Could I Have Been Bitten by an Adder?

[Meta menardi]

Originally Posted by Gill Catton

or two bites next to each other by a small spider!

It could also be an allergic reaction to a plant too of course... nothing's ever simple you know!

I do see your point on this, but the nature of a spiders bite is like a pair of pincers, to be bitten with only one puncture would mean that one jaw has hit something else, and the mouthparts of spiders don't open that wide. I would never say never, but a one puncture bite would virtually rule out a spider bite. Even a Mygalomorph spider, where the fangs strike downwards, will almost always produce 2 punctures, and we only have one species of Mygalomorph spider in this country (Atypus offinus).

I would go for the unspecifed invertebrate, possible plant allergy line myself. I don't think this will get solved, happened some time ago, no culprit seen and so on.

[tcvarlh]

Originally Posted by Gill Catton

Grass snakes don't bite they pee on you and play dead as a defence ...

yep got off the bike to pick one up once to move it out of the path of a truck and it 'opened' up all over my new bike gloves (John Wayne style 9th cavalry pale tan, really beautiful) 19 years later and the gloves still 'iff'


what's the chance of these 'bites' '/stings' being from a centipede? Some of the tropical varieties are particularly venomous. Is it possible? I know that our species are less aggressive but not everyone reacts equally to toxins.

h

[JaySteel]

Twice I've had a reaction to an unknown bite. On both occasions I've been lifting logs and woodland debris and have suddenly felt a very sharp prick like a wasp sting or a thorn that went in very deep. Both times I've seen nothing in the vicinity that could have caused it apart from spiders. There have been no visible marks on my hand at all. One time my hand went very numb, swelled up slightly, and I had the feeling of quite intense heat in my hand and arm. This lasted for the rest of the day with only minor tingling in my hand for the next couple of days. The other occasion was similar but less severe and with no swelling, and all symptoms went after 20-30 minutes.

I've always assumed that I was bitten by spiders but I've never been too sure.

Best regards,
Jason

[Jackaroo]

Originally Posted by CheBoludo

Hi,

I'm bit surprised if I have as I live in an urban area of London, but a friend suggested it might be the case.

Just over a month ago I was doing some gardening, mainly weeding and clearing up. I didn't notice anything at the time. But my hand suddenly started to ache and swelled up a bit. I didn't pay much attention at the time. The next day my wrist swelled up too and the pain became intense. I also lost all sensation in my palm and three of my fingers. I noticed a couple of circular marks on my palm about a cm apart each with a diameter of about a mm.

A month later I still don't have any sensation in my palm or one finger and it's still painful, but bearably so. The marks are still there.

Did you by any chance treat the 'bite' with anything such as 'hydrocortisone cream'? I tried this recently on midge bites and my hand swelled up. Wont be using that again,by the way. My swelling went down within 5 days but,'different strokes for different folks'.
Personally, I think you were bitten by a snake myself.If the habitat's suitable they'll use it.

[Gill Catton]

Originally Posted by Jackaroo

Did you by any chance treat the 'bite' with anything such as 'hydrocortisone cream'? I tried this recently on midge bites and my hand swelled up. Wont be using that again,by the way. My swelling went down within 5 days but,'different strokes for different folks'.
Personally, I think you were bitten by a snake myself.If the habitat's suitable they'll use it.

It wasn't a snake for the reasons I have mentioned twice now. Mainly that snake bites hurt instantly, you therefore would notice instantly.

Also the swelling may have been down to the bite with the cream just being unable to entirely stop it quickly enough.