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Tarantula BiteAka: Tarantula

Epidemiology
1. Most common in Desert Southwest
Types: Tarantula genera
1. Acanthoscurria
2. Brachypelma
3. Gramostola
4. Lasiodora
Symptoms
1. Bite reactions
  1. Mild stinging with minimal inflammation at bite site
  2. No local necrosis or systemic reactions
2. Skin exposure to hairs on dorsal tarantula body
  1. Severe localized Pruritus
3. Eye exposure to hairs on dorsal tarantula body
  1. Corneal Foreign Body reaction
  2. Causes ophthalmia nodosa or keratoconjunctivitis
Management: Symptomatic
1. Thorough Wound Cleansing
2. Tetanus prophylaxis
3. Elevate extremity
4. Oral Analgesics
Management: Eye reactions (Ophthalmia nodosa)
1. Immediate ophthalmology referral
Course
1. Bites
  1. Bites have mild effects in humans
  2. Bites may be lethal in animals (esp. dogs)
2. Eye reaction: Ophthalmia nodosa
  1. Risk of Keratitis, Uveitis, chorioretinitis
References

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This page was written by Scott Moses, MD. This page was last revised on 4/26/2008 9:11:55 PM. This page was last published on 4/29/2008. Please send comments and questions to the editor. Contact information may be found on the page About the Family Practice Notebook. These pages are best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0.