The Italian Cristina C.* († 46) from Gabicce Mare south of Rimini had to suffer months of torment. The reason for the pain was two bites from a violin spider two months apart. Cristina C. finally collapsed at home last Friday evening. Her friend made a desperate attempt to resuscitate her with cardiac massage. But even the alarmed paramedics could not save the woman. Doctors pronounced her dead shortly thereafter.
Cristina C. contracted the poisonous spider bites both times at an animal shelter in Pesaro, where she often fed stray cats. The first time it happened in September, the second time in November. The bite took place in the same place on the back, as reported by the “Corriere di Bologna”.
Increased doses of painkillers
Nothing worse happened after the first bite. Cristina C. got an ointment with a special drug against the redness and itching at the bite site. However, when the woman was bitten a second time, the pain became unbearable. Eventually, Cristina C. turned to a specialized poison control center in Bologna for appropriate treatment.
Cristina C. was prescribed painkillers in increased doses. Did she end up taking too many of them? Paramedics found several half-empty bottles of medication, mostly painkillers, next to her lifeless body. Faced with this situation, the paramedics also called the police. This assumes a natural death, but wants to check whether the medication could have something to do with it.
«Thank you for being there, sweet lioness»
Friend Gilberto C.* commented on Facebook about the tragic death on Saturday: “My beloved Cristina gave me her last kiss at 7:30 p.m. yesterday. Thank you for being there, sweet lioness.”
The violin spider has six eyes and is rather small with a body size of 7.5 to 9 millimeters, but extremely poisonous. It is particularly common in the southern Mediterranean. The violin spider’s venom destroys the tissue around the bite site and can leave severe inflammation and deep wounds that are very difficult to heal. However, fatalities associated with violin spider bites are very rare. (noo)