In the 1990s, a 37-year-old woman decided to try injecting a crushed-up black widow spider mixed with distilled water to get high. Needless to say, things did not go well for her. An hour after injecting the concoction, she arrived at the emergency department with severe muscle cramps, headaches, and anxiety. Her heart rate and blood pressure were sky-high, and she was experiencing breathing difficulties. The woman was admitted to the ICU and received treatments to help her breathe for several days.
The doctors who treated her theorized that the venom from the black widow spider had caused bronchial smooth muscle contraction, leading to her breathing difficulties. Black widow venom is 15 times more powerful than that of a rattlesnake, and injecting it into your body is obviously a terrible idea. While healthy adults may feel unwell and experience pain, they usually recover. However, for young children, the elderly, or people with pre-existing conditions, a black widow spider bite can be fatal.
Doctors also suggested that a protein in the spider’s anatomy may have triggered an allergic reaction, which could have explained some of the woman’s symptoms. Her pre-existing asthma may have contributed to her breathing difficulties as well.
After several days of treatment, the woman recovered from her symptoms and was reportedly in good health during a follow-up check-up one month later. However, her decision to inject a black widow spider will undoubtedly go down as one of the worst ideas in history.
While humans have a long history of seeking mind-altering experiences from natural products, it is clear that venomous arachnids are not the way to go. It’s not worth risking your life for a potentially dangerous high. The case report, which details the woman’s experience, was published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, and serves as a reminder of the dangers of experimenting with toxic substances.
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