Posted on 12/02/2022 3:47:27 PM PST by nickcarraway
A TEENAGER died suddenly after he said he'd been bitten by a spider - just weeks after complaints were made about an infestation in his building.
Harry Bolton, 19, was found dead by his housemates with a gaping wound the size of a £1 coin on his back.
Just days earlier the promising second year university student had told a friend he was feeling unwell after being bitten by a spider, and went to A & E.
And weeks prior others in the University of Hull student accommodation complex had complained to their landlord of a spider infestation.
An inquest heard how on October 7 last year Harry's housemate realised he hadn't responded to a text message.
When he arrived home from work that night he and another housemate knocked on Harry's door.
The pair got no response, so phoned site security and they came down and broke his door down.
The light was on and they found Harry laying on his back on his bed.
His eyes and mouth were open and he was cold to touch - and they realised his chest was not moving.
The group frantically phoned emergency services, who raced to the shared house on Chancellor's Walk, Hull.
When paramedics arrived they confirmed Harry was not breathing, had no heartbeat and tragically declared him dead at the scene.
But, while checking him over they noticed a £1-sized gaping wound on his back, which appeared to be infected.
The hearing heard how just four days earlier Harry had told a pal a spider had bitten him on his back, and he was not feeling well.
His friend suggested he go to A&E so he did - and walked into the Hull Royal Infirmary that night with a high temperature and a high heart rate.
A blood sample was taken and nothing of high risk was detected - although another blood test indicated there was inflammation.
But Ben Rayer, an A&E consultant at hospital, said this was not something that would be flagged up by the labs as a matter of immediate risk.
In the early hours of the next morning, Harry discharged himself and hospital staff said they had no reason to believe the teen did not have the capacity to do so.
Just hours later was the last time Harry was seen by his housemates.
One of which, Kacper-Krysztof Zydron, told the hearing how he had experienced a similar spider bite just two months prior.
Had he not been bitten by an invertebrate, possibly a spider, he would not have died at that time. It is an incredibly unfortunate case.
Paul MarksCoroner He said the bite, which was on his neck, first started off "hurting a bit", but over a few days it was so bad that he could not move his neck.
Kacper said he went to A&E and was told to take some paracetamol, which did not work.
He then talked to his parents and they helped him remove the pus from the infection, before he phoned his GP and asked for antibiotics to heal the wound and clear the infection.
The housemate then emailed Ashcourt Student Housing about a problem with spiders and sent a follow up photo of one.
It was found to be a common house spider and the inquest heard an inspection by the maintenance team found no infestation.
A clause in the tenancy agreement also stated that low-level pest intrusions were the responsibility of tenants.
After Harry's death, pest control was called for the peace of mind of the tenants and a survey was carried out.
Sticky traps were laid out. It revealed that there was a normal number of insects in the house given the time of the year.
Coroner Paul Marks determined that Harry's death was caused by sepsis, due to an acute chest infection, due to an infected wound on his back.
He said: "Had he not been bitten by an invertebrate, possibly a spider, he would not have died at that time. It is an incredibly unfortunate case. He had a promising future ahead of him."
After his death, a JustGiving fundraising site raised more than £1,600 in Harry's memory for Eczema Research.
And lets not forget Dennis Hull, Bobby’s brother, who also played with the Blackhawks.
I didn’t know of said Hull.
I've had much more than my share of brown recluses in this 4-story, 100-year-old farm house I'm living in while renovating. Every two weeks we go on "spider safari" with a shop vac in the basement and the attic. I've also spread DE powder everywhere to kill off their food sources, I've deployed glue traps which have caught/killed many, and we crush the few spiders we see crawling here and there.
Also, my research from several sources has indicated that only 15% of people have any reaction to recluse bites. I've also learned that they only bite under certain certain circumstances, and probably only penetrate when pressed against the skin (I shake my shoes and clothes before putting on).
He actually was a good player, left wing same as Bobby. Made the All Stars several years.
Hull of a lot!
I have learned something today.
And a ‘normal’ amount of any particular species could be a few thousand up to 10 or 20 magnitudes larger. Bugs do nothing on a small scale.
When I was sixteen, I begged my parents to let me stay home for the family vacation, which was usually 2-3 weeks in the back of he station wagon tent camping across the U.S. After years of doing that, I worked up enough courage to ask if I could stay home. Dad said it was ok (he was probably tired of his 16 year old daughter, too)
Somehow I got a spider bite while they were gone. I didn’t know it was a spider bite. It got itchy and then infected. I didn’t know how to treat such things without my mom giving me sage at home medical advice. It got to the point where I got a secondary infection, which, because of the area affected , caused me to not be able to walk. My left leg was completely numb, I couldn’t feel a thing. I got better after the doctor gave me an antibiotic. Simple as that.
Needless to say, I don’t shy away from spiders. I meet them head on and give them the business. They don’t realize it’s revenge on my part.
Aerosol brake cleaner works great on the ones that think they are fast or are hiding out of normal reach. It knocks the go right out of them. Flames are optional.
*** I have learned something today.***
For you my FRiend, and for all of us:
“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” - Henry Ford
A fine quote and thanks for posting to me.
I’ve been working on my trivia recently. Not really sure why other than I enjoy it.
Maybe I can be a more modern Cliff Clavin.
Maybe that is where Bobby and Dennis, ultimately got their name. 🤪🤗😂
It very well could be...
:)
For spiders, flames are not optional.
:-)
Lol, that’s cool. Cliff Claven is almost an American hero. Not really, but you get my drift. ;)
I get that girl for the first time ever.
See my post 48 for an explanation.
Based on the description of the bite site after a day or three, it was probably a brown recluse spider. They are about the size of a US dime, but pack a mean venom that will eat at the flesh. ...One of my employees was bitten on her belly while sleeping. She was in hospital for three days and was given lots of antibiotics to get rid of the infection.
I saw your story!
You’re fortunate to have recovered from that.
I hate spiders.
When I saw your post I cracked up, because of this:
I asked if he'd been to one of the great universities: Oxford, Cambridge, Hull.
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