From the article: Black Widow Spiders
In Arizona we have black widow spiders and they are venomous. Black widow spider bites can vary from being mildly annoying to downright unpleasant, but they are rarely permanently debilitating or fatal. Share your story! How did you get bitten? What was it like? What did you do? What Happened To You?
black widow
- so i was just laying on my couch and then, my leg felt like there was a needle going through it. i screamed and said WTF!!! so yep. i was soooo scared. big purple bruise there right now on my leg as im typing.
- —Guest scream!!!
bit two weeks ago by a black widow
- I got bit in my sleep by a black widow two weeks ago woke up to a stabbing pain in my arm my reaction was to crush the spider so i did my arm had a little bite mark it was raised and itchy my arm has a scar and a hole in it and little pain up and down the arm and back havent gone to check it i really dont like to go to the drs but need to because something might be in it.
- —Guest coco
Carol Baxley
- I was bitten on the neck by I think a black widow. I scratched it off my neck like a honey bee sting as I used to keep bees. Nine days later there is still a bump with a dark brown center but the muscle to the right of the bump is tightened up hurts more than I can describe mostily at night. Feel sick, cant eat. Doctor said awe is just a spider bite. I call the doctor on call when it happened and he called in 875mg Augmenten which I think helped me from going into ICU at this point. I am 64 years oold and have always been outdoors never had this happen before but fear the barn where I think it got in my hair and walked to my neck where it bit or stung whatever. I honestly feel as though I was going to die or wished I could. Run from any spider.......!
- —Guest Carol Baxley
on the bed
- while i was sleeping ... i felt a sharp pain .. then gbam...... i fell lights out....... i went to heaven and came back .... then ... pheww i was in the er .... haha well i survived ..
- —Guest superman
No troubles
- Im a very healthy young woman. 5'7" and 130lbs. I was bitten twice by a black widow on my knee. I had no symptoms other than anxiety, itching and swelling. Didnt go to the doctor.
- —Guest HealthyRunner
Scared stiff
- Was in my room plugging in my heater and it was sitting right above the.outlet between the wall and the couch. I was so scared I jumped back and told my girlfreind she had to kill it. Idk where my fear comes from ps im only scared of the.black widows
- —Guest Solo
My husband died from a BW spider bite!!!
- Hi, We live in South Africa.... Just want to tell you...my husband was bitten by a black widow spider 4 years ago. He was bitten in our tool shed on the Saturday morning. Started with flu symptoms about 4 hours later. By Tuesday he finally agreed to seeing a doctor, who in turn booked him into the medical ICU. They also did not believe that he was bitten by a BW, so never gave him an antidote. They just admitted him to hospital, as he was suffering from a bad heart. Wednesday at about 3pm he struggled to breath and 7 minutes past 5pm he went into cardiac arrest....and consequintly died.
- —Guest Annette Soekoe
DESPITE THE BITE
- I GOT BIT ABOUT 6 DAYS AGO..AND DIDNT KNOW IT WAS A BLACK WIDOW BITE..I THOUGHT IT WAS A PAINFUL ZIT. AND I TRIED TO DRAIN IT AND IT GOT WORSE..I THOUGHT IT WAS STAFF. HAVE BEEN IN AGONY AND FEVERS..SWEATING LOTS OF ANXIETY AND EXHAUSTION..THE WOUND I TREATED LIKE A STAPH..THANK GOD I HAD BACTORBAN...MY ARM WAS TWICE THE SIZE OF MY OTHER ARM..MY SON KILLED A BLK WIDOW ON FRIDAY..I HAVE HAD STAPH BEFORE AND NEVER FELT THE WAY I DID FROM THE BITE, I WENT TO THE ER..AND THEY DID NOT BELIEVE IT WAS A BLACK WIDOW BITE. THEY DREW BLACK CIRCLE. HANDED ME GAUZE, GAVE ME A TETANUS SHOT AND ONE GENERIC PILL BY MOUTH FOR BACTRIM. NOTHING FOR MY PAIN. THEY TOOK MY VITALS AND TREATED MY "ABSESS" BUT THEY NEVER TREATED MY BLACK WIDOW BITE..I CAME HOME MY LEFT ARM AND LEG WERE TURNING PURPLE..SIX DAYS OF POISON ON THE RIGHT SIDE. MY ARM LOOKS DIFFERENT THAN MY LEFT. I CALLED POISON CONTROL. THEY TOLD ME TO GO BACK TO THE ER..I WENT.. TO ANOTHER ER. HAD A FEVER OF 100.3..IM FEELIN BLOATED..NOW BOTH AR
- —Guest THELEGEND831
bite led to funner things....
