Black widow spider bite is one of the most feared spider bites in the world. There are approximately over 30,000 known spider species out of which the black widow spider is perhaps the best known as well as feared. Though it is believed that spider bites may lead to several physical symptoms such as itchiness, rashes, bumps etc, but the fact is that spiders seldom bite human and most spiders do not even penetrate the human skin while biting.
There are rare cases when a spider bit can be very painful, and such cases are usually attributed to larger species of spiders such as tarantulas. Else wise, amongst the temperate region spiders, only two spider species serves as a threat which includes the brown recluse and black widow spider. Hence, one should be very careful of these two kinds of spider particularly. Here we will be focused on black widow category of spiders.
Black widow spider facts
These spiders are usually medium sized arachnids with eight legs and body measuring half inch in length. This category of spiders derives its name due to a mistaken idea that female spider always kill its male counterpart after conjugation or mating. Though these spiders are seen through the United States, they are very common in southern region of United States. There are altogether five common spider species in US out of which two species of spider are most common.
The first is the southern black widow spider which has black glossy body with globular abdomen. It can be characterized by its idiosyncratic reddish hourglass seen on the base. The second type of spider which is frequently found in US is the northern black widow. It can be characterized by series of red spots in the mid as well as the upper region of its abdomen along with its series of crosswise bars that can be seen on the underside of its body. These marking on the northern black widow spider can be yellowish or even white. This may be noticed when the spider itself has a brownish body with reddish legs. Depending upon the individual spider, northern as well as southern black widow spider bites can be equally harmful.
Other characteristic of black widow spider
Black widow spiders are categorized as nocturnal arachnids as they are most active during night time. These spiders prefer dark corners and crevices as their dwelling place. It is also studied that these spiders avert human dwelling, but they are usually found in places outside the house such as garages, storage rooms, outhouses etc. It should be known that only the female black widow spider bites human and these spiders assault human when they are disturbed and feel endangered, particularly while defending her eggs.
Symptoms of black widow spider bite
Like some other physical issues, there are also symptoms associated with black widow spider bites. These spiders are venomous and they secret protein venom. This venom produced by the spider gets transmitted into our body while biting and has its influence on the nervous system of our body. To your information, neurotoxic protein is amongst the most influential venom produced by animal. Depending on the physical traits, some people may experience mild symptoms of the venom, while other may respond to the venom severely.
• The very first symptom of black widow spider bite is slight pain around the region where the spider actually pricked you. However, this may not be very serious and may ebb away faster. However, slightly severer symptoms of this spider bite generally onsets within twenty minutes to an hour from the time of bite.
• This pain may be localized or even generalized which may be followed by other symptoms such as serious muscles cramp, stomach ache, fatigue and even tremor. In such as case larger group of muscles such as located in back or shoulder are usually affected due to this pain. In more severe cases the symptoms may be even more serious and include vomiting, queasiness, dizziness, pain in chest and respiratory issues etc.
• As mentioned above the severity or the bite may greatly depend on the physical traits as well as the age of the bitten individual. Hence, children as well as elder individuals are more prone to develop little more serious symptoms as compared to an average aged, healthy individual.
• In some cases the pain experienced in the stomach may be very serious. Such ache in the abdomen may mimic sever physical conditions such as appendicitis or gallbladder issue etc. On the other hand sever chest pain experienced due to black widow spider bite can be misunderstood as heart attack.
• The condition may also influence blood pressure increasing it dramatically. Moreover, one may also experience increased palpitation or heart beats. It should be known that such condition may also lead to other physical abnormalities.
Black widow spider bite is usually not fatal and death due to such spider bite is very rare. However, rare cases of death are recorded related to children as well as elder.
Prevention from black widow spider bite
There are prevention techniques to avert bite from a black widow spider. For example ensuring that there are now spiders in house as well as keeping your garage, out- houses, store room clean may also eradicate or at least lessen the chances of spider bite. Since, spiders bite when they are afraid, your presence may make them feel endangered. Hence, it is essential to be very careful while entering into dark places. You may also call for specialized help through pest control services. These services help in eradicating not only spiders but other arthropods and arachnids.
Treatment for black widow spider bite
There are limited home based treatments for spider bites, which should be adopted only in mild cases. Warm and cold compresses may be helpful. There are over the counter medications such as ibuprofen as well as acetaminophen etc which may help in alleviating mild pain. Home based folk remedies may not be helpful as their efficaciousness is not guaranteed. Hence, the best option to eradicate chances of adversity and get the best treatment is to see a doctor immediately when the black widow spider bites.
Black widow spider bite pictures
Check out black widow spider bite pictures that show how the bites affect the skin
