Red back spider bite

jmcg.insight.gardens

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You might want to add an antihistamine to your first aid kit, Its one of the things I always make sure that I have in mine.

I'm a bit of a fanatic on first aid kits, Lorastyne (non-drowsy) is always in my kit. Another good thing to add is a prescription burn cream called Silvazine, its expensive but brilliant, its what they use in hospitals. Instant pain relief. I just get a prescription when I go to the Doctor for something. I imagine the occasional burn would happen in your trade. It also helps with sunburn.

Haven't had any thing to do with European Wasps as yet, are they aggressive?

All this talk of bugs reminds me I must update my Senior First Aid. Never know when I'll use it again, its proved invaluable over the years. Between full leg breaks, epileptic fits and a person dropping dead in my vicinity (yes I,ve resuscitated someone, don't want to be in that position again hopefully) it's something I recommend everyone have.

Yes thats good advice, it was such a worry working with that bloke. I just couldn,t believe that he would put other people in the position of working with him unknowing of his bee allergy. To be quite honest I don't know if I would have the guts to do an emergency tracheotomy, it was more the point of what I blurted out, I mean to the boss and all........

After working in the bush(woods) isolated, with other people around, it pays to be conversant in most emergency procedures. Where I worked once, it was meet the ambulance half-way. It was a constant worry.

Julie

tassiesteve

Spiders i dont like,ive always had the screaming ab dabs about them,One spider we used to see a lot of in tasmania (where i do belong) in the silver beet patch ,was a ginger colour big fat body hairy and not something you would take home to mother,we used to call them football spiders because of their abdomen shape and colour,one thing i recon is bear grills wouldnt tackle this mother.

windthrown

Very true! It does not take much for someone to get banged up, bitten or take a fall.

I am on the National/Mt Hood Ski Patrol here, and I have lots of EMT/first responder training. We had 3 ambulances haul people out of the first aid station that I worked in last Sunday. 2 went down on back boards, and one was a heart patient that passed out in the lodge (6,000 feet, or 2000 meters up, about 20% less oxygen up there than down here near sea level). 10 cases in a half day shift, which is pretty typical. Busted knees and legs mostly.

jmcg.insight.gardens

and to think people do that for fun...

sounds like an interesting thing to do.

Julie

Husky man

today i was removing a Cocas palm and i felt a real painful sting on my left leg and i looked down and there ontop of my work pants was the biggest huntsman iv ever seen. second job of today i was pruning a huge mulberry tree. {i had my hand around the other side of a huge branch and i felt a sting on my wrist and i had a look and i have a bee stinger sticking outta my wrist. so bad day for me getting attacked twice.

Jeff Darby

lol..after a while you seem to develop a (God Help me) a spidy sence, a couple of weeks ago I had a large spider on me, on my upper back head area.

I was talking to our new treeworker when I felt it spitting it's web, I asked him was there a spider on my back and he said yes and slapped at it to get it off me..he missed then I saw it on my shoulder and brushed it off..it was a huge spider but I dont know what type as it all happened so fast.

When removing spiders dont slap them towards the body or you'll more than likely be bitten, you have to quickly brush them off with a throwing action at the same time without grabing on to get rid of it. I estimate you have roughly around a second to deal with a spider before it deals with you.

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jmcg.insight.gardens

Lets not forget the not so humble paralysis tick, a constant problem in summer on the east coast here in Australia. They have caused deaths here and warrant a mention.


Since you guys are in the front line for spider bites and ticks the following link has the first aid methods and interesting information for the members overseas. Plus you can contribute to important research.

http://tiny.cc/1RtGa AVRU-Health Professionals Area



the following link has some down to earth information and interesting anecdotal information.

http://tiny.cc/v1vgC Australian Spider and Insect Bites



I found with interest that he mentions Huntsman as being on average 2cm across the abdomen, I'd like to show him the one in the laundry at the moment or the absolute mother that lives outside the front window, it runs across and grabs the moths, I'd estimate it's abdomen to be about 4cm easy. I don't mind it as I've seen it take out big cockroaches...

I had a white-tail spider drop on me once from the ceiling when I was eating a burger at McDonald's once, boy did I jump.
I've seen some pretty good war dances when people get spiders on them...... the customers at McDonald's witnessed one then.

Julie

Garry Brockley

Ihave detailed spider and snake books in my first aid kit (just in case) only been tagged once on the arse funnily enough, made me jump as a huntsman dropped down the back my shirt, localised red swelling slightly painful, left me with an indentation, got it out and made an id from the bottom of my boot.
I think paralasis ticks scare me the most ive seen the footage of people tagged by them scarry

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windthrown

Ticks here casue several diseases, two if which are particularly nasty. One is Lyme. A slow working debilitating disease that saps your energy. My ex had it once before I lived with her. Long course of antibiotics to cure it. It is pretty common in the states now. The other is Rocky Mountain spotted feaver. Originally this was only found in higher elevation areas in the Rocky Mountain states, but it has recently popped up in the South in the US. I causes all kinds of problems, and has caused death in some cases.

ticks... little nasty bastid blood suckers! *shudder*

jmcg.insight.gardens

Husky man, you got sick from that bite? I got real sick when I was bitten. Keep an eye on yourself.



ticks here cause a horrible death in dogs and cats, anti-venom has been developed from dogs badly affected by ticks for use on humans. We have two forms of ticks here, one is basically harmless, will cause swelling and irritation where they are attached. The other is the paralysis tick, which causes the same symptoms but can make you sick if not found early. They have killed small children.

