wixard
15-10-2013, 06:11 PM
http://metro.co.uk/2013/10/11/false-widow-spiders-steve-harris-relegated-to-hospital-after-venomous-bite-4142706/
THE FALSE WIDOWS ARE ATTACKING
EVERY DAY I SEE PEOPLE POSTING PICS OF THEM IN THEIR HOUSE ON FB AHHHHH!!!!!!!!
A footballer from Devon needed emergency surgery after he was bitten by a false widow spider – one of Britain’s feared poisonous arachnids whose population is believed to be on the rise.
Doctors had to cut away the part of Steve Harris’ skin that had been infected by the terrifying creature, which had bitten him as he slept.
The 22-year-old said: ‘When I woke up I had a pain in my side – a stinging feeling. I didn’t take that much notice until it started swelling and the pain got worse.
MORE: Can a false widow spider kill you? Eight things you need to know about the arachnid (http://metro.co.uk/2013/10/14/can-a-false-widow-spider-kill-you-eight-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-arachnid-4145459/)
‘I was in agony. I have never had pain like that before in my life. It’s still very painful now. I still can’t sleep properly and find it virtually impossible to get in and out of a car.’
It was revealed last month (http://metro.co.uk/2013/09/25/britains-most-venomous-spider-increasing-in-numbers-in-london-and-kent-4111225/) that the false widow spider – which can cause amputations as a result of its poison – has been increasingly spotted in the Greater London area.
The 22-year-old will now miss several games for Elmore Football Club in Tiverton, Devon (Picture: SWNS)It is a relative of the black widow, with reddish-orange legs and a skull-like marking on its back.
The presence of the spider has caused concern among homeowners, as further cases of bites resulting in surgical treatment come to light.
A 39-year-old decorator almost lost his leg after he was bitten by a false widow as he was painting a classroom.
Ricki Whitmore, from Romford, Essex, told the Daily Star how the spider had leapt at him as he was getting ready to go home.
‘There was a really sharp pain and then my leg started to throb. I managed to get home, but by the time I arrived my thigh had swollen to twice its normal size,’ he said.
http://metrouk2.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/ay_83548914.jpg?w=650&h=503&crop=1#038;h=774
Thousands of the spiders are said to be hidden away in the crevices of households (Picture: Alamy)He almost had to go undergo an amputation but surgeons managed to scrape out the poison, leaving him with six months of specialist physiotherapy to get his leg back to normal again.
It is believed that there are 10 million of the spiders in the UK today but one expert has said (http://metro.co.uk/2013/10/05/false-widow-spiders-as-dangerous-as-eating-a-peanut-4135421/) that they are no more dangerous than ‘eating a peanut.’
Greg Hitchock, of the Kent Wildlife Trust said: ‘False widows are getting a very bad press.
‘They are no more dangerous than eating a peanut. But quite often alarming headlines are used to draw people in.’
THE FALSE WIDOWS ARE ATTACKING
EVERY DAY I SEE PEOPLE POSTING PICS OF THEM IN THEIR HOUSE ON FB AHHHHH!!!!!!!!
A footballer from Devon needed emergency surgery after he was bitten by a false widow spider – one of Britain’s feared poisonous arachnids whose population is believed to be on the rise.
Doctors had to cut away the part of Steve Harris’ skin that had been infected by the terrifying creature, which had bitten him as he slept.
The 22-year-old said: ‘When I woke up I had a pain in my side – a stinging feeling. I didn’t take that much notice until it started swelling and the pain got worse.
MORE: Can a false widow spider kill you? Eight things you need to know about the arachnid (http://metro.co.uk/2013/10/14/can-a-false-widow-spider-kill-you-eight-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-arachnid-4145459/)
‘I was in agony. I have never had pain like that before in my life. It’s still very painful now. I still can’t sleep properly and find it virtually impossible to get in and out of a car.’
It was revealed last month (http://metro.co.uk/2013/09/25/britains-most-venomous-spider-increasing-in-numbers-in-london-and-kent-4111225/) that the false widow spider – which can cause amputations as a result of its poison – has been increasingly spotted in the Greater London area.
The 22-year-old will now miss several games for Elmore Football Club in Tiverton, Devon (Picture: SWNS)It is a relative of the black widow, with reddish-orange legs and a skull-like marking on its back.
The presence of the spider has caused concern among homeowners, as further cases of bites resulting in surgical treatment come to light.
A 39-year-old decorator almost lost his leg after he was bitten by a false widow as he was painting a classroom.
Ricki Whitmore, from Romford, Essex, told the Daily Star how the spider had leapt at him as he was getting ready to go home.
‘There was a really sharp pain and then my leg started to throb. I managed to get home, but by the time I arrived my thigh had swollen to twice its normal size,’ he said.
http://metrouk2.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/ay_83548914.jpg?w=650&h=503&crop=1#038;h=774
Thousands of the spiders are said to be hidden away in the crevices of households (Picture: Alamy)He almost had to go undergo an amputation but surgeons managed to scrape out the poison, leaving him with six months of specialist physiotherapy to get his leg back to normal again.
It is believed that there are 10 million of the spiders in the UK today but one expert has said (http://metro.co.uk/2013/10/05/false-widow-spiders-as-dangerous-as-eating-a-peanut-4135421/) that they are no more dangerous than ‘eating a peanut.’
Greg Hitchock, of the Kent Wildlife Trust said: ‘False widows are getting a very bad press.
‘They are no more dangerous than eating a peanut. But quite often alarming headlines are used to draw people in.’