There are many dangerous animals on our planet. Predators from the cat family, by their very appearance, warn that jokes are bad with them. Leaves no doubt about her intentions and the great white shark. Many people know that one of the most poisonous snakes on earth - the rattlesnake - is capable of killing seventy-five people out of a hundred bitten by it. But there are more dangerous creatures in the world. They have a terrible poison, which is fifteen times stronger than the poison of a dangerous snake. This is a rather modest size spider karakurt.
People have different attitudes towards arthropods - someone is afraid of them, someone they cause a feeling of disgust, but few people think that a meeting with such a small creature can be fatal.
Spider karakurt: description
The name of this creature comes from two words: "punishment",which is translated into Russian as "black", and "kurt", which means "worm". And its Latin name - Latrodectus tredecimguttatus - fully conveys the external signs of the hero of our story: thirteen spots or dots located on the upper side of the abdomen.
This spider is also called the black widow. Firstly, because it is in this color that his abdomen, head and legs are painted. Widow - because the female, whose size significantly exceeds that of the male (10-20 mm, and the male 4-7 mm), eats her chosen one immediately after the marriage ceremony.
Appearance and structural features
Outwardly, this spider seems, if not cute, then at least not disgusting - it has neither wool nor fluff, like many of its relatives (for example, a tarantula). Nevertheless, the bite of a karakurt spider is extremely dangerous, and if a person is not given first aid, he may die.
This spider has a ball-like abdomen and cephalothorax. They are connected to each other by the seventh segment (like our vertebra) of the cephalothorax. Limbs extend from the abdomen: four pairs of legs and two pairs of jaws.
The abdomen is a symbiosis of the telson (anal lobe) and eleven segments. The female has chelicerae (upper jaws) that end in hooks. And on the other side of the jaws are poisonous glands. The female is the most dangerous.
On the back of the spider are reddish-orange dots with a white rim. They can be of any shape. It is from them that it is possible to determine thatKarakurt is watching you. Growing up, the spider (male) does not lose its color - the dots remain. And the female noticeably changes: sometimes, instead of spots, she has yellow stripes on her abdomen.
Habitat
The karakurt spider, whose bite is deadly, in our country mainly lives in the Crimea, in the southern regions of the country. In addition, it can be found in the south of Ukraine, in Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, in the Mediterranean, in Southern Europe, Central Asia and North Africa, as well as in the Astrakhan steppes.
In recent years, the population has been migrating, which is probably due to global warming, and today these dangerous creatures are already found even in the Moscow region, the Altai Territory, and several regions of Russia - Volgograd, Novosibirsk, Rostov.
These spiders build nests in secluded places:
- in the crevices;
- in mouse holes;
- within the walls of adobe houses;
- in depressions in the soil.
The karakurts prefer steppes and arable lands, choosing plots near ditches, ditches, s alt marshes, ravines, and on wastelands. They avoid open spaces.
Spider karakurt: bite
We have already said that if you are attacked by this creature, the consequences can be very serious. Human skin cannot be bitten by a karakurt spider. A bite, fraught with serious consequences (up to death), is the “work of the hands” of the female. In fact, males don't even have venom glands.
Female chelicerae are so strong andsharp that they pierce not only the skin, but also the nails. These individuals are especially dangerous during the mating season (July - late August).
What is a bite?
To help a person in time, you need to know what a karakurt bite looks like. Unfortunately, we must admit that in the first minutes it is visually almost invisible - it resembles a small abrasion. The injury feels more like a mosquito bite, resulting in a tiny speck of bright red that begins to disappear before your eyes. This is the insidious bite of a karakurt - symptoms begin to appear only after two to three hours. At the first sign, the victim needs urgent medical attention. Even better, if the necessary measures are taken immediately after the attack of a poisonous creature.
Bite of karakurt: symptoms
Some victims say that after thirty minutes (although usually later) they felt an ache all over their body (as if they had a very high temperature). The lower back, upper and lower abs begin to hurt, the pain grows, becoming unbearable.
After some time, the krepatura drops sharply, and weakness falls on the person. The legs weaken first, then the arms, and then the whole torso. The victim turns pale, tears flow, nausea sets in, and the heart seems to burst out of the chest. If no help is provided, clouding of consciousness occurs. A person ceases to assess the situation, to recognize others, he develops depression and fear. In the affected area, skin temperature rises, musclesbecome painful. There may be sharp pain in the abdomen (as in appendicitis).
Symptoms after treatment subside within three days, but paresthesia, residual convulsions, weakness and anxiety can persist for several weeks or even months. To avoid death, the victim must be administered an antidote - serum. This can only be done in a hospital or other medical institution (polyclinic, first-aid post). But what to do with a bite of a karakurt if you are away from the city? After all, doctors warn that in the first ten, maximum twenty minutes, the victim needs to be helped.
Spider attacked: what to do?
Undoubtedly, qualified medical assistance with a spider bite will help to avoid serious complications and speed up the recovery of the patient. First aid for a bite of a karakurt involves the following actions:
- First of all, you need to calm down, this will help you concentrate and make the only right decision.
- Urgently call for medical help, and if this is not possible, try to get the victim to the hospital.
- Before the arrival of the doctors, lay the person down, provide him with complete rest so that he moves less, as movement will accelerate the spread of the poison.
- Apply ice or a cold compress to the bite site, which will slow down the absorption of the poison into the bloodstream and its further spread throughout the body.
- If the bite fell on one of the limbs, apply above the affected areaan elastic bandage or any bandage, but at the same time it should not hold back the blood flow.
- It is necessary to take an antihistamine, which minimizes swelling, slightly reduces itching and other manifestations of allergic reactions. It can be Suprastin, Agistam, Loratadin, Claritin.
- Give the patient plenty of fluids, preferably sweet tea.
- Don't let the patient scratch the bite, it will make the situation worse.
Treatment in hospital
Medical workers should be informed that the patient was attacked by a karakurt. A bite can cause anaphylactic shock, which will require immediate action. The patient will then receive intravenous serum after skin testing.
When going to nature, you need to know that the karakurt is not the first to attack, but if you, without noticing it, step on it or its nest, trouble cannot be avoided. In this situation, only competent and coordinated actions of your fellow travelers will help to avoid the tragedy.
