Spiders, Australian

There are thousands of species of spiders in Australia, but fortunately only a small proportion is dangerous to man. Even so, spider bites are one of the commonest bites or stings treated in general practice and in emergency medicine departments. In most cases the species of spider responsible for the bite is not known so treatment is based on the symptoms presenting. Often the spider venom effects are self limited and only cause localised problems, but certain species can inflict life-threatening bites.