I think you know what’s coming. Anyway…
Yesterday was another bank holiday Monday here in Australia, this time for Labour Day. That’s two bank holidays on the trot, and I’m told there’s another one on its way. Perhaps I need to go back and read my own post about Australian bank holidays to see when it is.
So, what happened during our long weekend here? Let me tell you.
One of Australia’s most feared spiders is the Redback. Just before I moved here to Australia, one of my friends back in the UK who had lived and worked in Australia for a year at some point, told me that Redbacks were so strong and powerful that they could actually bite your foot through your thongs. (That’s flip-flops to us English).
Dave, you were talking twaddle!
But what is it really like to be bitten by a Redback Spider? The chances of finding out are quite remote, most sources quote around 2,000 Redback bites occur in Australia each year. So by my maths I would have a one in 10,000 chance of finding out.
Lucky, lucky me……… On Saturday, I found out!
So here’s what happened. On Saturday at around four o’clock in the afternoon, as the sun was getting cooler, I decided to do a bit of tidying up in the garden. It’s autumn here and a perfect time for trimming back the weeds and the overgrowth just ahead of winters dry weather.
By about a 5:45 PM I’d finished chopping off all the excess growths and I was picking up all of my trimmings in large bunches, carrying them up the driveway and throwing them all into one big pile. It was getting quite dark so I couldn’t really see much.
All of a sudden, whilst transporting one of these bunches I became aware of intense pain in the back of my wrist. The pain grew quite fast and although I have never hammered a nail into any part of my body, this was how I imagined it would feel.
As the pain grew even more, I decided to go in doors and take a look at it under the light. This is what I saw……
Nothing!
Well, if anything, a very very tiny barely visible white mosquito bite like bump was all I could see. But the area around the pain was starting to look red and flushed.
Then it started to sweat, but just in that little circle where the pain was, nowhere else. I’ve never seen anything like it. I took a shower…….. that’s just something I like to do now and then…… and I washed off all the sweat at the same time. But out of the shower after having dried myself, I watched as the beads of sweat formed another circle around the back of my wrist again.
But by now the intense nail penetration like pain of before was fading, which was good news. But that pain was being replaced by a new, burning pain, which was bad news. But given the choice though, I preferred the burning.
Intrigued, I decided I would ask Google Australia what had bitten me, so I searched for “identify bite sweat” because for me, the localised sweating was the identifying factor. And that’s when I discovered that most of my search results led to the Redback Spider bite.
“Can’t be,” I thought “those things kill!” (Well, they haven’t since 1956.)
The more I read about the Redback bite, the more likely it seemed that it was a Redback that bit me.
- Bites occur typically when the spider is disturbed in the garden or shed. (Tick)
- The initial bite may not be felt. (Tick)
- Puncture marks are not always visible. (Tick)
- Local intense pain follows after about five minutes. (Tick, probably, I didn’t feel the bite remember.)
- Localised sweating often occurs around the bite. (Tick)
- May cause a burning sensation. (Tick)
By now it was around 6:30 PM and many of the websites I had visited advised anyone bitten to seek immediate medical attention. But I was feeling just fine and to be truthful, the pain subsided and was now really quite manageable. My only symptom was still the red flushing, some burning and the 2 inch circle of sweaty and very sticky skin.
But I had also read in my research that the Redback Spider’s venom was very slow acting and took a long time to find its way around your body. I didn’t like the idea of turning green and warty at midnight and thinking “Dang! I should have got some antivenom.” So I telephoned my doctor who was very helpful last time we had an emergency out of hours.
He was out but his wife (also a doctor) answered the phone and she was very helpful. Here’s what she had to say….
“Lots of people get bitten by Redback Spiders and for most it is not a problem. It is only a very small minority who suffer a reaction and if it is going to happen, it will happen within around three hours. So the next couple of hours are critical. If you suffer from palpitations, nausea, vomiting, headaches, difficulty breathing, abdominal pains or a fever any time before 9 PM, get yourself to a hospital. We don’t carry the antivenom here at our local surgery.
“Take an antihistamine tablet if you have one, use an ice pack to ease the pain if you want to and drink plenty of water.”
Well I didn’t take an antihistamine, I didn’t use an ice pack but I did take some of her advice about drinking plenty of water. When I say “some”, I took note of the “drink plenty” part and ignored the “of water”. I hit the beer fridge!
Well, that’s what happened when I got bitten by a Redback Spider. Was it a Redback? Well, just after I came off of the phone to the doctor, Beninoz and his family arrived. We were having a slap up a pizza together. Yum!
Before I told him anything of my research, I showed him the bite and asked him what he thought it was. “Redback” was his answer. The next day I spoke to Lisa, a born and bred Aussie who was bitten by a Redback when she was a little girl.
“Did you get the burning? Did you get the intense pain? Was there no sign of an actual bite? Sounds like a Redback to me.” was her verdict.
Medical disclaimer!
I can never be 100% certain it was a Redback bite, but I would say I am 90% sure. For me, it was nowhere near as bad as I would have thought it would be. Getting bitten by a Redback Spider would have ranked really high on my list of things NOT to do. Now that it has happened, well, it wasn’t so bad.
Maybe I’m just lucky I’m not one of the minority who react badly, maybe my Redback was just a tiny little Redback, maybe my Redback got brushed off of my wrist before she had finished envenomation, or maybe my Redback wasn’t a Redback at all.
Either way, my experience wasn’t that bad. But according to my research, around 250 Redback Spider antivenom are administered each year here in Australia. So it sounds to me like over 10% of those bitten do react badly and will need medical attention, which is what many websites recommend that you seek. Which is, I suppose, what I did, having phoned my doctor.
So I am not going against the advice given in any other website, I’m just letting you know what happened to me. If it had been my daughter who was bitten, she’d have been straight off to hospital. But I will say that the Redback Spider bite, for some, may well not be anywhere near as bad as you thought it would be.
If you’ve been bitten by a Redback Spider, I’d love to hear if you think it was a Redback that bit me. What was your experience like? There’s no need to register, just enter your comment below.
Did anything else happen on Saturday? Yes, actually it did. And this event really should have ended in death. But I’ll tell you about that tomorrow.
{ 110 comments… read them below or add one }
You must be turning into a proper aussie now Bob. Stuff the doc’s advice and have a brewski! Classic!
Yes, I feel I have completed a major initiation. Still have a few major hurdles left though. Like getting excited over the cricket. I need more time……
In the process of pursuading the wife™ that a move to Oz would be a good thing, despite me being a bit scared of spiders! Snakes, not a problem at all. But spiders, shudder. Feel better after reading this, more so because I have 3 young kids and was wondering just how dangerous spider bites were to them. The boy is only 3 and has no fear of spiders at all, often find him wondering around the house with a huge spider clenched in his fist!
Hi Phil
Our little girl was only 3 aswell when we came out here. And similarly fearless. We just told her that insects were different out here and to let us know whenever she saw one, whatever it was, and not to touch! And she has.
But that was in the early days, these days we don’t really think about it. It’s almost a non-issue. Both spiders and snakes, we never seem them. So do your best to persuade your wife™ because the lifestyle when you get here is well worth it.
Good luck!
You are right I have lived in australia all my life, mainly in small country towns and it wasnt until i moved to the city I have been bitten by many white tail and my first red back spider. But unless your one of the unlucky few it isn’t worth being scared about .. just using common sense
One very important advice white tails dont hurt much but I would defiently tell you to apply vinegar to the bite (even if your not sure, I do it with all my insect bites) and it stops it from going neucrotic (rare cases) but if you dont put vinegar on early it will leave a little scar. I’ve also heard urine works but I’ld probably go vinegar first.
Vinegar however does not do anything for redback bites and yes yours defiently sounds like a redback. I think the intense sweating on the bitten area gives it away the most. I Have to say red back bites are defiently the worse pain wise. Its managable but defiently an intense pain.
Congratualtions on becoming an official aussie
:P:P
The vinegar tip is a good one, I think it works well for jellyfish stings too. The other method you mention might well be worth a try, if you haven’t got any vinegar on you.
It might sound strange Rebecca, but I did feel quite privileged when I was bitten by that redback, almost like it was some kind of initiation. I hope they take it into account when I apply for my Australian citizenship.
