How is a black widow bite diagnosed?
How is a black widow bite diagnosed?From a reader: My 20-year-old son was bitten by a black widow the other day. He had all the symptoms, went to ER and was given Morphine via IV for pain, ALL day long! Doctor’s did not find anything in his blood. Why not?Answer: There isn’t a blood test for black widow bites. The best way to diagnose a black widow bite is to feel the sting and look down in time to watch the spider rub its belly in satisfaction. Other than catching the spider in the act of biting, black widow bites are diagnosed through a bit of detective work. Latrodectism is the medical term for black widow spider envenomation. Doctors have to diagnose black widow bites by asking patients when they started to feel the spider bite symptoms, how they discovered their bites and whether they saw the spider. Black widow spider bites lead to severe pain and muscle cramping, especially in the abdomen and back. Fol
