Reduce Bite Pain/Symptoms

First, I have not been bitten yet, I don't plan to be bitten, and I don't handle my tarantulas (at least never on purpose).

Next, I would prefer if this doesn't turn into a 'you should never be in a situation to be bitten' thread. In a perfect world, one would never even have the opportunity to be bitten. This isn't that world, and I'm assuming something happened and the tarantula felt it necessary to bite.

Along with cleaning to prevent infection what can you do to lessen pain?

I've seen a few ways people attempted to reduce spider bite pain in bite reports:

1. Squeeze bite area to attempt to expel venom
2. Run bite area under hot water (I assume it's the same as 1)
3. Elevate affected area to reduce circulation (obviously don't cut off circulation)
4. Take a surplus of prescription medication
5. Cut between the fang marks and suck the venom out (only joking)
6. Go to the hospital and hope you get a good doctor who doesn't think all tarantula bites are like 'bee stings'.

Have you found or heard of any ways that can help either reduce the amount of venom in your system (I'm guessing probably not this one), reduce the pain, or decrease the longevity of the pain?

I hope this isn't a silly question, but with my interest moving more and more towards OW tarantula, I'd like to at least have knowledge that I will never have to use. *fingers crossed*

Thanks

Lately i have heard that nerve blocks help but i have no proof of this..Its just what i have been told...

I believe ive read on here (or somewhere for that matter) that some hospitals wont give you a nerve block for a bite, but i have read a bite report that someone did recieve a block for an obt (?) bite... sorry if thats misinformation

Chris11 said:

I believe ive read on here (or somewhere for that matter) that some hospitals wont give you a nerve block for a bite, but i have read a bite report that someone did recieve a block for an obt (?) bite... sorry if thats misinformation

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It was posted on here i was referring to that same contradiction..umm.. I mean thread..Lol

Consult with your primary care physician who is familiar with your medical history or another medical professional. Taking medical advice from untrained professionals is dangerous and could potentially cause more health risks than any tarantula venom.

bryverine said:

First, I have not been bitten yet, I don't plan to be bitten, and I don't handle my tarantulas (at least never on purpose).

Next, I would prefer if this doesn't turn into a 'you should never be in a situation to be bitten' thread. In a perfect world, one would never even have the opportunity to be bitten. This isn't that world, and I'm assuming something happened and the tarantula felt it necessary to bite.

Along with cleaning to prevent infection what can you do to lessen pain?

I've seen a few ways people attempted to reduce spider bite pain in bite reports:

1. Squeeze bite area to attempt to expel venom
2. Run bite area under hot water (I assume it's the same as 1)
3. Elevate affected area to reduce circulation (obviously don't cut off circulation)
4. Take a surplus of prescription medication
5. Cut between the fang marks and suck the venom out (only joking)
6. Go to the hospital and hope you get a good doctor who doesn't think all tarantula bites are like 'bee stings'.

Have you found or heard of any ways that can help either reduce the amount of venom in your system (I'm guessing probably not this one), reduce the pain, or decrease the longevity of the pain?

I hope this isn't a silly question, but with my interest moving more and more towards OW tarantula, I'd like to at least have knowledge that I will never have to use. *fingers crossed*

Thanks

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Benadryl and Hydrocodone/Lortab take both at the same time. But as always consult with your physician first.

AphonopelmaTX said:

Consult with your primary care physician who is familiar with your medical history or another medical professional. Taking medical advice from untrained professionals is dangerous and could potentially cause more health risks than any tarantula venom.

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Yes of course, this is true.

Though to schedule with a primary care physician, at least where I live, is about 3-6 months out. That leaves urgent care and ER where there is no guarantee you won't be chastised for arguing with a doctor that tarantula bites aren't exactly like 'bee stings'; after all, they've had years of school.

I'm not looking to replace trained professional opinion with my question (they've gone through years of training ). I'm looking for those 'home remedies' that might have worked for some people.

Does that make sense?

I've heard here and then that point 2 (hot water ASAP) could work for reduce some of the venom potency, but if the culprit is an adult female Poecilotheria ornata, Pterinochilus murinus or a Stromatopelma calceatum (for instance) with a full wet bite, then IMO point 6 is inevitable, and leave water to rhabdomancers..

Snake Bite Kits, sucking venom out yourself, squeezing bite area, cutting open...all of that are stupid ideas and pointless. The moment you get bitten, the venom is in your bloodstream and it circulates way faster than you think. Probably the only thing achieved by any of those actions, is more damage to the bite area. These are things that I'd personally never try if I were to be bitten.

Aside the fact that T-venom is engineered by nature to subdue and liquify their prey so they can mash up the victim in their fangs and suck them out, a bite won't have the possible fatal outcome that, let's say a bite by a rattlesnake, cobra or the like would have. There's also the fact that there are no anti-venoms because of that. The best one can do is pull through the effects and try to soften the symptoms occurring - which will be different to some degree in every person! There are a number of bite-reports out there that give ample detail of what did and what didn't work for the bite-victim, including medications administered. I'd go from there and have that information ready in case you have to get a check-up in a hospital after a bite. Keeping facts (!) at hand in case, is probably the best you can do to help the doctors that may not have any idea really how to treat.


