well, i just found my first black widow.

T

Thorn Bird

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May 24, 2005
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went out to the mailbox, resituated some stones by the mailbox, and just happened to look down to see a black widow by my finger. i threw it down, got the spider to move to confirm the red hourglass, and then stepped on it. it freaked me out, seeing how close i was to getting bit. i take care of a child...what would've i done had i been bitten? ugh.

has anyone ever been bit by a poisonous creature? when, where, and what did you do?
 
thrawn said:
now you have babies on your shoe
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yeah, i looked for that. now i'm all freaked out, thinking there babies on me. this was a pretty big widow, as far as widows go. ugh.
 
i got bit by a spider, they didtn know what did it at the time.

Fishing in a pond with my brother and his friend when i was.. i guess about 8.. i passed out face first in the water after telling my brother i felt dissey . he said to quit joking..

Him and his friend had to carry me back to my grandma's house as i was passed out for a good 6-7 hours. Woke up in the hospital that night..

stayed in bed for 3 days.
 
I know black widows are suppose to be really bad and all, but I'm more afraid of Brown Recluse spiders. Those things do some serious tissue damage. My aunt got bit on the ankle by one and a huge chunk of her flesh died. It left a crater in her ankle that left a nasty scar. Several have reportedly been found in our neighborhood too.
:eek: :eek: :eek:
 
Pandora said:
I know black widows are suppose to be really bad and all, but I'm more afraid of Brown Recluse spiders. Those things do some serious tissue damage. My aunt got bit on the ankle by one and a huge chunk of her flesh died. It left a crater in her ankle that left a nasty scar. Several have reportedly been found in our neighborhood too.
:eek: :eek: :eek:
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i'm afraid of both. my dad caught a black widow one time and kept it in a jar to show us what it looked like. that's the only reason i knew what it was before i saw the red mark. i don't know what a brown recluse looks like. :omy: i need a living specimen and not a picture off the internet, because i've looked before and can't remember. i've never forgotten the black widow...how shiny and cut it looks. the legs look sharp and it's shiny. then you get to the other side, with the big red mark on it. i more go on the harmless ones that i do know what they look like. if i can't figure it out, i leave it alone or kill it.
 
Bite Symptoms
The severity of an individual’s reaction to the black widow spider bite depends on the area of the body bitten, amount of venom injected, and their sensitivity to the venom. The venom travels in the bloodstream throughout the body and acts on the nervous system, causing varying degrees of pain. Some people report very intense pain. There typically is no necrosis (sloughing) of tissues and no conspicuous swelling.

The bite of a black widow spider initially may go unnoticed, but some people report a short stabbing pain. At first, there may be slight local swelling and two faint red spots, which are puncture points from the fangs. Pain soon begins and usually progresses from the bite site to finally localize in the abdomen and back. Severe cramping or rigidity may occur in the abdominal muscles. Other symptoms may include nausea, profuse perspiration, tremors, labored breathing, restlessness, increased blood pressure, and fever. Symptoms often diminish after a day or so and cease after several days. Serious long-term complications or death are very rare.

First Aid
If bitten, remain calm, and immediately seek medical attention (contact your physician, hospital and/or poison control center). Apply an ice pack directly to the bite area to relieve swelling and pain. Collect the spider (even a mangled specimen has diagnostic value), if possible, for positive identification by a spider expert. A plastic bag, small jar, or pill vial is useful and no preservative is necessary, but rubbing alcohol helps to preserve the spider.

A hospital stay may be recommended, particularly for those with a heart condition or with health problems. A physician may administer a specific antivenin to counteract the venom or calcium gluconate to relieve pain.
 
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fly said:
I had a friend bitten by a brown recluse. Almost lost his pinkie finger. wtf
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Brown recluses have a toxin that causes necrosis, making them particularly nasty. Black widows have a neurotoxin which makes their bites hurt like hell, but that's typically it. Neurotoxins can still kill you, don't get me wrong, but healthy adults have less than a 1% mortality rate. And it sure beats all of your tissues dying and rotting, I tell you what.
 
Sarcasmo said:
Brown recluses have a toxin that causes necrosis, making them particularly nasty. Black widows have a neurotoxin which makes their bites hurt like hell, but that's typically it. Neurotoxins can still kill you, don't get me wrong, but healthy adults have less than a 1% mortality rate. And it sure beats all of your tissues dying and rotting, I tell you what.
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Yeah I think I prefer a few days of pain to loosing a chunk of tissue and having a gaping bloody wound for weeks. :barf:
 
I picture Sarcamo as Mr. Universe - with ten to twenty computers surrounding him where he has all the information flashing before him at all times. :fly:
 
gottoys? said:
I picture Sarcamo as Mr. Universe - with ten to twenty computers surrounding him where he has all the information flashing before him at all times. :fly:
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I control the computers of the world!!

Internets.gif
 
Pandora said:
Yeah I think I prefer a few days of pain to loosing a chunk of tissue and having a gaping bloody wound for weeks. :barf:
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There was a snake handler (American guy out west, I believe) who got bit in the abdomen by his pet cobra. The snake venom quickly eroded his tissue to the extent that he had a gaping grapefruit-sized hole in the middle of his stomach. It was...amazing. You could see all the way into the guy. They filled the hole with a gel made of pure plasma and bangaged it, and it healed completely within a week. I mean completely. There is a small scar now and that's it.

Even more amazing is that snake experts say venomous snakes very rarely release their venom into threatening animals, instead saving it for prey, and when they do it's only a small amount. There's no way to know whether a "small amount" was released by the cobra, but if it was I'd hate to see what a large amount would do.

So anyway, the guy is released from the hospital, fully recovered, and celebrates by immediately returning home, pulling out his cobra (the snake) and waving it around.
 
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