Never been bit by any spider but the spider that looks close to that one (the Black Widow Spider “Red Hour Glass mark”) was in under my hood of my car when I was looking at my engine and tried to get my hand in to fix something then I saw the spider just inches from my hand and my heart skipped a beat and pulled my hand away from it before it could do anything. Im now always going to check thoughly before attempting to put my hand in anything that could nest spiders.
Yes, the redback spider is related to the “widow”, all are member of the genus Latrodectus family. Best avoided, for sure, but you’ll soon get bored with checking every dark place first. I know, because I used to do it when I first arrived in Australia, but I don’t bother now.
I hope you fixed your car
I came across this page while searching for ‘what happens if you get bitten by a redback’ as I just found one of the little buggers hanging down from the aircon vents in my 4 year olds bedroom while shes asleep. I immediately started stressing.. what if theres more… how will i know if she gets bitten by one… Thanks for the info here, it rested my mind a little! Although I have been born and bred in Australia I have never been bitten by a redback or white tip. I do know 2 people who have been bitten by redbacks, the first one ended up in hospital barely breathing, the second had no effects at all. Shows how different people can have different reactions, although that doesnt put my mind at ease that my girls wont have the adverse reactions!!! Just to add aswell, my brother in law was bitten in the webbing of his fingers by a white tip, his skin blistered and started peeling away. It has left a scar. Horrible things.. where did spiders come from anyway and why cant we make them extinct!!!!!
Hi Jazi
You don’t want to take any chances if there’s a possibility of redbacks in and around your little girl’s bedroom, I think you need to apply some pest control to the area. You can do it yourself by buying a pest treatment from the supermarket or a hardware store, you’ll probably be able to get something for around $20-$30.
Or call a professional. But the last thing you want is your little girl getting bitten by redbacks, even if she doesn’t have a bad reaction, it will surely cause her more pain than you’d ever want her to go through. I’d get spraying!
Oh, and spiders aren’t so bad, I wouldn’t want to see them extinct. Who would kill all the flies?
Hi,
Interesting reading, as i got bitten just yesterday by a redback..how do i know it was a redback, because i caught the bitch biting on my arm and put her in a container.Initially it felt like a really stingy mosquito it was OUCH for sure.To cut a long story short i didn’t panic as i felt fine initially, but headed off to doc’s as the arms was getting red and swollen.Was in a bit of pain the doc rang the hosp and advised me to come in for the anti venom, i was prescribed panadeine forte, so went home and thought i would be fine??? WRONG I ended up in E.R OMG the pain was horrid arm was very red and quiet swollen not to mention on fire.From then on i got worse, headache arm was on fire/and the nail part you mentioned is spot on. I started to get the shivers which i couldn’t control, seemed to come from the inside out, my blood pressure was at 211 not good. I ended up having to have the anti venom and within ten minutes it was like a freekin miracle. I am still sore today but very tolerable just annoying. So yes i agree with you you defo got bitten by a redback.Because it made me so ill they were ready to take me to resus!! i am going to get one tattooed in victory
Not just OUCH. OUCH OUCH I’d say!
So, let me get this straight. You decided not to go for the antivenom, thinking panadeine forte would deal with it. But it didn’t and the pain ramped up? Was it within three hours, like my doctor said?
So how long after the bite did you actually get the antivenom?
This sounds nasty, did anyone in the hospital suggests that you are one of the minority to get a reaction.
What did you do with the spider? Did you forgive him? Or did you squish him?
It’s good to hear that the antivenom worked so quickly though, and we don’t even want to think what might have happened if this had been 1965!
Hope the tattoo comes out good.
Cheers
Bob
Hey BOB,
I got bitten at 11:20am and got the anti venom around 3:30pm.Yes i kept the little spider in the container,she was one feisty lil biarch was trying to bite the fingers from inside the jar!! And yes when i got to the E.R i certainly got attention apparently i was the worst they had seen and wanted me to go on this study.Where they take bloods then more bloods then more bloods then either give you real anti venom or fake, but i think the follow up was weeks.By this stage i was feeling rather shitty my teeth were chattering and i just felt yuk,not to mention the freekin pain,they were talking of taking me to resus.So a head doc more or less got rid of the on lookers and told me i have two options, he helped me choose the straight anti venom as he knew i needed it. Apparently the study was because they were not to sure if the anti venom even worked!!!!!!!! um i vouch for YESSSS.Yes we kept the spider in the jar,she was in the freezer for two days(she deserved it) but have disposed of her now.Oh and your question the real terrible pain kicked in prob about an hour or so after the bite,before that i was kinda fine with it. To say i am now paranoid of meeting another one is an understatement LOL
P.S i still had minor pain in the area two days later, but all good now.They say i may get crook in a week or two from having the anti venom(serum sickness) fingers crossed i don’t
That would be like turning up at the dentist to have a wisdom tooth removed to be told “We’re not sure whether these anaesthetic injections really work or not, so we are running an experiment. You’ll either get a real injection or a placebo. Interested? Great! I’ll go and get my pliers and you tell me whether this hurts or not”.
Except worse!
I’m sure they knew what they were doing, but when you are possibly close to death, the last thing you want is a placebo! Thankfully, at least one doctor was smart enough to work out that you needed the real antivenom.
Nobody has died from a redback spider bite since antivenom was introduced in about 1984, and some doctors are still trying to figure out if it works or not?
Anyway, glad you are okay now and for the rest of us, as soon as that real pain kicks in after about an hour, get some antivenom!
//I didn’t like the idea of turning green and warty at midnight and thinking “Dang! I should have got some antivenom.”//
I literally laughed out loud
Love your sense of humour, that is an “Access All Areas Pass” to Australian life.
I’ve never worried about Redbacks, they are easy to avoid. Information that might have been useful to you earlier, they make really messy webs and they love to hide under fence capping outside. Plus, people don’t die from being bitten by one. Funnel web spiders on the other hand, they are one the best reasons not to live in Sydney, apart from the cost of living, the traffic and the congestion. They are deadly and are often found in shoes and swimming pools. They can swim. No really, they can. I love Sydney, it’s a beautiful city to visit, but to live? Nah. Too big, too expensive and funnel webs. Mercifully, living in Perth, I have the Simpson desert between them and me.
Hey Lisa
Funnel web spiders aren’t just in Sydney. I thought I might of had one in my house when I first got here, I live in the western suburbs of Brisbane. Whether it really was a funnel web or not, I don’t know, but you can read about it and see a picture here….
Funnel web spider post.
Whether it was or it wasn’t, they are about in south-east Queensland. The Courier Mail said..
“Funnel-webs are found in or near southeast and northern NSW rainforests. They also occur in Brisbane suburbs near to dense bush, such as The Gap, Kedron Brook, Mt Coot-tha, Bardon, Kenmore, Brookfield, Pullenvale, Springwood, Rochedale and Capalaba and Mt Cotton in Redland City.
They also are found at Mt Tamborine, Lamington Plateau, Conondale, D’Aguilar and the Border Ranges, Cunningham’s Gap and especially around Maleny, Nambour, Fraser Island and as far north as Gladstone.”
You can read the full article here.
But I think you’re pretty safe in Perth. I’m not though.
Aaaarghhh!
hi lisa
i could have written your post, the reason i am in wa is because of the funnel webs over there!!!! when i arrived here 5 years ago the paper interviewed me as i was the only international student bunbury had ever had from the uk. they asked me why i chose bunbury and my reply was, there are funnel web spiders in sydney.
mind you i went to cut the grass the other day and there was this spider on the grass cutter bigger than my hand. omg i nearly died, i took a picture of it and its bloody eyes are glowing with the flash lol didnt think they could get that big. i had the spider man out a couple of days later and it was still there, he thought it was a wolf spider. told me he had killed it but know he was lying as it ran away (i heard its footsteps)
Hey bob.
Most people often confuse funnel web spiders with the mouse spider. They look very alike, here is a picture of a Mouse spider
http://australianmuseum.net.au/Uploads/Images/1918/dang_20_big.jpg
as you can see it looks very similar in colour and shape.
No, it wasn’t him!
