A man Colin Blake, celebrating a 35th wedding anniversary on a cruise ship discovered that a spider had laid eggs in his toe.
The incident occurred during a meal outdoors in Marseille, France, where Mr. Blake was bitten by a Peruvian wolf spider.
Unaware of the bite due to the spider’s numbing effect on its prey, Mr. Blake’s toe turned purple overnight, prompting a visit to the ship’s doctor.
Mr. Blake, from Cramlington, Northumberland, described the ordeal on BBC Radio Scotland’s Drivetime show.
“My wife thought it may be because I had new sandals and they were rubbing on my big toe and that was causing it to be red,” he said
However, the ship’s doctor identified a Peruvian wolf spider bite and discovered eggs laid in the affected toe.
The ship’s medical staff administered antibiotics to counter the toxins, and later, a “foreign body” was surgically removed from Mr. Blake’s toe.
The extracted substance contained spider eggs that had hatched. The antibiotics had killed the spider, and doctors removed it, confirming that it was eating its way out of Mr. Blake’s toe.
Despite the experience, Mr. Blake is expected to make a full recovery.
