Spider bites: what to do, first aid

The spider bite is something that can wait for summer residents, lovers of agriculture and gardening, as well as tourists and fans of outdoor recreation. Given that the spring-summer and tourist, the hiking season is already open, the risk of suffering from a spider bite increases.

Spiders are the most ancient inhabitants of the planet, according to arachnologists, these arthropods appeared on Earth more than 400 million years ago. To date, there are about 40 thousand species of spiders, but only a few of them represent a danger to humans.

Almost all 30,000 species of spiders are poisonous. However, the fangs of most of them are too short or fragile to bite through the skin. Serious systemic reactions are most characteristic of the bites of brown spiders [for example, the brown hermit - a member of the genus Loxosceles) and karakurt spiders (Latrodectus)].   The most dangerous are the bites of Latrodectus mactans - female karakurt, called "black widow". Brown spiders are found in the middle, western, southern and central parts of the United States. They are rarely found in the coastal and bordering states of Canada, except when they are carried with clothing and luggage. In the US, karakurt is found everywhere. For several poisonous species (for example, Pamphobeteus, Cupiennius, Phoneutria), the USA is not considered a homeland, but they are imported as rare pets.

The poisons of only a few spiders have been studied in detail. The most important effects of poison are necrosis (brown and some domestic spiders) and neurotoxic effects (karakurt). It is believed that the most poisonous component of karakurt poison is a peptide that disrupts neuro-muscular transmission. In the brown spider, a specific fraction of the venom that produces characteristic necrotic damage has not been identified.

These types of arthropods, as a rule, are common in the southern regions with a warm climate, they hide in places where people rarely happen or just where you can hide - in woodpiles, barns, storerooms, in the crevices of the earth, among last year's dry grass. A spider bite is not an attack, but rather protection from dangerous arthropods. For a person, a spider bite is a threat in terms of exposure to the poison itself, an allergic reaction to the introduction of a poisonous substance or infection of a wound after a bite.

Poisonous spider bites

It should be noted that any spider is a priori poisonous, since arachnids are predators and poison serves as a weapon for them, a way to get food for themselves, and also to defend themselves. The bites of poisonous spiders can be both deadly and unpleasant, but not a threat to trouble. Almost all spiders have glands that secrete poison, which is conditionally divided into two types - hemolytic and neurotoxic. The most common are spiders, which secrete neurotoxins, paralyzing the nervous system of the intended victim. Small spiders are not dangerous, as they simply can not damage human skin or the skin of an animal, and the toxic substance released will be too small to cause any complications. Bites of poisonous spiders of larger sizes can actually be dangerous, especially if we are talking about karakurt or brown recluse spider.

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What does a spider bite look like?

How to distinguish a simple scratch, which is not uncommon in garden work or hiking, from a bite of an arthropod? First of all, you need to know how a spider bite looks and how it feels: 

1. The first feeling is like a needle prick. Quite often a person does not feel a bite at all. 
2. A small spot of white color (not exceeding the size of a five-kopeck coin) is immediately formed on the site of the damage. The edges of the white spots are most often pink or red. 
3. After a few minutes (from 5 to 20), the symptoms begin to grow. 
4. There are sudden pain in the muscles, possible convulsions.
5. The face is very red, may swell.

What a spider bite looks like depending on its type: 

1. The bite of a tarantula and some other species looks like a small spherical spot (swelling). The skin around the puncture is bloated in the form of a blister, the color is most often pale with reddish edges. After an hour or two the blister may burst, turning into a wound. If the blister is not treated in time, it can be transformed within an hour into an erosive wound, that is, into an ulcer. 
2. The bite of a brown recluse spider also looks like a blister surrounded by a bluish-purple, white and red border of an irregular shape. Often, such a bite is called the "bull's eye" or "target", so similar to the damage pattern with these images. The bubble quickly grows in size, bursts and a wound forms, more like an ulcer. 
3. The bite of karakurt is most often not visible at all. It feels like a flea bite or a mosquito bite, a microscopic speck of red may appear, which disappears literally before our eyes.

