Black widow cases rise in Türkiye

ISTANBUL

Many patients in Türkiye applied to emergency services with complaints of black widow spider bites this year, an expert has said, stating that this increase in cases of black widow poisoning has surprised the medical world.

Though the most common poisoning cases are usually caused by drugs, mushrooms, carbon monoxide, pesticides and even improper use of heart medications, there has been a serious increase in black widow poisonings this year, stated Ayça Açıkalın Akpınar, a member of Çukurova University’s Medical Faculty.

Pointing out that the black widow is a species that is not normally found in places where people live, Akpınar noted that these unexpected cases of black widow poisoning are also the main agenda item of her colleagues in many parts of the country.

The most common fatal poisonings vary from region to region, but cases caused by black widow bites are observed throughout the country, Akpınar added.

“In fact, the patient does not know what kind of spider has bitten him. We determine the species of the spider after our clinical findings. We also received visual feedback from a few of our patients. One of them even brought the spider to us,” she explained.

Providing information regarding possible symptoms of black widow poisoning, Akpınar stated that a patient experiences high blood pressure, sweating, chills and severe pain in the sting area.

Noting that this severe pain is not limited to the sting area alone, she said it causes a serious intoxication picture that occurs with cramps, backaches and arm pains that spread throughout the body in the following hours after the arachnid bites.

Though this spider can be observed all over the country, it usually inhabits places that people visit less frequently, such as forests or plateaus. But somehow, people can come into the arachnid’s contact while tramping in these places.