I’ve got a great book called “Wildlife of Greater Brisbane” and I use it to identify just about any creature I come across in the city. So I have seen pictures of the mouse spider.
I really don’t know whether mine was a mouse or a funnel web. But I do remember reading somewhere that funnel webs take shelter from the rain in dark places. Well, it had just started raining and my back door was slightly open and this spider took shelter in the darkness behind a wooden cabinet.
So, does that prove it was a funnel web? Not at all!
But it was an ugly black thing that reminded me of the riot police of the spider world!
i got bitten on Saturday and am struggling with all the symptoms whilst staying at home.This is my 3rd bite – they seem too love me!! My hubby is a doctor who is watching me but I still feel like I should go to hospital. I am now looking after hubby who is ill and also 3 kids I ‘ll fall down last I guess
Never mind going to the hospital, sounds like you’re living in one! I hope you and all your family get well soon. Sounds like you’ve had a bit of a reaction.
I got bitten by something at about 9:00pm last night. I didnt feel it straight away, and it only started off itching a tiny bit, it was like a really small mosquito bite. Then it started to burn a little and the skin went all sticky, not beads of sweat but a wet feeling around the site. I took an antihistamine and went to bed.
This morning there is no redness and not much pain or burning at all but the skin is still wet and sticky feeling in an area about the size of a 20c piece. Its very weird. Do you think it might have been a red back bite?
It could have been, although my bite didn’t have any marking at all, nothing that looked like a small mosquito bite. Just the red sticky area.
Other than that, it really does sound like a redback bite. Seems like they are not so bad for some people, but really painful for others. See Coleen and Megan above.
It is sad to know that you were bitten by a redback spider that probably has the worst spider bite in Australia. But it is good to know that you were find after about an hour of pain. There are some kinds of spiders all over the world that can produce serious spiders bites and if you are looking to know about spider bites then you should visit seriousspiderbites.com
Thanks for the tip Michael, I will check it out.
Cheers
Bob
Hi guys,
Well I got bitten just lastnite in my shed on my shin.
Didn’t know at the time, just had an itch that then turned
Into a sharp pain up my leg towards my groin??
Wasn’t until I sat opposite my set I saw a” messy cobweb”
And jokingly said to my friends, umm guys, what if I just got
Bitten?by a red back ?i had no idea at all about this topic
And out of curiosity, looked under the seat to find one.. Urghh.
My cousins at first said I should go hospital, but I looked to google 1st?
I know right? Read a few helpful hints and decided to stick ice on it.
It has now been just over 24hours, I slept lastnite, went to work and well
All I’ve got is an annoying sweat patch and a slight stinging feeling.
I didn’t swell up either. I just hope it doesn’t get any worse .
Ps I use to be called spider woman by some friends before, referring to
My climbing the wall dance move haha.. And well, now it’s official,
I am literally a spider woman.
Thanks a lot for all info guys, it really helped.
Well, spider woman, I hope you haven’t suffered any further reactions, sounds to me as though you have got away with it.
Perhaps the red back that bit you knew about your nickname decided to go easy on the venom
I am thinking of doing my own DIY pest control, doing some google research and I found your blog. I’m terribly arachnaphobic and SCREAMED when I scrolled down and found the pic of the redback. Thanks 4 the article though!
Haha! Sorry I scared you
I hope you didn’t spray the screen with those chemicals.
Hi Bob,
I got bitten by a redback this morning as I put on my shoes. It felt like stinging nettles at first and I took an antihistamine straight away (after squishing the offender). My partner took me to Emergency and they recommended panadol and sent me home with a warning to come back if I became dizzy or nauseous. Six hours later, I still have that “nail driven into my foot” feeling but touch wood, nothing else.
Great blog and replies!
TJ
It is exactly that, isn’t it? Just like having a nail hammered into your body. Not that I’ve ever had and a nail hammered into my body, but that’s what the redback spider bite feels like.
Look on the bright side, both you and I now know that neither of us are one of the small percentage of people who have that really nasty reaction to a bite.
We just get the pain. Long live Panadol!
Yes, thank goodness!!
Yes, it is a bit comforting
I am 70. Yesterday, around 10 am, sitting down on my garden chair, I got bitten by a redback in the right calf. It felt like a rather sharp mossie bite which at first itched a little. About five hours later the calf area, while not swollen or discoloured, was aching and damp – never felt this localised sweating before. Phoned Healthdirect for advice; was told to apply an ice pack, take a painkiller and go to the doctor within 72 hours for a tetanus shot. Did neither. Now, 22 hours later, and after a good sleep, the pain and the sweaty spot are still there – but bearable. Will phone the doctor next for a tetanus shot. Have decided to inspect my garden chairs before I sit on them.
Tetanus? Nobody advised me to get a tetanus injection! Two years later though, I’m still alive.
Anyway, sorry to hear about your encounter with a redback Volker, not very pleasant, but then again, not as bad as all that either, is it? The localised sweating is unreal though, eh?
If you decide to inspect your garden chair before sitting on it, then you’ll have to inspect many other things, like your boots before putting them on, or your pillow before laying your head on it, or your hat before wearing it.. it’s all too much bother.
Could be another 70 years before you get nipped again!
Cheers
Bob
I have heard that pain is the most likely result. Small children and pets can die though!
I’m pretty sure I read or heard from somewhere that pets are immune to spider bites, and it is extremely unlikely, if not almost impossible for a small child to die from a redback spider bite.
For that to happen, the parents of this small child would have to ignore fever, vomiting and many other distressing symptoms to allow the child to suffer an allergic reaction or go into anaphylactic shock. So, really not likely.
But yes, painful!
a few years ago i was working outdoors and it started raining it was quite cold so my boss got me a weatherproof jacket out of a steel shed close by but it had been sitting there for some time and was actually infested with redbacks that i was unaware of. after having this jacket on for 10-15 minutes i started to sweat intensely and my back felt like it was on fire i kept working as the boss was a idiot but after another 5-10 mins my face,arms,neck and throat all stared swelling very badly i felt sick and began vomiting and could no longer stand i remember falling to the ground thinking i was going to die my fellow workers removed my jacket n t shirt as i said my back was killing me and i could no longer stand laying on my back and would lay on my stomach instead. they rolled me over and could see in the jacket 2 large redback spiders whic were more than likely female which can be deadly by this time i was vomiting profusely,sweating non stop swelling up and could hardly breathe or see my face was that swollen. they called n ambulence n thats all i remembernothing after that. i went into anaphalactic shock and it nearly killed me. i would advise anyone bitten by a redback to go to hospital ASAP coz it was not a fun experience and i wouldnt recommend it 2 anyone. no matter how aussie you are. i wAS bitten 4 times.
Holy crap adza87!!!! four times OMG *shudders* you poor thing
Once was bad enough for me I can’t even imagine the degree of pain you were in. Glad you came through though. I hope you squished them biarches bad. Yep I agree seek medical advice coz it really creepy up on yu.
Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch! It sounds to me adza87 that you may be one of the minority of people who suffer an allergic reaction to these bites which leads to anaphylactic shock, although being hit four times may make anybody suffer that way too, who knows?
Like Coleen, I was only bitten once, but I seemed to (thankfully) get off lightly. Coleen (did you read her comment above) suffered quite badly and clearly reacted to the bite.
As my doctor said “It is only a very small minority who suffer a reaction and if it is going to happen, it will happen within around three hours.” Unluckily for you and Coleen, I think you’re both in that small minority.
Glad you are okay now though!
Cheers
Bob
I study redbacks and keep a few as pets. Only the adult female can bite (she’s big and black with a red stripe and no white on her). For the most part they are very shy spiders – they will cower or run away in preference to using their venom, which is energy-expensive to produce. Spiders like to save energy (which is why they don’t move much). So it’s hard to get bitten. Only around a third of people are envenomed (most bites are “dry”, venomless bites). If the spider has fed recently she will inject less venom. I think I have been bitten but not envenomed. It sounds like you were bitten and venom was injected, but either a small amount or you are one of the lucky ones that doesn’t react much to it. Even so, I would have gone to hospital- it beats risking the other symptoms, which are really painful and don’t respond to pain medication. Drinking alcohol is a really, really bad idea after being bitten. If you look up what you should do after being bitten, most sites explicitly say you should not drink alcohol. I assume this is due to the effects of alcohol and its propensity to react with the venom. Think of your poor liver – it has to strain the alcohol and the venom both out of your blood.
