Student nearly died after being bitten by false widow spider while she slept
Abby said she felt like she had been stabbed after surgery left her with a 4cm-deep wound.
A young student has escaped death after being bitten by a venomous spider during a staycation in the UK.
Abby Tannetta, 18, was staying in her parents’ caravan in Cardigan Bay Holiday Park to celebrate finishing college when she woke up to a stabbing pain in her side.
As she opened her eyes she saw a huge spider sitting next to her – which she believes to have been a false widow. She immediately ran from her room screaming.
Abby, from Caerphilly, Wales, said: ‘I woke up with a sharp pain that woke me from my sleep, looked next to me and I just saw this giant spider running away from the bed.
‘It was really sore and just got worse. It got bigger, it was very red, itchy and so sore that I couldn’t move my arm or sleep on the side.
‘I was feeling really dizzy and weak, I was boiling, and I felt like my heart was racing and the lump had grown even more to the size of a golfball.
‘I collapsed as the doctors were rushing me into surgery but thankfully they managed to do it otherwise I could have got sepsis which you can die from.’
The British Arachnological Society (BAS) recently reported a ‘huge increase’ in general spider populations – including venomous false widows.
Abby added: ‘I was already really scared of spiders before this but now I’m too scared to even go back to the caravan and the sight of any tiny spider makes me feel sick and terrified.’
The bite occurred on the first night of her holiday on May 26, which she had taken with a friend from college.
Abby added: ‘It’s hard to describe the pain of the mark but even though it was this tiny spot, the pain of it felt like a stab wound. It was so, so sore any time I lifted my arm, as if there was something huge there.
‘I didn’t sleep in the same room that night after not being able to find the spider, I was too scared.’
The student later found the spider she believed attacked her and trapped it in a Tupperware container before taking a photo of the eight-legged creature.
Abby self-medicated with antihistamines for some days but the lump kept growing until it reached the size of a golf ball.
Three days after the bite her GP gave her antibiotics but the lump began leaking puss two days later, prompting a trip to A&E.
Abby recalled: ‘I didn’t feel any better from the antibiotics and then on Monday morning, I woke up and there was blood and pus all over my tshirt – I must have ended up sleeping on my side.
‘I took my top off and it was just covered in pus and blood. It was really scary.
‘By the time I went to A&E, I was feeling really awful, hot, weak and my blood pressure and heart rate were really high.
‘The doctors said I needed surgery and I just looked at my mum in shock. I don’t like blood or needles and I was really scared but they said it could turn into sepsis if we waited too long.
‘They put me on a drip straight away but as they were doing that, I had a panic attack and I fainted because I was just so ill and they couldn’t get the drip in as I was so dehydrated and shaking.
‘I couldn’t breathe so I had an oxygen mask and I heard the doctors saying ‘Oh my god, she’s really in a bad way’ as they rushed me into theatre.’
Luckily the surgery was a success and the lump was removed without complications.
A nurse has had to change her dressings at home daily.
Abby sais shes has been in a lot of pain while recovering and that she felt like she had been stabbed.
She explained: ‘It was an open wound and so far into my body – it was about 4cm deep after the surgery.
‘I’m meant to go back to the caravan in a couple of weeks but I feel too scared to go back there right now so I’ll just have to see how I feel nearer the time.’
She added: ‘People always say that spiders won’t hurt you, that you’re much bigger than them, but this shows they can. You just don’t think it will happen to you until it does.’
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