Father collapses in Toys R Us after UK’s most poisonous spider bites him ten times

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/father-collapses-in-toys-r-us-after-uk%E2%80%99s-most-poisonous-spider-bites-him-ten-times-.html?nc

A father has told how the UK’s most dangerous spider bit him ten times while shopping for toys with his daughter.

Chris Galton, 31, collapsed after the false widow spider repeatedly bit into his back and neck at the Toys R Us store in Hampshire on Saturday afternoon.

The exotic creature is believed to have nestled in his hooded top after dropping from a bush near his home in Southampton.

It wasn’t until hours later when he was shopping in the toy store with his wife, Zoe, and his one-year-old daughter, Imogen, that the poison started to take effect.

Suddenly feeling unwell, Mr Galton collapsed to the floor.

He was rushed to hospital where doctors discovered the ten 50-pence-sized marks on his body.

The father-of-one was given painkillers and was released the same day.

Speaking about the horrifying ordeal, Mr Galton said: “The bite was like a really sharp pin-prick and very painful. The next thing I knew I was feeling hot, queasy and light-headed and collapsed.
“I had been stung earlier but assumed it was a bee and took some anti-histamine pills. I didn’t think any more of it until I was shopping for my daughter’s first birthday and felt more stings.”

A store worker said: "It was a very scary big spider. I’ve never see one like it before.”

The eight-legged attacker, which is closely-related to the black widow and originates from the Canary Islands, was eventually caught in the store and sent for formal identification.

Mr Galton added: “I’m just thankful it never jumped out and got on to my daughter.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4248930/False-widow-spider-spreading-across-Britain-puts-woman-in-intensive-care.html
False widow spider spreading across Britain puts woman in intensive care
A species of spider spreading across Britain has almost claimed the life of a woman who was bitten as she lay in bed.

By Nigel Bunyan
7:00AM GMT 16 Jan 2009
Lyn Mitchell, 52, spent 26 hours in intensive care after being bitten by a false widow spider at her home in Egremont, west Cumbria.

Until recently the purple and black creature, which looks similar to the true black widow, has been found predominantly in the south of England.

But global warming, and in particular a succession of mild winters, has enabled it to migrate steadily northwards.

Mrs Mitchell, a grandmother, suffered a serious allergic reaction to the bite and within seconds she was gasping for breath and losing consciousness. However, despite her condition she managed to dial 999.

An ambulance crew arrived within minutes and took her to the West Cumberland Hospital, Whitehaven.

"It happened in the early hours of the morning," she recalled. "I was in a deep sleep but most have rolled over on top of the spider and it bit me.

"I jumped out of bed, pulled the duvet and sheets back and saw a spider running over the other side. It was only tiny, black and shiny, and it ran so quickly. I have never seen anything move so fast. I didn't try to kill it because I felt so ill.

"When I looked down I noticed two little pin marks on my chest."

Mrs Mitchell suspects the spider was attracted by the electric blanket she had left on overnight.

The false widow that bit her was later killed by a local authority pest control team. It was identified by experts at The Natural History Museum.

Mrs Mitchell said: "A bite from this kind of female spider would normally give someone a tingling kind of sensation. But if you are allergic, as I am, it can have life or death consequences."

I have some very nasty bites on my leg that i got in the garden last October which just wont heal up.

I didn't realise we had any poisonous spiders. Perhaps I'll stop picking them up in my hands!

AnnaEsse wrote:I didn't realise we had any poisonous spiders. Perhaps I'll stop picking them up in my hands!

Ughhh, I used to pick the things up when I was a youngster, but I can't bear to be near them now. Maggots, worms and anything else we use for baiting our hooks for fishing I haven't a problem with but spiders.....

How brave you are AnnaEsse! As a child I was absolutely terrified of spiders and used to cower away in a corner while my mother picked them up and removed them. Her weakness was mice, now they did frighten her. When my son was a child I didn't want him to be terrified as I was so I tried to act nonchalant around spiders, getting them out in one container or another. My attempts not to instil panic in my son failed as he was absolutely petrified of them and, just like me, would hide away while I got them out.

Fortunately both of us now are a lot calmer about spiders and can remove them - but NEVER NEVER with our hands!

Iv"e never been afraid of Spiders, mice yes. Dogs definitely except a little shitzu or poodle.

malena stool wrote:

AnnaEsse wrote:I didn't realise we had any poisonous spiders. Perhaps I'll stop picking them up in my hands!

Ughhh, I used to pick the things up when I was a youngster, but I can't bear to be near them now. Maggots, worms and anything else we use for baiting our hooks for fishing I haven't a problem with but spiders.....

When I discover spiders in the bath and don't have the time or resources, e.g., a glass, I pick them up gently in my hands and take them outside.

I just squash them with my boot.

Lioned wrote:I just squash them with my boot.

I like that solution Lioned, they don't re-offend when they're a stain on the floor.