A woman has shared how she was left with a “gaping hole” in her leg after she was bitten by ‘Britain’s most dangerous spider’ in a pub.
A few days after enjoying a few drinks with a mate, Paige Oldfield’s body became intensely itchy.
She was left “horrified” by a raised, crater-shaped mark was on her right calf and snapped a photo to send to her grandmother, who was a nurse.
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At first, the 30-year-old assumed it was a harmless mosquito bite – until things spiralled out of control and she was left unable to walk with an oozing hole that just wouldn’t heal.
At one point, it was so deep that Paige could put part of her finger inside of it.
“I honestly thought I was going to lose my leg at one point,” Paige, a writer from Manchester, told Need To Know.
“It was like something out of a horror film.
“The hole was weeping pus, and I could feel it dripping down my leg.
“I kept it as clean as possible and thought it would get better on its own.
“Then I started getting excruciating shooting pains down my leg.
“I can handle pain, but this was just something else.”
Paige says her grandmother and the rest of her family urged her to seek medical attention, but she kept brushing it off.
But after a week, she noticed the hole getting bigger.
During a routine smear test, which was booked during this same time, Paige decided to ask the nurse for some advice – and even they were left stunned.
She said, “They let out a huge gasp when they saw it.
“She took a swab and told me I needed to go to reception and be seen by a doctor that very same day.
“I was prescribed antibiotics, and my bite finally started showing some signs of healing.
“The swab results also came back and also showed it was heavily infected.
“But as I neared the end of the antibiotic course, I started to panic.
“The bite had definitely improved, but it still wasn’t fully healed.
“I had a feeling that once the scab fell off, I would be right back where I started, and unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened.
“The hole in my leg was now so deep I could literally put my finger in it if I wanted to.
“Sleeping became impossible, and I couldn’t wear trousers, so cycling shorts became the norm.
“It just felt like a never-ending nightmare.”
Though she never received an official diagnosis, Paige believes she was bitten by either a false black widow or a brown recluse spider.
False widow spiders are the most venomous spiders in the UK.
Often mistaken for their more dangerous cousin, the black widow, false widows can deliver a painful bite, with symptoms ranging from localised swelling and burning to infected wounds and nerve pain in rare cases.
They typically live in sheds, garages and homes, especially in southern England, but have been spreading northward due to warmer weather.
Meanwhile, brown recluse spiders are native to the United States and are rare in the UK.
Their bites are infamous for causing necrotic skin lesions and deep ulcerations, sometimes requiring surgical treatment.
A recluse bite often starts painlessly but can become severe over several days, sometimes leading to permanent tissue damage.
Paige’s leg didn’t return to normal for several months.
She added: “Around a month in, my bite was looking worse than ever, and I decided to ring 111.
“I was honestly scared of getting sepsis or something – I could literally see my flesh and dead tissue.
“They booked a walk-in GP appointment for me, and I went around an hour later and was given some type of acid cream.
“It seemed to be working at first, but then it wasn’t helping at all.
“I really felt like I was at my wits’ end at this point.
“I hadn’t been able to go into the office for weeks, exercise or have any type of normality.
“I was completely miserable and in constant pain.
“I rang my GP again and he prescribed me a longer course of the original antibiotics that I had been given.
“He told me if my symptoms persisted, and the bite wasn’t getting any better, I needed to go to the hospital and be put on an IV drip.”
Thankfully, after the second course of antibiotics, the bite finally showed signs of improving.
Paige was bit by the spider at the start of the year but the wound didn’t begin healing until March and even now, it has left a “gnarly” scar that she tries to improve with oil.
Paige added, “It was a huge relief when it finally started getting better.
“I try and massage my skin with oil every day to improve its appearance but I now have a gnarly scar on my leg.
“It’s ugly and will likely be there for life, but at least l still have my limb.
“It tells a cool story and is definitely a conversation starter at the pub – but I always look around for spiders while sipping my drink!”
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