Towards that end, here's some documents you may want to give a read:

CLICK

CLICK (pharmacology and biochemistry of spider venoms)

CLICK (general treatment suggestions - I happen to not agree completely with these)

My self-treated bite kit includes NSAIDS, antihistamines and some muscle relaxants. If I had a good med for nausea -- I would add that in.

Storm76 said:

...all of that are stupid ideas and pointless.

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agree, im surprised no one stated this before

that tarantula venom is not studied or understood much at all

but it is known to act differently compared to other venom

from what ive read the past couple years all you can do is prepare for the unlikely (unless you like to cuddle your poec/handle p. murinus

ie:stock painkillers (heavy-light, dependent on personal tolerance both to pain and opiates/opiods/nsaids and the like)

muscle relaxers: in the case of more potent venom (asian and african sp./all the stereotypical hot sp.) ive read of horribly incredible cramps associated with these

read bite reports proactively

i dont think a hospital will do much to "help" aside from giving you 17$ tylenol 3's and pharmaceutical grade doses of benadryl.

perhaps a low dose of a common benzodiazepine if heart rate is out of ideal range/elevated

the specimen/victim/amount of venom all are variables however.

all of this is based on research and not on personal experience

bryverine said:

I've seen a few ways people attempted to reduce spider bite pain in bite reports:

1. Squeeze bite area to attempt to expel venom
2. Run bite area under hot water (I assume it's the same as 1)
3. Elevate affected area to reduce circulation (obviously don't cut off circulation)
4. Take a surplus of prescription medication
5. Cut between the fang marks and suck the venom out (only joking)
6. Go to the hospital and hope you get a good doctor who doesn't think all tarantula bites are like 'bee stings'.

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1. Fangs inject venom deep into tissue, you can't squeeze it out. That's one reason fangs are as long as they are.
2. Hot water accelerates things, it's that what you want?
3. The venom's in you, and elevating the limb or using a tourniquet won't stop it from running it's course. For snake bites, they can buy you a little time until you can get serum. There's no serums for tarantulas.
4. What prescription medicine? None of it is prescribed for tarantula bites, so you can easily make things worse by taking it, especially a 'surplus'. No one knows how it reacts with spider venom.
6. It's very limited what a hospital can do for you. You're going to have to tough it out regardless.

If you're this afraid of spider bites, don't get any OW's. You're going to be nervous and make mistakes just from being afraid. Some people have 'nerves of steel' and can work with hot snakes (I had a cobra collection); others don't and stick to non-venomous species. There's a similar division with spider owners. No shame in worrying about an unpleasant bite. You have nothing to prove to anyone, including yourself. There's so many great NW species in the hobby today, you can have a large a varied collection of just them.

Poec54 said:

2. Hot water accelerates things, it's that what you want?

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Does it? Hot water can denature some venoms. It's my go-to for a lot of fish envenomations, like lion fish. Obviously tarantula venoms are different, but it might work the same way. I have no plans to be the Guinea pig, though.

You make quite good points, though I've seen videos of people who got bit and said they could see venom come out of the puncture wounds. They didn't say it was or was not a shallow bite, just that venom came out. Now I figure I'm not going to go out of my way to shove that venom that was 'meant to be in me' back in.

Also with so little research on tarantula venom, do we really know that heat metabolizes the venom faster?

Poec54 said:

If you're this afraid of spider bites, don't get any OW's. You're going to be nervous and make mistakes just from being afraid.

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This is my due diligence. I wouldn't tell someone to never go camping because they wanted to know what to put in a first aid kit.

Thank you for the replies!

bryverine said:

You make quite good points, though I've seen videos of people who got bit and said they could see venom come out of the puncture wounds. They didn't say it was or was not a shallow bite, just that venom came out. Now I figure I'm not going to go out of my way to shove that venom that was 'meant to be in me' back in.

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Squeezing a bite will also press venom into tissue. If you see venom coming out, it was probably on/near the surface and wasn't in deep to begin with. Venom down inside a half inch or inch isn't likely to just squeeze right out. If the spider doesn't get a firm hold, a bite can be more of a long scratch, which could leave venom on the skin.

Poec54 said:

Squeezing a bite will also press venom into tissue. If you see venom coming out, it was probably on/near the surface and wasn't in deep to begin with. Venom down inside a half inch or inch isn't likely to just squeeze right out. If the spider doesn't get a firm hold, a bite can be more of a long scratch, which could leave venom on the skin.

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That makes perfect sense. So no squeezing then!

I don't know how similar venom is between true spiders and tarantulas but if it's remotely alike then I would recommend avoiding heat and pressure altogether. I was bitten by one of the high venom true spiders native to my area last spring and those two things actually helped the venom spread along it's merry way more than they helped. No amount of pain killers, muscle relaxants, fever reducers, or antihistamines caused a noticeable improvement. Bottom line, bites from hot spiders hurt a lot and there truly isn't anything that you can do to improve the pain. You aren't going to die of it but you're going to wish that you had.