A few minutes later I felt a mild sting on my leg, almost like a mosquito bite. When I went to get the insect off, I discovered that there were several baby widows on my leg in the area. After reminding my self to stay calm and calling poison control, I took a bath. There were additional babies in the water.

I waited the three hours that poison control told me that major symptoms would present if I was having a reaction. Nothing major happened except for a burning sensation and cramping in the muscles surrounding the area bit that continues unrelentingly but not so bad that I feel I need major pain medication… though tylenol and motrin haven’t really helped either.

Several sites state that males and babies are considered harmless. I question that. I know it was a baby that bit me. I have had symptoms now for over 12 hours. Mild by comparison to some of the postings here, but symptoms none-the-less.

Thanks for the advise of using boiling water. I found the widow and web in my organic garden. Was attempting to smash her and babies to avoid putting chemicals in the soil. Now I know, and I hope others heed my advice, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SMASH EGG SACKS.

I washed my hands again and this time when the water hit my skin it just shot these intense burning feeling up my arm. By the time I got home my left arm started feeling funny. I have really bad leg cramps now and my shoulders are aching. I have a feeling of anxiety and my whole body is tingly. My muscle are jumping a bit in my legs too. Well cant let this get me down, I have to go and volunteer at our local Rodeo. I am just thankful that its mild.

By the time I got home I felt very warm and laid down to rest. I took off my shoes and socks and noticed a small bite two inches above my right ankle. The calf and leg began to discolor and swell and was very dark red. I had a temperature of 102 and abdominal pains. I got ice to put on the area and took several aspirin every four hours. I was weak and dizzy the entire time and then vomited several times. I also put some silvidine cream on the bite. I was feeling better the next morning (Sat 6/19/10) The swelling was a little better but did not go down until Monday, 6/21/10. The area remains slightly red in appearance. If you get bit go to the Doctor for treatment.

I would say my experience with being bitten was atypical. I went to kill one at the end of last July 2009. It was in it’s web, not particularly big. My kids were goofing around and hiding in the yard. I knew the web was there and of course that’s where the kids decided to hide. Thankfully they didn’t get bit, but I went with a flashlight and a short stick to kill it. Of course I missed ( I was in flip flops and shorts). Typical Los Angeles evening wear.

I never felt the bite, had the distinct creepy feeling something was on me, so I backed out of the area. The next morning it began with the leg cramps, nausea, chills, crazy sweating (had to change my pajamas twice, and even some drooling. and after 2-3days was feeling better.

Here’s where things got atypical.

6 weeks later more symptoms followed. I should state that I’m a 43 year old guy in good shape with no medical problems.

I started feeling aches in both armpits and a burning sensation in my stomach, not like heartburn, but more like if you had jalepeno sauce poured on your belly. This burning extended to my whole digestive tract and was terrible before and after BM’s.

Then panic set in, not like a justified panic, but like paranoia panic. If you look on the Merck(mfg of the anti-venin) web page for latrodectism (black widow bite poisoning) you’ll see the bit about “nervousness” lasting for weeks or months. Lucky me, I got that one and a host of others. Also Ortho has a list of symptoms including panic attacks.

Other symptoms that have dragged on tingling in my tongue, burning sensation in my eyelids, sporadic burning like whack-a-mole throughout my body, though with the passing months these symptoms have lessened to where my tongue and eyelids have stopped bothering me, but the pop up burning still happens, but much less severe and less frequently.

My abdomin right under the sternum still feels rotten. I used to be able to take a pretty heavy punch to my stomach area, not now, no way.

So 6 weeks after the bite in Oct. 09, I had lost 8 pounds which I didn’t have or need to lose. I went from 155 to 147. I ended up in the ER gagging and freezing cold. End result the ER couldn’t find anything and sends me home.

I see a gastroenterologist who runs me through an ultrasound of my gallbladder pancreas and kidney, endoscopy with biopsy, colonoscopy with biopsy. All perfectly normal.

He sends me to a cardiologist and neurologist, I also see a pulmonologist and get chest CT scan, MRI’s and ekg’s and heart ultrasound, all normal (med costs rising and still feeling crazy lethargic, panic and burning neurological pain).

My regular Doctor runs 50 plus blood tests and a few extensive 24 hour urine collection tests, still nothing abnormal.

Jan 2010, I end up in the ER again after vomiting and feeling like someone is pushing a broomstick , dull and heavy, through me right at my sternum. Again the ER finds nothing and the next day the pain is gone.

My doctors couldn’t find a single thing wrong (thankfully) and they have even come around to accept that this may all be due to the black widow bite.

The weird thing is right when everything seemed to clear and I was feeling 95% better for a good month or so (gained my weight back), I had a minor relapse with a lot of the same symptoms, but milder, after I see the first black widow since I got bitten. I was cleaning my BBQ, where an enormous one was making her nest. I did not get bit this time, and I killed it, but the sight of it seemed to trigger something in me.

So in short, I think it’s safe to say that there will variation in every persons reaction, sensitivity, to the venom within a general range, as well as everyspider’s toxicity level bieng slightly varied.

The toxin’s purpose is to stun, kill the insect prey and melt its insides for easier digestion, i guess it did a little of that on me.

I was hoping to get this long year behind me, but it looks like I’ll have to be more patient.

Anyway, It’s not a bad idea to get medical attention when your bitten. I didn’t, I don’t think it would have made a diffence for me, the frustrating thing is all the other residual symptoms that are still (though thankfully less so now) lingering.

I hope this helps

Not many people die from Black widow bites. Most who get bitten suffer no serious damage. Only in children and the elderly can they be fatal. In saying that there have been little fatalities with Black widow bites.

Also nobody has ever died from Red back bite. Usually people will only suffer from extreme pain from the bite to which you apply an ice pack. Only if an allergic reaction occurs should you go to the hospital for treatment.