I’m glad you didn’t suffer any really bad effects and it’s great you posted this as other people can see that usually they aren’t too bad!
Hi Buzz
Yes, I’d like to think I’m one of the lucky ones who doesn’t react, but I have also wondered whether it was either a very small spider or she didn’t inject much venom. It was teatime, maybe she had just eaten?
I really did think that drinking alcohol would act as my painkiller, but that’s probably why I wouldn’t make a very good doctor. It never occurred to me that I was making my liver work on two fronts.
I’m surprised you suggest that I should have gone to the hospital, do you think everyone should go just in case? What about the advice given to Volker above who was told he should get a tetanus shot?
Seems a little over precautions to me.
Cheers
Bob
Hi Bob,
Yes, considering only a third of those bitten suffer from symptoms and in this paper: https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2003/179/2/latrodectism-prospective-cohort-study-bites-formally-identified-redback-spiders it was concluded that administering intramuscular antivenom was not all that effective and most effects from the venom were mild, it would seem that going to hospital would be overprecautious – however, when you consider that redback venom reactions are unpredictable and allergic reactions can be severe and manifest even when they have never shown in the past, I would certainly advise going to hospital. At least your vital signs can be monitored and you can be looked after. You will probably be fine without going to hospital, but there is a small chance you may not be fine! But then, I am also someone who thinks going to hospital isn’t so much a big deal in a developed country. I err on the “better to be safe than sorry” side. I am aware that for some people it is not simple to go to hospital, like if they live a long way away from one. As for a tetanus shot, that is strange because a widow’s fangs are tiny and do not penetrate deep. I keep my shot up to date anyway because I work a lot outside and often handle raptors, but it is an odd recommendation for a spider bite. Still, I am no doctor!
Well, it probably makes sense to be prepared to make a dash to hospital if required and then make a judgement call at the first sign of any of those nasty reactions mentioned in the post. If my daughter got bitten, I’d certainly take her to hospital just as a precaution. The tetanus shot does seem a little strange to me though as well.
Read some of the posts and saw Lisas about the funnle web spider post. Like bobinoz said there not just in Sydney ther also in Tasmania because I saw 1 out the back near the wood pile. I live in the bush so there are spiders every where but this was the first funnel web I have seen ( u could teel it was a funnel web cause you could see it’s funnel shaped web hense it’s name the funnel web spider.)
Yes, they are in Tasmania for sure. According to trusted sources, they are in all states in Australia except Northern Territory and Western Australia.
I think it’s a good idea that anyone moving here at least finds out what they look like, so they know what to avoid just in case. It is rare to see one, I reckon, and remember, last time someone died from a spider bite in this country flares and mullets were in fashion.
Yer for sure I knew that it was 1 cause if the web like I said before but yes if you moving to AUS make sure you take note of what spiders are what and read up about the snakes because there just as bad if not worse when bitten far away from a hospital.
Sound advice, thanks Josh.
My husband came home from golf yesterday with what he thought was a groin strain. He was in the bushes looking for someone else’s ball! When he felt accute pain to his groin & was doubled over in pain. His kidneys & back were also hurting. He carried on playing in discomfort & thought maybe it was a kidney stone. When he arrived home 6 hours later the burning cessation in his calf became unbearable . He then knew he had been bitten. The area on the calf was wet around the bite. The pain in his feet was excruciating so we headed off to emergency. They monitored him for 3 hours but released him without anti venom as his heat rate & blood pressure was ok. Dosed with codeine & strong pain killers . This morning the pain in his feet is still unbearable & spreading to his hands. His whole body is sweating & he feels very uncomfortable . It’s amazing what pain a tiny little critter can enflict. The initial bite on his calf lead to pain to the groin first & is related to the lymphatic system of the body . Standing for 5 hours contained the venom to the lower body & it wasn’t until he lay down the symptoms increased. Hope this helps other victims .
Did he find the ball?
Seriously though, that sounds like one painful bite. Was it confirmed as a redback? What is interesting is that your husband has clearly had quite a reaction to the bite, but not a big enough reaction to warrant antivenom. I think the medics are reluctant to use antivenom if they feel you can get through it without it, because there can be reactions to the antivenom itself.
It seems they decided your husband’s heart rate was okay, so they preferred to let him live through the pain. And it is amazing just how much pain these tiny things can cause, but it’s nowhere near as much pain as we can cause them if we see them first. But we never do, do we?
I hope your husband has made a full recovery.
Cheers
Bob
i am sure that your were bitten by a redback! wait… if you survived a redback, why dont you try to survive a wasp sting? what?! wait!!! im not trying to kill you!!!
Yeah, and if I survive that, I could move on to a funnel web spider, then maybe a shark, and then perhaps I could try a crocodile!
I’d get a lot of blog posts material out of that, wouldn’t I
as a local aussie i say you did a good job on this article, not only descriptive but very good locall medical advice. beer or the even more effective rum and coke solve most of our health issues. one little rarely known thing i want to point out though is while you never saw the spider odds are it was a low venom one. the color of the stripe dictates poison level. smaller sized red backs (females) are more toxic than the male counter parts and ones with a near fluro stripe are highly toxic and often lead to vommiting and hospital aid being required. however as you said the odds of a spider bite are low, more common to get eaten by a croc
additionally 2 things worth commenting on later in life. redback poison is more likely to affect children and the elderlly (weakend ammune systems?). however while most international people know of the spider treat may be worth doing a mention for the snakes which ALWAYS need medical care regardless of what occurs.
of the top 10 most poisonous snakes in the world aus is home to 8 of them. and while not all in 1 area their is at least 1 dangerous snake in every location of australia. as Americans know with rattle snakes if bitten get aid asap but do not expect our snakes to flee like normal ones. the inland taipan is notoriously agressive and will go out of its way to attack people it deems is on its turf.
Hi Will, great advice, I’m off to buy a bottle of rum in case I get any more ailments
I think you are right, my suspicion is the redback that bit me wasn’t very toxic, I really don’t think my bite was painful enough to live up to the redback name. Snakes though, as you say, different story. If bitten, get help fast and it’s a good idea to make yourself acquainted with the first aid procedures to deal with such a bite.
I have written a bit about that here.
Cheers
Bob
I got bitten by one last Sunday. I got the pain straight away, and that lasted a few days.
On the Monday afternoon, I get the shortness of breath; I thought it was because I didn’t exercise enough – totally didn’t hook it up to the bite.
On Monday night I had a strong pain in my left arm, leg and side for like 6 hours. It wouldn’t go away – I still didn’t connect it to the bite and thought, too much exercise.
I got to sleep and woke up unable to feel my arms, totally numb, but the pain was still there. I thought, I’m having a heart attack. I checked my heart, beating strongly and pretty rhythmically. My arm feeling came back after a bit of moving about.
Then I got stomach cramps and nausea and spent the next 3 hours on the toilet with nothing coming out.
The next morning I googled all the symptoms and found it was probably a red back. I never saw the thing myself either.
My friend talked me into going to the doctor, who said the wound looked to have a bacterial infection and put a silver, anti-biotic dressing on it that I have to wet 4 times a day to activate, and gave me a course of antibiotics.
The wound is looking better now, but still doing the course and leaving the dressing on (today is Wednesday).
I think it was redback because the pain came when I was kneeling down on the edge of a wooden deck over water. Probably the spider was underneath and didn’t like my kneeling there.
Moral of the story: go to the doctor early if you feel weird at all.
Yes, could well have been a redback, was there no real bite mark but did the area become red and sticky? That’s what happened with me. As has been mentioned in previous comments, it appears I got off lightly, maybe mine was just a small bite.
You seem to have come off much worse than me, but then others above have been in an even worse state. Coleen got bitten so badly the doctors wanted to study her!
The obvious conclusion is that for everyone the reaction appears to be different, but we have all survived. And you are right Matthew, I certainly think that a trip to the hospital at the first sign of some kind of reaction would be a wise journey to take.
