"I don't like spiders and snakes," goes the old Jim Stafford song, a sentiment echoed by multitudes of humans from Alabama to Zimbabwe. And there's plenty to not like. Of approximately 60,000 species within the class Arachnida, the eight-legged of the world, 30,000 are spiders. In some spider rich areas, experts estimate the count of individuals may run as high as 265,000 per acre, making spiders among the most numerous of all earth creatures. Scorpions, more arachnids, make up another 650 species of the class. And snakes slither into one of about 2,700 species of that scaly group known as reptiles.

At least some of the dislike for these animals arises from the fact that they bite, or sting if they're scorpions, and it hurts. Dislike reaches fear-and-loathing proportions when you remember the pain may be followed by death. But what, truly, are the risks?

SPIDERS
Bad news. Almost all spiders, worldwide, carry venom which can be injected through fangs that pierce their prey or enemies. On the plus side, only a few dozen species have a bite harmful to humans, either because they inject too little venom or their fangs cannot penetrate human skin. One of the most venomous, the black widow, common in the United States, bears the tag "cosmopolitan," a spider found around the globe. Only the shiny female of the species poses a threat, and she packs more danger in every drop of venom than any other creature in North America. The hourglass on her abdomen helps identify her. She has been found in every State but Alaska, privately secluding her web under logs and pieces of bark, in stone crevices, in trash heaps and outbuildings, deep in clumps of heavy vegetation. Rarely aggressive, she may be touchy during mating and egg-tending season.

Fortunately her drop of poison is tiny. You almost never feel the bite, although some victims have reported immediate sharp pain. There may be little or no redness and swelling at the site initially, but a small red bump may form later. Within 10-60 minutes symptoms begin to occur. Pain and anxiety become intense. Muscular cramping often spreads from the wound, settling in the abdomen and back. Burning or numbness characteristically disturb the victim's feet. Watch for headaches, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, heavy sweating--common reactions.

More "good fortune": You might think you're going to die, but black widows kill very few humans each year, only two to four in the United States, and they are almost always the very young, the very old, or the very allergic.

Keep the victim as calm as possible. That is your best first aid treatment. If you can find the bite site, wash it, and apply an antiseptic such as povidone iodine. Cooling the injury, with ice if possible, with water or wet compresses if necessary, will reduce the pain. Cold also reduces circulation which slows down the spread of the venom.

Evacuation a medical facility is a great idea, just in case complications arise. Most people will receive painkillers and eight to twelve hours of observation. Youngsters and oldsters may be admitted for 24 hours. Antivenin is available if needed.

Her name, black widow, is the stuff of nightmares and legends, but the most common serious spider bite in the United States is not from her venom. Instead, look for the secretive recluse (a.k.a., fiddleback, violin spider). Generally pale brown to reddish, and 9 mm to 14 mm in length, with long slender legs, they most often have the shape of a violin on the front portion of their body. The head of this "fiddle" points toward the tail of the spider. Unlike the black widow, both sexes of recluses are dangerous.

The recluse prefers the dark and dry places of the South and southern Midwest, but travels comfortably in the freight of trucks and trains, and probably can be found in all 50 States. They don't mind the company of humans, and set up housekeeping underneath furniture, within hanging curtains, and in the shadowed corners of closets. Their bite is more common indoors, but they live well-hidden beneath rocks, dead logs, and pieces of bark in forests all over America. They attack more readily in the warmer months, and curious children are their most frequent victims.

Like most spiders, their bite is often painless. Having relatively dull fangs, the serious wounds they inflict are usually on tender areas of the human anatomy. Within one to five hours, a painful red blister appears where the fangs did their damage. Watch for the development of a bluish circle around the blister, and a red, irritated circle beyond that. This is the characteristic "bull's-eye" lesion of the recluse. The victim may suffer chills, fever, a generalized weakness, and a diffuse rash.

Sometimes the lesion resolves harmlessly over the next week or two. Sometimes it spreads irregularly as an enzyme in the spider's venom destroys the cells of the victim's skin and subcutaneous fat. This ulcerous tissue heals slowly and leaves a lasting scar. In a few children, death has occurred from severe complications in their circulatory system.

