Several years ago, a woman looking to get high crushed a black widow spider before injecting her intravenously. Unsurprisingly, she had a very bad time, to the point of spending a few days in intensive care. Back to this unusual case.
Black widow spiders are a group of poisonous spiders belonging to the genus Latrodectus, which is part of the family Theridiidae. There are several species found in different parts of the world, including North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Australia, and parts of Asia. The best known black widow spider is the species Latrodectus mactans which is found mainly in North America.
These spiders are basically known for their extremely potent neurotoxic venom. Although bites are rarely fatal to humans, they can cause severe pain, nausea, vomiting, sweating, headaches and other unpleasant symptoms (ask 50s men). Children, the elderly, and people with pre-existing health conditions, on the other hand, are more likely to experience serious complications.
Intravenous black widow spider
That being said, in the 90s, a 37-year-old woman obviously didn’t care about these potentially devastating effects. After crushing one of these spiders, she then mixed its almost liquefied body with ten milliliters of distilled water to inject it intravenously. This woman, who had a history of heroin use, would later explain to doctors that the injection was intended to get her high.
This unusual case was the subject of a report published in 1996 in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.
A few days in intensive care
Naturally, this woman had a very bad time. One hour after the injection, she went to the hospital complaining of severe, generalized muscle pain and cramps, mainly affecting his abdomen, thighs and back. She also suffered from severe headaches and anxiety. During his examination, his heart rate had risen to 188 beats per minute, while his blood pressure was 188/108 mm Hg (a healthy blood pressure is around 120/80 mm Hg).
The doctors quickly decided to treat all these pains with morphine. However, the woman soon began to experience difficulty breathing and was subsequently admitted to intensive care for a few days. The report suggests that these difficulties in breathing could have been the result of a contraction of the bronchial smooth muscles caused by the large quantities of venom having entered his cardiovascular system.
Doctors have also speculated that a protein unique to black widow spider may have triggered an allergic reaction that could explain some of these severe symptoms.
Luckily for her, the woman had finally recovered. She was also still in good health when checked up a month later.