Cheers
Bob
Bitten by a RED BACK SPIDER yesterday (5th January 2013) at around 11am. The pain is extreme and relentless. Still in pain, though it has lessoned somewhat, as long as I don’t move. Got me in the calf muscle. Taking paracetamol as directed, and still applying ice packs just to numb the pain. The pain is like a stinging/burning combination. Even stingoes has little effect. Can’t bear anything on the calf area …- it is hyper sensitive. May have to go to hospital for an anti-venom assessment. Not looking forward to that. Either intravenous for 15 minutes or injected directly into the muscle. That thought just makes the nausea worse. The pain can go on for days apparently. Oh, and the female red back is dead, as are her nestlings. Made sure of that – after the event.
Oh dear, sounds like a nasty one Janene. It’s been a couple of days since the bite now, I hope the pain has eased off a good deal, maybe even gone completely. Do let us have an update if you get the chance.
Went to hospital Sunday at 12:30pm as the agony was relentless & intense, uncontrollable muscle spasms, weird pain in knees, toes and soles of feet, and nausea; & was given strong pain releif at 3:30pm. First batch of antivenom administered by IV at 4:15, as part of the RAVE testing, monitered constantly, then a second batch administered at 8:30 pm, and finally better results. More strong pain releif & I slept well in hosp. despite being woken every two hours for assessment! Assessed by the toxicologolist specialist this morning, and ok to leave. Still some minor stinging when walking, but at least now it subsides when I rest.
You do not want to go through this agony! Already have received a follow up call from the Centre, who will contact me intermittently to see how I go. Of course, if the pain increases in intensity or duration, I must go back to hospital, or should I develop any other symptoms to also go back, as a reaction to the antivenom can occur within a month or so. A very interesting yet painful experience I could have done without!
“A very interesting yet painful experience I could have done without!” – Sounds like a bit of an understatement. You have had it rough, did anyone suggest to you that you’ve been unlucky or that may be you are one of the small percentage of people who react in this way? Or was it suggested this was a bad bite?
Your experience was obviously way different to mine, would be nice to know why. Glad to hear that the pain is now under control and it sounds as though you are on your way to getting back to normal.
Pesky spiders!
Hi Bob & all,
feeling like myself again now (21/1/13). Since my last note to you, I had an incredibly itchy ankle for 24 hours, excrutiaing pain in my left big toe for 8 hours, a rash on my left leg from the knee up to the thigh, the femourus rectus muscle felt like it was made from lead for a day, and just when I thought all was well, the frever/sweats started, along with extreme exhaustion/lethergy/malais. That went on for four days, starting last weekend. The redback research centre have been contacting me regularly to check, and advised this was normal!! They assure me nothing else will occur, however, symptoms can come and go for the next two months or so! It also transpires that I was bitten 5 times! Only one was invenomated, but that’s all you need. It was one very angry female spider.
Some people can be bitten and not be invenomated, it will still hurt but no major symptoms. Males are much smaller and are rarely seen. Some may suffer anaphalactic (sp?) response from the bite, because of the bacteria from the spider and/or the venom.
General first aid for a bite is 1. apply betadine (or equivelant) to site; 2. Apply ice pack to site; 3. go to doctor for tetanus shot. If symptons persist for more than 5 hours or intensify within that time frame, go to hospital.
Best thing is to just be careful!
Great advice from someone who’s been through it, glad to hear you are okay now.
Deb, below, appears to have suffered from longer term effects including headaches, migraines and blackouts. I hope Deb has seen this, because clearly the redback research centre believe there are no long-term effects, maybe you should get in touch with them Deb?
Interesting also that you were bitten five times but only envenomated once, I wonder if that was because the first bite had venom and then for the other four bites there was no venom left?
And yes, always best to be careful!
Hi Bob and other interested people
I was bitten by a male redback almost two years ago. Dirty bugger crept down my top and bit me on the chest. I had the severe pain, headaches, stomach cramps, nausea, sweating and dizziness. I phoned the poisons information centre and was told ro apply ice and rest. The pain and headaches increased over the next couple of days, so I went to the hospital. I was kept for observation for about three hours, given a tetanus injection (spiders carry the bacteria that causes tetanus) and strong pain killers and sent home. I was not given antivenom because my symptoms were not severe enough.
The pain lasted for nearly two weeks, the stomach pains a bit longer. However, the headaches did not go away, and I had trouble with bad migraines and black outs all of 2011, which I did not link to the spider bite, but now think maybe were a long-term effect. I had a CAT scan, MRI and EEG, which showed up nothing.
Is anyone aware of long term effects of Redback spider bites? I would be interested to know if other victims have had ongoing problems.
Cheers
Deb
Sounds like a pretty nasty experience all in Deb, have the headaches and migraines now gone?
It will be interesting to hear if anybody else has had the same experience, has anybody?
Bob
All I can say is that it those who “react badly” are more than likely bitten by a female RedBack Spider as they hold the most potent venom.
I was bitten by a female RedBack in 2010 and nearly died from it, however my mum was bitten by a male and got a little sick and not much more happened.
The females are bigger than the males and do hold a stronger venom, however I dont recommend playing with either, and you will know in 15-20 minutes whether it was a female as you start to have fits and sweat head to two, your body will start to fail and you can die within hours. Lucky for me my hospital held the antivom and saved me with an hour to spare
@ellen Nearly all bites are from females, male bites are rare. Males also look different and are a lot smaller. Sounds like you’re one of those who suffer a reaction to the venom.
I had a bite about 3 weeks ago. Didn’t see what got me but had about 24 hours of pain in my ankle, couldn’t even put weight on it. Also swelled up about an inch high in a 5 inch patch around the bite and was constantly wet. At first I thought it was breaking down, but when it didn’t I realised it was sweating. Which led me to think it may have been a red back. No systemic symptoms all were localised. Still not much fun!
Hi Ellen and Pip,
Ellen, I think you are right about females having the more potent venom and therefore being more dangerous, but as Pip has pointed out, not everybody will react in the way you have suggested, it sounds like you are one of those who will react badly to this spider’s bite, and it’s only a minority of people who do that.
Pip, my reaction was pretty similar to yours, I have no idea what bit me though, male or female. I don’t really want to be bitten again, not even in the name of research
Cheers
Bob
Hi all
Was bitten on my big toe by ‘something’ this morning around 830am, didn’t feel the bite at the time and then felt a bit like an irritating mozzie bite. By the time i got to work half an hour later, my toe was a bit pink but the burning oh my!
Checked Mr Google, saw the sweaty beads on it and there you go, a redback bite [First one since came here 17 yrs ago]. Not had any other symptoms apart from throbbing toe, and my foot getting hotter, working its way towards my ankle, not particularly swollen though just uncomfortable to walk on [sitting at the office in bare feet is so liberating!] Not taken painkillers, and only iced for about half an hour, but will be visiting medical centre on the way home in a couple of hours. I did find as bit of body and a leg in my shoe when i took it off so will be checking the floor of my car to see where the rest of it went!
I guess we Brits are made of strong stuff the bites dont get through properly – Im a Yorkshire lass maybe thats what it is lol
Now take care and get that spray out – will be doing that once Im home tonight
Sam
Ah, the old spider in the shoe trick. Of course, brand-new arrivals here in Australia always take the precaution of checking inside their shoes before putting them on, but that little ritual goes out of the window after about a week.
And then this sort of thing happens.
Hope your big toe is okay, sounds like you got away with it just like I did, I don’t think it’s anything to do with being British though
Cheers
Bob
hi guys im brendan, 33 from melbourne.
i have NEVER experienced a spider bite before in my life, the only reason i was directed to this page was by research on the female redback.
i have had great fun reading all of these comments and has made me realise i am going to start wearing gloves when i am repotting my plants.
i live in a 2 story apartment complex and have lots of pot plants on my outside balcony.
luckily i dont have a backyard with a tin shed and all that jazz
to be completely honest, i am looking for a small female redback to actually keep as a pet inside a small cleaned out fish tank.
dont ask me why haha its just like an `impulse` idea that i got.
but can i find one anywhere ? no such luck.
i live alongside a very long creek/bike trail and i occasionally go down there looking at big trees with huge pieces of bark that can be easily pulled off with a stick.
no luck.
i just see some nice thick webs inside the big pieces of bark but once theyre pulled off, theres no sign of a female reddy.
just thought id let others know this is a different post and maybe an interesting one that can spark a conversation about keeping one in a small glass tank and feeding it flies etc
regards brendan from melbourne, aus
Hi Brendan
Best not to wear gloves – if a redback crawls on your hand you will probably be ok but if she crawls inside a glove she will get trapped, and neither of you will appreciate that!
