Yahoo Movies Teenager, 13, left with rotting black hole in his arm from false widow spider bite
WARNING: This article contains images that some may find distressing.
A teenage boy was rushed to hospital after a bite from a false widow spider left him with a gaping black hole the size of a 50p coin on his arm.
Jamie Harrison noticed what started out as a painful small spot on his skin where the eight-legged critter had bitten him in his sleep at his home in Torbay, Devon.
However, the rotting hole soon swelled to the size of a large boil with an oozing black centre and after a trip to the GP, Jamie’s security guard dad David Harrison, 45, rushed him to A&E.
A doctor soon confirmed that the boy had been bitten by a false widow – whose bites produce necrosis of the flesh.
The teen grimaced his way through the “painful” extraction process, which involved the doctor squeezing the bite, leaving a gaping 50p-sized hole on the inside of his left arm.
Jamie said: “It was really horrible, the bite had gone black and had pus in it.
“I just wanted to get rid of it as it was uncomfortable and looked awful.
“The doctor at the hospital knew straight away it was a false widow spider bite and told me they had to get all the pus out.
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“She then used her hands to squeeze it all out, it was so painful.
“She managed to squeeze all the blackness out. It was a relief when it was all out, but it left behind a pretty big hole about the size of a 50p piece.”
Jamie was bitten at the end of June and after efforts by accounts clerk mum Sarah Harrison, 40, to treat the bite failed, he went to Torbay Hospital A&E on July 1.
There the bite was drained and the cavity was packed with surgical gauze.
The teen was given a four-week course of antibiotics and has been left with a small scar.
Jamie is now more cautious of creepy crawlies and tries to give them a wide berth.
He added: “I didn’t really think spiders could do that in this country.
“I didn’t used to be bothered by spiders but now I am – I keep well away from them. I’m just happy that it’s healed like it has.
“If anyone is in a similar situation I recommend they go to the hospital and get it checked out straight away, otherwise it can turn really nasty.”
