I seem to be getting more sensitive to urticating hair.

Mojo Jojo

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 3, 2002
Messages
2,122
Geez, I was holding a couple of tarantula s'lings yesterday and both of them managed to make it up the underside of my forearm. I don't know why, but it has only been in the last few hours that a rash has popped up.

When I first got into tarantulas, their hairs didn't bother me at all, and I thought that the people who warned against them were just fair-skinned.

Jon
 

Telson

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 5, 2003
Messages
685
In the beginning the hairs didn't bother me and I thought the same thing... About 6 months later they actually bothered me a bit, and over the years it has gotton progressively worse. That's the biggest reason I don't handle my T's unless I have to for some reason, and if given the chance I'll wear gloves. I had an emergency yesterday that necessitated handling my G.rosea and my hands itch something fierce today, and from experience they'll likely itch for some days to come!

Don't quoate me on this, but I've been lead to believe that the hairs are actually "poisonous" and I think it's like they say about bites... sensitization from previous exposure makes future reactions worse.
 

Lostkat

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 18, 2003
Messages
341
I am extremely fair-skinned and am allergic to all kinds of products, but urticating hairs don't get me half as bad as they do my boyfriend, who's far more olive-skinned.
 

Code Monkey

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 22, 2002
Messages
3,783
The hairs are suspected to have a coating on them analogous to the organic goo on poison ivy: designed by nature to piss off your immune system. The hairs burrow into your skin like mini porcupine quills where they come into direct contact with your juicy internal bits and over time you became allergic to them (or completely impervious, but much like poison ivy, most people go the allergic route).

After decades of exposure, I get full out welts and hives from decent exposure. If I don't wear rubber gloves when working in tanks, I'll have finger tips swollen for as long as 2-3 days before my body successfully rids itself of the hairs embedded in them.

As an example, yesterday I went through and changed out everyone's water bowl for a clean one. I wore gloves but forgot and scratched the inside of my elbow at one point with those hairy gloves: nice big itchy welt for my carelessness.
 

Mojo Jojo

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 3, 2002
Messages
2,122
Hey Code, do you have any links to articles comparing the "goo" that is on urticating hairs and the "goo" that is on poison ivy? Because that is exactly what the rash looked like last night. And I am terribly alergic to poison ivy. I think that would be a fascinating read.

Jon

p.s. Did I just say fascination read? Damn, what have I become? :D
 

Code Monkey

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 22, 2002
Messages
3,783
Originally posted by Big Dragonfly
Hey Code, do you have any links to articles comparing the "goo" that is on urticating hairs and the "goo" that is on poison ivy? Because that is exactly what the rash looked like last night.
Maybe I wasn't clear enough, the coating on the hairs is only supposition at this point, nobody has actually identified exactly what is the culprit. When I said it was analogous to poison ivy, I just meant that it would appear that there's some protein in the coating of the hairs that triggers the immune system to go haywire, not that there's necessarily anything chemically or structurally similar between the two.

So, article wise I don't know of much. There was a good article in the ATS forum about urticating hairs which mentioned the supposed coating and I've seen it mentioned in a couple of books, but until somebody can get a grant to study it in it more detail it will officially be hypothetical even if the hives on my arm right now say otherwise ;)
 

Iktomi

Arachnoservant
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 16, 2002
Messages
539
The hairs are seeming to bother me a bit more now, too. But I wanted to interject something here that I noticed. I think that the little hooks at the end of your T's feet cause the same sort of welt. I think it's a bit of an allergy, but it's the same thing as say, cat scratches or sugar glider claws. The tiniest little poke can cause big welts on some people. I'm more sensitive to these hooks than the hairs.
 

arachnopunks

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 10, 2002
Messages
391
Here is a way to help defend against urticating hairs. Take a pair of panty hose and cut them off so they will fit over an entire arm. cut small holes in the foot end for your fingers to fit through. Now go ahead and deal with the T. The urticating hairs will stick to the panty hose and not get to your skin. When your done dealing with the T peel off the hose so they turn inside out trapping the hairs stuck to the hose and throw it away. You can get hose real cheap or an old pair from mom, sister, girlfriend, wife and in some cases boyfriend. If you know you have urticating hairs on you then try this: Get in the shower and turn the water as hot as you can stand it letting the hot water run down all the places the hairs are bothering you. Next, turn the water as cold as you can stand it and continue to let the water run over the affected areas. Repeat as necessary until the ill effects have diminished or dissappeared completely. This is a trick I learned when working with fiberglass which is similar to the urticating hairs in some respects. These methods work quite well
 

arachnopunks

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 10, 2002
Messages
391
BTW, do not use the panty hose to handle the T's they will get hung up in the hose.
 

deifiler

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 22, 2003
Messages
1,094
There's a small article on how the urticating hairs within a book on spider biology I have.

Basically it says how the itching is due to the hairs being extremely barbded in a spiral like fashion, resulting in them burrowing up to 2mm within the skin causing itching. It doesn't mention anything about possible 'poison' coating though. However, it doesn't state "the hairs are NOT poisoned" so whether they are and the book has failed to list it is unclear...

