As many families no doubt find, our toddler was recently bitten by some unknown insect.
Trying to figure out what bit him and what to do about was tricky but we found some useful resources. The following information is very much “our take” on the websites we found, not medical advice and by no means the final word on the subject. Please seek your own medical review as needed.
By and large, the two spiders medics tend to worry about are the funnelweb and the redback.
Funnelwebs are big black spiders, mostly found on the East Coast and highlands, including Tasmania and Victoria. The Sydney funnelweb is the one which causes the most concern although the others can cause effects to the whole body. The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne has some handy information, as does Sydney Children’s. What we took from those centres was that immediate pressure bandages should be applied, and the child or patient transferred immediately to hospital (usually by ambulance).
Redbacks are found in a wider distribution. They can cause significant pain at the bite site, as well as a lot of sweating. Wash the area well, and if symptoms are developing think about attending hospital. There is an antivenom available, although it isn’t necessarily given in every case of a bite.
Of course, there are other insects which can bite us in Australia, this site was a useful pictorial view of some of the bugs to be alert around. The St John’s Ambulance team also have a useful single page reminder of what to do with the more vicious bites around, it’s a great one for printing out and sticking with the first aid kit.