Try looking in dry places, under largeish rocks near ground level – they build webs with gum-footed strands which attach the ground and they catch beetles and other insects that walk along the ground. The beetle walks into the gum footed strand and gets trapped in the sticky gum. Redbacks also seem to like garden and park benches for some reason, at least where they are introduced!
As for keeping a pet one, I completely understand, I had a pet one a while back. She was awesome! They don’t need much space, I kept her in a small container about the size of a beaker with a stick in there that she can use to structure her web around. I had two holes in there, one covered in very fine mesh for ventilation and one with a cork in it that I could remove to insert food (to minimise the risk of her escaping). I fed her an insect like a blue arsed fly once a week, maybe shove an extra one in there if I felt generous. She didn’t do much the rest of the week but was great to watch her catch flies. She liked it dark (they are nocturnal) and dry but I sprayed her once a week with a rose spraying bottle. I also kept some other redbacks the same way. If you get a wild female, feed her loads and she might give you some eggs. The spiderlings are very cute and it’s amazing watching them come out of the eggsac and spread bits of their mother’s web around, they even cooperate to catch food which is great to watch. When they get older they start eating each other though and the mother will also eat them. Good luck in finding one!
i have one in a jar at the moment,i have lots of them in my back yard we have an inground swimming pool and they like to hide in the gap where the tiles finish and the vinal liner starts a few inches above the water level,i caught one a few weeks ago when i forgot to turn the hose off and i over filled the pool and there was 4 female redbacks each with 2 egg sacks they all pulled there egg sacks up to the top of the tiles to get away from the water,ive also found them in the house many times
Here’s a picture.
Wow! She’s a beauty!!
Kirstyn, keep hold of her, Brendan will be round in the morning
you wouldn’t believe what happen last night i put a cricket in for her to eat and this morning all that was left of her was the abdomen the cricket over powered her some how,its the first time time thats happened,oh well theres heap more where that one came from
Live by the sword die by the sword; that’s nature! They got strong arms those crickets!
Hi Buzz.
thanks for the reply, i was hoping when i came back to this bookmarked page there would be a reply
ill give the rocks a go and see how i go.
its a bit hard as i live in an apartment complex and theres not much of that stuff around, but i can always go for a walk down the street and have a look if there is any dry rubbish, old furniture on someones nature strip lol
i liked the idea that you used with the mesh and especially the cork lol made me laugh a bit at the thought if she got out.
the exciting part that im looking for ward to is feeding her.
just as u mentioned like a fly, a roach, or something similar , and just watching what she does.
could sit there for an hour as im intreeged by them, especially the feeding process.
in relation to the rose spraying bottle, that was obviously for water for her yes ?
as in drinking or having a quick spray shower lol ?
ill definately check this forum every evening to see any other interesting stories that may happen to pop up and appreciate the feedback/recommendations that you left for me.
Regards brendan
Some good ideas there Buzz, and Brendan, save you keep looking in, you can tick the box and subscribe to this thread, so any time anyone makes a comment on this page, you will get an email notification.
Click on the link in that email and it will take you straight back to this page, hope that helps.
Good luck spider hunting
Hi Brendan
Luckily redbacks really like urban areas, try looking in any place that’s dry and dark, gaps in the wall, garden fences etc. You’re bound to find something.
You might find she will eat cockroaches but I didn’t have any luck with them – they have a waxy coating on their cuticle that makes it hard for them to be caught (just one of their many incredible adaptations to survival!). Moths are similar because the scales on their wings come off making them difficult to catch.
The spray bottle is just to give her a little rise in humidity. They don’t tend to drink as such and they are excellent at grooming themselves but I thought it might just be good for her little book lungs to breathe in some slightly moister air every so often. It probably isn’t necessary. It’s definitely needed if you have a juvenile (ie if there’s any white on her) or babies though, if it’s too dry when they’re moulting they will die.
Good luck! It is an interesting thread aye!
Hi Buzz,
i didnt see your reply. i only saw Bob`s first hehe.
you have great knowledge of redbacks i must say, and your advice is quite good.
another thing i might try is looking under a tyre on the side of the road or something, they would love that i think.
interesting about the roaches and moths, ill keep that in mind.
now i understand about the spray every once in a while especially on stinking days like we have had all week here in melbourne, the sun is relentless high 30`s
a tiny bit of water inside the enclosure that shes in just enough to cover the bottom. even like a cap full from a bottle of coke or maybe 2 just so its nice and moist on the bottom, she can have a swim while shes in there
ill post another message and attach a pic if i can once i find one.
i realized a 30cm glass fish tank is too big, even though 30cm is most likely the smallest you can buy, ill keep an eye out for something else.
a lot of op shops like the salvation army, st vincent d paul, have loads of interesting stuff in there and of course the shops are divided into different sections.
i pop into different locations now and then and have a look if they have small glass sized boxes, an old glass jewellery box that`s been donated etc
things like that.
ill keep in touch, hopefully next time i post ill have one
Hi BobinOz finally have introduced myself
ill subscribe to the thread and check emails daily.
I found every story and readers comment/s fascinating especially the new stories that
were being told. I was realy drawn into what they were saying especially when they explained it like a story.
Regards Brendan
Pleased to meet you Brendan, glad you are enjoying the website.
Cheers
Bob
Couple of things worth mentioning. Symptoms of redback envenoming, such as localised sweating, vomiting, and even localised pain may be ‘common’. However a lack of any of these does not discount that possibility.
The Australian Based CSL (Commonwealth Serum Laboratories) website:
http://www.toxinology.com/generic_static_files/cslavh_antivenom_redback.html
Is a good resource. It probably should be because they invented, and I believe still produce and distribute, the redback spider antivenin along with a number of others.
For instance in regards to the onset of symptoms, I was bitten this past Friday evening. I felt a mild sting shortly after leaving our garden shed where I had stood at the door for no more than a few minutes where the sight of so many rusty things the I know full well can eventually lead to work had scared me away in such a hurry that I thought I may break into an actual proper sweat…
Jokes aside, I was actually in a hurry to get on with things as the sun was going down and I had a few things left on the agenda before dinner. Regardless of it having been enough to draw my limited attention, I ignored the momentary sting and other than a quick glance to see nothing at all, I carried on with the softly spoken inner words: ‘Bugga!…. hope that’s not a redback bludy spider wot jus bit me?? Find out soon nuff I spose’ quickly fading from my head.
So I finished the more important things than me, one of which ironically enough had been to nip up the hardware to buy a new garden sprayer to replace the one I could not find earlier when junk gazing at the door of that little shed, so I could then spray the external insecticide around and knock off a few spiders…has anyone ever heard of catch 22?
Sorry lost track again…Anyhow I went inside and drank a few beers, had a shower, had dinner, put the feet up and watched a movie, and then went off to bed. When I awoke Saturday morning I got up and went about my normal day to day with no ill affect. I carried on until lunch and then noticed that my left ankle was a ‘little’ tender, however it had been subject to my past stupidity, so I though nothing more of it except perhaps that weak inner voice again saying something along the lines of: ‘Reap what ye sew pilgrim, reap what ye sew’ so I went back outside to the business at hand.
That evening (now about 24hrs since that ocker in my head had said something to me as I left the garden shed) I had a few beers, had a shower and as I was drying myself off, I realised in that very moment that my poor suffering wife’s greatest dream had finally come true….No, I did not died allowing her to check in the insurance, however I had just become a truly sensitive guy, a SNAG if you like, in a most astounding way.
You see all the skin on my body, my arms, legs, torso, face and even that thin hairless film covering my excursively thick bony skull, all of it.. had become hypersensitive. Every hair upon my arms and legs was on end just like I had witnessed…oh never mind. But as I was drying off, just wiping the towel over my body was mildly painful.. A short time latter and the inner chills has started. A while after that and the headache…Standard at first for one who rarely gets one (there are advantages to having a bone dense skull you know). But then an all new headache and a brand new backache to go with it…remember we are just a tad over 24hrs here.
