permanent damage by urticating hairs

napalm

Arachnopeon
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has anyone ever had permanent damage due to a tarantula's hairs, or a tarantula in general?
 

tin man

Arachnobaron
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I heard that this kid in Utah got blind because he would hold his tarantula and never wash his hands
 

Talkenlate04

ArachnoGod
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I heard that this kid in Utah got blind because he would hold his tarantula and never wash his hands
And I heard the boogie man under my bed last night. :rolleyes:


But seriously the hairs could cause some eye damage I am sure. Just how serious I dont know, but would think an eye full of hairs would really suck.
And for the most part just a local reaction is most common, rash of blisters, itchyness, lasts maybe an hour or two for most reactions.
 

Becky

Arachnolord
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I know of someone who got U hair in her eye. Within a day she was fine, after washing it out with water.
 

M.F.Bagaturov

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Windchaser

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And I heard the boogie man under my bed last night. :rolleyes:


But seriously the hairs could cause some eye damage I am sure. Just how serious I dont know, but would think an eye full of hairs would really suck.
And for the most part just a local reaction is most common, rash of blisters, itchyness, lasts maybe an hour or two for most reactions.
In the most extreme cases a person can be permanently blinded if they get urticating hairs in the eye. This is rare but it is possible.
 

dtknow

Arachnoking
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uhhh...anyone notice one of the cases attributed to an OW tarantula?
 

bushbuster

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I heard Kenny Rogers got VD in his eyes...he was lookin for love in all the wrong places. :rolleyes:
 

Ungweliante

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Of course everything is always possible.

You could get one of those rare jumping T. apophysis t's and have it bite you in the eye. In your agony, you wouldn't notice the nearby communal Poecilotheria-terrarium and crash right into it, causing all 20 of them to flip out and bite you in the arterial veins :rolleyes:
 

Rochelle

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Of course everything is always possible.

You could get one of those rare jumping T. apophysis t's and have it bite you in the eye. In your agony, you wouldn't notice the nearby communal Poecilotheria-terrarium and crash right into it, causing all 20 of them to flip out and bite you in the arterial veins ........

Which of course would only exacerbate the horrible, relentless, pounding erection caused by the T. nigri you stepped on while crashing into the communal......OMFGLOLOLOL{D {D {D {D
 

OldHag

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Ive been emotionally scarred by my brachies hairs. I guess thats pretty permanent since I cant afford therapy!
 

Elizabeth

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Well, all the jokes aside, I actually do remember a news article about some teen that got urticating hairs from a handling a friend's rosehair, which he transferred to his eye or eyes (rubbed his eyes before washing, I guess). Anyway, he felt the irritation, and went to a doctor, but the doctor saw nothing. The irritation continued, so he saw another. That one saw nothing. It was the third or so doctor who thought to use some magnification while examining the poor kids eyes and he did indeed see the urticating hairs, which by then were rather embedded, and it was damaging the kid's sight!

This was years ago, though, so I can't find a link and I can't remember if the damage to his eye was going to be permanent. No one else remembers this?

Turns out, the rosehair (Grammastola) urticating hairs were the most damaging type possible of the 4 types of urticating hairs found on tarantulas. That stuck out for me: the easiest to get and the worst to not know enough to wash your hands after handling!
 

MizM

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has anyone ever had permanent damage due to a tarantula's hairs, or a tarantula in general?
Nope. Never heard of permanent damage.

My husband has had them in his eyes and the redness and itching went away in about 5 days.
 
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