Haired by B. Boehmei

Rourke

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Got hit bad last night while re-housing my 3 remaining hair kickers (B. boehmei, B. smithi, and L. difficilis). For me, the boehmei has always been the worst, for some reason. Even 10 years ago, when I kept many large adults of EVERY New World terrestrial I could get my hands on, the boehmei gave me more trouble than T. blondi, or any Lasiodora, Brachypelma, or Pamphobeteus.

Without a doubt, my reaction today is substantially worse than it was back then. It used to be that after spending a couple hours feeding these guys, I would be just a little itchy, and taking a shower would be all that was necessary to get relief. That’s after opening and closing maybe a couple of hundred shoeboxes, many of these accompanied by dense clouds of hair kicked off by their agitated inhabitants. But I’ve definitely noticed my reaction increasing over time. My reaction to last night’s single boehmei cloud has been the worst ever! I have a rash all over my hands and forearms. Also, a slight rash on my torso, even though I was wearing a shirt at the time. My fingers are swollen and tight feeling. My knuckles feel pressurized from the inside, and it’s difficult and painful to bend my fingers even a little. I was unable to sleep at all, and if anything it’s getting worse. No relief even ~18 hours after the event. I was hacking and coughing a lot last night, too. That’s mostly died down, but my throat still feels kinda tight. Oddly, and thankfully, I have had no trouble with my eyes.

Has anyone else had the experience that increased exposure, over time, can increase sensitivity to urticatorial hairs?

Here are a few pics to demonstrate my suffering, preceded by a photo of what will surely be the last time I handle any of these hair-kicking bitches!
 

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sektone

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Jul 11, 2004
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wow that sucks man .. i notice that when i had a smithi it woudl kick haris like crazy it was stil a ling (about 3 inches or so maybe 2.5 cant remember) but it shot like crazy luckily i never got hit..

do reaction vary upon certain people systems?
 

Angelo

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Feb 6, 2003
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you might have tried this, but maybe next time, keep some wide masking tape when your dealing with your hairkickers. as soon as you think youve been "haired" grab the tape, apply the sticky side to the "haired" area, and peel it off. ive heard this can remove alot of hairs before it gets inbedded further into the skin. just a suggestion. and remember-dont itch-once i got haired real bad after my rosie molted and i found the more i itched the longer it took for the burning and pain to wear off. sometimes id get so frustrated id itch the area like a psycho and make it even worse. try some benadryl and maybe some aloe might work (you probably know this already, but just in case.) hope you feel better man. good luck. :)
 

Tony

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Rourke
W/O a doubt I think reactions can get worse over time. Hell, I have had the little blister things between my fingers, when I havent even been in the spider room for a week!!!
T
 

pitbulllady

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May 1, 2004
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Man, that's bad! I am SOOO glad I don't react to urticating hairs, and I get haired all the time! I've never experienced anything worse than some slight itching for no more than half and hour, and that was only from handling moulted exuvia. I've had much worse from putting my hands in buckets of oats, or from carrying bails of wheat stray or loads of hay. In fact, mowing the lawn used to do me that way. Yesterday, while re-potting a large Cholla cactus(those of you who live where these species are native with likely know what I'm talking about), I got my arms and hands full of glochids, and those are HUNDREDS of times worse than urticating hairs! I'll handle 50 B. boehmeis before I pick up ONE of those!
If you don't wanna mess with those hair kickers, send 'em to me, especially that female boehmei, since I believe mine is about to moult out as a male!

pitbulllady
 

nowhereman

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Sep 3, 2004
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Mr. Rourke that is one pretty Fire leg. I hope ours looks that nice some day.
Have you tried a pair of light gloves and a pair of cotton welding sleeves ?
 

Rourke

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nowhereman said:
Have you tried a pair of light gloves and a pair of cotton welding sleeves ?
No, I haven't. But I'll be sure to put some on when I pack my Brachypelmas to get rid of them.......FOREVER!
 

btorgy

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Aug 19, 2004
Messages
23
worsening reactions

I have yet to be "haired", but I am allergic to bee stings, and know from personal experience that the reactions got worse with each sting. Keep some Benadryl on hand, it also comes in a cream, that might help!
 

MizM

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Sending calamine laced thoughts your way!!

I remember reading here somewhere that, yes, irritation increases with exposure. We also talked of spandex coming back into fashion... FULL BODY spandex!
 

Rourke

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MizM said:
Sending calamine laced thoughts your way!!

I remember reading here somewhere that, yes, irritation increases with exposure. We also talked of spandex coming back into fashion... FULL BODY spandex!
You LIE, MizM !!!!!!!! Just to serve your own perverted ends....your nearly unquenchable desire to see me in leopardskin tights!! {D

(OK, I'll send you a pic, privately...but I'm NOT gonna post it!)

Rourke :D
 

MizM

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:eek: Am I THAT transparent? :eek: I WILL admit that I prefer tiger print to leopard, tigers are the biggest of the big cats!! Grrrrrr.
 

OldHag

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Avic. hair gets me!! I itch for MONTHS after an encounter with one of those babies. I get wee blisters and bumps for weeks and weeks, its very attractive and it tends to keep unwanted physical contact at a minimum :D One doctor thought I had Hand Foot and Mouth...except it wasnt in my mouth or on my feet. He just couldnt accept the fact that hairs from a tarantula did it to me. HE was no help at all, so now I just suffer the 3-4 weeks of itching and then hold my Avic. again :D

GORGEOUS boehmei!! I just found out my 3" is male :( I was so hoping he was a she. Im putting estrogen in the water and thinking feminine thoughts at my other two 1 inchers...MUST THINK FEMALE!!!

Michelle
 

Professor T

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Apr 11, 2003
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Coincidently, I have never had a bad reaction from T hairs. But today when I removed my B. smithi 's molt, she hair flicked the molt as I was removing it. I forgot to wash my hands. My upper lip felt a slight irritation before I realized I needed to wash. Glad I didn't rub my eyes. :eek:
 

Rourke

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If anything, the itching is worse as I go to bed tonight. Couldn't find any Benadryl in the house, so I took a couple Dramamine. Not sure if the antihistamine effect will be as good, but that stuff tends to make me sleep, anyway....
 

Sheri

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I am fairly certain I was recently boasting to someone that I don't notice the hairs...
Clearly, poor choice.
Making lunches just now, there was a blondi shed on the counter, waiting to be sexed.
You would think that I would have put it in a more logical place, but no... of course not. There seems to be spiders, molts, or paraphernalia just about everywhere...
Anyway, must have rubbed up against it because damn if my wrist and forearm aren't driving me insane! Little red bumps all the way up...

I relate, and now officially, can offer empathy.
 

Sheri

Arachnoking
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QUICK!
Everyone - time to go get haired!

BTW, the vinegar worked, but maybe for 5 minutes. So now I am itchy and reek like vinegar!
 

DracosBana

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Jun 21, 2004
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Has anyone tried the benadryl spray they make for sunburn? It's designed for skin use, sprays on, and has an analgesic along with antihistamine.
 

MizM

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sheri said:
I am fairly certain I was recently boasting to someone that I don't notice the hairs...
Clearly, poor choice.
{D Seems to me that they NEVER bothered me... until I started bragging about it! {D After that, my smithi made me itch every time I LOOKED at her! Maybe we should complain about how BAD it is for us!! ;)
 
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