© Sherry Maddox
A Virginia woman has been hospitalized after being bitten on the lip by a brown recluse spider. The situation quickly escalated: what was once a small swelling soon became a much larger one. She even started hallucinating.
Source: telegraph
Sherry Maddox was surfing in the Staunton River when she was bitten by a spider. The bite itself did no harm, so she did not immediately realize how dangerous the situation was.
The next day it started to hurt, after which Maddox decided to get antibiotics from the pharmacy. On the third day, she started getting really concerned, as she testified on Fox 8 WFXR. “I thought I was going to die, it was very painful.”
The pain did not stop there either: at some point, the woman began to hallucinate and the swelling increased. In fact, the delusions became so severe that she didn’t even realize she was being taken to the hospital. Maddox later learned that hallucinations can be caused by spider venom.
A hospital investigation showed that the woman was bitten by a brown recluse spider, also known as a violin spider, because the body resembles a musical instrument.
© Shutterstock
A brown recluse spider bite is painless, but the affected area may become red and swollen after a few hours. The bite usually heals after three weeks without significant complications, but in some cases the venom breaks down the soft tissues. Then the skin turns blue with a blister in the middle. Spiders are mainly found in the United States and are among the most venomous spider species in the world.
The woman was allowed to leave the hospital after five days. It went well with her.
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