Spider violin, another emergency for Rome?
How to recognize it and what to do (or not to do) in case of a violin spider bite. Facts and expert opinions
After the wild boars and the wasp orientalis , in the capital, according to some pharmacists, there is a new alarm: the violin spider. No emergencies but the reports of the people spiked meant that the health authorities were alerted.
HOW TO RECOGNIZE THE BITE OF THE VIOLIN SPIDER
It starts with an itch in the area of the sting, even hours after the moment of the bite, and in most cases it causes only redness, irritation and a tingling sensation.
Its bite, being painless, often leads to noticing what happened only at a later time, when the inflammation is already underway. It happens, in fact, that sometimes the wound can become infected and ulcerated even after 48-72 hours. This happens because the venom of the violin spider is necrotizing and, therefore, it is important to clean the wound very well which, in the most serious cases, may require a small surgical treatment.
THE ROMAN ALARM
It was precisely the most serious cases that attracted the attention of a Roman pharmacist who said he had seen five cases in the space of a few hours : "They all had bad sores, probably also because the sting received had been neglected – he explained to Romatoday Dr. Roberto Adrower – they had all gone to their doctor and in some cases they had also been visited by a specialist center, which diagnosed it as a bite from a violin spider ”.
The cases reported in Rome were all registered in the southern area of the capital, from Laurentino to Portuense. These are people who were doing outdoor activities.
THE INTERVENTION OF THE MUNICIPALITY
Following the reports, Marco Palma , the vice president of the Council of the Rome XI municipality (Portuense area) intervened: "I sent a note to the Asl Rm3, to the municipal socio-educational, cultural and sports organizational unit, to the Environment department of Rome Capital and Ama for information on the incident and for clarification on the operational roles in place ".
HOW TO RECOGNIZE THE VIOLIN SPIDER
The violin spider, explains the Niguarda hospital in Milan, is modest in size and apparently insignificant in appearance, "but extremely dangerous".
The scientific name is Loxosceles rufescens , but it is precisely known as the violin spider due to a characteristic spot on the body that resembles a musical instrument.
It has a yellowish-brown color and, although the male's body reaches a maximum of 7 mm and that of the female 9, it has very long legs that can reach 4-5 cm. Compared to other spiders it has 6 eyes instead of 8.
WHERE IS IT
The violin spider is not a new species for Italy, on the contrary, it is one of the seven native species present in our country. It cannot bear winter temperatures and, therefore, if it can be found outdoors in summer, it prefers to find shelter indoors in winter.
For this reason, Niguarda underlines, it is important to pay attention to certain places in the house, such as behind furniture, skirting boards, under cardboard boxes or even inside gloves, shoes and especially among the linen. Among the habitats where the violin spider lives there are also attics, basements and bathrooms.
WHAT TO DO IN CASE OF A VIOLIN SPIDER BITE
In case of a violin spider bite, experts suggest washing the affected area thoroughly with soap and water. It is also important to monitor the course and only in the most serious cases – if you notice that the wound area becomes dark or if fever and skin rash appear – it is good to go to the emergency room.
If the lesions are judged to be significant, antibiotics and cortisone will be prescribed.
Among the advice is also that, if possible, to capture or photograph the spider so that it can be analyzed at a poison center in case the symptoms worsen.
CAN YOU DIE FROM A VIOLIN SPIDER BITE?
In 2018, the Poison Control Center of the Gemelli Polyclinic stated that "there are currently no data proving that the violin spider bite is potentially fatal for healthy individuals", as two deaths occurred one in 2015 and the other in 2017, initially attributed at the bite of the violin spider, they were then recognized as "caused by the serious pre-existing pathologies of the two patients".
However, Niguarda defines the violin spider one "among the most poisonous Italian spiders" and, in 2020, the Corriere della sera wrote about a 51-year-old woman who in Marsala, after almost two weeks of coma and intensive care following the sting , she's dead. According to a blood test there would be no doubts about the causes.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/sanita/ragno-violino-altra-emergenza-per-roma/ on Thu, 06 Oct 2022 13:31:14 +0000.