Hottentotta hottentotta

An induced sting.

I got stung about 10 minutes ago on the lower part of my left index finger by a 6i H. hottentotta. I don't know why I decided to do this, but I think I may live to regret it. The pain from the sting was sharp and instantaneous, and there is now a constant sharp burning pain which feels like my skin being methodically peeled off. There is also some very conspicuous "bone ache" in my wrist bone as I type this. Very little to no swelling at all. Will update.

update1: pain is getting more intense - spreading up my arm to my elbow and I also feel a slight piercing pain on the left side of my ribcage which may or may not be related to the sting

update2: on and off "bone ache" in my elbow and shoulder. the pain around the sting site is only getting worse, and there is a slight rash developing around the area.

I've got tagged at my right thumb by a 3i H. Hottentotta at a recent packing job. Experienced numbness at inflicted area for several minutes. They are quick and non-hesitant for a sting when threatened.


Regards,
GS

yep, beware the Hottentotta... I got tagged by a 2nd instar once... intense pain, felt "hungover" for two days, put a damper on the weekend. nuthin compared to the C. cerastes bite I took on my pinky...ICU trip for a couple days...that put a "damper" on a whole month or so...I definitely understand the "bone ache" pain amazing stuff, venom that is..

Well, I was handling my newly shipped H.h when he climbed on my arm and got on my neck. I reached out my hand to him when he stung me and rested on the same hand that he stung.
I was stung on my thumb, but after a few minutes, the pain was incredible, then went up to my arm.
After that, the pain was on my whole arm, then I was having trouble breathing.

That went on for hours, the pain still persisting on my arm. 2 more hours the pain on my arm was gone, but it was now concentrated on the thumb that was stung, and went on for an hour, then my whole arm became numb until now, as I'm typing this.

It was cool though.

I got stung by a 5i H. hottentotta a few months ago, but the experience is still as transparent in my mind as the day I got stung. It was the single most agonizing pain I've ever felt in all of my life. Nothing I've experienced can compare to the searing hot pain, but I can best describe it as: take an iron skillet put it on a gas stove on high for 15 minutes, then take your middle finger and press down in the middle of the skillet and keep it there for 6 hours without your nerves ever dying. And as much as I wish I was exaggerating, that's the closest accurate description I can give that doesn't sound completely inconceivable.

"How did you get stung," you might ask? Simple. I wanted to know what it felt like, so I picked her up by the tail, took my right middle finger, put it on her stinger then BOOM! She flexed and straightened her tail into my finger. Boy, that was fun. Like playing Five Finger Fillet with a red-hot iron rod. I put her back in the cup, close her up, and notice my middle finger had swollen way the hell up (think kielbasa among 4 hebrew nationals). I've been told I have a good tolerance for pain, so I decided to wait it out -- no ice, no drugs -- until the pain went away. Well, it didn't. And about 6 minutes later, it was creeping to my wrist, much like how Draiman described.

I checked the time, and decided that if there wasn't any change in the next 30 minutes, I'll start putting it in ice. As you've probably already guessed, it didn't. Thirty long minutes later, finger is still in anguish, so I get a Ziplock sandwich bag, fill it with 15 cubes of ice and a little bit of water...this is where the fun starts. The hot skillet pain was perpetual to this moment, but the moment that finger went in that bag, the burning felt much worse, briefly...then it settles down just a bit. I remained calm, walked over to the couch and put on some cartoons. Next thing I know the burning is coming back because the ice is all melted. Sh*t. Any time I put my finger in the ice, there would be a flash of pain, then it'll settle down to a less intolerable burning sensation. Anytime I took it out of the ice though, it's like sticking your hand in a 400 degree oven.

Two hours pass, the experience has been completely consistent and agonizing. Alright, okay...time for the benadryl. I take one, wait a bit...feel anything but better. At that time though, I worried about a pain in my right shoulder creeping toward my chest...turns out my hand had been in ice for so long my arm went cold! Finger still swollen like a bratwurst. two-three hours after the first antihistamine, I take another (25mg benadry). Some time passes after this and I'm feeling a bit tired from both antihistamines.

A little under an hour after the second pill, the pain has dropped from searing hot skillet to a pain comparable to an accident involving a large rubber mallet. I took a two hour nap, woke up and the sensation had almost completely died and I had very little tingling in my finger and wrist.

Not joking, that was the worst pain in my life yet. Nevertheless, it was my own decision to sting myself since it was something I've been wanting to do for a long time, and in no way do I think it was a dumb decision. It gave me a first hand experience on what it would feel like if I got stung by this species.

That was a fun trip though. Ask me if I'd do it again? I totally would. :biggrin: