Redback spider bite question...

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I was bitten by something when I was cleaning out the garage, never saw what it was but ended up having palpitations for the rest of the day...
 
I was bitten on the back of the head by a redback, the pain was excrutiating and I suffered really bad nausea, sweating, etc. I decided to ride it out but ended up taking myself to the doctors a week later when the bite site just wasn't getting better and was looking a bit infected. Antibiotics fixed it up and after another week it was all fine. Fun fact though - my hair now grows white out of the bite site.
 
I was bitten on the back of the head by a redback, the pain was excrutiating and I suffered really bad nausea, sweating, etc. I decided to ride it out but ended up taking myself to the doctors a week later when the bite site just wasn't getting better and was looking a bit infected. Antibiotics fixed it up and after another week it was all fine. Fun fact though - my hair now grows white out of the bite site.
Since you also live in Queensland I was wondering if you had noticed a decline in the redback spider numbers or is it just me?
 
To be honest I don't think I've ever seen a redback on the coast in Queensland! I've seen plenty out west, and it was in NSW where I was bitten. I really can't think if I've ever seen one locally.
 
my chihuahua who weighs 1kg got bitten on the neck by a red back a few years back, i busted her chasing it and attacking it, trying to bite it ect and took her inside, within 30 min her neck swelled up, she felt really hot, beathing fast and wouldn't move much so i rushed her to the vets they gave her anti biotics and quartazone cream and was sent home to recover, took 2 weeks for the site to heal. this has now happened 3 times in the 9 years i have owned her, the last 2 times i dunno what spider bit her but was the same reaction. she will never learn!
 
Just be mindful that you might start climbing vertical walls and develop a craving for flies and other small insects.
Norm, I must admit that the same joke also came immediately to mind when reading that comment.

Jamie, an interesting quote from book called The Silken Web: “The absorption of the venom in the lymphatic system can then cause the patient to experience intense pain in the lower limbs. Intense shivering may follow, accompanied by profuse perspiration of the bitten limb while the rest of the body remains dry. This symptom is only seen with the bite from a Red-back Spider.”

AHGs are now included in the literature as established as far south as Port Macquarie.

Red-backs prefer warm, dry areas and will put up with plenty of light if the other conditions are met. Human habitation suits them well as the electric lights and food scraps also attract their insect prey. Thankfully they are very unaggressive spiders, normally dropping to the ground in a ball if threatened. Bites normally occur when squeezed or rolled against human flesh or brushed with a hand.

I am truly amazed at the number of people who decided to “ride out” a bite. OK, the venom is very slow acting but spreading symptoms, particularly intense pain, is your body telling you there is something very wrong happening. There have been no fatalities from either Funnel-webs or Red-backs since the introduction of antivenom for each. Bites from Redback are a lot more common, but you still need to bear in mind that Red-backs are responsible for an equal number of recorded fatalities to Funnel-webs. That is a serious track record! Clearly, major symptoms should not be trivialised.

Sainthanger, it would have been a Red-back each time. Apart from the fact that the reaction was identical each time, most bites from Australian spiders produce localised symptoms only. I would have thought more than Cortisone was required to address the venom’s effects. Could be it works differently on dog’s body chemistry.

Blue
 
AHGs are now included in the literature as established as far south as Port Macquarie.

I would have thought more than Cortisone was required to address the venom’s effects. Could be it works differently on dog’s body chemistry.


I remember reading awhile back that AHG's were found in a transport company warehouse in Canberra. Presumably hitching their way south.

It wouldn't surprise me if redback venom worked differently on a dog vs a primate. I know that funnelweb venom has almost no effect on dogs, cats and most mammals for that matter. The fact that humans and other primates are particularly sensitive to one out of the forty odd proteins in funnelweb venom is purely bad luck. We didn't evolve alongside one another and we obviously aren't a significant threat or a food source. However, that one peptide is particularly lethal to insects as well, the spiders main food source.
 
Thanks Mike, the lower limb thing (sweaty shins(!) and feeling like I was walking on broken glass)) and the shivering while having a normal body temp were what drove me to get further help, and hospital staff immediately said I meet the criteria for antivenom - basically generalised symptoms far from the bite site. It was an easy process, requiring about 15 mins for the IV infusion, and a 2 hour observation period following that to make sure there was no anaphylaxis. After 2 hours I was entirely pain free and all evidence of a problem had vanished before I went to bed that night.

Why would you not seek the quickest way to resolve what can be a problem that can last weeks if not attended to asap?

Jamie
 
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