Latest news with #spiderbite
The Sun
11 hours ago
- The Sun
Venomous spider with ‘excruciating bite' arrives in UK as tourist's hand blows up ‘like a BLIMP' in skin-crawling pics
A VENOMOUS spider with an 'excruciating bite' has arrived in the UK as a tourist's hand swelled up 'like a blimp' after coming into contact with the creepy-crawly. Hugh Marsh from Perth, Australia, was in Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, for his cousin's wedding when he found the stowaway in his shoes. 5 5 Initially thinking there was a wedge of tissue in the toe, he reached in and pulled it out, only to discover seconds later that it was webbing. With his hand reddened and itchy, Mr Marsh quickly washed it - but it was too late, and the next day it was blown up like a "blimp". "I discovered it in my left shoe just before a wedding," the 30-year-old said. "I looked in thinking there was a wedge of tissue in the toe, and pulled it out, like you would, with my fingers. "That's when I noticed my hand starting to feel itchy and saw the hairs." Hugh said he "immediately" knew something was wrong. He added: "I washed my hands thoroughly, but the damage was done. "And I had a wedding to go to, so hoped it was just a small effect. "I didn't expect the blimp of a hand the next day." He added: "My whole hand was swollen like a balloon." Images captured by Mr Marsh show his hand puffed up in reaction to the spider 's hairs. "It was as if I'd stuck my hand into a pile of cactuses," he said. "Extremely fine short hairs covered my middle and index finger, from the tips to the middle knuckle." The Aussie event photographer reckons he hadn't worn the shoes for two or three years before the big day, and that they'd been in his closet the whole time. And though he didn't photograph the spider and is unsure of the species, he thinks it could have been a 'Badumna insignis' after looking at pictures. An Australian native species, it's better known as the black house spider, and is more dangerous than its name suggests, packing an excruciatingly painful bite. Some victims have reported nausea, vomiting, sweating, dizziness, and even skin necrosis from their venom. Hugh is just relieved the spider was already dead. He said: "It was a black spider with thin legs and large mandibles, about the size of an Australian 50 cent coin. "It had been deceased for a while by the looks of it. "It was like it had gone into the shoe, wrapped itself in a cocoon of webbing and died." He continued: "I think it's pretty funny overall. "Thankfully it was just the spider hairs that stuck into my fingers and not an actual bite - I'd be a little worried how that could've gone." Hugh was able to enjoy the wedding with paracetamol before seeking medical attention. He was advised to use a strong antihistamine, but said it took a week for the swelling to go down. The news comes just days after it was revealed that a giant wasp spider has been discovered in the UK. The rare spider with a wasp-like body has been found in a garden in Norfolk - and they're slowly spreading across the nation. 5 5
Yahoo
25-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
‘He felt something crawl on him:' Simple spider bite leaves teen with failing kidneys and unable to speak
A healthy high school teenager went into kidney failure and was left unable to speak at times after being bitten by a spider. Noah Johnson, 16, liked to play baseball and lifted weights three hours a day before he was bitten by the arachnid in June, which left him bedridden for weeks. The high school junior said he 'felt something crawl on him' while working at his outdoor summer job at a fence-building company in Slater, Iowa, last month. 'He said he just jumped,'' his mom Brandy Johnson told PEOPLE. The next day, the teenager complained to his mom that the bite was painful and within a few days, it had tripled in size. 'What started as a small wound quickly turned serious,' Brandy said. She rushed him to the emergency room after Noah's infection began to ooze and the teenager had a 103-degree fever. Doctors sent Noah away with antibiotics, but three days later, his fever persisted, and he could no longer walk. Noah was rushed into emergency surgery to cut out the infected areas at Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames, Iowa. The following morning, he went into kidney failure and was transferred to Blank Children's Hospital in Des Moines. Doctors put Noah on dialysis and he spent two weeks bedridden in the Pediatric ICU, where he lost 35lbs. At times, the youngster couldn't even speak, but on July 16, he felt strong enough to talk to his mom. 'He thought he was dying,' Brandy said. 'He said, 'I'm very scared.' I told him, 'There's nothing to be scared of. You're going to be okay.'' Eventually, Noah was strong enough to be taken outside in a wheelchair where he could feel the sun on his face. In mid-July, Noah's family breathed a sigh of relief when he was moved out of the ICU after his kidneys started functioning. He is now recovering at home, his grateful mom confirmed on the fundraising platform. The family have been supported by the community and a group of moms of Noah's friends launched a GoFundMe page, which has raised gone beyond its target of $15,000. 'After a challenging and emotional few weeks, we are beyond grateful to share that Noah is finally home,' Brandy wrote. 'Once his kidneys began working again, everything started to improve. It's been a long, exhausting 3-week journey, but thanks to your prayers, love, and support, we are finally seeing the light.' The mom told PEOPLE that the terrifying ordeal has changed her perspective on what really matters. 'When someone you love — especially your child — suddenly becomes gravely ill, everything changes in an instant,' she said. 'The world you knew just a moment ago disappears.' Symptoms associated with spider bites vary from minor to severe. Black widow and brown recluse spiders are some of the venomous spiders found in the U.S. and can pose a threat to outdoor workers. Deaths from the bites are extremely rare but can occur in severe cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. Solve the daily Crossword
