Hi About 2 weeks ago on 11/02 i was bitten by My male P.formosa and I was wondering what is causing the Numbness in my fingers on the left 3 of my right hand and even 2 weeks later I am getting shooting pains up the arm and hand the bit report is HERE
Poecilotheria Bite
- Thread starter SK8TERBOI
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The venom? look up Robc's bite reports about his pokie bites.
Ya I saw them and I'm not sure I don't believe he experienced any numbness of the affected area any others have opinions
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No numbness but had cramps 3-4 weeks later. The ornata Bite symptoms came back also....cramping (very mild & with naseau).
Yes same here nausea weeks later and stomach pain even though its no where near my bite and the numbness is going but I've never read anywhere that their bite causes this but I know its the case because before the bite i was fine I'm thinking some temporary nerve damage? Or she bit something in my wrist
It wouldn't really be nerve damage; It would be something in the tarantula's venom which is binding to the nerve endings preventing them from receiving commands per se.
From what I've read numbness is a typical side effect of many venoms and goes away with time.
If you don't mind my asking where did you find this info because i looked in allot of the reports and found no such thing on this...Sorry Not calling you a Liar!! I am just worried about this LOL i mean if you couldn't feel part of your hand off and on you'd freak out too
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I work with spider venoms, although not this specific one. The venom binds irreversibly to receptors on nerve endings. Luckily for you, these receptors, like the other parts of the cell membranes, eventually are shed and replaced. The bound venom stays with the shed receptor, and you won't be feeling the venom effects after this happens. You just have to wait.
Thank you for this Information It is very much appreciated how long does this take ?
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Another thing worth pointing out here is that a given venom can affect different people in different ways. The variability from one bite report to another has just as much to do with the victim's physiology, state of health, sensitivity to the actual venom, etc as it has to do with the spider itself. You can't really expect to have an experience that matches exactly any other persons experience. I've heard anecdotal accounts of residual effects from a pokie bite lasting many months before they go away completely.
What Annie said above about shedding of the receptors makes sense to me. I hadn't read that before but it seems logical. Just hang in there, deal with it as best you can and if it really does get bad again you should go to a doctor. Even though they tend to know nothing about treating bites/stings from exotics, they can ID any secondary effects you may not have expected or, if nothing else, assure you that you aren't dying.
What Annie said above about shedding of the receptors makes sense to me. I hadn't read that before but it seems logical. Just hang in there, deal with it as best you can and if it really does get bad again you should go to a doctor. Even though they tend to know nothing about treating bites/stings from exotics, they can ID any secondary effects you may not have expected or, if nothing else, assure you that you aren't dying.
No worries; when I get home I will look for / link the articles I've read.
I guess I should have been clearer in stating I wasn't talking strictly about Tarantula venoms.
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Thats very interesting, I didn't know that. As the venoms are compositionally significantly different, do you know that this is true for both true spiders and tarantulas? Are there any venoms that you know about that don't bind permanently? It definitely makes sense as to why people experience symptoms weeks down the line.
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Man o Man! I really don't want to ever get bit now... If i'm going to get bit... Robc can be my "human shield!" 
Interesting read nonetheless!
Interesting read nonetheless!
Shimotsukin
Arachnopeon
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How large was the formosa that bit you?
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Wow.... this is a very interesting post.... and note to self... No pokies, (more scorpions :drool: but no Pokies)
I'm interested to keep up with how long this goes on. Can you get a blood test or anything like that done to see what's floating around in your system???? Is there a test like that?
I'm interested to keep up with how long this goes on. Can you get a blood test or anything like that done to see what's floating around in your system???? Is there a test like that?
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Pokie Bite
These bite reports are exactly why I don't own any OW's. Even bites from recommended "beginner" OW's such as OBT's sound like an extremely agoninzing ordeal.
These bite reports are exactly why I don't own any OW's. Even bites from recommended "beginner" OW's such as OBT's sound like an extremely agoninzing ordeal.
Bites don't happen that often. I know they do and I've had a few close calls.
I'd keep OW, I'd be more concerned with catching them if they ran just because of the speed and their cost when they're full size; than them biting me.
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TKG3, page 195:
■ SIMPLE POISONING. Humans exhibit at least a two-tier reaction to most venoms. The first reaction is a direct effect of the venom itself, a poison pure and simple. At the risk of trivializing the principle, one might compare this reaction to "throwing a monkey wrench" into one's biochemical machinery. The principal result is that "things" begin to malfunction or fail to work completely. Thus, most people might react to a wet bite with the classic symptoms of numbness or pain. One or more principles in the venom either anaesthetize the nerves or stimulate them.
TKG3, page 328 (with respect to the genus Aphonopelma):
VENOM TOXICITY. The venom, seldom used by these tarantulas, is apparently mild or completely inconsequential to humans. Where any symptoms are reported they usually involve numbness and a tingling sensation rather than swelling and pain. Any symptoms disappear within a few hours. No life-threatening or long-term effects have been reported.
This information was gleaned from personal experience and from anecdotal reports both in personal accounts and on this and other Internet forums.
BTW, when dealing with any of those species known to have "medically significant" bites (i.e., symptoms profound enough to warrant a trip to a doctor or emergency room), it's always a good idea to wear light, leather gloves (e.g., driver's, garden, or work gloves, see http://www.acehardware.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=1260431 for examples) whenever the cage is open. Ninety percent or more bites are on the hands, and few tarantulas are capable of biting through such gloves.
"The good news is that you won't die. The bad news is that you may wish you would!" (Deleted from TKG3 for public relations reasons.
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I have to disagree--I see no reason to think that many species of tarantulas couldn't bite through light leather gloves. We know for certain that Atrax and Hadronyche can bite through leather BOOTS ( tough, thick leather), and they are mygalomorphs of only around 3" legspan. I would be willing to bet that just about any tarantula could punch through at least thin leather, if not tougher stuff as well. Those fangs--they're pretty sharp, and I don't know about you but I've seen medium-sized Theraphosids demonstrate their jaw strength on my steel-mesh lids. I wouldn't want to test your glove idea on even a Brachy...let alone something truly sizable.