SPIDER BITES!

July 15, 2021

DON’T WORRY, THEY DON’T HAVE BIG TEETH

Key Takeaways – Funnel Web Spider First Aid in Sydney

Funnel Web spiders are the only species in Sydney known to cause fatalities from bites.
Symptoms can develop within 10 minutes: sweating, mouth tingling, abdominal pain, twitching, breathing difficulty, confusion.
Immediate action: Call an ambulance and apply Pressure Immobilisation Technique (PIT).
Use a broad, firm elasticised bandage to slow lymphatic spread, not blood flow.
Splint the affected limb and keep the victim still until medical help arrives.
Do not suck the venom, wash the bite, or apply an arterial tourniquet.
Follow the Australian Resuscitation Council spider bite first aid guidelines.
Learn more in a HLTAID011 Provide First Aid course at CPR First Aid Sydney or North Parramatta.
Spring and summer increase outdoor activity and risk of spider encounters in gardens.
Training equips you with life-saving skills to respond confidently to spider envenomation.

We’re coming into Spring in Sydney and everything is starting to grow. People are spending more time outdoors, probably gardening, and going into the realm of insects and spiders. Naturally, they will want to protect their patch.

There’s only one spider in Sydney that you really need to worry about – the Funnel Web. Their bites are the only ones that have been known to cause a death.

The symptoms of a bite from a Funnel Web are the following:

Pain, but not much inflammation at the site
Profuse sweating
Tingling sensation around the mouth
Production of a lot of saliva
Abdominal pain
Twitching
Difficulty breathing
Confusion before unconsciousness

All this can occur within 10 minutes of receiving the bite.

So what do you do?

CALL AN AMBULANCE STRAIGHT AWAY!

Apply the Pressure Immobilisation Technique without delay. Use a broad pressure bandage, elasticised if possible. The objective is to slow down the lymphatic drainage, not the blood flow. The bandage should be firm and tight so that you can’t slide a finger in between the bandage and the skin.

Splint the limb, and keep the victim and limb very still. Leave it to the ambulance officers or the hospital to remove the bandage.

DO NOT:

Try to suck out the poison.
Wash the area
Apply an arterial tourniquet

For more information, please visit the guidelines of the Australian Resuscitation Council.

If you really want to be prepared this summer, you might like to learn more about speeder envenomation at one of our classes in HLTAID011 Provide first aid. We run these classes in the City of Sydney RSL, George St. Sydney, and in North Parramatta.

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