2007-01-04 21:21:18 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Health ➔ General Health Care ➔ First Aid
this is what one website says: It's a myth that the venom of the whitetail spider eats away the flesh of its victims, an Australian toxicologist said today.
White tail spider bites in fact caused little more than discomfort, clinical toxicologist Dr Geoffrey Isbister said.
"In 130 white tail spider bites we looked at, none of them caused flesh-eating or persistent ulcers," he told AAP.
"The myth of spiders causing ulcers and flesh-eating diseases is exactly that, a myth."
The commonly-held misconception could leave some patients with unhealed and potentially dangerous wounds, Dr Isbister said.
"There's no actual treatment for white tail spider bites so if the doctor believes that's the cause of the wound it doesn't get treated," he explained.
"Doctors need to find out what causes these ulcers, not just blame a spider for them because in some cases you'll miss something quite significant."
In research published in today's issue of the international medical journal The Lancet, Dr Isbister revealed that ulcers put down to spider bites had a range of other causes.
"We did a study in Newcastle where we looked at all the referrals over two years and the most common causes were different types of infections," he said.
"Golden staph is the most common but also fungal infections and some unusual immune conditions all cause these difficult-to-treat ulcers - in every case we found a cause other than spider bite."
One man referred to Dr Isbister and colleagues had an ulcer on his toe for two months which he and his doctors believed had been caused by a white tail spider bite.
"The surgeon had operated on it twice and he said he couldn't do anything about it," he said.
"We grew some bacteria off it and started him on the right antibiotics and it was gone in two or three days.
"In another case in Adelaide, there was a skin cancer that was missed for two or three years."
Funnelweb and redback spider bites were the only ones in Australia that needed medical attention, Dr Isbister said.
"In a study of 750 spider bites we showed that funnelweb bites were the most severe, but not very common, and redback spider bites were more common but not life-threatening," he said.
"If you've been bitten by a funnelweb spider, call an ambulance and go straight into hospital, but for redbacks we say if that pain's getting more severe and you want something done about it then go to hospital, but don't call an ambulance."
2007-01-05 08:15:15 · answer #1 · answered by : ] be happy 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
White Tail Bite
2016-11-05 11:17:29 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, it won't kill you but its bite can eat flesh. I was bitten by one and have the scarring to show it.
Like any other insect, if you are allergic to the sting/bite then you will scar and/or get a reaction to it
2007-01-04 21:38:24 · answer #3 · answered by Brighteyz 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't think so... the only spiders in North America that are capable of killing a person are the brown recluse and the black widow. But... why is this in martial arts?
2016-03-18 03:25:49 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm a nurse. All spiders are toxic some are less than others, see a doctor.
2007-01-05 16:10:33 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
No. It was suspected to cause flesh eating problems but apparently this is not true.
2007-01-04 21:24:22 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It will leave flesh eating symptoms
And will also make you very sick
2014-10-24 01:00:49 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
idk ask a doctor
2007-01-05 12:05:44 · answer #8 · answered by cloverlover531 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