Replied by Tricia (Ireland) on 02/11/2010
No poisonous spiders in Ireland???????? - Have ya looked in Dáil Éireann recently.
Anyway, seriously, poisonous spiders are very rare here. That doesn't mean that the odd one won't escape as you said from shipping packages. I have heard some horror stories coming from workers at the Rosslare port that would make your hair stand on end. However most of that kind of extra unwanted cargo could not survive in our climate. And, I also believe that your daughter would want to be very unlucky to get bitten at two different times by something that is so rare here.
Ordinary spiders don't generally bite (At least we don't notice their bites) but if she has actually been bitten twice then allergic reaction is your way to go. My mom gets horrific reactions to mosquito and midget bites that blister, burst and look like burns and can often turn septic. She doesn't normally get the crater that you describe though. If she takes anti-histamines straight away it reduces the severity.There loads of allergy stuff here worth trying.
As ec says it would be worth your while to look up every image of rashes you can find on the web to see if you can find a matching image or take a photo and post it. Rashes are notoriously difficult to understand in words. One poster who had an awful time trying to diagnose her rash was Deanna and if she is well enough she may be able to point you in the right direction. She did more research than a junior in med school.
Anyhows - did your daughter by any chance visit the dail - she may be able to sue...........LOL
EC: For those of us who don't know what Dáil Éireann is, here's the Wikipedia entry - ha ha!
Replied by Shandy (Limerick, Ireland) on 02/11/2010
Thanks for the links EC - I looked them up and the photos for 'spider bite blister' are almost identical - after doing more research it seems it might be a bite from a brown recluse spider, as it followed the exact same time frame etc, blister turning into open sore taking months to heal. Or it could be my daughter just reacts very badly to any spider bite - though that doesn't explain the fact that it seemed the tissue was just eaten away. An interesting note, the first time she'd just gotten out clean PJ's and gotten into bed, and this time she'd just gotten clean bed linen out of the airing cuboard and changed her bedding, the spider producing the toxins that cause the tissue decay are not web spiders - so it makes sense that the spider may have been hiding in clean clothes and linen in the cuboards. I went to the local health store today and the lady there said to keep up with the garlic capsules and vit c since that is natural antibiotics and antihistamines. Right now its still a blister about the size of a plum and I'm hesitant to do anything to it. Once the blister bursts I'll clean it with hydrogen peroxide and try the BS poultice. I also got some vit e for her to take internally and once it starts to heal to apply externally as well - all I can say is thank God it was not on her face!Replied by Shandy (Limerick, Ireland) on 02/16/2010
Thanks for the feedback everyone. It's been very useful especially as I'm dealing with a spider bite in a land where no one believes spiders bite! I haven't taken pictures, but the images people linked me to are exactly the same and following the same protocol for a hobo spider which apparently lives in Europe - so could be in Ireland I presume?
The blister burst. Since onion, garlic and potato had all been recommended as a poultice - I basically threw all 3 raw into a food processor and blended with a little cornstarch to hold it all together. Bound this mush onto her leg for 2 days, changing the poultice every 6-8 hours. I was suprised to find when I changed the bandage, the poultice was dry even though it had been very wet when I put it on. Just the dry powdery cornstarch remaining and a bit of puss. After 2 days it stopted pussing. A friend studying alternative medicine suggested applying plantain leaves. I've used this herb with success before to cure my daughters asthma and my niece's swine flu - but apparently it can be used externally too. Due to the season I couldn't find any plaintain fresh so I bought the tincture from our health food store. It's made with alcohol so of course it stung - but we applied a compress last night and dear daughter was very brave. This morning it was alot better - no weeping and it looks like the sore is not going wider or deeper. Amazing - the last time she was bitten it took a month to get to this stage with antibiotics and topical antiseptics. Will keep you updated.Replied by Shandy (Limerick, Ireland) on 02/17/2010
Just thought everyone would like to know, we caught and identified the spider. A false widow, relative of the black widow though thankfully not as venomous. So any fellow Irish - beware, the false widow is now over here and bites.Replied by Tricia (Ireland) on 02/18/2010
I'm goin to have nightmares tonight - spiders are my big fear and you know how everyone tells you that they're harmless in this country - Oooohhhhh GGodddddd!!!!!. Well done for rooting it out, I'd have to get in the fire brigade.
