I can personally attest--from experience--to the fact that, while not
lethal, Black Widow bites are incredibly... er... uncomfortable. I'm not
sure painful is the right word, in the sense that most people associate
"pain" and "insect bite".
Black Widow venom is a *very* potent neurotoxin. However, if you are between
the ages of approximately 18 and 50, medical personnel will be reluctant to
administer an antidote. You're strong enough to survive the bite and they
don't want to take the risk that you'll develop (as many do) an allergy to
the antidote, thus precluding its use by you ever again.
Nearly two days of bizarre neurological effects was no fun at all.
---
Scott Gomez
-----Original Message-----
From: Olaf Greve [mailto:o.greve@xxxxxxx]
Subject: RE: [OM] Bears, Water Shots and vacations (long, sorry
Hi,
<snip>
Upon closer inspection under the picknick table, I found some well hidden
-but
within a hand's grab for a human- black widows. Now, these are normally not
lethal, but their bite is still described as excruciatingly painful; doesn't
sound like my picknick!
Cheers!
Olafo
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
|