- All had left the house on a Saturday night so i decided to take an old fashioned bath. Between the tub and the woodwork a space allowed the female BW to come through and bite under my bicep. By morning i had a rash and 103 temp. I went to emergency--Gave me cortisone and I peed for two days--lost 10 pounds. Doc said that was unusual-most people gain weight. They sent me home , but within days sick again--came back and they tested me for many things--but turned out Valley fever. Evidently the bite had weakened me and allowed VF to take hold. I opted for no pills and spent about 5 months fatigued and miserable--but it went away--with only an encapsulation peanut size in my lung. Thank you Ms. Spider.....
- —62423
I was bitten by a Black Widow
- It's been a long time ago, but I'll never forget the pain. It was a nice spring day. I worked at a bank downtown and we were sitting outside on one of the concrete planters enjoying the sunlight. The darn thing had crawled up my leg, under my skirt bit me on the thigh right through my pantyhose. At first it was pretty itch and then I had this huge patch that was very red and swollen. Then the pain began. It felt like someone was pulling the muscles out of my leg. It took a few days to get over it the actual bite, but I will never forget it.
- —gottjoy
i was bitten!!
- when i was bit it was excrusiating i thought i was brave bt next i fainted the end thx
- —Guest brittany
I was bitten by a Black Widow
- I was bitten by a B Widow in March. I was watching TV on night with a knitted comforter over my legs...I live in the country and have critters in my house from time to time...but never a B Widow. I guess the spider was making a home on or in the comforter because I had shorts on and felt a small needle like stick behind my right knee....I scratched it and then felt another stick.....didnt think much about it....it was just a little itch....but my leg began to hurt, then my thigh, then my buttock, then my back, then my shoulder, then my neck....all on the right side....I began to have a feeling like being anxious and country get comfortable...also, the pain began to increase.....it was late at night so I didnt get to the Doc until the next day.....I was in so much pain....he couldnt find the bite of course and gave my some medication for nerve damage....supposed to help......didnt help....for 5 days I laid on the floor and experienced a bad case of body shut down...couldnt sleep very we
- —dthx123
bitten in bed
- In 1982 I was bitten about 3 times along my spine by an adult female black widow. A friend, who was a trained EMT, monitored me while I went through several hours of pain and stiffening of all my muscles simultaneously. Breathing became difficult. After several hours, I could move again and for the next few days I felt aches in my muscles. But, I survived. If I ever get bit again, I will call poison control and head directly to the emergency room!
- —teresanorris
results of brown recluse bite
- a co-worker was bitten (not me, thank goodness); the flesh around the bite site died - gangrene - and his left forearm is now half the size of his right forearm.
- —nastij
What is it like?
- Well I was on my PC staring off in to space on some website at the late night hour. When I felt a piece of velvet around my toe. Curiously stupid from staying up so late I moved my toe around feeling the velvety feel only to feel a stab in my toe. Then I moved my foot up and seen the widow. I am a big guy so I figured. "Meh it is just a spider, I will live." I really did not want to pay for the doctor visit. What followed was the flu after about three hours. Then feeling cold, and hot at random with the flu. That really though is small compared to the hallucinations and tiredness I felt after staying up three days. Finally I came to a point where I was laying down, and it really is hard to explain but it seemed as though the sleep I was falling in to was more dark then normal. You start to feel as though you are going in to a sleep where it is so void of light that your brain says "No do not go threre". Well I went to the E.R. only to find out I had made it threw the worst of it solo.
- —Guest Justgotothedoc