Spider Bite Symptoms

Brown spider bites are most common in the United States. Some bites are initially painless, but pain, severe and covering the entire limb, develops within 30-60 minutes in all cases. Erythema and ecchymosis appear in the area of the bite, itching is possible. Itching may also spread throughout the body. Often surrounded by an uneven ecchimosis area, a central blister ("bull's eye") forms at the site of the bite. Damage may be similar to pyoderma gangrenosum. The central blister becomes large, filled with blood, torn, and in its place remains an ulcer on which a black scab forms; he is ultimately rejected. Most bites leave a small scar, but some can leave a deep defect that involves muscles. Loxosselism (systemic syndrome-induced poison) is detected only 24–72 hours after the bite, but not always. All previously reported deaths are caused by systemic effects of poison (eg, fever, chills, nausea and vomiting, arthralgia, myalgia, rash, convulsions, hypotension, DIC, thrombocytopenia, hemolysis, renal failure).

Symptoms of a spider bite can be varied. If you know for sure, or even simply suspect that the bite took place, and you can not differentiate it from an insect bite, it is better to play it safe and consult a doctor. Also, the help of a specialist (most often urgent) is needed when the following symptoms of a spider bite appear: 

• A purple, bluish speckled patch formed around the bite point, surrounded by a white and then a red ring. In toxicological practice, this symptom is called "red, white, blue." This is a clear sign of a poisonous hermit spider attack. 
• The body of the affected person becomes covered with a rash. 
• Muscle spasms appear, right up to cramps - in both the legs and arms. 
• There is a feeling of numbness at the site of injury. To touch the bite site is slightly compacted. This most often indicates the attack of karakurt. 
• The symptoms of a spider bite, which are manifested by pain in the right hypochondrium, are also a clear sign of a karakurt bite. Such pains are very similar to an attack of an inflamed appendix. 
• The headache increases, the temperature rises sharply. 
• Accompanied by aching joints, general weakness. 
• Urine can get a non-characteristic color, most often pink or even red.

Black widow bites

Black widow is called female karakurt. The female is usually noticeably larger in size than the male, moreover, the black widow was not called her by chance - after mating, the female mercilessly devours the arachnid in love.

The black widow spider bite is considered one of the most dangerous, sometimes fatal, among all the injuries a person can get from arthropods. The wound is almost invisible, it feels like a light injection, the symptoms also appear not immediately - after a couple of hours. Black widow bites usually cause an immediate sensation of a sharp bite.

Within an hour, poisoning can cause local pain, sweating, erythema and piloerection at the site of the bite. The pain can be both dull and acute, it may not correspond to clinical signs. Latrodectism, a systemic syndrome caused by the neurotoxic components of a poison, is manifested by agitation, anxiety, sweating, headache, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, arterial hypertension, hypersalivation, general weakness, common erythematous rash, itching, ptosis, edema and extremities, and the use of obesity, and the use of obstructive strains, and the use of obstructive strains, extremities, and the use of obstructive strains, and the use of obstructions, and the use of obstructions, and the use of obstructions, and the use of adverbs and eyelids, extremities, and the use of adverbs, and the use of adverbs and eyelid limbs, as well as the use of adverbs, eyelids, and extremities, and the use of adverbs, and the use of adverbs, eyelids, and extremities, and the use of adverbs, and ectopathies, and the use of obesity, and the use of obstructive strains, ecthema, and the use of obstructive, and edematous, erythematosis increased skin temperature in the affected area, as well as painful cramps and tension of the muscles of the abdomen, shoulders, chest and back. Abdominal pain can be severe and similar to appendicitis. Latrodectism is rare and most often develops in children or elderly patients suffering from chronic diseases. Deaths are very rare. Symptoms subside within 1-3 days, but residual seizures, paresthesia, anxiety and weakness may persist for several weeks and months.

The most effective way to neutralize the black widow spider bite is considered a special serum, which is not always available, especially in the first hours after the attack.

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Tarantula bites

Tarantula is strongly associated with poisonous spiders, but this view is somewhat exaggerated. Indeed, a tarantula spider bite can cause some painful symptoms, but deaths are extremely rare and are most often associated with combination with other internal pathologies.

