I was just bitten by a spider?

Question

I was just bitten by a spider. I live in melbourne australia. The spider was black, all black and as big a 50 cent piece. It had no markings on it. It was just a black spider. I dont feel anything just a little bit of stinging at the site. Can anyone tell me if this spider is poisonous and if i should be worried. (only cause i am home alone with my 9 month old son with no way to a hospital, so i sort of need to know whether someone knows if this spider is posinous or not.

Black widows are not found where I am, They are not common at all in melbourne and are found mostly in sydney. They do not commonly venture inside houses and people are most likely to be bitten while digging in the garden

Answer 1

Ring 000 or nurse-on-call for questions if your worried

Answer 2

Many spiders like you described are not poisonous but will leave a bite mark. Watch the site for infection. You can call a local hospital for advice if you wish too. Avoid walking outside with bare feet, especially at night. When gardening, wear shoes, long trousers and thick gloves to guard against any spiders, scorpions, centipedes or stinging insects. Wandering spiders can enter houses at ground level, often under a door. Fitting weather strips or using draft excluders can block this entry route. Fitting fly-screens to windows and wall ventilators will prevent any climbing spiders from obtaining access. A cleared area around the house will discourage burrowing spiders from making burrows there. I hope you use some of these tips to avoid future spider bites.

Answer 3

How do you know how big a 50 cent piece is if your in Australia?? What state are you in?? That would help to figure out whether you got nailed by a "Widow" or a dark wolf spider that thought you were something to eat.. HERE'S a link you can look and see if the "Widow" got you; but if she did; you'd have a painful, cyst like thing growing out of the bite place, and then it'll start to "Oooze" and will need to be "Lanced", and drained,,It really sucks; I know,, I hope it wasn't the "Widow",,but you almost have to go out and find them.. Are you sure your not just Arachnophobic and you got licked by a "Daddy Long Legs" or something like that???

Answer 4

If it's big, then it isn't a black widow. I'm not sure, but I think there are variations of stuff like a brown recluse (yes, brown) that's black, but I don't think anything big is poisonous, not deathly anyway.

I wouldn't take any risks though, go get some sort of help. I wouldn't panic and go to the ER though.

Answer 5

It may be a black house spider. These spiders can cause a nasty bite but you aren't likely to collapse or need medical attention.
But if you feel anything out of the ordinary (sweating, nausea, headache, etc) then definitely seek help.
You could always ring the 24 hour Nurse on Call helpline (Australian Only). They are very helpful and can give you proper advice.

Or check this out...
http://museumvictoria.com.au/spiders/detail.aspx?id=2

Answer 6

It may be a Black Widow. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_widow_spider

The red marking in on the underside and may not be visible from above. The spider is poisonous, but not usually serious for healthy adults. If the spider was poisonous, there will be inflammation at the bite after a while. If that happens, it would be a good idea to call a hospital.

Answer 7

most big spiders arent poisenous, unless its a funnel web or something (look it up on google to see if its that) but i wouldnt worry about it, i mean im not a doctor or anything, the best advice i can give you, is if you start to feel feverish or anything like that, then u know something is wrong, but if nothing happens within an hour or soething u should be fine, drink plenty of water, and to be on the safe side maybe just cut the circulation off with a bandage incase it is poisenous

Answer 8

if your muscles start to tens up than Daile 911

Black House Spiders are timid animals and bites from them are infrequent. The bite may be quite painful and cause local swelling. Symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, sweating and giddiness are occasionally recorded. In a few cases skin lesions (Necrotising Arachnidism) have developed after multiple bites

Answer 9

u need to be very specific in describing the spider.
since there are many type of spiders,it's best that u go to the doctor if u feel something wrong.
also,not to make u paranoid but watch over the baby...
try looking it up on the internet,maybe u could find a match of the spider which bit u.

Answer 10

The best site I use to identify spiders is http://www.spiderzrule.com and I guarantee you'll find it there, as well as enough info about it to find out if you are at risk for reaction.

Here are the Australian spiders that are dangerous. Scroll down to the danger zone to identify if this is a Fennel Web spider or another dangerous spider.

http://www.spiderzrule.com/commonspidersaus.htm

Good luck!

Answer 11

IMHO, better safe than sorry. Without photos showing the entire spider there's no way to know if it was poisonous or not.

Some bites take time to expose how much damage they'll do.