The case of the 23-year-old who died today, August 17, from a bite from the violin spider in Salento rekindles fear and questions about an animal that is very present in Italy. How can you recognize the violin spider? Where does it live? What should you do if you are bitten by the arachnid?
“The bite of the violin spider is a fairly frequent event, we are talking about several dozen cases per year, instead it is rare and extraordinary is the death as a consequence“, explains Massimo Andreoni, scientific director of the Italian Society of Infectious and Tropical Diseases and full professor at the University of Tor Vergata in Rome, to Adnkronos Salute.
How to recognize the violin spider, where it lives
As the Niguarda Hospital in Milan recalls, the typical violin spider is yellow-brown, with long legs. The size varies between 7 mm and 9 mm, females are generally larger than males. In Italy, the violin spider generally lives indoors during the winter season, given its poor feeling with low temperatures. In summer, it can also be found outdoors. During the day, it tends to stay inside cavities and cracks, behind furniture or skirting boards. It also tends to hide in linen, between the folds of curtains or even in shoes. At night, its movements become more frequent.
What happens with the bite, what to do
A ‘bite’ from the brown recluse spider initially presents no symptoms. Then, redness with itching and tingling appears. In 2-3 days the situation can radically worsen, to the point of ulcers forming on the wound in which anaerobic bacteria can proliferate. The bitten subject may have fever and skin rash, with a course that in theory can lead to muscle damage, kidney lesions and hemorrhages. In some cases, furthermore, treatment in a hyperbaric chamber may be necessary.
In the case of a spider bite, the first step requires abundant washing of the wound with soap and water. It is important to observe whether the wound tends to become red with a darker central part. It may be useful to capture the spider and keep it, even if it has been killed: evaluating the head under the microscope, the presence of 6 eyes is highlighted instead of 8, as is typical for all other spiders.
The Policlinico Gemelli in Rome reminds that in the rare cases in which significant lesions appear (necrosis) the treatment is supportive and symptomatic and pharmacological (antibiotics, cortisone). In other rare cases surgical toilet of the lesion may be necessary.
In the vast majority of cases the bite causes local phenomena of little clinical significance (redness, itching, irritation) and therefore it is absolutely not appropriate to be alarmed by going to the emergency room. Consult a Poison Control Center describing the circumstances of the exposure and any signs and symptoms present; only subsequently and in some cases may a medical visit be necessary for which general practitioners
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