Cheiracanthium inclusum (systemic, & poss' allergic bite)

[Venom]

Let me first say that our area has an abundance of Cheiracanthium sp. They hibernate in our house, woodpiles, outbuildings etc., and then emerge en masse in spring. Well, last Friday one of these emerging miscreants had a run-in with my sister. The following is her bite report, ( written by her, reported by myself ):

On Friday evening we were sitting in the living room. I got up to got to the bathroom [ For some reason our bathroom is where I find most of the little nasties. Several weeks ago I removed 6 C.inclusum from our bathroom in the space of one week! ] and when I came back and put my feet on my footstool [ a poof ] I felt instant pain like I'd stepped on a bee. My foot throbbed all night

Next day it hurt to walk on it but was still manageable. By mid-afternoon I was feeling slightly nauseous and my foot was alternating between a prickly-tingly feeling and a burning pain. I took a look at my foot and saw 4 separate areas of swelling right in a row. They were red and painful to touch and definitely the source of the pain in my foot. My foot continued to swell and it turned a slight purplish colour. The bites merged into one large swelling and I couldn't move my toes anymore.

On Sunday morning I could barely walk and soon had to use a crutch. My foot continued to alternate between a fiery throbbing pain and that weird prickly sensation. I could actually feel the venom spreading as a pulsing line of fire. This progressed until it reached halfway to my knee. I was also having chills and was running roughly a two degree fever.

Early Sunday evening I decided to try some hydrocortisone cream figuring it couldn't hurt and might just help.

By Monday morning the swelling had started to go down and I regained some movement in my toes. I kept using the cream and by Tuesday most of the swelling was gone. I can once again move my toes and my foot is no longer purple. The pain is also greatly reduced and I can walk without the crutch, if only for short periods of time.

---END QUOTATION---.

Although I did not see the spider, I am confident it was indeed a case of C.inclusum envenomation. I examined the bite site--around the arch of her foot--and it showed four distinct, raised and reddened bumps, the lowermost being by far the largest. There was definitely swelling in the area, although the bumps did not develop into necrotic lesions. What I believe happened was that the spider crawled onto her foot in the bathroom ( where most of our sac spiders are found ) and hitchhiked back to her chair. When she put her foot down on the poof, it immediately bit her multiple times due to being pressed against the upholstery. She is not allergic to beestings.

 

[GartenSpinnen]

Chaericanthium sp. (Yellow Sac Spider)

I meant to post a bite report on a bit I received several years ago but never got around to it. In that particular instance in my old home here in Michigan we had quite a bad infestation of these. You could find them quite readily walking around the tops of the walls. When harassed they were very defensive and would go up in a threat posture.

This was the first time ever dealing with anything remotely bothersome here in Michigan, and I was quite bothered at the time because they were so defensive and there were just so many of them everywhere, I was worried about my kids getting bit. After some panic I came to the conclusion that the threat was minimal and more phobia based off these nasty little things. So I stopped worrying and just ignored them and never had an issue.

That is until one evening when I was sitting in my computer chair and felt something drop onto the back of my neck. When I went to grab at what fell on me it ran down the back of my neck into my shirt and I felt a sharp painful sensation twice in my back before I could get my shirt off. Low and behold it was a yellow sac spider, and it had bit me pretty good on my back.

The bites were immediately painful and swelled up. The wounds itched and were sore, and seemed to not heal well. They looked like an infected wound even though I constantly cleaned them and you could feel a hard lump underneath the bites which became open and hollow. Eventually the bites healed and I still have scars to this day on my back where I was bitten. It was not as horrible as I would have thought at the time, worrying about something that would turn out similar to what I have read from necrotic recluse bites, but it was still not a fun experience.

Well I have seen many of these around since the incident even after moving. We moved about 5 miles away from where I used to live into an apartment complex and I see these around quite a bit but not as often as I did at our old house. Here we live on the 3rd story and once in awhile I will find one in the apartment. I kill them when I find them now, that is, if I can catch the little suckers because they are very quick.

