Man who thought he’d been spiked in pub had actually been bitten by spider
One pub-goer was left shocked after mistaking a spider bite for being spiked during a boozy trip to the beer garden with pals.
Like many of us on the weekend, back in June Nathan Green decided to take a trip down to his local for a few bevs and to watch a bit of live music .
"It was a hot day and I was out in the garden enjoying myself and talking to my mates," he explained.
While chatting to his mates, the 50-year-old from Suffolk said he 'felt something go up and tickle my leg a bit so I brushed my leg like you do.'
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"I didn’t really think a lot of it," he said.
However, after 'drinking away quite merrily' and making his way home, Nathan quickly realised something was amiss when he began to feel cold and shaky.
"I felt really rough and remember thinking, 'This ain’t right.' I felt really, really ill."
Alarm bells quickly went off for Nathan, who immediately suspected he may have been spiked after waking up the next morning feeling 'like he'd been run over'.
However, after taking a look at his leg, Nathan was shocked at what he saw.
His ankle had ballooned 'three times' the size is should be and was bright red, and a 'football-sized' blister had appeared on his right calf.
"It’s up there with the worst pain I’ve ever felt, I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy," he said.
"By the time I got to A&E it had turned into a small football, every time I looked at it it got bigger," he explained.
After being assessed by medics at James Paget University Hospital’s A&E department in Norfolk, the eight-legged culprit was revealed.
"The woman looked at it and said, 'You’ve been bitten by a false widow spider'.‘
According to doctors, Nathan was actually going into anaphylactic shock from the spider bite and medics quickly drained and dressed the blister, as well as hooking him up to an antibiotic drip
"I’ve been jumping around on boats and oil rigs all over the world and I’ve walked through jungles and swam in rivers, you name it I’ve done it, and I go to a pub and get bitten.
"Before [this happened], if my family saw a spider I would pick it up with my hand, open the window and throw them outside, they never worried me at all.
"But after getting whacked like this I’m cautious. If it has a skull on its back or looks like it may have a skull, they’re getting it."
Three months on, and Nathan's leg is finally on the mend.
"The hospital said If I’d left it later it would have caused more damage to my leg."
The bloke said it's 'unbelievable' that such a small creature could do so much damage, and urges anyone who suspects they've been bitten to get themselves medical attention straight away.
False widow spiders are venomous, but not as dangerous as the black widow spiders they often get mistaken for. They typically won't bite unless they feel threatened, however, just like Nathan, some people can have really nasty reactions to the bite if it does happen.
Signs you've been bitten include a hole - similar to a wasp sting - at the bite site, red and swollen skin in the area that sometimes becomes filled with fluid, and generally feeling unwell shortly after.
Chloe Rowland