‘Spot’ on woman’s finger turned out to be false widow spider bite

A woman had to have an operation on her finger after what she thought was a spot turned out to be a false widow spider bite.

Crystal Rudd, 28, first noticed the painful pimple on her finger on 25 March and tried to pop it with a sterilised pin.

But the mother-of-three said the pain didn't go away so she went to A&E a few days later where medics suspected it was a horsefly bite.

She was sent away with antibiotics and told to take antihistamines – but the swelling continued and the redness in her hand was spreading to her arm.

By 1 April, Rudd was in so much pain she couldn't sleep and said her finger was so tight and sore it felt like it "was going to explode".

The mother-of-three, from Spalding, Lincolnshire, said: "The pain began to become excruciating. It began to grow bigger and bigger.

"I was prescribed stronger antibiotics but the pain was so bad that I couldn't bend my knuckles properly and it was too painful to look after my children.

"I had to ask my eldest – who is eight – to help me get dressed because I couldn't move my hand.

"The pain was down to my elbow, it was all around my forearm like it felt bruised and tender like I pulled a muscle."

The next day, her husband Stephen Rudd, 25, took her to Peterborough City Hospital.

Medical staff took blood and X-rayed her finger before telling her it was a false widow spider bite.

Rudd was rushed for surgery the following day, during which doctors cut her finger open to clean and remove the infection around the knuckle join.

She was released a few days later but still doesn't have mobility in her hand as it is bandaged up.

Rudd, who might need physio for her finger in the future, said she wouldn’t want anyone else to go through the same ordeal and is urging people to be vigilant around spiders.

She said: "I went to A&E very early on when I noticed in two days but some people may not and go for even longer than I did.

"People need to be vigilant."