Pet Spider Kills its owner, what a way to go!, page 2

I call this story bunk on the fact that many people each year are bitten by widows. I recall a Venom ER episode with a young girl bitten twice on her abdomen by a widow. She suffered in pain and fever for hours before getting attention medically. Due to her age and size they feared that helping her might actually kill her, she lived.

Here are some more Venom ER situations with widows and kids who also live.
www.tv.com... ry.html?tag=ep_list;ep_title;6

www.tv.com... mmary.html?tag=ep_list;ep_title;10

Also here is a little more widow information so that we may expand our knowledge and not continue with folklore.

Prior to antivenom
availability, black widow spiders killed approximately 5% of human
bite victims1. Now, reports indicate human mortality rates to be less
than 1% from black widow spider bites. Deaths from black widow
bites among healthy adults are relatively rare in terms of the number
of bites per thousand people. Only 63 deaths were reported in the US
between 1950 and 19892.

health.state.ga.us...

Though I will admit that having such animals running around your home freely is stupid, I will say that owning a venomous animal in its self is not. Venomous creatures are very interesting to keep and study as long as caution is maintained throughout the time you keep them. In other words don’t go around trying to pet or cuddle with a venomous creature or you will most likely be bitten.

The article also mentioned poisonous frogs; this seems to be a greater concern as far as death goes. I think of the poison arrow frogs when I hear about this in this case he only need touch one and he would be at serious risk of death. These things are far more deadly than a widow ever would be.

Widow bites are normally not deadly though. Either this was not a black widow that bite him (perhaps it was the Red Back spider which is related) or he was already ill or very out of shape or old. Maybe he had heart disease or some other medical condition.

What are the symptoms of a bite?
A black widow spider bite gives the appearance of a target, with a pale area surrounded by a red ring. Severe muscle pain and cramps may develop in the first two hours. Severe cramps are usually first felt in the back, shoulders, abdomen and thighs. Other symptoms include weakness, sweating, headache, anxiety, itching, nausea, vomiting, difficult breathing and increased blood pressure. Young children, the elderly and those with high blood pressure are at highest risk of developing symptoms from a black widow spider bite.

www.calpoison.org...

Mortality/Morbidity: More than 13,000 spider bites were reported to the American Association of Poison Control Centers in 1997, with no deaths; more than 1,300 of the bites were described as moderate or severe. The reported death rate from documented bites occurs in less than 1% of reported cases. Young children appear to be at highest risk for a lethal bite.

www.emedicine.com...

Again there are much greater dangers than a widow bite. You risk death much more by stepping outside of you home than by the bite of a widow.

Raist