Topic 4 – Spiders:

SPIDERS

• Of the 35,000 species of spiders described worldwide, only a handful are considered to be dangerous and only 27 are known to have caused human fatalities.
• In Southern Africa there is 5 species of dangerous spiders which bite might be fatal and or of medical importance.
• The venom of the medically important spiders can be divided into those that have neurotoxic (affects the central nervous system) or cytotoxic (affects the tissue around the bite site) venom.

SPIDERS:

SPIDER BITE SYMPTOMS

• Determining whether a victim has been bitten by a spider may be impossible.
• Studies of brown recluse spiders have shown that victims seek treatment more than three days after their bites, making it nearly impossible to identify the culprit.
• Black widow bites are often identified only by symptoms of its venom, without any visible local bite.
• Local reactions to bites from all manner of toxic bugs look the same:

‒Redness

‒Swelling

‒Itching

‒pain

• Victims should be concerned when a local reaction continues to get worse for more than 24 hours.
• Look for redness spreading away from the bite, drainage from the bite, increase in pain, numbness/tingling, or a discoloration around the bite that looks like a halo or bulls eye.
• Victims should also call a doctor if they are not up to date on their tetanus vaccinations.
• Anaphylaxis (allergic reaction) is always the biggest concern with any type of bug bite.
• If the victim exhibits any signs of allergic reaction or anaphylaxis shortly after a bug bite seek medical attention immediately.