3 ms·

Growing up in California, I was always fearful of black widows. I had no idea the availability of antivenom was so great.

by icco 8y ago

kibwen 8y ago
The article doesn't mention how long you have after the bite until the antivenom must be administered, so it's feasible that people living in remote or undeveloped areas would still want to be wary. I also imagine that children are more susceptible to the venom, so it still makes sense to teach them about the danger.
- jorvi 8y ago
  Most people don’t need to be. What the article fails to mention is that Black Widow bites are only life-threatening to the ‘feeble’ (children, elderly, sick, etc). Otherwise you’re in for a very bad time, but the chance of dying is insignificant. “In the United States each year, about 2,200 people report being bitten .. each year 12 bites are considered serious but no deaths have been reported in 100 years .. .. Contrary to popular belief, most people who are bitten suffer no serious damage, let alone death .. .. Since the venom is not likely to be life-threatening, antivenom has been used as pain relief and not to save lives .. a study demonstrated that standardized pain medication, when combined with either antivenom or a placebo, had similar improvements in pain and resolution of symptoms.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus#Bite https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus#Bite
  - pvaldes 8y ago
    Both are very different creatures. Lets say broadly that Recluse has an acid attak, will melt tissue. Recluse will not kill you normally but can leave a scar. Black widows instead have an attack of, lets say, electric type. Will 'electrocute' you. Black widow will not kill you normally. But if you collaborate with the black widow work, you will kill yourself instead
codingdave 8y ago
Black widows are not aggressive. They won't bite you unless you crush them or threaten their eggs. You can even pick them up and play with them without a bite. (Not that I would recommend testing their limits). That being said, I do wear gloves when picking up firewood or moving stuff around my property, because if I grab one accidentally, that does crush them, which is exactly when they bite.
- okmokmz 8y ago
  One of my parents friends had two black widows living in this small enclosed area of their backyard. The wife was a photographer and let them live their so she could take pictures. You could get within inches of them with a camera or whatever else, and they wouldn't even move
  - PretzelPirate 8y ago
    I have a couple black widows living in my basement. They each chose to live in a small crevice in a concrete wall. I can go watch them, but if my shadow accidentally falls on them, they hide as fast as they can. Some people thinks it’s crazy that I don’t kill them, but they certainly aren’t trying to hurt me, so I don’t see why I would.

Growing up in California, I was always fearful of black widows. I had no idea the availability of antivenom was so great.

by icco 8y ago

Growing up in California, I was always fearful of black widows. I had no idea the availability of antivenom was so great.

kibwen 8y ago

The article doesn't mention how long you have after the bite until the antivenom must be administered, so it's feasible that people living in remote or undeveloped areas would still want to be wary. I also imagine that children are more susceptible to the venom, so it still makes sense to teach them about the danger.

jorvi 8y ago
Most people don’t need to be. What the article fails to mention is that Black Widow bites are only life-threatening to the ‘feeble’ (children, elderly, sick, etc). Otherwise you’re in for a very bad time, but the chance of dying is insignificant. “In the United States each year, about 2,200 people report being bitten .. each year 12 bites are considered serious but no deaths have been reported in 100 years .. .. Contrary to popular belief, most people who are bitten suffer no serious damage, let alone death .. .. Since the venom is not likely to be life-threatening, antivenom has been used as pain relief and not to save lives .. a study demonstrated that standardized pain medication, when combined with either antivenom or a placebo, had similar improvements in pain and resolution of symptoms.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus#Bite https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus#Bite
- pvaldes 8y ago
  Both are very different creatures. Lets say broadly that Recluse has an acid attak, will melt tissue. Recluse will not kill you normally but can leave a scar. Black widows instead have an attack of, lets say, electric type. Will 'electrocute' you. Black widow will not kill you normally. But if you collaborate with the black widow work, you will kill yourself instead

codingdave 8y ago

Black widows are not aggressive. They won't bite you unless you crush them or threaten their eggs. You can even pick them up and play with them without a bite. (Not that I would recommend testing their limits). That being said, I do wear gloves when picking up firewood or moving stuff around my property, because if I grab one accidentally, that does crush them, which is exactly when they bite.

okmokmz 8y ago
One of my parents friends had two black widows living in this small enclosed area of their backyard. The wife was a photographer and let them live their so she could take pictures. You could get within inches of them with a camera or whatever else, and they wouldn't even move
- PretzelPirate 8y ago
  I have a couple black widows living in my basement. They each chose to live in a small crevice in a concrete wall. I can go watch them, but if my shadow accidentally falls on them, they hide as fast as they can. Some people thinks it’s crazy that I don’t kill them, but they certainly aren’t trying to hurt me, so I don’t see why I would.