Generally I find them on the ground floor in the laundry room. I find it odd that even when it is very cold outside here in Michigan you can find them in the laundry room walking around, they tend to have a cold tolerance beyond what most spiders can stand. They seem to be the only active spider in winter, I am always nervous of them ending up in the clean laundry.

Anyway, about a month ago I started finding them in the apartment again. I found one in the bedroom but was unable to catch it as it zipped across the wall and behind our bed. Then unfortunately I ended up waking up one morning with two painful bites on my shoulder, same as the ones I have gotten before, and the spider ran out of the comforter when I shook it so I knew what had happened. Must have rolled over onto it and gotten bit.

The bites were similar to last time, one healed up for me leaving a small scar but the other I am having more issues with. I have this hole in my shoulder and it has a hard lump under it. It is still painful to the touch and when I clean it out it turns really red. I absolutely despise these spiders :\

If I get a chance i will take some pics of the bite, it is about 1/8" deep hole in my arm. I was going to go to the doctor if it is not healed up soon. The physical bite is not as bad as the psychological aspect of being bit by these repeatedly. Nasty little things

 

[QSCrow]

Yellow Sac Spider

This is a species native to most of the US and commonly found in homes. The bite itself is typically your average itchy annoying spider bite. The can however easily become infected which mine did. I never felt the bite as it happened in my sleep, but I did find it squished on my pillow so was able to get a positive ID on the culprit.

The bite started with two small puncture holes on the right of my neck near the shoulder blade about an inch apart. Looked like I was bit by some sort of small vampire. It itched like all hell. I didn't think anything of it took my morning shower and put some bug bite cream on it to reduce the itch.

Normal spider bite. Minor redness at the site, nothing more. Two days passed, and it was still itchy but started to turn onto a burning itch. Had my boyfriend take a look at it, he told me it looked like a burn the size of a half-dollar. To the touch it felt bumpy, rigid, and tender. The next morning it was seriously starting to burn. I rigged up a mirror to see what was going on and it was a pretty good sized red, brown and yellow, and scabby looking. Once again I took my morning shower and suddenly I felt a sharp burning sensation. The hot shower water made it rupture.

Joy.

I should note that if you ever have a bite like this go to the Dr... I however was uninsured at the time so I preformed the most painful of home treatments. Again not suggested.

I lanced the wound with one of my sterile scalpels, squeezed out the puss and gunk, cleaned the area with rubbing alcohol and dressed it with a bandage. I had to repeat this every other day for about a week until the infected area cleared up. It took the wound about 2 months to heal, and another 2 months for the skin to fully heal up and look completely normal.

Going to the doctor could have spared me a lot of pain.

I wanted to share this story to clarify how important it is to seek appropriate treatment for any bite that appears to be infected no matter how minor it may seem. The alternative is NOT fun...

 

[Chris LXXIX]

I was bitten by a Cheiracanthium punctorium when i was 9, or 10, now i don't remember exactly but i do remember the spider, how the bite happened, and the effects.
We was in our summer house, in the countryside. Lots of great spiders there, including a lot of Loxosceles rufescens, Tegenaria domestica etc etc
Don't know why, but like an idiot i felt the need to grab that speedy spider walking around (at night! ah ah) and, obviously, he bitten me on my right finger.. i still remember his eyes (put the spider in hand, near the face for check him well) he was really upset, and bitten me.
The fangs damage alone was a bit badass, then started after few seconds the usual burning sensation and the finger swelled.
Then after two hours a sense of somewhat nausea, and i was damn weak.
Was in bed within an hour after the bite. Now i don't remember what my mother and grandmother gave me, disinfectant for sure.
The day after, in the afternoon, a bit with nausea again, but fine, no side effects apart from lack of appetite. Tough i was lucky.
The spider was a juvenile.