The tarantula is a spider of steppes and deserts that lives in recesses, sometimes reaching one meter. In the daytime a tarantula is almost impossible to meet, since it is a purely nocturnal predator. The notorious danger of a tarantula, first of all, concerns insects with which the spider prefers to feed. In humans, a tarantula spider bite causes pain and a burning sensation at the injury site. Tarantula bites are extremely rare and non-toxic, but an angry spider can shed needle-like hairs that end up as foreign bodies in the skin or eyes and can cause mast cell degranulation and pseudo-anaphylactic reaction (for example, urticaria, angioedema, bronchospasm, arterial hypotension) sensitive people, usually spider owners, who contact them daily.

Local edema develops, a small rash may form around the wound. The bite of a large tarantula is accompanied by hyperthermia, headache paresthesias, and general weakness. Death is extremely rare and is associated with a general allergic reaction to toxins and anaphylactic shock. A simple tarantula spider bite disappears without a trace within 3-5 days.

Tarantula bite

A tarantula spider bite does not carry mortal danger to humans. Given that the new fashion for breeding as pets of these spiders is becoming widespread, the attack of the tarantula has already been "tested" by many owners, all have remained alive and healthy. Seeing a doctor after a bite is most likely due to a precautionary measure or ignorance of the properties and abilities of your pet. The spider tarantula is dangerous for small animals in the wild. The tarantula hunts frogs, lizards and small birds. The poison of the spider does not kill the victim, but only paralyzes it, since it refers to neurotoxic substances. The tarantula spider bite is also possible as a self-defense, which is the cause of the attack on the person. The pet tarantula most often bites the host in a “dry” way, that is, it does not release poison, but only damages the skin. Mechanical damage to the skin is a relative hazard in the sense of infection by bacteria. This danger is fairly easy to eliminate by treating the wound with an antiseptic.

Karakurt spider bite

A karakurt spider bite can be deadly for both humans and animals. Under natural conditions, karakurt eats mainly small insects. A karakurt will not attack a person on his own, he bites only in cases when he is disturbed or attacked. The most poisonous are karakurt females, which emit a strong poison that causes atrophy and gangrene of soft tissues.

Also, the bite of a karakurt spider may be accompanied by a general intoxication of the organism with a fatal outcome. The most characteristic symptoms are severe diffuse pain, spreading throughout the body, chills and cold sweat, cyanosis of the skin, convulsions, suffocation, paresthesia, and coma. The reaction develops within a few hours, less often within a day. The karakurt spider bite is dangerous because of its neurotoxic effect, which paralyzes the human central nervous system.

Crosshair spider bite

Spider crosses are ubiquitous; it is one of the most common arthropod species in the world. The name of the spider was due to the characteristic mark on the body - on the belly is clearly visible pattern in the form of a cross. The color of the spider can vary depending on the environment - so the spider is masked, waiting for its prey. The bite of a spider spider can be dangerous for many animals, since the venom contains temperature-resistant hemolysin (a substance that completely destroys red blood cells). However, not all animals can be affected by this poison, large dogs, sheep, cows and horses are resistant.

The bite of a spider of a krestovik for a person does not pose a mortal threat, however, the appearance of a headache, aching joints, burning can cause a lot of trouble to the bitten one. The eiperotoxin, which the spider releases, is absorbed and removed from the human body within 24 hours, the bite site may retain some swelling for several days.

Hermit spider bite

The hermit spider bite is extremely dangerous for both humans and animals. Hermit spiders are common mainly in the US states, as well as in Australia, where they were brought from the USA with transport goods. The distinctive visual mark of the hermit is a drawing on the back, resembling a violin. These spiders are small in size, so a person often does not even notice them in the house or in nature. Spiders prefer to hide in the old boxes under the cabinets, in the cracks of the walls and floors.

It is dangerous because it is practically invisible and does not cause even the slightest sensation of pain. Symptoms of damage develop only on the second day, when the poison is already distributed throughout the body. There is severe itching, compaction and visible swelling. Then the tumor ulcerates, the soft tissues begin to necrotize (die off). The ulcer is difficult to treat, necrosis affects the very deep layers of the skin. In addition to external manifestations, the hermit spider bite is accompanied by typically influenza symptoms - fever, aching joints, runny nose, cough and general weakness. Individual cases of severe intoxication can disrupt the kidneys, heart, and lead to death.

