FIRST AID FOR SPIDER BITES

The venom that spiders use to immobilise and digest prey is not necessarily poisonous to warm-blooded animals,including humans.
Certain species can cause death by introducing an extremely toxic substance into the bloodstream, however, the bites of the vast majority of species cause no more inconvenience than a local swelling or pain which passes quickly.

SYMPTOMS OF FUNNEL-WEB BITE

1.
 The fang action produces two clearly visible puncture marks.
2.
 Pain and numbness usually occur at the site of the bite within 10 minutes.
3.
 Nausea and vomiting follow.
4.
 Profuse perspiring and fainting occur.
5.
 The victim salivates excessively, frothing at the mouth.
6.
 Breathing difficulties may turn the victim blue.
7.
 Cramps and pain spread through the body.
8.
 The victim may become delirious.
9.
 There may be violent twitching and contractions of facial and limb muscles; reflexes may slow down; eyes may not respond to light.
10.
 The victim may then lapse into a coma. The secretion of excess fluids into the lungs, and failure of muscles used for breathing are the most likely cause of death.

FIRST AID TREATMENT FOR FUNNEL-WEB BITE

Now that antivenom for this bite is available Australia-wide, full recovery is almost certain; note, too, that envenomation does not always occur with the bite.
However, treatment at the nearest hospital should always be sought promptly.
1.
 Keep the patient as still and calm as possible.
2.
 Do not remove clothing from the wound - roll, push or cut it away.
3.
 Do not elevate the bitten area.
4.
 Do not squeeze, rub, suck or slash open the wound - any such action will only spread the venom more quickly into the bloodstream.
5.
 Apply a crepe bandage as tightly as you would for a sprain, and extend it the entire length of the limb if possible. If you have no bandage, tear strips from a shirt, dress etc.
6.
 Attach a splint of any rigid material (e.g. a branch) to immobilise the limb. This can help the body to break down the venom.
7.
 Do not give the patient any fluids or stimulants.
8.
 Keep the patient warm as this can help to reduce pain.
9.
 Take the patient to hospital promptly, but without panic, and if possible take along the spider too, for identification.

For a bite to the trunk of the body, apply firm pressure to the wound with crepe bandage and seek antivenom treatment as fast as possible. (A bite to the neck or head cannot be treated with first-aid.)

Note: Do not use the pressure-immobilisation method for any other spider bite - it should be used only for a Funnel-web bite. Most important, apply the bandage as fast as possible.

The effects of a Funnelweb bite wear off after a few hours of being vaccinated.


SYMPTOMS OF RED-BACK BITE

Before an effective antivenom was developed in 1956,12 people in Australia were reported to have died from this bite; no-one has died from it since.
1.
 The bite produces a clearly visible puncture mark.
2.
The venom is normally very slow to act, and the first symptom (usually apparent within an hour) is a slight stinging sensation at the site of the bite.
3.
 If not treated promptly the patient may experience swelling and tenderness around
the puncture, and a white patch may form, with local pain (the extent of this varies with each case).
4.
 After some hours, stiffness around the infected area may occur.
5.
 Absorption of the venom in the lymphatic system can cause the patient intense pain in the lower limbs.
6.
 Intense shivering may follow, with profuse perspiring of the bitten area but the rest of the body remaining dry. This symptom occurs only with a Red-back bite
7.
 Sometimes paralysis of the lower limbs occurs.

FIRST AID TREATMENT FOR RED-BACK BITE

An antivenom is available in all major hospitals Australia-wide. If the bite occurs far from any hospital, proceed as follows.
1.
 Do not panic. The effects of a bite can take hours, even days, to take effect, so there is ample time to reach a hospital for antivenom treatment - of course, the sooner the treatment the better.
2.
 Keep the patient as still and calm as possible.
3.
 Remove any tight clothing and make the patient as warm and comfortable as possible.
4.
 Do not elevate the bitten area; do not squeeze, rub, slash open or suck at the wound, all these actions will spread the toxin.
5.
 Do not give the patient any fluids.
6.
 Do not apply restrictive bandages to a Red-back bite. The amount of venom injected by this spider is tiny and moves very slowly; restriction only causes more pain.
7.
 Ice can alleviate pain, but do not apply it directly to the skin - wrap it in a towel.

SYMPTOMS OF WHITE-TAILED BITE



This species is, of all Australian spiders, suspected as the chief cause of necrosis (death of tissue). This nocturnal Open Range Hunter of the Sac group occurs throughout Australia and has adapted to living in houses, especially bedrooms and bathrooms.
1.
 The bite produces a clearly visible puncture mark.
2.
 The bite can cause a burning local pain, sometimes followed by blistering and ulceration; however, the symptoms have no predictable pattern.
3.
 The speed of tissue damage and of other symptoms varies widely. Ulceration may begin with surface blistering or with a darkening of the flesh beneath the bite.
4.
 Reaction can be either rapid and painful, with violent vomiting and diarrhoea, or gradual with relatively little pain.
5.
 If necrosis spreads extensively, the only way to retard the damage is to remove the dead tissue and scrape around it. The wound may require skin graft. In some cases toes and fingers have required amputation, but skin grafting has been completely successful in other cases.
It is thought that the skin is consumed by a digestive enzyme that liquefies the internal tissues of the spider's prey, and it is also thought that in some way this digestive enzyme can renew itself.

FIRST AID TREATMENT FOR WHITE-TAILED BITE

Although dangerous, the bite is not fatal.
An amino acid L-Cysteine ointment can counteract the necrotic effect of the venom. It has been found that aloe vera in ointment or fresh leaf form can also greatly help to neutralise the effects of the bite; apply it generously over the wound three or four times a day until it heals. The portion of flesh-dissolving enzymes contained in the venom of a single bite would fit on the head of a pin. The venom carries the bacterium Mycobacterium ulcerans, the microscopic organism that is believed to cause the spread of an infected, ulcerous sore.

Information & Graphics kindly supplied by:
Spiderwatch by Bert Brunet, New Holland Publishers.