Comments

• I enjoyed reading your experiences with red backs. Believe it or not, red backs are not just in Aussie Land. I live in the States and got bitten late last year. I actually found the spider and put it in a jar for verification. Trust me...It was NOT a black widow. The initial symptoms were somewhat like you all have described. Before I knew I was even bitten by a red back, the primary side effect was malaise. I didn't want to get out of bed. Then later that day, I began vomiting and it continued through the night. I even had a nightmare about a spider before I knew I was bitten. The only reason I knew I had been bitten, was because I noticed what looked like two very small scabs on my calf, with a white circle around them, then a green circle around the white one. I never even "felt" the bite. I chose not to get the antivenom, because I had heard that a fairly big percentage of people who get the antivenom, have a worse reaction to the antivenom than they do to the actual bite.
  Six months later...I still have side effects: Insomnia, vomiting and sweating. The side effects occur randomly and may be once a week, once every two weeks or once a month.
  I wouldn't wish a red back spider bite...upon anyone. It's not a lot of fun.