A grandmother has issued a warning to everyone across the UK to get their bites checked by doctors after a spider bite almost killed her. Karen Ashmore feels lucky to be alive after a spider bite turned into a gaping hole in her belly, and later developed into sepsis, last month. The 56-year-old admits she did a “paranoid” hunt for spiders in her bedroom every night before going to bed but it didn't stop one sinking its fangs into her.
But Karen believes she may have been targeted by the spider while hanging out her washing or gardening outside. Karen's 'paranoid' hunt for spiders in her bedroom every night didn't stop one sinking its fangs into her (Image: Kennedy News) The mum-of-four, who lives in Dukinfield, Manchester, initially believed the bite was a heat rash or acne spot before the mark began feeling “sore and itchy”. When her skin started flaking around the edges, Karen decided to visit her pharmacist who informed her she'd been bitten by an spider - and to go to hospital if the bite didn't improve.
Days later the grandma-of-ten's stomach began swelling, prompting Karen to rush to A&E where tests revealed she had sepsis. The spider bite's venom had also caused an abscess to appear in Karen's stomach that urgently needed removing with surgery. Karen said: "They said at the hospital that it's turned into sepsis and turned into an abscess.
They said it's swollen that much, it needs cutting out. "It was very painful. I didn't know what to think.
I went in at 8am.