Skip to main content
The Western Journal of Medicine logoLink to The Western Journal of Medicine
. 1986 Mar;144(3):315–317.

Latrodectism—Effects of the Black Widow Spider Bite

Patrick K Timms 1, Robert B Gibbons 1
PMCID: PMC1306604  PMID: 3962294

Abstract

Latrodectism—envenomation by the black widow spider, Latrodectus mactans—has been reported in virtually every state. The spider is particularly prevalent in the Southwest, Southeast and California, and symptoms from its bite are painful and may be confusing to clinicians. Prompt improvement can be expected in most cases with administration of calcium and muscle relaxant, but some patients may require treatment with antivenin. No deaths occurred in our series of 11 patients, although one case was complicated by serum sickness.

Full text

PDF
315

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. KEEGAN H. L., HEDEEN R. A., WHITTEMORE F. W., Jr Seasonal variation in venom of black widow spiders. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1960 Sep;9:477–479. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1960.9.477. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Key G. F. A comparison of calcium gluconate and methocarbamol (Robaxin) in the treatment of Latrodectism (black widow spider envenomation). Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1981 Jan;30(1):273–277. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1981.30.273. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. RUSSELL F. E. Muscle relaxants in black widow spider (Lactrodectus mactans) poisoning. Am J Med Sci. 1962 Feb;243:159–161. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Western Journal of Medicine are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES