Typically, a hobo spider bite is unlikely to be deadly, but it can be dangerous. This aggressive spider’s bite can cause a painful, nasty-looking sore, and in some cases, severe gastrointestinal and headache symptoms. Sometimes, this spider's bite may even cause symptoms that mimic the flu. A hobo spider bite may cause tissue death in the bite area, and in an extreme case, a patient may need a skin graft or even an amputation because of it. Rarely, hobo spider bites lead to a condition called bone marrow failure, which can be life-threatening.
The hobo spider bite is dangerous because of its ability to cause severe symptoms in some cases, though a person who is bitten by this type of spider will not usually die from it. A bite victim may develop redness in the affected area that eventually blisters. Within just a day or two, the blister caused by a hobo spider bite usually becomes ulcerated and starts to ooze. The ulcerated blister, which can be painful, typically develops a scab within two to three weeks. Unfortunately, the bite usually leaves permanent scarring in the area.
When the hobo spider bites a person in a fatty area, the bite wound may take much longer to heal. For example, the wound left behind in fatty tissues can be so deep that it may not heal completely for more than two years. As with hobo spider bites that affect less fatty tissues, these bites are likely to leave permanent scars behind.
Sometimes a hobo spider bite can also cause a systemic reaction, which means it can affect a person’s entire body. In such a case, a person may have a severe headache and may also suffer from gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea and vomiting. Sometimes these bites may also cause a person to have flu-like symptoms as well. In fact, a person with an extreme systemic reaction to a hobo spider bite may even suffer from bone marrow failure, which is marked by the inadequate production of red blood cells. Bone marrow failure is one of the cases in which a hobo spider bite can prove fatal.
Though the hobo spider bite can cause a significant amount of tissue death, some people heal with only scarring left behind. Others, however, suffer from so much tissue damage that doctors must perform skin grafts, which involve transplanting healthy skin, to treat the affected area. In rare, severe circumstances, amputation may be required to save a person's life.
