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Poison Center Has Black Widow Warning
More Bites This Year Than Last
POSTED: 11:09 pm MST December 3,
2007
DENVER, Colo. -- Black widow spiders, which come inside as the temperature drops, are delivering a sting to more people in Colorado than they have in the past.Doctors at the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center said the number of black widow spider bites is higher this year -- with 36 bites to date -- as compared to last, when they took 32 calls on black widow bites.That's a 12 percent increase with less than a month to go.
"The spider bit me on my hand," explains 5-year-old Dalayla Hinojos, as she points to the spot where the black widow delivered the stinging venom.Her mother, Dedra Hinojos, says her daughter was sleeping when she felt the bite."She kept crying and crying. I'm like, 'What's wrong with you?' She said, 'A bee bit me, an orange bee,'" said Hinojos. "I was very afraid."She said her daughter's legs were paralyzed, she was sick to her stomach and that her hand was burning."Black widow envenomation does not kill anyone, but it can make them very ill," said Dr. Jennie Buchanan.She is the toxicologist that helped the Hinojos family and says she has seen an increase in the number of black widow bites this year. "We've had an increase in the administration of antivenom both at Childrens', University and Denver Health," Buchana said.Dalayla was given antivenom and her symptoms improved immediately.Children under the age of 1, the elderly and pregnant women, are most at risk if bitten by a black widow.Doctors can usually manage the pain with medication, but antivenom is available for severe symptoms.To learn more about black widow spider bites go to the Rocky Mountain Poison Center Web site.
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