This man was bitten by a black widow in his sleep – with horrific consequences

The idea of any sort of creepy-crawly getting under the covers with us is enough to keep us up at night – but in Nicholas Cook’s case, the experience had some truly horrible consequences. After waking up with what he described as a ‘searing burning sensation’, Nicholas was horrified to discover two open wounds on his cheek.

Living in Colorado in the United States, Nicholas tried to put off seeking medical help for fear of the costs, but after he found another oozing and swollen wound on his stomach two days later, and began experiencing cold sweats and chills, Nicholas was forced to go into hospital with the poisonous spider bites.

However, there was no miracle cure, as Nicholas reveals:

I wanted nothing more than to have it relieved. The doctor comes in and informs me that they have no specific medicines or antivenom available for a Black Widow bite specifically. Instead they could provide pain relief and a handful of prescriptions to combat swelling and the other symptoms.

Nicholas has now been forced to launch a GoFundMe campaign to cover the cost of his medical bills, saying: ‘I do not have a savings or security cushion to cover unexpected expenses or problems and got a payday loan to cover what I lost due to the spider bite. Which now is taking what little extra I got to put in my pocket after monthly bills and expenses.’

Where do black widow spiders live?

The black widow spider can be found on every continent on earth except Antarctica. Whilst the bites of female black widows can have extremely painful consequences, their bites are rarely lethal and they are not particularly aggressive – attacking only when frightened or under threat.