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Subscribe to RSSMost of us get a little excited when we see a big spider, but for the unfortunate few who fall victim to the bite of the daunting Brazilian wandering spider, that “excitement” takes on a whole new meaning: The venom of the wandering spider -- also known as the banana spider (or more formally Phoneutria nigriventer) causes erections in men.
“The venom of the P. nigriventer spider is a very rich mixture of several molecules,” says Dr. Kenia Nunes, a physiologist at the Medical College of Georgia who is currently studying the odd side effect. “These molecules are called toxins, and then we have various toxins in this venom with different activity. Because of this, when a human is bitten by this spider, we can observe many different symptoms including priapism, a condition in which the penis is continually erect.”
In addition to the hours-long painful erection, the wandering spider’s bite can cause loss of muscle control, severe pain, difficulty breathing and, if not treated, death, due to oxygen deprivation (with anti-venom, the victim usually recovers within a week.)
Luckily, deaths from this impressive creature – it boasts a leg span of four to five inches – aren’t all that common. According to a website maintained by Rod Crawford, curator of arachnids at the University of Washington’s Burke Museum, “authoritative sources state that over 7,000 authentic cases of human bites from these spiders have been recorded, with only around 10 known deaths.”
Usually found on banana plantations in the tropics, wandering spiders do tend to, uh, wander, though, with recent sightings reported at a Whole Foods in Tulsa, Oklahoma and an IGA store in Russell, Manitoba and a biting reported in Somerset, England in 2005.
But while the spider’s bite may be painful – or even deadly -- its oddball venom may actually prove to be a valuable asset when it comes to treating erectile dysfunction in men.
“In Brazil, we have several reports of human accidents involving this spider and priapism as a symptom,” says Nunes, who recently published a study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine on the spider venom and its potential use in treating ED. “So we started to investigate which part of the venom – which toxin – would be responsible for this symptom. We found the toxin responsible and performed experiments using hypertensive rats which have severe erectile dysfunction. The toxin was able to normalize the erectile function in these animals.”
After isolating the toxin (known as PnTx2-6), Nunes and her colleagues then studied the mechanism of action and found that the toxin acts in a different pathway as compared with other erectile dysfunction drugs, such as Viagra.
“This is good because we know that some patients don’t respond to the conventional therapy,” she says. “This could be an optional treatment for them.”
Does the Brazilian wandering spider venom hold any potential benefits for sexually dysfunctional women?
Nunes says she hasn’t performed any experiments “to investigate the action of this toxin in females yet,” but she intends to do it “soon.”
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Interesting article for sure. The Rod Crawford website you reference is a bit misguided though. He's more like a spider fanatic than a informational source. According to him, spiders do nothing, people are the problem. He says someone who doesn't work with spiders may only be bitten once or twice in his/her life. I don't work with spiders or outdoors and I've been bitten more than twice. I for one avoid unbalanced people like that - I'd reference someone else. And what about his 1990's style website? Yeah, find someone more credible.
Great, another overpriced patent medicine coming right up.
Not it it really works. Given the sex obsessions of my generation of Boomers, this thing will be a money-maker . . . but only if it works!
My mind is seeing an X rated comic book of Spiderman with an erection.
Hey perfect, 24 hour boner with lots of sweating, moaning and body spasms and then you just roll over and die.
First and foremost, how is this news? If you look at a 30yr old encyclopedia you'd see the this symptom isn't limited specifically to this spider, or even just spiders. I know for a fact the black widow is among those just in the spider family that do this.
Just another fluff piece if you'll excuse the pun for entertainment trying to be pawned off as "news".
Not just news...but "hard" news!
Curious how they found out, or who the unlucky schmuck was, that found all these rats with erectile dysfunction?
The timing is good . I clicked on this article because I had just watched an episode of "Off The Map" where a local guy gets bitten by one of these spiders which made me curious.
This venom could help those men who have had prostate surgery and could only have an erection by using injections.
Let's get this "stuff" tested and on the market ASAP.
Totally hate to admit this, but, the bite of a Brown Recluse can have a simular effect. Pain does last a very, very long time, however.
Have you ever seen anyone bitten by a brown recluse? I have, it aint pretty. It eats a hole in your flesh.
I just watched 1000 Ways to Die on Spike TV 2 days ago and there was a story about this on there.
Gives a whole new meaning to the name "banana spider".
So if you die from a black widow spider bite, how do they get the casket closed ?
Prostate surgery can, and in some cases does make the patient impotent. Depending on the extent of surgery. For those who have to have a radical prostatectomy, their odds of ever acheiving erection without the use of aids or injections is very minimal.
Actually, only about 1 out of 5 men who've had a radical prostatectomy, can ever achieve an erection, and generally, only with the help of viagra.
What was Nelson Rockefeller's secretary's name again, happy?
Seems like a painful place for a spider bite...
I recently shot a video of one of these spiders at my house in Costa Rica... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbXKl99t_pc
Why do you think it's called a banana spider? Most people think it's because they live and indeed come to America on shipments of this wonderful fruit. Not so most of them live in all kinds of places besides banana trees.
I keep one in the top drawer of my bedside table and when ever the Zeppelin doesn't want to properly inflate, I just stick my hand in the drawer and problem solved! Maybe I'll start a farm (pharm) to breed them and sell them in drug stores.
I saw an episode on that new show "Of the Map" and a guy came into their clinic and had been bitten by a banana spider. It was super funny but scary at the same time.
Oh yes, this is certainly "better than viagra"
This beats sex with a black widow!
Hey Ya'll I live in south Alabama, and these spiders are everywhere down here so to all of you ladies and gentleman looking to get wood here's your chance to visit our beautiful beaches, eat at our restaraunts, buy some clothes from the outlet malls, get bitten by a bannana spider, and if you don't die please some guy or girl. You will single handely increase tourism to our beaches in need of it, have a great vacation, and leave here with a pet of your own think about it erections in a jar.
MM-- I don't know; but my first husband used to be a part-time assistant at a funeral home, and he told me that when a man dies he gets an erection. I wouldn't know if that is true-- guess I will have to ask my friends at the funeral home.
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lol yep or spiderman surrounded buy a bunch of baby arachnids saying wheres daddy yep lol
I am reminded of Clarence, a farm neighbor of ours, who had to poop in his peanut field, and was bitten on his penis by a copperhead snake. Talk about an erection! He did survive, however.