If working in heavily vegetated areas,doing work such as Bush Regeneration you can pick up heaps of them. On the worst day I had to remove ten. Where I grew up in South Australia they don't have them, I wasn't too pleased when I found that they are here. I hate them, mainly because they are a true parasite which can kill it's host.

But I think that the worst of all is leeches, now they are nasty little blood suckers.

Garry Brockley

until you see a 10 inch leech that has attached itself to a certain apendage you havent lived, 9 months in central america in and out of the jungle and everyone got them everywhere but the above was easily the worst of all to witness.
I dont mind them too much but ticks make my skin crawl

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jmcg.insight.gardens

LoL............... ......dats funny

windthrown

Well, not as bad as the parasites in the Amazon that swim up your urethra if you pee while you are in the water. Candiru I think they are called. They swim up there and have spines that they set, and then they go after a blood vessle to feed off of. Not good...

Leeches actually have been used in medical situations where they want you to continue bleeding from a wound or after certain types of injuries or surgery to keep inflamed areas from swelling up with too much blood.

jmcg.insight.gardens

no no no way am I going to the Amazon.!!!!

Heard about them.

no no no way am I going to the Amazon.!!!!.....

Julie

Garry Brockley

if you do go just wear tight lycra shorts and dont pee in the water its easy to prevent.

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jmcg.insight.gardens

Galbee

you can try that if you really want to,





I'm not..........no way ...............


Julie

windthrown

Yes, much better there in crock infested Oz, with deadly creeping spiders, slithering venomous snakes, toxic blue ringed octopii, tiny lethal ticks, big ass biting flies, stinging mortal jellies and whatever other poisonous creatures you have down under. I am not planning to go to the Amazon for a swim in my lifetime. Ever.

Oz? Yes. Amazon? No.

leroy

think the worst thing in the uk has to be the annoying dog at the bottom the tree when your trying to dismantle the bugger!

dov

I keep a short length of rope in the work car - just perfect for tying the barking bugger to the house!

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jmcg.insight.gardens

Regarding white-tail spiders,

Interestingly enough, today I was talking to a lady today, at the shops, I live in a small friendly community.

You know that feeling when someone is talking to you and you notice that they have something wrong with them physically and you try not to stare at it and maintain eye contact.


So she thankfully say's" if your wondering what's wrong with my skin I got bitten by a white-tail spider, I'm lucky to be alive"

Man...., the ulceration was spread from one shoulder to the other, it was unreal. I,ve never seen anything like it.

So much for them not being very toxic to humans.


Keep away from white-tail spiders my friends if you can.

Julie

dov

There are some strange spiders out there. My Mother got bitten on the forehead while pruning a plum tree. She reckons the venom dissolved the bone a bit and she has a little hollow. Not as bad as some of the ulcerating ones I guess.

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windthrown

You say that Australia is a friendly place, eh?

Makes the PNW of the USA seem real nice and safe.

Except for the maniacs with guns in Felony Flats (bad section of Portland).

And the volcanoes around here.

And the weather.

And the bad economy.

And the Mexican invasion.

Jeff Darby

lol..It is really you just need to know how to get about in da hood...lol There's nasties in every hood.

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Jeff Darby

Thats what these little mongrels do if your unlucky..

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Join the Australian Tree Association...Have your voice heard !

Arboriculture, A life long study for some, a passing phase for others

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windthrown

Aussie Aussie Aussie!

Bite!

Bite!

Bite!

Aussie Aussie Aussie!

Bite!

Bite!

Bite!

Jeff Darby

lol....I come from a land down under..where beer does flow and men chunder.oi..oi..oi

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Join the Australian Tree Association...Have your voice heard !

Arboriculture, A life long study for some, a passing phase for others

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jmcg.insight.gardens

Of course it's friendly here in Australia

Even the spiders are friendly....

And we don't have to worry about being shot by some bastid......

Julie

Husky man

i didnt get sick all i had was an itchy swelling mark on my leg where it bit me. pain went away after about 2hrs. then next job the bloody bee stung me.

jmcg.insight.gardens

cool.
glad you didn't get sick.
seems everyone has different reactions.
That's the whole point, some people can handle toxins better than others.

regards Julie

Eric Frei

Did you hear about the court case?

Well, I did and most people are stunned.

Fancy a judge saying Men At Work stole some nursery rhyme thingo.

Video - Men At Work 'rip off' Kookaburra - The Sydney Morning Herald

Kookaburra rip-off a 'musical accident' - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

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