The Independent
25-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
‘He felt something crawl on him:' Simple spider bite leaves teen with failing kidneys and unable to speak
A healthy high school teenager went into kidney failure and was left unable to speak at times after being bitten by a spider. Noah Johnson, 16, liked to play baseball and lifted weights three hours a day before he was bitten by the arachnid in June, which left him bedridden for weeks. The high school junior said he 'felt something crawl on him' while working at his outdoor summer job at a fence-building company in Slater, Iowa, last month. 'He said he just jumped,'' his mom Brandy Johnson told PEOPLE. The next day, the teenager complained to his mom that the bite was painful and within a few days, it had tripled in size. 'What started as a small wound quickly turned serious,' Brandy said. She rushed him to the emergency room after Noah's infection began to ooze and the teenager had a 103-degree fever. Doctors sent Noah away with antibiotics, but three days later, his fever persisted, and he could no longer walk. Noah was rushed into emergency surgery to cut out the infected areas at Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames, Iowa. The following morning, he went into kidney failure and was transferred to Blank Children's Hospital in Des Moines. Doctors put Noah on dialysis and he spent two weeks bedridden in the Pediatric ICU, where he lost 35lbs. At times, the youngster couldn't even speak, but on July 16, he felt strong enough to talk to his mom. 'He thought he was dying,' Brandy said. 'He said, 'I'm very scared.' I told him, 'There's nothing to be scared of. You're going to be okay.'' Eventually, Noah was strong enough to be taken outside in a wheelchair where he could feel the sun on his face. In mid-July, Noah's family breathed a sigh of relief when he was moved out of the ICU after his kidneys started functioning. He is now recovering at home, his grateful mom confirmed on the fundraising platform. The family have been supported by the community and a group of moms of Noah's friends launched a GoFundMe page, which has raised gone beyond its target of $15,000. 'After a challenging and emotional few weeks, we are beyond grateful to share that Noah is finally home,' Brandy wrote. 'Once his kidneys began working again, everything started to improve. It's been a long, exhausting 3-week journey, but thanks to your prayers, love, and support, we are finally seeing the light.' The mom told PEOPLE that the terrifying ordeal has changed her perspective on what really matters. 'When someone you love — especially your child — suddenly becomes gravely ill, everything changes in an instant,' she said. 'The world you knew just a moment ago disappears.' Symptoms associated with spider bites vary from minor to severe. Black widow and brown recluse spiders are some of the venomous spiders found in the U.S. and can pose a threat to outdoor workers. Deaths from the bites are extremely rare but can occur in severe cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
Daily Mail
17-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Holidaymaker's warning after venomous spider bite ruined trip to paradise island beloved by Britons... and nearly destroyed her EAR
When Halle Hizer developed a sore ear two days into her week-long holiday, she put it down to wearing earphones on the flight. But the student had actually been bitten by a venomous spider, and her idyllic Greek getaway rapidly turned into a 'horror show' that nearly cost the 20-year-old her ear. Ms Hizer and her grandmother flew from their homes in Enfield, North London, to the island of Rhodes for seven days of sun soaked R&R. Just two days into the trip, Ms Hizer woke up with a swollen left ear but assumed it was from wearing her air pods during the flight. She said: 'I woke up and my ear was really swollen. At the time I didn't think anything of it. 'I just thought it was a case of when you wear your air pods for too long and it was rubbing on my ear when it can hurt sometimes. 'The next day it kept getting bigger and bigger and pus started coming out of it and I didn't think at the time that I needed to go see a doctor or to the hospital. 'I thought maybe I had an ear infection.' Ms Hizer, now suspecting she had been bitten by a mosquito, went to the local pharmacist who gave her some antibiotic cream. However, it failed to reduce the pain or swelling—the musical theatre student says her ear doubled in size and began to resemble a 'cauliflower'. After several days with no improvement, and on the insistence of her grandmother, she sought the advice of a doctor. She continued: 'He just took one look over and said "you've got a bad infection in your ear" and that's it. 