# Best way to treat tarantula urticating hair



## aLDoDarK

Hi guys,
It's been a week+ that my hands feel so itchy, actually it already started to get better on the third day, but whenever I take care all of my tarantulas even without touching em at all, it does still itch. One of my Adult Nhandu Chromatus has a bad day and there's a big bald spot on her abdomen, I just thought that it's the one that keeps my hand itch.
Well.. do you guys have any idea on how to treat the urticating hair just to make it feel a lot better soon.
Maaan... it even doesn't feel itch sometimes it does hurt!! >.<


----------



## Scoolman

you can try hydrocortizone cream. You may just be very sensitive. They dont sem to bother me very bad. Some species affect me more than others/

Reactions: Like 2


----------



## sugarsandz

Do you get any red spots on your skin with the itching, if so I'd try Benadryl. It is kind of sedating though, for me very sedating.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## aLDoDarK

@Scoolman : I guess that Nhandu species could be the worse I've ever know after Lasiodora. the itch stay last longer then the brachypelma species, I'm not sure if hydrocorizone is available at the chemist, will check it out soon. THanks man!
@sugarsandz : I've got red spots on my skin and it feels burn and itch. and thanks man I'll try to use benadryl soon.

I just wondering if any of you ever got an urticating hair on your eyes, that's the one that keeps me thinking and maybe could bring me nightmare if that happens >.<


----------



## sugarsandz

I also just wanted to add to the Benadryl thing. Seeing as how you are getting the red itchy spots without handling your tarantulas and it's been a week I would strongly suggest keeping a bottle at all times. I'm curious, are you allergic to bees or wasps? I ask because if you are you might have an allergy to your little spiders as well. If you have insurance I would go to an allergist or general practitioner and request an epipen (kinda pricey). If you accidentally breathed in any hairs your throat could swell up(worst case scenario). 

I have chronic hives so I'm cautious around my ts as it is. I have to take Benadryl every four hours and it sucks but it helps a lot with the itching. Good luck!


----------



## aLDoDarK

I guess that I don't have any allergic to bees and wasps, it's only a normal symptom that happen to me, just itch and a little red dots, but well... it does really annoying, especially when I woke up in the morning, I really want to scratch my palm -.-

Anyway, good luck for you too sugarsandz


----------



## jen650s

Best way to treat is to avoid exposure to begin with.  I know that is not really practical, but with that kind of reaction I would keep an antihistamine always available, wear gloves and a dust mask for cleaning, limit handling, and maybe switch to OW species...

Reactions: Dislike 1 | Agree 1


----------



## Shrike

sugarsandz said:


> I also just wanted to add to the Benadryl thing. Seeing as how you are getting the red itchy spots without handling your tarantulas and it's been a week I would strongly suggest keeping a bottle at all times. I'm curious, are you allergic to bees or wasps? I ask because if you are you might have an allergy to your little spiders as well. If you have insurance I would go to an allergist or general practitioner and request an epipen (kinda pricey). If you accidentally breathed in any hairs your throat could swell up(worst case scenario).
> 
> I have chronic hives so I'm cautious around my ts as it is. I have to take Benadryl every four hours and it sucks but it helps a lot with the itching. Good luck!


Why would an allergy to bee and wasp venom suggest that the OP is also allergic to a tarantula's urticating hairs?

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## poisoned

jen650s said:


> Best way to treat is to avoid exposure to begin with.  I know that is not really practical, but with that kind of reaction I would keep an antihistamine always available, wear gloves and a dust mask for cleaning, limit handling, and maybe switch to OW species...


Or NW that lack urticating hair. Or NW, that don't kick. (I'm in love with NW that lack urticating hair).


----------



## sugarsandz

Shrike said:


> Why would an allergy to bee and wasp venom suggest that the OP is also allergic to a tarantula's urticating hairs?


This is just what I've heard from my Dr. and it's actually the bite that could cause a sever allergy if you are also allergic to bees. Sorry I didn't state the bite and not the hairs, my bad.

Reactions: Disagree 1


----------



## Shrike

sugarsandz said:


> This is just what I've heard from my Dr. and it's actually the bite that could cause a sever allergy if you are also allergic to bees. Sorry I didn't state the bite and not the hairs, my bad.


No worries, thanks for clarifying.  I'm no expert on allergies or the science behind them myself but that's a topic that has been widely discussed here.  Some maintain that it's not possible to react to tarantula venom in the same manner (see the last post):

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/sho...r-bite-kit&highlight=allergic+tarantula+venom

It's probably unlikely that your doctor knows much about tarantulas or their venom, unless he/she has been initiated into our ranks  Read InvertFix's P. murinus bite report and you'll get what I mean:

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?133925-Pterinochilus-murinus&p=2097848#post2097848

Given that bees and their kin kill dozens of people of people in the United States each year, I guess I don't blame doctors for making an educated guess when somebody shows up at a hospital with tarantula bite.

Reactions: Award 1


----------



## jen650s

sugarsandz said:


> This is just what I've heard from my Dr. and it's actually the bite that could cause a sever allergy if you are also allergic to bees. Sorry I didn't state the bite and not the hairs, my bad.


