Little spider - but pain full
- Thread starter Mr.Monkey
- Start date
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2002
- Messages
- 2,927
Those pictures have been circulating around the web for along time, but there is no verifiable information with them as to what they actually depict. The legend is that it was a brown recluse bite, but that's pretty dubious. File under "Urban Legends".
In fact, you can read about it here:
http://www.snopes.com/photos/brownrecluse.asp
Wade
In fact, you can read about it here:
http://www.snopes.com/photos/brownrecluse.asp
Wade
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2003
- Messages
- 954
Welcome mate. That's a Brown Recluse Spider. I think they only live in the USA. There are even worse pictures of bites in the web....
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2003
- Messages
- 215
I had a friend who was nailed multiple times in the upper back by a recluse when he was down in a crawlspace. His back ended up looking worse than those pics. He absolutely hates spiders now.
A high school classmate was bitten in the neck and his neck swelled to the point where he could almost not breathe.
I was cluster bitten in the waist by one a couple years ago when I rolled over on it in my sleep. Visually, there was nothing more than a few tiny blisters, but for weeks that entire side of my body felt like someone clobbered me with a baseball bat and then finished it off with a branding iron.
They are all over the place in Tennessee and love dark places.
A high school classmate was bitten in the neck and his neck swelled to the point where he could almost not breathe.
I was cluster bitten in the waist by one a couple years ago when I rolled over on it in my sleep. Visually, there was nothing more than a few tiny blisters, but for weeks that entire side of my body felt like someone clobbered me with a baseball bat and then finished it off with a branding iron.
They are all over the place in Tennessee and love dark places.
- Joined
- Aug 17, 2002
- Messages
- 344
Please see:
http://spiders.ucr.edu/hyperbole2003.html
Especially note that the spider pictured is in fact a stock photo from an Ohio university's webpage and is not a photo of the spider that supposedly caused those effects.
To my eyes the last two photos do not look real. Also note that many people reporting 'recluse bites' or who are diagnosed as such never saw a spider and were, in fact, never bitten by one. Doctors are trained in medicine, not arachnology.
Adrian
http://spiders.ucr.edu/hyperbole2003.html
Especially note that the spider pictured is in fact a stock photo from an Ohio university's webpage and is not a photo of the spider that supposedly caused those effects.
To my eyes the last two photos do not look real. Also note that many people reporting 'recluse bites' or who are diagnosed as such never saw a spider and were, in fact, never bitten by one. Doctors are trained in medicine, not arachnology.
Adrian
Last edited:
Spiderfoot
Arachnopeon
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2004
- Messages
- 24
Not Just In U.S.
Loxoxceles is not just in the U.S. Different Species all over the world.
thos pictures are nasty and I dont think anyone would have let it get that far without medical attention unless the guy has some gory facination with the necrosis.
Loxoxceles is not just in the U.S. Different Species all over the world.
thos pictures are nasty and I dont think anyone would have let it get that far without medical attention unless the guy has some gory facination with the necrosis.
some pople get the care and still get a nasty injury like that, my old teachers sister got bite on the leg and it was like that, we seen pics of it in health class about diff bites, seen all kinds of nasty bites. those being some of the worse bites about the wrose you can get , next to being killed.
Josh
Josh
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2003
- Messages
- 94
it could be a bite from a wolf spider species..... some are known to cause severe necropsy(sp?) and there is no known "cure" or anti-venon. Only way to stop the spread of death is to amputate the area or apendage.
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2002
- Messages
- 2,927
Without an actual spider, it is impossible to identify who did the biting. If no spider is found, it's not even possible to determine if it was a spider at all, let alone what species. Many insect bites and even plant thorns can cause these reactions. Often, the worst effects are from secondary infection and not even from the "bite" at all.
Getting Loxoceles to bite is almost impossible. Most bites happen when the spider is slapped and the fangs are forced into the skin, or else the spider gets wedged against the skin under clothing or behind the knee or otherwise smashed against skin. The structure of the fangs makes it almost impossible for the spider to bite a person any other way. Probably what happened to Betty's friend, as crawling around under a house is a good way to end up with spiders in your clothing. Pity the doctor didn't know about the nitro treatment.
Some people who've been bitten by Loxoceles have had some pretty severe reactions, but there are good treatments. A nitroglycerin patch applied at the site usually eliminates all symptoms.
Many people who are bitten have little or no reaction. Many venoms are wierd that way, they don't always have predictable effects.
In short, the danger posed by these spiders is very overblown. Many cases are incorrectly blamed on them, I'm always amazed by the number of supposed recluse bites that occur hundreds of of miles outside their actual range! Here in VA I've heard lots of reports of bites...which is funny, considering they ain't here!
Wade
Getting Loxoceles to bite is almost impossible. Most bites happen when the spider is slapped and the fangs are forced into the skin, or else the spider gets wedged against the skin under clothing or behind the knee or otherwise smashed against skin. The structure of the fangs makes it almost impossible for the spider to bite a person any other way. Probably what happened to Betty's friend, as crawling around under a house is a good way to end up with spiders in your clothing. Pity the doctor didn't know about the nitro treatment.
Some people who've been bitten by Loxoceles have had some pretty severe reactions, but there are good treatments. A nitroglycerin patch applied at the site usually eliminates all symptoms.
Many people who are bitten have little or no reaction. Many venoms are wierd that way, they don't always have predictable effects.
In short, the danger posed by these spiders is very overblown. Many cases are incorrectly blamed on them, I'm always amazed by the number of supposed recluse bites that occur hundreds of of miles outside their actual range! Here in VA I've heard lots of reports of bites...which is funny, considering they ain't here!
Wade
It is my understanding that brown recluses have spread across the 48 states now completely.
Also, as I understand it, the black widow's venom is a neurotoxin which is rarely fatal in an animal the size of a human, but the brown recluse's venom causes necrosis in the tissue surrounding the bite area, leading to horrifying wounds in some cases.
Also, as I understand it, the black widow's venom is a neurotoxin which is rarely fatal in an animal the size of a human, but the brown recluse's venom causes necrosis in the tissue surrounding the bite area, leading to horrifying wounds in some cases.