A father has been left arthritic after his limbs almost ‘exploded’ from a suspected false widow spider bite while he slept.
Brian Smith had woken up in bed to a sharp pain on the top of his right hand but went back to sleep because he thought he was dreaming.
The 43-year-old spotted two small fang marks the next morning and became increasingly worried when he began struggling to move it.
Shocking photos show how his hand, arm, leg and even foot ballooned up as the venom of the arachnid, dubbed Britain’s ‘most dangerous spider’, ravaged his body.
An ambulance rushed Brian to hospital where doctors told him he’d had a severe reaction to a spider’s venom.
They revealed his hand could only swell 20 per cent more before ‘exploding’ and kept him in hospital for three weeks while the toxin spread from his hand to his shoulders and left leg.
The father-of-three’s leg ballooned so much it forced the scaffolder to use crutches for weeks and he’s still suffering with a limp, an aching hand and even arthritis.
‘The skin was going to explode due to the pressure so I would’ve needed a skin graft. Thank god I didn’t lose my hand,’ recalled the 43-year-old from Maidstone, Kent.
Brian Smith, 43, was forced to go to hospital after suffering a suspected false widow spider bite
The scaffolder’s limbs ballooned to such a degree he was warned the skin could ‘explode’
Brian believes he was bitten by a false widow spider, with the arachnid’s venom reacting with his blood to cause such a severe effect (file image of a false widow spider)
Now four months on from the attack Brian believes he was bitten by a venomous false widow spider – whose bites produce necrosis of the flesh.
He now checks his bedsheets for any creatures and is warning others to remain vigilant.
‘I was quite shocked a spider in the UK could cause this sort of damage,’ Brian said.
‘I thought this only happened in Australia and places like that.
‘I was asleep in my bedroom when I felt a really sharp pain in the top of my right hand. It woke me up. It felt like someone was putting a fag out in my hand.
‘I shook my hand and just went back to sleep because I thought I was dreaming. It wasn’t until I woke up in the morning that I realised I could hardly move my hand. I thought I might’ve slept on it funny but then it started swelling through the day.
‘It wasn’t until I looked properly at my hand that I saw two little prick marks where its two fangs must’ve gone in and bit me.
Brian’s hand ballooned after he was bitten by the spider while he slept
The scaffolder was forced to stay in hospital for three weeks as the venom spread to his legs and the rest of his body. Pictured is Brian’s swollen knee after
How to spot a noble false widow spider
Noble false widows are the largest of the three false widow species likely to be found near homes.
The front section of their body is dark brown, as are the legs.
The abdomen (the large, oval-shaped rear part of the body) can be variable, with patterns of cream and dark brown marks (sometimes described as skull-shaped) though often with very few markings at all.
‘I couldn’t do anything with my hands, the pain was too much. It was a sharp pain and was getting worse and worse through the day.’
After Brian’s boss sent him home from work he went to Maidstone Hospital where he was sent home with some painkillers.
But hours later, Brian returned to A&E in an ambulance as the pain intensified.
Doctors told the 43-year-old he had suffered a serious reaction to the spider’s venom and may need a portion of his hand cut off.
Brian said: ‘[The doctors] told me I had 20 per cent left of my hand to swell before it would explode like a balloon.
‘The poison must’ve reacted with my blood. It was so swollen and my hand kept changing colours from purple to red.
‘I don’t know any other spider in this country aside from a false widow that can cause this sort of damage.
‘They tied my arm above my head but the poison went down my arm, down the back of my shoulders and went down into my left leg. My leg ballooned.
‘The poison travelled across my body and I couldn’t walk because my leg ballooned so much. I was on crutches for three weeks. I still have a little limp now.
Swelling spread from Brian’s hand down his leg and to his feet. Brian says he is still suffering now despite the incident having taken place last November
‘My immune system started attacking different parts of my body and I’ve now got reactive arthritis because of it and I’m on steroids for three months.
‘This happened in November and I’m still going through it. My little finger on my right hand won’t flatten properly and I still get a dull, constant ache.’
After three weeks in hospital, Brian finally began responding to medication and was discharged to return home where he’s cautious about what could be sharing his bed.
Brian said: ‘When I was in hospital, my parents fumigated my bedroom and tried looking for the spider but they couldn’t find it.
‘Now I always check my bed sheets. I’d tell other people to be very wary of them because they can do a lot of damage.
‘I’m slowly getting better but I’m still not 100 per cent.’
THE NOBLE FALSE WIDOW SPIDER 
Pictured: a noble false widow spider
Species name: Steatoda nobilis
Origin: the Canary Islands & Madeira
Range: Europe, Africa, Americas
Colour: Brown body, red/orange legs
Notable feature: Bulbous abdomen
Size (female): 0.37–0.55″ (9.5–14 mm)
Size (male): 0.28–0.43″ (7–11 mm)
Habitat: Indoors and outside
Lifespan: Average of five years
Venom: Latrodectus-like toxins
(Not to be confused with the black widow spider, on whose similarity the false widow was given its common name.)