As the old saying goes, “A fly can drive away horses”, a 64-year-old woman from Taiwan was frenzied for four days because of a tiny spider about a few millimeters in size. The woman had experienced symptoms such as continuous clunking and swooshing noises inside her ear, along with a feeling of something moving within her ear canal. Because of this, she lost her sleep. After battling with these symptoms on her own for four days, she sought medical attention from the Department of Otolaryngology at Tainan Municipal Hospital.

The ENT specialist, Dr. Tangchin Wang, then examined her ear with an electronic otoscope. The doctor was stunned by the visual he captured. There was a teeny, tiny spider with four big baby-like eyes on the center of the head that moved closer to inspect the camera, which the arachnid perceived as a new intruder. The doctor was taken aback by the presence of the cast-off exuvia, as in his experience he had encountered many insects, ranging from ants to cockroaches, inside the ear canal, but the spider with its molten exoskeleton was a first, which was the reason behind his decision to script the case report. The doctor then wasted no time and removed the arachnid with an instrument that is tube-like and exerts negative pressure called a suction cannula. After the extraction, the patient had instantaneous relief. Dr. Wang further added that the patient was lucky in that she hosted a small spider rather than a larger one, which would have caused more damage.

The doctor stated that if bigger insects were lodged in the ear, it is advisable to introduce any vegetable oil, lidocaine, or ethanol to euthanize the insect, which inhibits further movements and prevents damage to the delicate eardrum while facilitating the removal. Expert opinion is that individuals should not try to remove the foreign object by themselves using Q-tips or tweezers, as it can inflict greater damage than the actual live foreign object. Further, as the identification of the spider was not mentioned in the original report, Ars Technica investigated and mentioned in their report that the spider belongs to the family Salticidae. This family of spiders was befitting of the characteristics spotted in the video posted online. However, the species was not traceable since the spider was infantile. The report further added that the spider was not harmful to humans but was very wandering, which tormented the lady for four days, rendering her sleepless.

(Input from various media sources)

(Rehash/Bharkhavy KV)