with warm soapy water. The administering of an antihistimine such as benedryl was suggested if the pain and irritation continued for more than 4 hours.
Approximately 1 hour after the byte the distinct appearance if two fang marks was replaced by what looked like a small black cut about 1/8 inch long. Discomfort from the byte lasted only about 90 minutes but the rash and black puncture mark remains now about 7 hours after the bite.
In talking about this incident, my grandson expressed surprise and amazement about the experience. He said he was never alarmed or afraid and found the whole event very interesting. The spider had very long legs, over 2 inches with dark bands at each joint. The body of the spider was about 1/4 in long and maybe 3/16 inch in diameter. By the way, we did not kill or remove the spider.