I’m describing all this to my wife. I’m telling her that my bad back is worse than ever and my head feels like its been used as a cricket-ball in a limited overs cricket match that was hurdler by Thomo at Adam Gilchrist for all forty overs being slogged to the carparks on a day he would have made 1440 Not Out.. I tell her of the shivers and fluie light-headedness and warn that I’ve never felt this bad prior to the head starting to run..She looks condescendingly at me and suggests that its probably “man flue”, the definition of which is a mild head cold that has been blown out of all proportions by pathetic grizzly 50+ YO little boy who still want to be breast fed by his mummy…Ouch!!…. Well OK, I accept that apart from the mummy bit that such a disease does actually exist. But ‘this’ time I wasn’t crying wolf…again..I really was crook.
So by now I’m going to bed, weak as a (male) kitten, and deeply, deeply offended. Luckily enough I have a pack of Panadine Fort’e supplied for a pre-existing. I don’t take the things all the time because they ruin too much of the next day, but when needed, they do help some what. Saturday night right thru Sunday that was all I ate along with huge amounts of water with the occasional addition of electrolytes, punctuated by surprisingly few a shaky legged shuffles to the loo to release disappointing amounts of strong urine.
By Sunday arvo I had become concerned about continuing to take the repeat doses of codine and then sleeping it off in a stupor. You see by that time I had become even weaker, all 6′ 4″ of me barley able to blink when awake let alone walk with any confidence in my legs carrying me and my concern now was that I may not wake up..seriously, ‘that’ bad.
Then on Sunday night, the sweating started properly. I had been a bit more than clammy at first, but Sunday night I put 3 singlets into the wash one after the other each fully wringing wet….Monday early I’ve improved just a tad. I had written off the Friday bite simply because it was 24 hrs before I developed any real symptoms. But after Sunday I was prepared to revisit all possibilities.
When I looked at the above link I was shocked to see all the pieces fit…”up to 24hrs”. I went out to the garden shed and put a torch lite where my left foot had been. Right at ankle hight she was there waiting in her wire tight web, not big, but she didn’t need to be to knock me on my backside.
While we’re on that, it’s my understanding that within the same demographic, that no one is any more, or any less affected by redback venom. Children and elderly when compared to a fit and healthy adult, well of yes course. But that would be bloody obvious to blind Neddy and aside from underlying medical conditions, they too will respond to the toxin much the same within the same age and weight category. So it all comes down to what a previous poster has already suggested. How badly any individual comes out the other side of the encounter is all up to her and she makes that determination solely upon how much venom she has to spare at that particular point in time, and how much you had cheesed her off to make her spend it on you and then bare the real risk of leave herself impotent until she can rebuild a decent discharge….If she hasn’t had a feed for a while and has felt safe enough to produce eggs, and you tangle with her web, then you ‘are’ going to hospital for anti-venom..Sure getting fully envenomed may not kill’ya, but at the very least your gonna really wish it had, and if the answer is there just a few k’s up the road then the enlightenment her toxin will deliver unto you shall surely illuminate your path to salvation brother…hallelujah!!!
Exhilarating stuff! Now where were we..Oh yes of course, on the subject of impotence, the female redback is a harsh mistress. Like that other famous member of the Latrodectus family, the black widow, the female redback will generally eat her mate soon after, or during copulation. She can then store his sperm from that event for up to two years allowing her to produce eggs when it suits her best…she has a heck of a lot of control over very many things when you think about it, and rightly so I guess.
Lets look at her toy boy. Next to no toxin. He’s small, much smaller than her but he must be strong and really really willing. He can’t provide a home because he can’t build a web. The only way he can get her up for having sex is by offering up his own abdomen for dinner by standing on his head, and even then if he does get her close enough to satisfy his urge without being fully eaten, he’s a one trick pony between the sheets because his only dance move is the 8 legged somersaulting suicide jive into spider poop…hard hard woman indeed but you can hardly blame her, you know what they say about lack of foreplay..
Here’s a decent link with most of the sordid detail:
http://www.australianmuseum.net.au/Redback-Spider
So what happened to me?…Well you probably don’t care any longer having read this far and bored into sleep, but Monday, today, oddly enough Labour Day bank holiday in AU Bob, I made my way to hospital. At first there was some discussion about whether or not they should give me the antivenin with suggestions there was still an ongoing debate about its effectiveness. How there is no real proof I had been bitten by a redback because I did not actually see the spider bite me. About how side effects from “Serum Sickness” (See first link at bottom of CSL page. Serum Sickness is real and likely to be what had effect the lady who had posted earlier in this thread who suggested ongoing problems) could be worse than the bite etc. Suggestions that perhaps I should keep taking pain killers and they could give me a shot of antibiotics “to help with the spider bite” and send me home. How the state toxicologist probably wouldn’t authorise the antivenin for me now it had been more than 24hrs since the bite, etc, etc.
I stood my ground because I had a truly great motivator, I was really, really sick, sitting in front of them still pushing out sweat etc and knowing full well that whilst we do have free health at public hospitals here in AU, we also have those that will do what they must from a commercial perspective working within that system and how, with such tiny weeny little tits and huge big fangs, it must be all but impossible for anyone to milk one of those cantankerous, 8 legged lethal weapons with permanent PMT, so that antivenin stuff just can’t come cheap.
Long and short, I advised them I had been to reputable sites such as CSL and the SCIRO and I believed they were ill informed to suggest it was now too late to administer the antivenin. I insisted that according to my information, there is more evidence than not in how I have presented both story and symptoms to indicate that I have indeed been bitten by a redback spider. I refused any other treatment and stood to walk out unless they make the call and present my position to the state health toxicologist.
They did and the toxicologist then authorised 2 ampoules of antivenin to be administered intravenously via drip. It took app 30min for the first dose to be metered in and flushed through with a follow-up of saline. My forehead was dry before that bag was empty. Had to wait an hour or so under observation while staff monitored for a potential anaphylaxis shock response to the antivenin but 30 or 40 minutes after the first does I felt was right to go home however the dose is the dose and I feel really good now….its actually early Tuesday morning here now..can’t sleep because that’s pretty much all I had done over the two previous days and nights.
P.S. Must add that when I called my wife from the hospital to tell her all was OK. How I’ve now had the antivenin and it had worked a treat. How aside from some acceptable pain and redness at and around the general bite area, all other symptoms have gone. How this virtually confirms that my illness had indeed been the result of a redback spider bite. She had expressed her extreme relief by telling me..”Oh thank God…I thought you may have caught one of those real nasty flues, like swine flu, and you were gonna bring it home with you and give it to me!!…Gotta say, you looked really, really, horrible the last couple of days darl”
Hmm..This year a pair of shiny black leotards and a bright red cardigan for ‘her’ birthday I reckon.
Cheers
Kim
Wow, thank you Kim, that’s a pretty good effort for a comment. I was tempted to say it’s probably the longest comment on this blog, but I have a feeling in the back of my mind that somebody, at some point, posted an incredibly long comment with something like 3000 words. So I’m afraid you will have had to have written about another thousand words to take that title
Anyway, yours is a very interesting story and the bottom line, by the sound of it, is that you’re suggesting we are all equally susceptible to the redback spider’s bite, the only variable is how much venom the spider decides she has to spare to pump into our bodies.
I’m no medical man, I would think there must be the other variable to take into account as well, and that must be how we each deal with this venom as different humans with different reactions and different resistances.
That said, I suppose it is feasible that if a redback spider is in a position to inject a maximum amount of venom, then yes, possibly each and every one of us irrespective of how our immune system works would end up in hospital.
Is that what you are saying?
I have to say, it is a bit of an eye-opener that your reaction took 24 hours or so before it really kicked in, and also a bit scary. My early assumption that I am one of the lucky ones who does not react to the redback spider bite seems more like wishful thinking now than a statement of fact.
Best thing, for all of us, is to try and avoid getting bitten, though that’s not always easy to do.