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Home spider bites

Domestic spider is divided into several species - black, gray, brown and others. Most often in life there is a type of black domestic spider - Badumna insignis, which prefers to live both inside the home and outside - in window frames, building walls, in logs or trunks of trees, that is, everywhere where it will not interfere with weaving its web. Home bite spider bites are extremely rare, a person needs to really try to get a similar injury. If the trouble happened, then the bite site really hurts, but the pain is tolerable.

A slight swelling may also develop in the microdamage zone, symptoms of dizziness, nausea, and increased body temperature are extremely rare. Strong intoxication does not cause the bites of the domestic spider, it is enough to attach ice or a cold compress to the puncture site, usually all traces disappear within 24 hours.

Effects of a spider bite

The most dangerous consequences after a spider bite are tissue necrosis, wound infection, and arachnosis or loxosselism, which most often develops after hermit spider bites. Arachnosis is characterized by rapidly developing necrosis of the skin, subcutaneous tissue and nearby soft tissues. The consequences can also manifest as a deadly systemic syndrome that begins as a fever, accompanied by diffuse myalgia, arthralgia, seizures, a sharp drop in blood pressure, hemolysis, and heart failure.

Platelet hypercoagulation syndrome - disseminated intravascular coagulation (disseminated intravascular coagulation) - is also quite frequent consequences of the attack of karakurt or hermit. Summarize the consequences in this way: 

Weak, non-threatening consequences: 

• Tolerable pain at the site of injury.
• Hyperemia of the skin.
• A small tumor in the puncture zone.
• Itching, burning.

Effects that are felt during the week: 

• Pain.
• Swelling and swelling, not transient for 3-5 days.
• Itching and redness.
• Digestive upset.
• Transient convulsions.
• Drowsiness and general malaise.

Consequences that are considered threatening: 

• Sharp pain, intensely spreading throughout the body. 
• Rapidly developing tumor. 
• Generalized convulsions. 
• Disorder of the gastrointestinal tract, indomitable diarrhea. 
• Constant drowsiness, weakness, explained by a steady decrease in blood pressure. 
• Renal failure.

The effects of a spider bite can be significantly less dangerous if provided with timely adequate assistance.

Diagnosing Spider Bites

Patients often suspect a spider bite is mistaken. The diagnosis is usually based on the patient's story and physical signs, but is rarely confirmed, since this requires witnesses to the bite, identification of the spider, and the exclusion of other causes. There are the following conditions that mimic the spider bite:

• the bites of ants, fleas, bedbugs, ticks, flies and beetles;
• skin damage [eg, toxic epidermal necrolysis, chronic migrating erythema, nodular (nodose) erythema, sporotrichosis, simple chronic herpes or periarteritis nodosa];
• infectious diseases (for example, common gonorrhea infection, septic embolism with endocarditis or intravenous addiction, skin anthrax, skin abscess with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus);
• trauma (for example, subcutaneous injection of the drug, self-induced wounds);
• panic attack.

Severe cases of latrodectism may be similar to appendicitis, rabies or tetanus. Spiders are identified by location and appearance. Karakurts live outdoors in protected places (for example, piles of stones, bundles of firewood, haystacks, buildings) and have a red or orange hourglass on the abdomen. Brown spiders live indoors in protected places (for example, in clothes, behind furniture, under baseboards), on the dorsal side of the cephalothorax there is a figure in the form of a violin.

First aid for spider bites

Assistance with spider bites should be consistent with the type of poison and symptoms. It is not always possible to consider arachnida, for example, karakurt, since signs of a puncture appear after a few hours, when the spider has already gone. However, by determining the nature of the puncture by the appearance of the skin, it is possible to provide the necessary, adequate assistance for spider bites.

1. At the puncture site should put a cold compress, better ice.
2. Children under 16 years old and older people are subject to immediate hospitalization. 
3. When attacking karakurt, specific serum is injected intravenously. Before the introduction of the funds spend skin test or fractional sensitization for a more adequate perception of the body serum. 
4. It is advisable to conduct antihistamine therapy. 
5. In severe cases involving cardiac or renal insufficiency, cardiologic drugs are administered, usually intravenously, respiratory analeptics, myelorelaxants, and glucocorticosteroids. 
6. Detoxification. It is carried out using infusion therapy (drip injections of saline solutions, glucose to maintain electrolyte balance). 
7. Non-humanized tissues after the bite of a hermit spider are treated and removed. The treatment of necrotic ulcers is quite long and, as a rule, is performed on an outpatient basis.

