Tarantula spider bite: Difference between revisions
Ostermayer (talk | contribs) (Text replacement - "Category:Derm" to "Category:Dermatology") |
Ostermayer (talk | contribs) (Text replacement - "Category:Environ" to "Category:Environmental") |
||
| Line 30: | Line 30: | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Environmental]] | ||
[[Category:Dermatology]] | [[Category:Dermatology]] | ||
Revision as of 14:47, 22 March 2016
Background
Clinical Features
- Abdominal hairs may be flicked a short distance when threatened
- Rarely penetrate human skin but can imbed deeply into conjunctiva and cornea
- Bites can be painful but systemic symptoms other than fever are unusual
Differential Diagnosis
Envenomations, bites and stings
- Hymenoptera stings (bees, wasps, ants)
- Mammalian bites
- Closed fist infection (Fight bite)
- Dog bite
- Marine toxins and envenomations
- Toxins (ciguatera, neurotoxic shellfish poisoning, paralytic shellfish poisoning, scombroid, tetrodotoxin
- Stingers (stingray injury)
- Venomous fish (catfish, zebrafish, scorpion fish, stonefish, cone shells, lionfish, sea urchins)
- Nematocysts (coral reef, fire coral, box jellyfish, sea wasp, portuguese man-of-war, sea anemones)
- Phylum porifera (sponges)
- Bites (alligator/crocodile, octopus, shark)
- Scorpion envenomation
- Reptile envenomation
- Spider bites
Diagnosis
- Usually clinical
Management
- Red eye and pain after handling a tarantula necessitates an ocular exam
- Hairs may be difficult to detect on slit lamp
- Treatment may require surgical removal of hairs
- Imbedded cutaneous hairs that are barbed may be removed with duct tape or cellophane tape followed by irrigation with sodium chloride.
- Urticarial reactions can be treated with oral antihistamines and/or topical/systemic corticosteroids.