Creepy Case: Tarantula Shoots Hairs into Owner's Eye

livescience ^ | 31 December 2009 | Jeanna Bryner

[JoeProBono]

A creepy case of a man who got tarantula hairs stuck in his eye has doctors advising people to wear eye protection when handling the eight-legged pets.

In February 2009, a 29-year-old man visited the St. James's University Hospital in Leeds, England, after enduring three weeks of a red, watery and light-sensitive eye. A dose of antibiotics for what was presumed to be conjunctivitis didn't clear the symptoms.

Doctors at the hospital examined the eye under high-magnification lenses and spotted hair-like projections sticking into the cornea of the right eye.

"When we looked at this guy's cornea, the clear window covering the eye, we saw these little whitish spots and a little black hairy-like thing at the center of each," St. James's Zia Carrim told LiveScience. There were about a dozen hairs protruding from the cornea, a couple of which had gone all the way through the eye's thin covering.

The doctors let the patient know of the hairy findings.

Ah-ha — the patient immediately recalled an incident right before he started having eye troubles in which he was cleaning the glass tank of his pet, a Chilean Rose tarantula (Grammostola rosea). While focused on cleaning a stubborn stain, he sensed movement in the terrarium and so turned his head. That's when the tarantula flicked a "mist of hairs" that hit him in the eyes and face......

[JoeProBono]

This pet tarantula, a Chilean Rose tarantula, releases utricating hairs from its abdomen to defend against potential predators...or an unsuspecting owner. Credit: The Lancet.

[rockrr]

Nothing that a judicious application of a claw hammer wouldn’t fix...;’}

[Mercat]

Note to self for 2010. Wear eye protection when handling spiders. LOL LOL

[mkjessup]

Thank God women can’t do that, how many of us would already be blind? ;)

[Dr.Zoidberg]

Rule one, spiders are not pets.

Rule two, people who keep spiders for pets are somewhat deranged.

Rule three, avoid both.

[left that other site]

I get doggie hairs all over my clothes and occasionally in my eyes and nose as well...but, it just doesn't seem quite as creepy.

[Daffynition]

One must prepare for such calamities.

[My hearts in London - Everett]

Another spider fact that encourages my creeped out feeling and fear of them!

[JoeProBono]

Amen to that!

[Oldpuppymax]

Thanks SO much for posting this. Now I have to spend NYears day with THIS friggin’ image in my mind. Please submit future posts of this sort to MoveOn or Huntington.

[JoeProBono]

[Daffynition]

[JoeProBono]

Better?

[JoeProBono]

[NonValueAdded]

I don’t like spiders and snakes

[JoeProBono]

[ErnBatavia]

We who live in tarantula country are very aware of the shooting hair phenomena.

The only time they're visible is at night or very early morning from mid-September into early October when they go on the prowl for mates.

[rawhide]

A claw hammer puts me too close to one of these things. I with say a stinger missile would be about ideal for me. But someone else needs to go check on it after I fire the missile, to be sure it is obliterated.

[eldoradude]

A claw hammer puts me too close to one of these things. I with say a stinger missile would be about ideal for me.

LOL - I caught a tarantula when I was about 3 and put in my Mom's underwear drawer. Caused quite a commotion when she found it. I learned that big spiders were a no-no in the dresser. I put a little brown garter snake in the drawer the next time, because I had learned spiders were bad... :D

[WVNan]

As the momma of boys, thank you for the laugh and the memories.

[rockrr]

As it happened I was watching Mystery Science Theatre 3000 when I first read this thread. They were parodying a B-grade movie called “Invasion of the Giant Spiders” starring Alan Hale jr.

It was hilarious in its awfulness, but still creeped me out when folks would stumble into the spiderwebs...