Without the spider as evidence, it is difficult to be sure what is causing the problem. Initially, there is little to be done other than calming the victim, and applying cold to the site of the bite for reduction of pain. Any "volcanic" skin ulcers should be seen by a physician as soon as possible. Antibiotic therapy usually cures the patient.

SCORPIONS
They all love the night, as most spiders also do, and hide by day. They all sting with the tip of their "tail"--the last few segments of their abdomen. Their pincers are for holding and tearing apart their prey. Insects are their primary source of food.

Most victims report no more pain than a vicious bee sting. An attack of the species Centruroides may be different. In North America only the Centruroides is a known killer of humans. They are usually straw-yellow or yellow with dark longitudinal stripes, and reach from two to 7.5 centimeters in length. Their pincers are long and slender as opposed to bulky and lobster-like. The sting is immediately very painful, with the pain increased by a light tap on the site. But resulting deaths have almost exclusively been in small children, the elderly, and the severely allergic. This scorpion is only found in Mexico and the extreme southwestern United States.

First aid for any scorpion attack should involve cooling the wound which allows the body to more easily break down the molecular structure of the venom. Cooling also reduces pain. Use ice or cool running water if available. On a warm night, a wet compress will help. And keep the victim calm and still. Panic and activity speed up the venom's spread. If the scorpion was Centruroides, post-sting manifestations may include heavy sweating, difficulty swallowing, blurred vision, loss of bowel control, jerky muscular reflexes, and respiratory distress. These serious signs are cause for quick evacuation to a medical facility. Antitoxins are available in many areas where dangerous scorpions live.

SNAKES
An estimated 200 species of snakes, worldwide, carry the potential for human death in their venom, and a best guess by experts places the number of deaths each year at more than 50,000. Few of these deaths occur in the United States: none in 1990, one in 1991, one in 1992. Ninety-nine out of every 100 poisonous bites by indigenous snakes in the U.S. are received from a pit viper: rattlesnakes, copperheads, and water moccasins.

A pit viper's danger comes from two very special teeth, hinged to swing downward at a 90 angle from the upper jaw. The jaw opens very, very wide, allowing the venom to be ejected down canals within the fangs, and into a prey's tissue. The amount of venom and the toxicity of the venom determine the danger to the bitten. For instance, the poison of the Mojave rattlesnake is approximately 44 times more potent than the Southern Copperhead's. Arizona is the most likely place to die of a snakebite, with Florida, Georgia, Texas, and Alabama filling out the top five.

Mild envenomations hurt, swell, turn black and blue, and sometimes form a blister at the site. Moderate envenomations add swelling that moves up the arm or leg toward the heart, numbness, and swollen lymph nodes. A severe envenomation might add big jumps in pulse rates and breathing rates, profound swelling, blurred vision, headache, lightheadedness, sweating, and chills. Death is possible.

How dangerous is snake venom to a human? Depends on the age, size, health, and emotional stability of the victims, whether or not they're allergic to the venom, where they were bitten (near vital organs being the most dangerous), how deep the fangs go, how upset the snake is, the species and size of the snake, and the first aid provided.

Around the world, snake venom often varies greatly depending on the species, and specific treatment may vary. Most patients will benefit from these guidelines which have been developed especially for North American pit viper envenomation: Calm and reassure the patient. Keep the patient physically at rest with the bitten extremity immobilized and kept lower than the heart. Remove rings, watches, or anything else that might reduce the circulation if swelling occurs. Wash the wound. Measure the circumference of the extremity at the site of the bite and at a couple of sites between the bite and the heart, and monitor swelling. Evacuate the patient by carrying, or going for help to carry, or, if the patient is stable, by slow walking. Do NOT cut and suck. Mechanical suction (NOT oral suction) may be valuable if you get there in the first five minutes. Suction should be applied for 30 minutes via the Sawyer Extractor. Do NOT give painkillers unless the patient is very stable, showing no signs of getting worse. Do NOT apply ice or immerse the wound in cold water. Do NOT apply a tourniquet. Do NOT give alcohol to drink. Do NOT electrically shock the patient.

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