Hundreds of false widow and false wolf spiders infested Ivan Savage’s home (Picture: Kennedy News)
GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING: Some readers may find the images in this article distressing.
A former personal trainer had a terrifying brush with death after hundreds of venomous spiders infested his home in Slough, Berkshire.
Ivan Savage, 60, had to have chunks of his hand cut out to save his life from a bite inflicted by either a false widow or false wolf spider.
It quickly sent him into a three-day coma during which he developed sepsis so severe doctors feared it could be fatal.
Ivan said: ‘I sat down on the chair and felt a pinprick on my elbow. I looked at my arm and saw this thing just running up my arm.
‘As I stood up, this large spider was on my arm with its legs fully extended. It was about the size of a penny piece.
‘It scurried up my forearm to my hand and, while looking up at me, it stuck its fangs into me.
Venom from a single penny-size spider rapidly infected Ivan’s hand
The rot quickly spread to horrific proportions and doctors considered amputation (Picture: KNM)
Doctors managed to save it through targeted excisions and antibiotics (Picture: KNM)
‘I was bitten twice – one in the elbow and one in the hand. I just thought don’t worry about it, it’s a spider bite then these little black boils start appearing in my hand within minutes.
‘I started feeling unwell. I was boiling hot but my bones felt like they were ice cold. I was seeing things in my peripheral vision.’
Ivan managed to call 999 and unlock his front door just in time before passing outand being rushed to hospital.
Surgeons considered amputating his arm due to the venom’s spread but managed to save it through antibiotic treatments and removing chunks of dead flesh from his hand.
It’s thought the bite came from a noble false widow spider similar to the one pictured here
‘They said I was about 12 hours away from death,’ he added. ‘I lost three stone in hospital. It was really touch and go for me. I didn’t realise until the follow-up appointments how close to death I actually was.’
‘While I was in hospital, a pest control company did a biohazard detox of my house and found a huge nest of 500 false widows underneath my front windowsill in my front room.’
Exterminators also found false wolf spiders, a Mediterranean biting spider which recently began invading the UK.
Ivan, who has now lost all sensation in his hand, urged people to ‘run away from’ or ‘kill’ any false widow spiders they see in their home.
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