It is literally the stuff of nightmares.
Imagine waking up to the feeling of a funnel web spider crawling over you and biting you while you're tucked up in bed.
Unfortunately for a NSW Southern Highlands woman, the bad dream was all too real.
In the early hours of December 27, the woman was bitten several times on her torso and arm by a male funnel web spider she found in her bed.
"The sensation of it crawling over my leg woke me at 3am and it was at that point it struck," she said.
The woman called a health helpline and emergency services, but it was an hour before the first two vials of antivenom could be administered. She was given another two vials after the first two hadn't significantly improved her condition.
She was taken to Liverpool Hospital and was in the Intensive Care Unit for several days until her condition stabilised and she was released. She will undergo further testing to find whether there was any long-term adverse effects on major organs from the ordeal.
"From the ambos who first treated me at home to the incredibly kind doctors and nurses at Liverpool Hospital, I'm so grateful for everyone's help," the Bundanoon local said. "I'm truly surprised to be around to say that!"
Two cases of funnel web bites have presented to Bowral District Hospital in the past 12 months, one in December 2015 and the most recent case in December 2016.
Funnel web bites are even rarer in the ACT, Canberra entomologist Dr Phillip Spradbery said, though the spiders are "definitely found here".
The unlikelihood of spotting one due to their widespread and low population has lead to a common belief that the species are not found as far south as the Australian capital.
The Sydney funnel-web spider, for instance, is generally found within a 100 km radius of Sydney.
"The Sydney funnel-web spider is its own subspecies of Australian funnel-web spiders, but other types are found in the ACT all over the place in small numbers," Dr Spradbery said.
But those unlucky enough to suffer a funnel web bite will be more likely to do so in December, due to their breeding patterns. Males often wander during the warmer months of December to April, looking to find females in their burrows.
Funnel web spiders prefer cool and humid sheltered, shaded spots such as woodlands.
They are sometimes brought into Canberra houses in firewood but are not common in suburbs.
However the CSIRO reports an apparent rise in the the number of Funnelwebs found near houses, prompting warnings to ensure firewood, tree stumps and fence posts brought into the ACT do not have any arachnids in it.
Dr Spradbery urged victims of funnel web bites to see a doctor immediately and take the spider with them for identification.
Reptile presenter Allan Burnett of Reptile Awareness Displays of Australia has a variety of experiences with funnel webs, both in his current role and during his 20 years as an ambulance paramedic.
"They're nocturnal feeders so usually they're easier to come across at night, when they're waiting at the entrance of their hole or burrow in the ground."
He said they used a single thread of web to act as a trip wire, which alerted them to their prey.
People who have been bitten will excrete a lot of fluid. "The signs and symptoms of a funnel web bite can be quite horrific," Mr Burnett said.
He also said to keep an eye on swimming pools, where often in summer funnel webs sank to the pool floor or were caught up in pool filters.
According to St John's Ambulance, signs and symptoms of a spider bite include sharp pain at the site of the bite, profuse sweating, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
Funnel web spider bite symptoms:
- Copious secretion of saliva
- Muscular twitching and breathing difficulty
- Small hairs stand on end
- Numbness around mouth
- Copious tears
- Disorientation
- Fast pulse
- Increased blood pressure
- Confusion leading to unconsciousness
If you see someone who has been bitten by a funnel web, NSW Ambulance advises:
- Keep them from moving around
- Keep the bitten limb down
- Bandage the limb from the area of the bite to the hand/foot and then back up to the body
- Immobilise the limb by splinting, if possible
- Tell the person to keep calm
- Do not move them at all
- Wait there for the paramedics or ambulance
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