A 40-year-old man from Coventry was hospitalised with a severe infection after a suspected false widow spider bite caused his hand to swell to the size of a bowling ball. Chris Keegan, an actor and escape room designer, initially dismissed the bite as a minor insect bite but sought medical help when it worsened.
After a pharmacist prescribed antibiotics for a spider bite, the redness persisted, and his GP provided another course of antibiotics. However, the infection did not respond, and Chris's hand swelled and turned purple, prompting him to visit the hospital. Within hours, surgeons operated to remove necrotic skin and prevent the infection from spreading.
Chris spent five days in hospital undergoing further surgeries and left with six stitches and a scar. He said: 'Something so tiny and trivial if ignored could have led to my thumb or hand being removed, or sepsis could have set in.' He noted that the bite was initially the size of a pinhead.
Almost 100 people were hospitalised with spider bites in the UK in 2024. The BBC's Countryfile recently reported that the false widow spider is 'rapidly spreading its legs across Britain' after a global expansion. Chris is now recovering at home.