Not even close, I carry an Epipen and Benedril everywhere for bees due to allergys.  However, there is little correlation between bee and wasp venom, let alone tarantula venom or hairs.

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## sugarsandz

I think doctors are just being cautious seeing as how there are so many allergies and so many people allergic to numerous things. I still don't know what's causing my issues, I have determined that my spiders aren't causing them as they don't get worse from cleaning enclosures, or coming into contact with my spiders directly. I also carry my epipen everywhere as well as the benadryl. I've never been stung by a bee and I'm trying to avoid it as long as I can.


----------



## jen650s

I get stung once or twice a year by bees riding my bicycle or motorcycle, and if I get the Benadryl in me fast enough I can avoid the epipen, but it is no fun.  If I don't wash my hands soon enough after handling my Ts I will sometimes get blisters between my fingers from contact dermatitis, but that is nothing compared to a bee sting.  And getting bitten (at least by a NW) was not as bad as getting bitten by ants.  

To the OP, if I wash my hands with hot water as soon as I have finished in an enclosure I have no problem with the hairs.  If I am dumb enough to forget I can still avoid most of the blisters by washing and applying coconut oil between my fingers (I don't know how or why it works, but it does)

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## longviewsteven

If you take Benedryl (Diphenhydramine) make sure you are okay with being drowsy. Benedryl is the stuff they put in Tylenol PM to help you sleep.


----------



## Alltheworld601

some people wear latex gloves when working in the enclosure with really itchy Ts...they don't bother me much, but I imagine the gloves would help you a bit.  I get the red dots but not much itching or burning, so it doesn't inconvenience me much.  Plus they don't even last a full say 8 hours.


----------



## MrCrackerpants

I wear food service gloves. If I get any hairs in me I apply high quality duct tape, remove it and then apply Gold Bond maximum strength anti-itch creme. I have tried all the other cremes. Gold bond works great. It is worth the $9 a tube.


----------



## VictorHernandez

II don't know how, but when I first got my T, I was moving things around in the substrate, and I got hairs on my hands from the substrate. It was so itchy for like a day though. Today I tried holding my T, and she tried rubbing some of with one leg, and she only rubbed once, but I didn't see or feel any.


----------



## Furret

A little bit of petroleum jelly rubbed on it works.


----------



## TheGonZ

aLDoDarK said:


> Hi guys,
> It's been a week+ that my hands feel so itchy, actually it already started to get better on the third day, but whenever I take care all of my tarantulas even without touching em at all, it does still itch. One of my Adult Nhandu Chromatus has a bad day and there's a big bald spot on her abdomen, I just thought that it's the one that keeps my hand itch.
> Well.. do you guys have any idea on how to treat the urticating hair just to make it feel a lot better soon.
> Maaan... it even doesn't feel itch sometimes it does hurt!! >.<



First off let me remind you that the hairs are a physical irritant. The moment you are exposed to the hairs they burrow deep into the skin. Microscopically they are covered with Barb's that work their way further into the skin when scratched. It takes between 3-9 days for them to naturally work their way out. Forget the Benadryl and aloe. Possibly hydrocortisone cream and definitely stay away from soap and water after initial contact. This will only spreads hairs to parts of the body you don't want to itch (trust me) your best bet is to either use hot wax strips or even duct tape over the area. The majority of the hairs should get stuck in the adhesive and remove themselves when the tape gets pulled off. This will only work on whatever is still on the surface. Any hairs that have already made their way into your skin are stuck there. There's no real remedy to remove imbedded hairs. You just have to wait and try really hard not to scratch after 12-24 hours you should get partial relief 24-36 hours it will still be annoying but not the initial torture of the first 12 hours. 48+ hours will be mild skin irritation and after about a week or so you should be back to normal.

I've been hit with theraphosa blondi (Goliath) hairs in high concentration. Trying not to claw my skin off was challenging. I took 4 Tylenol PMs and still couldn't sleep. I had 65% of my body covered in hives (at this point it was more like 1 giant hive) it literally looked like an acid burn. After about 3 hours it was so unbearable the thought of suicide would not leave my mind. After about 8 hours I finally fell asleep. I don't know if it was the Tylenol PMs or sheer exhaustion that knocked me out but I am grateful because it was way easier to manage the next day.
Point of the story is not to get hit with urticating hairs in the first place. It just sucks!

Reactions: Agree 2 | Wow 1


----------



## Urzeitmensch

TheGonZ said:


> I've been hit with theraphosa blondi (Goliath) hairs in high concentration. Trying not to claw my skin off was challenging. I took 4 Tylenol PMs and still couldn't sleep. I had 65% of my body covered in hives (at this point it was more like 1 giant hive) it literally looked like an acid burn. After about 3 hours it was so unbearable the thought of suicide would not leave my mind. After about 8 hours I finally fell asleep. I don't know if it was the Tylenol PMs or sheer exhaustion that knocked me out but I am grateful because it was way easier to manage the next day.
> Point of the story is not to get hit with urticating hairs in the first place. It just sucks!