'He gave me antibiotics and I was taking them but my ear wasn't getting any better. It was getting worse.' After flying back home on 6 June, Ms Hizer became 'scared she'd lose her ear' after it began leaking pus and she started experienced 'stabbing' pains. Fearing it was about to turn septic, she went straight to hospital where she was 'shocked' to be told the antibiotics she was given in Greece hadn't been used in medicine for years and had led to the infection. Days later she had surgery to remove the abscess in her ear and doctors revealed she had been bitten by a spider, not a mosquito as she had initially suspected. She said: 'When I had surgery that's when they realised I was bitten by a spider. [The doctor] said 'what antibiotics you were on' and I showed him the packet and he said "that's so strange. We haven't used this antibiotic for years in medicine because it's been proven it doesn't work anymore". 'I was quite shocked because I spent £155 on a private doctor [in Greece] and he gave me antibiotics that weren't even used in medicine anymore. 'Because I wasn't given the right antibiotics my ear ended up getting so infected to the point pus was coming out that was basically poison. 'Every five minutes my ear would be leaking. The doctors told me I would need surgery to remove the abscess. 'That's when they realised from testing it that it wasn't a mosquito but it was a spider. You could see from the back the bite marks.' Ms Hizer isn't sure what spider bit her, but it might have been a Mediterranean recluse spider, also known as a violin spider, which are responsible for some very similar—and equally nasty—bites. The spiders are relatively small, with bodies less than 1cm long, and have long spindly legs and venom which can cause redness and in extreme cases, necrosis. She continued: 'It was swollen from the back and the front which I didn't realise at the time. 'If I was put on the right antibiotics to begin with it would've just got rid of the infection straight away but it just kept getting worse and worse.' The student was on antibiotics for two weeks and had a bandage around her head but the swelling has since gone down. She now urges other holidaymakers to use insect repellent and to read the cleanliness reviews of hotels as she believes that could've played a part. Ms Hizer said: 'My ear has gone back to normal and it's not huge anymore. A lot of the scabbing is gone now and have fallen off. It's still a little bit tender but granted because they did cut my ear open. 'I have a new fear of spiders but I'm hoping because we're in the UK I'm not going to come across any spider of that nature but who knows because I didn't think I was going to come across that in Greece. 'Make sure you have the repellent with you and make sure the hotel is clean because I feel like that played a big factor in it. Me and my grandma regret not reading the reviews. Just do your research before you go to places so you're not disappointed. 'We went for a week just to relax and it ended up becoming a horror show. I wasn't expecting to find spiders like that in Greece.'
Daily Mail
30-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Indigenous inmate complained about being bitten by a spider before dying just days away from his release
An Indigenous inmate has died just days before his release after he told prison staff he had been bitten by a spider. Aboriginal man, Wayne Green, 41, was bitten inside Parklea Correctional Centre in Sydney and, two weeks later, died in Westmead Hospital about 9.55pm on Friday. He received medical treatment after alerting staff to symptoms of severe chest pain. Mr Green was first treated by St Vincent hospital staff, the private health provider inside the Sydney prison, and was subsequently transferred to Westmead Hospital when his condition deteriorated. A spokesperson for the private operators of the prison, MTC Broadspectrum confirmed the Indigenous inmate died on Friday. 'The man had been transferred from Parklea Correctional Centre to hospital at about 12.55pm for treatment,' they told Daily Mail Australia. 'MTC extends our sympathies to his family, friends and the wider Aboriginal community.' The prison operators are working with Corrective Services NSW and NSW Police 'who investigate all deaths in custody regardless of the circumstances'. Medical staff were told about the spider bite on Friday after treating the inmate for chest pain, according to The Daily Telegraph. It's understood the spider bite may have happened two weeks prior to Mr Green's death. Investigators are awaiting the results of toxicology reports before a cause of death can be confirmed. Mr Green was due to be released from Parklea on July 11. The MTC spokesperson revealed a 'protest' broke out at the prison on Saturday following the Aboriginal man's death. 'About 9.00am on Saturday, June 28, in response to the death, a group of inmates conducted a peaceful protest in an accommodation unit,' they said. 'After a period of negotiation, the majority of inmates were voluntarily secured in their cells. A small number of inmate representatives then spoke with centre management. 'At about 12.30pm, inmates were released from their cells, and normal routine recommenced. 'There were no injuries to staff or inmates during the incident, and nothing was damaged.' Mr Green's death will be subject to a coronial inquest.