Assistance with spider bites, first of all, must be timely, the choice of the method or sequence of actions depends on what kind of spider has bitten a person.

Spider bite treatment

Treatment is the same for the bites of all types of spiders, including debridement, analgesia, limb elevation, tetanus prophylaxis and dynamic observation. These measures can successfully cope with most local reactions. Ulcerations should be treated daily, you can use ointments with antibiotics (for example, polymyxin B, bacitracin + neomycin). Ulcerations are treated with antihistamine drugs, topical glucocorticoids, or a combination thereof. The necrotic lesions observed with the bites of brown spiders are sanitized and bandaged. In some cases, when necrotic areas> 2 cm in diameter, 100 mg of dapsone is administered orally once a day, until the inflammation subsides, but its effectiveness has not been fully proven. Local injection of glucocorticoids is useless. Surgical excision should, if necessary, be postponed until the necrosis zone is completely delimited (a process that can take weeks).

Systemic manifestations of karakurt bites are first treated symptomatically. Myalgia and muscle spasms from black widow bites do not respond well to muscle relaxants and narcotic analgesics. Slow administration of 2-3 ml of a 10% solution of calcium gluconate intravenously can quickly reduce pain, but it requires constant cardiac monitoring. Patients younger than 16 years or older than 60 years with hypertension and signs of severe poisoning should be hospitalized. Horse antidote is used in patients with severe latrodectism. It should be administered within 30 minutes; the reaction can have dramatic consequences. Dose for children and adults - the contents of 1 bottle (6000 units) in 10-50 ml of 0.9% sodium chloride solution are administered intravenously for 3-15 minutes. The manufacturer recommends skin tests before prescribing an antidote, but these tests do not always predict adverse reactions (for example, acute anaphylaxis).

What to do when a spider bite?

If the bite caused by karakurt, a hermit spider, is timely examined and undergoes specific therapy, as a rule, rehabilitation is not required after this. However, due to the strong general intoxication and weakness of the body, it will not be superfluous to strengthen the immune system and slightly support the organs and systems with vitamin therapy. In addition, gastrointestinal symptoms and diarrhea sometimes occur. In this case, it is worth two to three weeks to observe a sparing diet, excluding protein foods. If the arachnid attack causes an allergic reaction, after a spider bite it is necessary to conduct a course of antihistamine therapy. Neurotoxic poison, which can cause functional disorders of the central nervous system, is excreted with the help of drug therapy, copious drinking is shown as an independent action, and bed restraint is desirable. All actions aimed at eliminating the consequences should be adequate to the main symptoms.

If a spider has bitten a child or an adult, and no one is insured against it, the first aid provided in a timely manner can save not only health, but sometimes the life of a bitten person. Therefore, you should remember the proposed algorithm to know what to do with spider bites: 

1. If the bite is characterized as not too dangerous, the site of injury should be washed with running water, preferably with soap, in order to avoid possible infection of the wound. 
2. The bitten limb should be immobilized (immobilized) to reduce the possibility of spreading the poison. 
3. Leg or arm can be pulled with an elastic bandage or material just above the bite. In this way the zone of venom is localized. The bandage should not be too tight so as not to disturb the general blood supply to the limb. 
4. A cold compress should be applied to the puncture site, preferably ice. 
5. What to do when a spider bite, knowing that it is intoxication of the body? Of course, drinking plenty of water will help, which will speed up the elimination of toxins. 
6. With mild symptoms of headache and a slight increase in temperature, paracetamol can be taken. 
7. With the appearance of a slightly pronounced allergic reaction, you can take a non-prescription antihistamine drug - Allergostop, Loratadin, Agistam.

What to do with spider bites if the symptoms cause concern? The answer is unequivocal - first aid or independent immediate access to a doctor. Especially worth hurry in such cases: 

• If the spider has bitten a child (age up to 16 years).
• Symptoms of a bite develop rapidly, the condition worsens dramatically. 

If you know (or suspect) that the bite was produced by a Karakurt or a brown recluse spider. Treatment of these bites requires the introduction of serum (antidote).