Urticating hairs

[conipto]

Can trying to manipluate exuvia cause one to push urticating hairs into one's skin? For some reason, after dissecting my B. smithi's molt, the joint in my thumb/forefinger really started to get irritated.

Bill

 

[JacenBeers]

It sure can. THose hairs got me bad when I was manipulating my molt from my L parahybana.

 

[Botar]

Yep, sure can. The only time I've been haired by my T. blondi is from cleaning the cage. I must have picked up some hairs from the interior somehow, because the T never came out from under it's hide. So I would assume picking it up from the exuvium would be even more likely.

Botar

 

[MrT]

I had a hair between my first second finger, and it got infected, but instead of festering out ,it kept going deeper and deeper. I had to cut it out with a razor blade. Fun

Ernie

 

[galeogirl]

I've had good luck removing hairs stuck in my skin with a piece of tape. Just stick it on and rip it off, the hairs come out with it.

Got haired by my B. smithi about a week ago, not as bad as T. blondi hair, but still no fun at all.

 

[ArachnoJoost]

Damn, typing this with a very itchy thumb... Just put some more peat in my rosea's cage, and mixed it with my hands, should have known there would be some hairs on the substrate...:?

 

[Mojo Jojo]

Yeah, I really need to either start wearing gloves or stop using my hands when cleaning out my ts' vivs. I've never seen any hairs sticking out of my skin, but oh how it itches!

 

[ArachnoJoost]

That's probably because they are so small...
Found this pic a long while ago, don't know where I got it from, it shows the 'smart' design of an urticating hair, it can go into the skin, and when it has penetrated to the opposite pointing barbs, it can't go further and starts irritating (as far as I know the itching is purely mechanical)

 

[Tarantula Lover]

hi

what is the most harm it can do? cause i have asthma, is that a problem? i just got haired mym my sling curlies, thanks

James

 

[Henry Kane]

Different people have different reactions. The bristles are supposed to be pretty nasty if they get in the throat or nasal passages. There have apparently been reported cases of severe eye damage and permanent blindness as well. The best bet is to keep your hands away from your face when dealing with your T's and wash your hands very well after. I've even had times where I was just changing the water or something and wound up with bristles in my hand.
Atrax

 

[Tangled WWWeb]

I have asthma also and I find that it doesn't bother me too much. Some species seem to bother me more than others but I generally dont handle mine all that much. I have found that when I kept large numbers of crickets at home that I was using my inhaler more often. I imagine that it varies from person to person.


John

 

[Tarantula Lover]

hey atrax

i washed my hands 2 times, now should i where gloves? are curly slings hair bad? er, thanks,

James

 

[Henry Kane]

Oops, I forgot to mention...
Recently I lacerated my eye and had to go to the doctor. I wasn't sure how or when I cut my eye (Which is wierd because the cut was pretty serious according to him.) and I was worried I may have gotten a T bristle in there. I told the doc that I keep T's and he got very serious at that point. Based on his reaction, I was inclined to ask if he had ever dealt with bristles to the eye before. He told me of a guy he treated for at least a dozen T bristles in his eye. He said they had to brush the surface of the eyeball to remove the top few layers of eyeball and in turn, the bristles as well. They couldn't be plucked because of the barbs. I was sweating bullets at that point. Well, they examined me and that's when they told me my eye had a laceration, not bristles. (Thanks you God! LOL!)
It took a while to heal but it's all better now.

Atrax

 

[Tarantula Lover]

hey

can you also reply about my message above your eye story! scary situation!

James
P.S- i am going to go wash my hands again! lol, your scaring me!!!

 

[Henry Kane]

Re: hey atrax

Originally posted by Tarantula Lover
i washed my hands 2 times, now should i where gloves? are curly slings hair bad? er, thanks,

James

I don't think gloves are really necessary. (Some hobbyists do use them however.)
Curly hairs aren't considered among the worst, but any bristle will probably be a little irritating at least. Plus, people seem to have different reactions to different species. For me, Pamhobeteus bristles seem to do the worst damage. My son is very sensitive to B/ boehmi and B. smithi bristles. You'll know if you're sensitive to the curly s'ling hairs after a bit of exposure to them/their habitat. Youu may choose to further safeguard yourself based on that.
Hope that helps.

Atrax

p.s. Sorry dude. I don't mean to freak you out. I'm sure you're fine with just a good thorough hand wash. The worst that can happen is a bit of skin irritation. As long as you're careful about keeping you hands away from your face, you'll be just fine.

 

[ArachnoJoost]

Some of you have probably seen this before, but this is an eye penetration of urticating hairs (Rick West) : http://www.birdspiders.com/archive/1/0087.htm

 

[Tarantula Lover]

urrrr

thanks alot arachnojoost!!!! that made me feel a whole lot better:8o

James

 

[Henry Kane]

You crack me up James!
It is important to know the possibilities of what can happen, even the bad stuff, but I wouldn't let it stress you too much. What's most important is that you enjoy your hobby. Out of all the hobbyists here, I have yet to read a report of any serious problems from T bristles. I've read a few reports of skin irritation and rashes, but that's about it. I know i've said this before, but really, all you need to do is remember to keep your hands away from your face when dealing with your T's, and wash really good afterwards. Simple as that.
It's the same as knowing T's have venom. If a T bites you it's not going to be pleasant either, but as long as your careful, there's no reason to worry.
Don't sweat it dude.

Atrax

 

[Lost_Tarantula]

James-

If it makes you feel any better, before I knew about eye-penetration and was very new to the hobby, I didn't even wash my hands. Even after handling him. You can bet I probably touched my face and possibly eyes sometime soon after that. As far as I know, I don't have bristles in my eye, unless one is hiding, waiting for the exact moment to start inflamming my eye. :? But yeah permanent blindness freaks the hell outta me. You guys almost chased me off from New World T's. ;P

So I feel for you James. But I wouldn't worry. Look at how many people here have T's, not one has complained of eye-penetration, and surely they've forgotten to wash their hands more than once, yes?

We have a better chance of dying in a car wreck, IMHO.

-LT

P.S. I'm not saying that you shouldn't wash your hands, I'm just saying I don't think that it's super easy to get in your eye.

 

[Lost_Tarantula]

Here is another document (.pdf) file on eye penetration. According to them, New World T's are do not possess venom. Hmm.
I am pretty sure they do.

For all you going nuts over this (me included ) here's more fuel for your paranoia/newfound phobia.

http://www.sma.org/smj1998/junesmj98/belyea.pdf


-LT