Perhaps a close study of the structure of say a T.Blondis urticating hair (this spider is reknowned for having bad hairs isn't it?) To that or a spider with inferior urticating hairs, say the rosie?

I don't have the correct equipment, though I'm sure the colleges biology department would give me a hand when college starts again

I've never felt the effect of urticating hairs yet :confused: Perhaps soon my luck will run out like it seems you guys have :eek:
 

Ultimate Instar

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 20, 2002
Messages
457
Well, it's especially important for the guys to remember to wash their hands before going to the bathroom.;P

Karen N.
 

arachnopunks

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 10, 2002
Messages
391
Originally posted by Ultimate Instar
Well, it's especially important for the guys to remember to wash their hands before going to the bathroom.;P

Karen N.
LOL=D We men usually have our hands in our pants anyways now we have another excuse.
 

Code Monkey

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 22, 2002
Messages
3,783
Originally posted by Ultimate Instar
Well, it's especially important for the guys to remember to wash their hands before going to the bathroom.;P
Too true. Thankfully I have avoided this T-keeping faus paux to date.
 

Tamara

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
May 20, 2003
Messages
148
So I know a bit about plants and I'll go on a tangent just enough to explain poison oak/ivy/sumac. The toxic compound in poison oak is an oil called urushiol that is found in the resin ducts. This gets on the skin and causes the welting and burning sensation. Using an oil based salve merely spreads the toxin further over the skin--bad news! Stinging nettles, on the other hand, have little tiny hollow "needles" on their leaves and stems, and may be more analogous to the hairs on T's. The sting in a nettle comes from formic acid which gets "injected" into your skin when you come into contact with it. Formic acid is also the toxic or irritating component in many arthropod bites and stings. So I wonder if it could also be the culprit in urticating hairs?
If so, it is said that rubbing the root of the stinging nettle itself on the affected area relieves the reaction; similarly, using crushed yarrow leaves works too. So, lacking any real grant money to study this, does someone want to rub stinging nettle roots or yarrow leaves on themselves the next time they get T hairs in their skin?:) ;)
 

wsimms

Arachnodaddy
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 6, 2003
Messages
368
Originally posted by Code Monkey

So, article wise I don't know of much. There was a good article in the ATS forum about urticating hairs which mentioned the supposed coating and I've seen it mentioned in a couple of books, but until somebody can get a grant to study it in it more detail it will officially be hypothetical even if the hives on my arm right now say otherwise ;)
Don't feel bad, there AREN'T any papers in the medical literature addressing the etiology of this issue...just a few anecdotal case reports on skin urticaria and opthalmia nodosa of the eye. If you have a lag time of 12-24hours before symptoms appear, and it looks like poison ivy, it is probably due to a (Type IV) delayed-type hypersensivity reaction, in which case all the Benadryl in the world won't help it much. Topical steroid cream (or short course oral steroids) are the way to go, and it will probably get worse with each exposure. Type IV DTH does not lead to anaphylaxis, which is probably the reason we don't read about anaphylaxis-related deaths among T owners.

W
 

MrDeranged

He Who Rules
Staff member
Joined
Jul 16, 2002
Messages
2,000
Originally posted by Ultimate Instar
Well, it's especially important for the guys to remember to wash their hands before going to the bathroom.;P

Karen N.
Also a very good reason to NOT handle your t's on your BED...

Scott
 

deifiler

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 22, 2003
Messages
1,094
Originally posted by Tamara

If so, it is said that rubbing the root of the stinging nettle itself on the affected area relieves the reaction; similarly, using crushed yarrow leaves works too. So, lacking any real grant money to study this, does someone want to rub stinging nettle roots or yarrow leaves on themselves the next time they get T hairs in their skin?:) ;)
It's said to salivate, ok SPIT on a doc leaf and this will heal... In reality it just comes down to an alkali substance (saliva) neutralising the acidic stings

How about you guys who are regularly getting these rashes etc try to apply various PH substances? If the pain doesn't increase/decrease due to this it COULD be a base on which to form the theory that 'poison' isn't present within these. This idea is probably too vague though and to be honest I doubt it'd achieve a great deal=<
 

MizM

Arachnoprincess
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 13, 2003
Messages
4,915
I wuz gonna say try an antihistamine, just as an experiment. Code Monkey, I'm bummed to hear that I WILL start developing a reaction. I was just bragging that I NEVER get bothered by urticating hairs!:(
 

Inuleki

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 10, 2003
Messages
373
i actually just got hit with hairs for the first time the other day from my big girl A. geniculata... right in the palm of my hand... it only itched a little for maybe 5 minutes, then went away... can't wait till i'm more sensitive :rolleyes:

-Joshua
 

Mister Internet

Big Meanie Doo Doo Head :)
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Aug 5, 2002
Messages
1,408
Do any of you experience a reaction to urticating haris as little clear welts that look like heat blisters from sunburn or the beginning stage blisters of poison ivy? I got a little patch on my finger last week, and it went away, but it got me to thinking.... my little pulchra may be responsible.
 
Top