Black widow spider

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Arthropods, basic features

Arachnids, basic features

Black widow spider

Overview

Symptoms

Treatment

Black widow spider

Home Treatment:

Seek immediate emergency medical treatment. Then, wrap ice in a washcloth or similiar material and place it on the bite area. Leave it on for 10 minutes and then off for 10 minutes. Repeat this process.

Before Calling Emergency:

Determine the following information:

Patient's age, weight, and condition
Time the bite occurred
Area where the bite occurred
Type of spider, if possible

Poison Control, or a local emergency number:

The National Poison Control Center (1-800-222-1222) can be called from anywhere in the United States. This national hotline number will let you talk to experts in poisoning. They will give you further instructions.

This is a free and confidential service. All local poison control centers in the U.S. use this national number.

What to expect at the emergency room:

The symptoms may be treated with a variety of therapies, including:

Pain medication
Muscle relaxants
Blood pressure drugs

In severe cases, anti-venin medication will be given. This drug may cause a dangerous reaction in people who are allergic to horses.

Expectations (prognosis):

Severe symptoms usually go away within 2 to 3 days, but milder symptoms may persist for several weeks. Death in a normally healthy individual is very rare. Young children may not survive a bite.

References:

Marx J. Rosen’s Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 5th ed. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby; 2002: 794-795.

Auerbach PS. Wilderness Medicine. 4th ed. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby; 2001:829-832.

Review Date: 2/13/2006
Reviewed By: Stephen C Acosta, MD, Department of Emergency Medicine, Portland VA MedicalCenter, Portland, OR. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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