Thank you for this disturbingly vivid description.

While I did not have problems with hairs yet I bought those venom steel gloves that The Tarantula Collective recommended in a video. I was doubtful if standard one-way gloves would suffice. I will use the gloves if for some reason have to dig around an enclosure with my hands or if I notice irritations from floating hairs.


----------



## The Grym Reaper

TheGonZ said:


> First off let me remind you that the hairs are a physical irritant.


This thread is 7 years old and OP hasn't logged in since 2015.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Funny 1


----------



## Feral

Thank you for noting that it's really old, @The Grym Reaper!


However, since it's been opened up again, a few points to remember:



TheGonZ said:


> First off let me remind you that the hairs are a physical irritant. The moment you are exposed to the hairs they burrow deep into the skin. Microscopically they are covered with Barb's that work their way further into the skin when scratched. It takes between 3-9 days for them to naturally work their way out. Forget the Benadryl and aloe. Possibly hydrocortisone cream and definitely stay away from soap and water after initial contact. This will only spreads hairs to parts of the body you don't want to itch (trust me) your best bet is to either use hot wax strips or even duct tape over the area. The majority of the hairs should get stuck in the adhesive and remove themselves when the tape gets pulled off. This will only work on whatever is still on the surface. Any hairs that have already made their way into your skin are stuck there. There's no real remedy to remove imbedded hairs. You just have to wait and try really hard not to scratch after 12-24 hours you should get partial relief 24-36 hours it will still be annoying but not the initial torture of the first 12 hours. 48+ hours will be mild skin irritation and after about a week or so you should be back to normal.
> 
> I've been hit with theraphosa blondi (Goliath) hairs in high concentration. Trying not to claw my skin off was challenging. I took 4 Tylenol PMs and still couldn't sleep. I had 65% of my body covered in hives (at this point it was more like 1 giant hive) it literally looked like an acid burn. After about 3 hours it was so unbearable the thought of suicide would not leave my mind. After about 8 hours I finally fell asleep. I don't know if it was the Tylenol PMs or sheer exhaustion that knocked me out but I am grateful because it was way easier to manage the next day.
> Point of the story is not to get hit with urticating hairs in the first place. It just sucks!


Some things here are right, some things are wrong.

First, think you mean mechanical irritant. Like, as opposed to a chemical irritant. Anything that irritates us physically is a physical irritant, whether mechanical or chemical/allergic. So mechanical is the word to use there.

Though, to be clear, you can still have a chemical reaction (allergy) to urticating hairs. You see, there are different types of reactioons to urticating hairs- mechanical and chemical. Everybody has a mechanical reaction to the hairs, period. The barbed little bastards become embedded and keep irritating, as long as they are there, like many tiny burrs. But some people can, over time, develop a sensitivity to them (allergy), which is an over-reaction of the body on a chemical level.

It's like, if I were to get stabbed with a shard of metal. Then there would be mechanical reaction/damage from the object itself, but if I had, say, a nickel allergy and that shard was a nickel alloy, I might also have a chemical/allergic reaction.

Make sense?

Having said that, if PREVENTION (BEST WAY!) failed, then as far as I can tell the most effective methods for removal of urticating hairs in skin (eye irritation or respiratory irritation is a thing for a licensed MD!) seems to be combination of thorough adhesive tape removal, then flushing the area with water very well, then a lubricating and hypoallergenic lotion/oil, reapplied as needed.
OTC antihistamines, either oral or topical, can help IF there is an actual allergy (see above).

[Edit- Because I don't work on humans professionally and I'm certainly not a doctor, I remembered that I just met a new member yesterday, a medical professional called @DrGilman, and maybe he might feel comfortable giving us some advice for basic first aid of urticating setae, I don't know the ethics on that. If that's not cool, DrGilman, I'm so sorry! I hope I didn't make you feel like you're on the spot and free to decline, of course!]

Also, to clear up some confusion in the thread...
-there is no correlation between having an allergy to setae versus having an allergy to tarantula venom. Different proteins! So an allergy to setae does not predict risk of an allergy to T venom.
-Additionally, tarantula venom is certainly unrelated to bee or wasp venom, as that has entirely different proteins as well. So a bee or wasp sting allergy would have no correlation to any risk of T venom allergy.
-More importantly, science has proven that an allergy to tarantula venom is not possible, considering the nature of those proteins. Here is a study where the venom of three Ts (C. darlingi, P. regalis, and T. epicureanum) were analyzed:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4470046/#!po=68.3333
And here is a meta-analysis of spider venom toxicity that includes a section on tarantula bites and setae:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4614586/
Here is an article that talks about a study on tarantula venom and setae and allergic reaction to setae:
https://www.livescience.com/41795-tarantula-bites-harmful.html
The study is behind a paywall but here is the abstract, which doesn't mention allergy or setae, but here is the abstract to the study that above article is based on:
https://www.researchgate.net/public...restimated_theraphosids_of_medical_importance

This hobby can sometimes be so bad for repeating misinformation and untruths, over and over. Please spread the correct knowledge!

Reactions: Love 1


----------

