A boy was left with a huge decaying hole in his life, after being bitten by a spider.
A 9-year-old boy has been left with a gruesome hole in his leg after a suspected poisonous spider bite allegedly ate away at the flesh on his limb, leaving him susceptible to serious infection.
Bobby Cleary’s mother, Emma Barnett, told South West News Service that when Cleary first complained of itchiness and swelling, she put some antiseptic cream on the bite and “didn’t think much more of it.” But just a few days later, Cleary’s teachers called to tell Barnett that he had started limping and the wound had started oozing, Fox News reported.
And the next day the bite began weeping pus and later developed into a huge hole.
While it’s unclear what bit Bobby, his wound is consistent with those inflicted by a false widow spider, which is known to cause severe reactions that require hospital treatment.
Bobby’s mom, Emma Barnett, 34, said that when his nanny Amanda discovered the wound it made her “pull back and gag”.
Emma said: “I panicked, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Bobby, from Canvey Island, Essex, was bitten last Monday by what his mother thought was a small insect like a gnat.
Emma, a primary school teacher, said: “But on Thursday morning, it was itchy and becoming swollen.
“I put some Savlon on it and didn’t think much more of it.”
As a baby, Bobby had the bacterial skin infection Cellulitis in his eye which means he is more susceptible to serious infections like Sepsis.
It wasn’t until Thursday afternoon while Bobby was at an after-school club that the spider bite became serious.
He began limping and the wound had started to weep so he was given an emergency GP appointment.
Emma said that by that time the bite had “got nasty”.
The local GP confirmed that is was a bite, but reassured Emma not to worry as she thought it wasn’t infected.
She gave Bobby antihistamine and pain relief and bandaged his leg.
While Bobby was staying with his nanny the day after, Emma got a call saying that the dressing was filling with a lot of fluid so they immediately went to A&E.
She said: “They dressed it again and gave him antibiotics so I felt better about it and thought that would be that.
“Thank goodness they knew what they were doing.”
But at the end of the weekend, Bobby’s nanny removed the dressing on Bobby’s legs and “gagged” at the sight of the hole.
Emma said: “It was clear it wasn’t a gnat bite”
The family went to A&E again and Bobby was put onto an IV drip to flush out the spider poison.
Emma will now have to keep an eye on her son for the next few months to make sure that the bite does not become infected, which could risk Sepsis.
She has described her son as being “amazing” and “dealing with the entire thing in his stride.”
Recommended Video – “A 105-year-old Man Visits The Hospital To See His 100-year-old Wife On Their 80th Wedding Anniversary— Entire Family Witnessed This Epic Moment”