![]() But in the minds of the public and the news media, white-tailed spiders still cause most necrotic sores in Australia. Not one patient developed any necrotic lesion. All patients found the bites painful (not severely so in most cases) the majority developed a red mark that sometimes stayed itchy for a few days. In 2003 appeared an exemplary study of no less than 130 authentic Lampona bite cases with the spider caught and identified. That belief is still very much with us, but it shouldn't be. Would it surprise you to hear that no spider was caught and identified in any of these cases? But thanks to the number of reports, all Australians (both medical and non-medical) became convinced of the danger of white-tailed spider bites. Six reports published from 1987-2001 attributed severe skin necrosis cases in Australia to the bite of white-tailed spiders, genus Lampona. Unlike most spider bites, puncture marks from this spider's impressive fangs can actually be seen about half the time. This spider has very large and strong jaws, and can penetrate deeply when it bites humans, but a 2006 study of 16 verified bites showed that the main symptom was the pain of the puncture and that the venom had little effect. According to one off-the-wall online comment, Dysdera venom "in very rare occurrences … can be fatal as a result of an allergic reaction" (that person must be psychic since no such case has happened to date). Nobody should have taken seriously the conclusion that this spider caused the man's symptoms, but they did, and the "poisonous" nature of Dysdera entered folklore. ![]() In 1993, a man with no medical or arachnological credentials somehow managed to get an article published in the respected New Scientist about a roommate who felt "a rapid series of jabs" while carrying furniture and later became seriously ill and noticed blistered skin around "puncture marks." A spider found running across the floor hours after the supposed bite was Dysdera crocata, called the woodlouse spider because it preys on those land-dwelling crustaceans. mildei has developed any lesion, and a 2006 study of 20 verified cases (main symptom: bee-sting-like pain) should kill this belief – but it won't! I'm sure yellow sac spiders will stay on "dangerous spider lists" for years to come. However, to date no human bitten by an authentic C. To do them justice, the authors didn't publish their conclusions until they had seemingly confirmed Cheiracanthium toxicity with guinea pigs, about half of which developed lesions after experimental bites. "All attributed the lesions to spider bites acquired indoors … None of the patients actually saw a spider bite him." Cheiracanthium mildei, a buff-colored spider confusingly called "yellow sac spider" was a suspect since it was the most common house spider in Boston at the time. In 1970, two respected Harvard scientists published a study of five patients with necrotic skin lesions. (Some of the original cases were probably really recluse spider bites). But the old medical myth is not dead yet it appears in textbooks and is often misapplied to other unrelated wolf spiders in other countries. None of the 515 patients developed necrosis and most suffered only mild pain. Not until 1990 was there a scientific study of 515 authentic Lycosa bite cases (with the spider kept and identified) that disproved the long-held belief. ![]() An antivenom was developed and used on many patients. erythrognatha), well known locally as a "biter." For decades this spider was considered one of the most medically important in Brazil. No one definitely identified the actual biting spiders, but it seemed obvious to the authors that it must have been a large wolf spider, Lycosa raptoria (by some considered the same as L. In 1925, a report appeared about several Brazilian patients with severe necrotic lesions from spider bites. Myth: Yellow sac spiders, white-tailed spiders, woodlouse spiders and wolf spiders have dangerous bites.įact: See if you can detect a pattern in the following cases.
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