Any idea why it only bit your daughter and not any of the rest of ye or for that matter how it got into your area. Would you have brought it home in a suitcase by any chance?Replied by Shandy (Limerick, Ireland) on 02/18/2010
I think it may have bitten hubby as well though he got a little bite he didn't react half as bad as our daughter. She has sensitive skin and has had allergies and excema before so may be we've all been bitten but just not noticed. She does tend to be impulsive, a bit of a tomboy - and has been to hospital ER more than all the other kids put together. Both times she'd just taken clean bedding or PJ's from the airing cuboard so could be that mrs false widow had set up home in there. Since then I visited my Mum and found one in her house too, might be that I'm now spider alert and examining anything with 8 legs with suspicion! Internet reports say they came over to UK 100 years ago from the Canary Islands, so perhaps its just logical they'd get to Ireland eventually.
EC: Shandy, you probably already saw this article about a lady in the UK who bad reaction to a false widow bite last January: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1117342/The-deadly-spider-bite-grandmother-coma.html
"The species had kept a low profile since arriving in Britain with a cargo of bananas from the Canary Islands 200 years ago. But according to the Natural History Museum, it is rapidly spreading and is now thriving in northern climates."
Replied by Shandy (Limerick, Ireland) on 02/26/2010
The Saga continues! DD was bitten again, also round her ankles. We are approaching wits end and considering moving house. We tore apart her bedroom last week and cleaned and vacuumed it within an inch of it's life but obviously there is more than one spider. Funny thing is nothing has happened to her younger sister who also sleeps in the same room. Now we suspect the mattress and duvets, we are changing the mattress and washing and drying the duvets and stripping her bed completely. Does anyone know of anything that repels spiders? My mum said her grandmother used horse chesnuts, though its not really the season for that anymore. Anyways at this point I'm open to try anything!Replied by Bessie (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) on 02/26/2010
Hi Shandy - There are a number of "natural" spider repellents you may be able to find in your health food store (there is usually a high percentage of neem oil in them) but here is a recipe if you want to make your own. It's cheaper and you can mix whatever essential oils work for you.
Ingredients
* 1 quart water
* 5 tablespoons natural liquid soap (like Dr. Bronner's Peppermint or Lavender Liquid Soap)
* 1 ounce neem oil (available at health food stores)
* a few drops of lavender oil or tea tree oil
Generously spray the area. You will need to do this repeatedly because it wears off. Also, be aware this may stain bedding and clothing. I found neem oil has quite a pong to it but it did work.
I've also heard a vinegar solution (50% vinegar, 50% water with added essential oils like peppermint, tea tree or lavender) works as well.
Do you know how the critters are getting in? Are there any unsealed cracks around your windows or bushes right outside your windows? You may want to spray vents too - just in case they hide in there.
Good luck!Replied by Candy (Fort Madison, Ia) on 02/26/2010
look up cedar products on line. there is a great product that repels all kinds of insects, fleas, and spiders. if it is allowed I think it is called cedarside. from somewhere in texas. hope this helps. the stuff works.Replied by Sashalani (Los Angeles, California) on 10/19/2010
To Trisha from Ireland, you just better hope it doesn't come for you. Anyway my brother has been bitten by black widows 7 times. He never went to the doctor and I thought he was nuts for not doing so. The truth is he didn't do anything and obviously his body built up an immunity to the bites. However the story was very different when he was bitten by a brown recluse... Now those guys dont play games. Anyway it oozed yellow pus, got larger and deeper and finally peroxide was applied by the 3rd day until it healed. Can you believe it? He does have a small scar the size of a dime but hey thats much better than a baseball size of your flesh being eaten away over night.
Shandy from Limerick I'm so very glad your daughter is doing well... It was not your fault nor was it your daughters fault that she was bitten... As Tricia would have you believe.
Replied by Stav (Israel) on 10/29/2015
Try activated charcoal. Various people on earth clinic wrote that it works amazingly on brown recluse spider bites.
