SPIDER BITE

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 122, 16 February 1935, Page 23

SPIDER BITE

In Brazil there is a spider which is said to grow as large as a rat and to entangle small birds in its web. Happily, we do not see spiders like this in New Zealand. Nor do we, as in Spain during the Middle Ages, believe that the cause of hysteria is the bite of the tarantula spider. The sufferers in those days were made to dance until they fell exhausted. This is the origin of the tarantella dance. Australia though, possesses some very, dangerous species of spiders, and some of them can cause death. The venom from certain spiders is intensely poisonous. It affects the heart and the nervous system, causing paralysis and heart failure. The Red Indians knew this, and they used spider. venom to poison the tips of their arrows. An analysis made by the Government statist of New South Wales reveals the somewhat startling fact that although in the five-year period to the end of 1932 there were ten deaths from snake bite, in the same period there 1 were eight deaths from spider bite. The most dangerous spiders in Australia are probably the funnel-web spider and tjie red-backed, or jockey, spider. The funnel-web spider is a branch of the family of trap-door spiders, and is probably the only poisonous member of this family. Hollow logs, rotten stumps, old tins, and dark corners of outhouses are all possible haunts of dangerous spiders. The katipo is the only dangerous spider in New Zealand; and it inhabits rotten wood, stumps, etc., on many of the beaches. The immediate treatment of spider bite is the same as that of snake,bite; and speed is every bit as essential. If the bite has been on a limb' a tight tourniquet must be applied immediately and the bite should be scarified and 'the poison sucked otit. Stimulants' may be given, and medical aid should be sought without delay before the symptoms of shock and collapse appear. Recent work has shown that the blood of anyone who has recovered after having been bitten by a spider develops a substance which protects against the venom. From this, as in snake poisoning. a serum has been produced.