Girl, 7, is in hospital after spider bite ‘ate away her skin’
Seven-year-old girl girl’s skin is being EATEN AWAY after she was bitten by a false widow spider and is now on hospital IV drip
- Jaime Anderson became worried after spotting a bite on daughter Bella’s arm
- After several desperate trips to the hospital, surgeons identified the bite
- Then, the bite on Bella’s arm continued to get worse and started leaking pus
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Jaime Anderson, 41, from South Ockendon, Essex, became worried after spotting a bite on her daughter Bella’s arm when she came home from a sleepover.
After several desperate trips to the hospital, surgeons identified the bite was in fact from a false widow spider, known for their nasty venom.
‘She doesn’t actually remember where she got it from,’ Ms Anderson said.
‘When the kids get bites from mosquitoes they get a reaction, so when I first saw it I thought I’d wait and see how it goes.
‘But it just got worse and worse, so on the Monday I took her to the hospital.’
A seven-year-old girl is in hospital on an IV drip after a spider bite on her arm appeared to cause her skin to be ‘eaten away’ (pictured)
Initially the nurses at the hospital didn’t seem to recognise it as a false widow spider bite, Ms Anderson explained.
She said: ‘They sent me away. I think they didn’t recognise it, it’s not their fault but I want to make people more aware.’
After being turned away twice, the bite on Bella’s arm continued to get worse and started leaking pus.
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‘It got progressively worse again. It started to leak puss and the skin looked like it was being eaten away.
‘It was about the size of a 50p piece originally, but it became bigger.
‘We were sent to Broomfield Hospital to see a surgeon who immediately recognised it as a false widow spider bite.
‘He had been bitten really badly on his leg in the past, and they had also treated a little girl before who had been bitten by a one.’
The bite looked so bad that Ms Anderson said even the nurses at the hospital were shocked by its appearance.
Jaime Anderson, pictured with husband Trevor and daughters Bella (front) and Laurena, became worried after spotting a bite on her daughter Bella’s arm when she came home from a sleepover
‘Two different nurses on two different days looked shocked when they saw it, I think one called it ‘manky’,’ she said.
‘It was quite nerve-wracking for me, seeing their faces and their reactions.’
Although the bite looks painful and unpleasant, Bella hasn’t appeared to suffer any pain or discomfort.
‘She’s been fine, it hasn’t itched or bothered her and there hasn’t been any pain,’ she said.
‘I think mummy and daddy have been more worried about it, because it looks so bad.’
Originally it was thought that Bella would need surgery to clean the bite, however due to her improvement after being put on antibiotics that is no longer the case.
‘They were going to operate as of yesterday to open up the wound and clean it out, but she’s had three lots of antibiotics and this morning they have said it is OK.
‘I was dreading her having to go under, so I’m over the moon that she doesn’t.’
Ms Anderson was told by the surgeon that the false widow spiders are being found across Essex.
She said: ‘The surgeon said they have come over in bananas from the Canaries and are now populating Essex.
‘We get spiders around the house, but we never saw this one. I don’t normally kill spiders, but unfortunately now I will stamp any that look bad.’
WHAT IS THE FALSE WIDOW SPIDER AND WHAT TO DO IF YOU GET BITTEN
False widow spiders are distinctive for their shiny, black flesh, bulbous bodies, thick legs and skull-like patterns.
Millions of false widows, Britain’s most venomous spider, have been found across the UK and the population is believed to be growing.
The species has a brown bulbous abdomen with cream markings that look like a skull. They have long legs and can reach about 15mm in size.
Also known as steatoda nobilis, the spider is frequently confused for the black widow, which has deadly venom.
The false widow was first spotted in the UK in Torquay, Devon, in 1879, and it is understood that it may have made its way to these shores from Madeira or the Canary Islands in a shipment of bananas.
The Natural History Museum says that warmer summers mean the spider is spreading northwards through the UK, having been found mainly in southern England.
False widow spiders are distinctive for their shiny, black flesh, bulbous bodies, thick legs and skull-like patterns
IF YOU GET BITTEN…
The first thing you should do is wash the area thoroughly with soap and water to prevent infection – and don’t scratch, as if you break the skin there’s more chance for bacteria to get in.
Cover bites with a plaster and apply an antihistamine sting cream to calm any inflammation or itching, says Stuart Hine, from the Natural History Museum’s identification and advisory service.
Any redness, pain or swelling should subside after three days.
Be alert to potential signs of infection, such as weeping blisters or painful swelling, that continue to get worse after a few days.
If this happens, seek advice from your GP.
Bella is on the mend, she doesn’t need surgery and is expected to be put on a course of antibiotics once she leaves hospital.
She will even be able to make the first day back at school on Wednesday.
‘She’s been on an IV drip and will have to stay on antibiotics when she leaves.
‘She goes back to school on Wednesday, but she should be fine. I’ll just have to go in at lunch time so she can take her antibiotics.’
Ms Anderson believes that they are very lucky and that if they had left the bite much later it would have been a lot worse.
‘We were lucky, if we had left it any longer it would have been a lot worse,’ she said.
‘I posted a message and pictures to Facebook because I wanted to raise awareness of it. If you get a bite you can’t leave it, you have to see a doctor.’
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