Thanks for sharing your story and taking the time to do so, I’m glad you are now back to full strength and, more importantly, that you didn’t drag home some crummy kind of swine flu and pass it on to your beloved wife
When is her birthday?
Cheers
Bob
Kim, awesome story man. enjoyed it thoroughly reading it in great detail.I love this blog page, i first stumbled upon it a few weeks back and im glad there are still people still putting posts/stories up.
Wow ey, what a story. you went through quite alot and just as you said, all over a little black `mistress` with a strike on her back and fangs and venom enough to make us very crook.
I was amazed at your story and how the symptoms slowly came on you, not straight away.
Where does that leave you and your backyard shed now lol ?
have you been back in there since going to investigate with the flashlight ?
Amazing though, it just goes to show that we dont take precautions when we realy should be. ie wearing gloves, shoes etc when out in the shed or garden.
Its a thing we completely forget or just brush under the carpet because we think`oh yeah it wont happen to me, ill only be in the shed for a short while` or something similar.
Hows the wife now ? is she still amazed that you were actually right in the end and it wasnt `man flue` lol ?
Funnily enough, if you read my earlier posts, im actually looking for a little black mistress to keep as a pet believe it or not, and do you think i can find one anywhere ? my god, the trouble im having trying to find a female redback its incredible. As i stated earlier in my posts, i live in an apartment complex so i dont have a backyard, shed or anything like that, but i do look through hard waste rubbish collections sometimes (very carefully) and sometimes going for a walk down the street, ill turn over a few bricks on someones front lawn. move a few pot plants etc, ill be wrapped when i find one and ive got a small enclosure for her with a proper lid with air holes etc
Great story, loved reading it.
Take Care,
Brendan from Melbourne.
Vacuming the house yesterday afternoon at around 3.00pm, I felt an odd stinging sensation on my collarbone. At the time I was wearing a baby carrier (not worn before, but put in garage night before), so assumed it was the strap rubbing me. As the stinging pain intensified, I began to wonder if I’d somehow been stung by a bee – odd, since I was inside. I sat down in the study for a minute, baby still in carrier, when out of the corner of my eye I saw a spider descend from my head. I flicked it off and promptly lost it. Panicking that it may have landed on baby, I whipped him out and took carrier off. Checked bub all over for bites. It dawned on me this may be the reason for my now intense, burning pain. I checked it out in the mirror to see a mildly red area, but not much else. Ventured back into study where I found the culprit dancing on my keyboard. Hubbys research concluded it was either a young or male redback, so we followed all suggested first aid. I likened it to not much more than a very bad bee sting, had an antihistamine and some nurofen and laid down. This morning I woke up feeling ok, but as the day has worn on, the pain has gotten worse. The bite has turned into a large welt, ive had a few slight dizzy spells, the burning now extends up my neck, I have a terrible headache and earache, and also pain down my arm. I’ve gone to bed and have developed a terrible case of the sweats. I actually feel ok, considering, but it seems to be a very delayed reaction! I’m just so grateful it wasn’t my baby that was bitten!
Hmm, that’s why I don’t vacuum my house.
Seriously though, I think we are all pleased that it wasn’t your baby that got bitten, sorry to hear you have though.If you were envenomated, it is unlikely to have been a male red back. Males can bite, but it is not thought that they have venom. I would get it checked out by a Doctor, we do have some other spiders that can cause problems, so it’s best that you get it seen to.
Sometimes it’s best in cases like these when you have seen the spider to take a photograph for identification purposes. You could, I suppose, even kill it (he started it!) and pop it in a bag.
Hope it all clears up and you get better, maybe you could let us know how it turns out.
Cheers
Bob
Ali,
and keep it for medical purposes if need be.
Another great story you`ve added here.
My eyes opened quite widely when you mentioned seeing it out of the corner of your eye and flicked it off.
Yes luckily it wasnt the little `bub` touch wood.
Just as Bob mentioned, killing him as he did start it
Keep us posted on how it all goes, it wil be interesting to see what happens.
Regards Brendan from Melbourne.
I did actually photograph it before getting my revenge. I’m not sure how to, or even if I can, upload it on my mobile, so might be able to try on desktop when home?
)
Good stuff
PS, I feel much better today ;o)
Yes, that’s good news Ali.
I have been searching all over the internet trying to find out info about the sticky sweating skin you described having. I was bitten by what I think to be a wolf spider yesterday and my symptoms sound exactly like yours. How long did that sweaty and sticky wound site last for you?
I honestly can’t remember Mike, at a guess I would say it was gone the next day. According to my critter Bible, Wolf spider bites can cause itchiness, red welts, bruising and a rapid pulse rate. It can also lead to nausea, vomiting, faintness, leg weakness and prolonged headache.
How are you feeling?
I imagine from a medical point of view any envenomation could cause localised sweating. The redback bite causes an excess of this. It looks like its about to break down, like a burst blister, but the skin is still intact. It’s very odd when it happens.
Yes, my skin stayed intact too. Nothing burst or blistered for me, just very sticky and sweaty.
Thanks for your input on the sticky skin. I have bigger problems now. I ruptured my Achilles tendon yesterday while playing basketball and surgery is set for next week. Do you have any experience with that?
Yes, it’s like being shot in the back of the leg when it happens, isn’t it? Crutches and rest for you, I think.
Yep, lots of hopping around and crutches. No weight bearing on foot for weeks to come. I found that there was a link between the antibiotics the doctor prescribed for my spider bite and my Achilles tendon rupture. The Bacitrim I was given has been shown in studies to weaken the tendon so I can blame that spider for all my troubles. No fun.
Would have been nice if someone had mentioned that before you continue playing sport! That spider has a lot to answer for.
That is very interesting. A few weeks after having the anti venom, I developed swelling and weakness in my left ankle suggestive of a sprain, yet I had not (recently) sprained my ankle. Hope you make a good receovery.
)
Gosh! There is something in this, people should be made aware of this. We need a medical man in here, what’s going on?
I hope you both make a good recovery
Just so you know I am from California and enjoy your blog site. Thanks for your interest in my comments.
It’s a pleasure Mike, thanks for commenting!
Hi I was getting some mail out of my letterbox, when I pulled leaflets out and something either stung or bit me on the back of my shoulder blades, I have never ever felt such excruciating pain in my life, I had a bad burning sensation too, gees, was in agony for the next ,2 hours, put ice pack on it to help with pain and swelling. I have a white spot bite withe red around not sure what bit or stung me has anyone any ideas please, I live in brisbane, Australia
Cruisey girl
Hmmm, I’ve not heard of this kind of bite mark before Cruisey girl, so I don’t know what it might have been. Some kind of spider would probably be the most likely, but it could also have been either an ant or a wasp.
Anyone else have any idea on this?
If you find out what it was Cruisey, it would be great if you could come back here and tell us.
Hope you are no longer in pain, cheers, Bob
As an Australian, I am more intrigued about these regular bank holidays you speak of than the spider bite. As far as I know we have 9 public holidays a year – most in the first half of the year, granted. Yes, Australia is full of poisonous creatures – spiders, snakes, jellyfish, crocodiles etc, but it’s not that much of a dramatic place to live. We are brought up knowing not to pick up things without thick gloves in areas where ‘reddies’ or funnel webs might be lurking, and to watch where we walk and to make some noise when walking through areas that are ‘snake-prone’. You really have to be quiet unlucky to get seriously ill or die from spider bites nowadays (although the snakes will generally take you out without quick and sensible first aid). Bottom line is, Australia is a great place to live and really relatively safe. At least it’s not boring.
Bank holidays in Australia aren’t that straightforward, last time I looked Queensland had 11 a year, have you not read my post All About Australia’s Bank Holidays?
Now then, as for the dangers of life in Australia, I couldn’t agree with you more Jacko. All these poisonous creatures that share our environment are mostly not aggressive, and all it takes is a little bit of care and attention to avoid problems.
And, in a strange way, having to stay alert in certain situations does make it much less boring. I get that. I was careless when I was picking up those cuttings at dusk, but I was (I’m pretty sure) wearing thick gardening gloves. That critter bit me on the wrist!
I’m learning though, you’ve had a lifetime of this, I’ve only had five years. I’ll get there
Cheers
Bob