Black Widow Spider Bite

Efficacy of Alternative and Other Treatments According to GRADE* Ranking:

Tea Tree Oil [1, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34]:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It is proposed only as a weak supportive symptomatic support, and even then, has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present. WARNING: Tea Tree Oil is not recommended for children, pregnant women or mothers that are breastfeeding. Also, Tea tree oil should never be taken internally. Should only be used over skin, inhaled with a vaporizer, or mixed with water as a mouthwash.)

Recommendation: weakly in favor (Laboratory studies have shown that tea tree oil may be effective in treating insect bites. However more research needs to be done in the form of clinical trials)

Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence

St John's Wort (Goatweed, tipton weed, Hypericum Perforatum) [1, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24]:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.

Recommendation: No recommendation (Available evidence does not support claims that St Johns Wort can help to treat insect bites)

Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence

Rabdosia Rubescens (Dong Ling Cao, Oridonin, Isodon Rubescens) [1, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13]:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.

Recommendation: no recommendation (there is insufficient evidence to show that rabdosia rubescens has any effect on the treatment of insect bites)

Grade of Evidence: very low quality of evidence

Megavitamin Therapy (Multivitamin, Vitamin Supplements) [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]:

Please Note that while supplements are effective in correcting deficiencies in the body, their long-term usage is not helpful in preventing diseases like cancer and heart disease. To prevent these illnesses one should eat the natural foods which these vitamins and minerals come from. Replacing natural sources with artificial supplements actually increases the risk of heart disease, cancer, and other diseases. Supplements should be taken only as a balanced multivitamin supplement that contains no more than 100% of the recommended daily allowance. It would be most helpful in people with restricted food intakes, pregnant women and women of childbearing age.

Recommendation: Weakly against. (There is no evidence that Megavitamin therapy can prevent or treat bug bites. In fact, long term therapy can lead to increased risk of other illnesses)

Grade of Evidence: moderate quality of evidence

* www.gradeworkinggroup.org

Summary References

Treatments:

1. Ades T, Alteri R, Gansler T, Yeargin P, "Complete Guide to Complimentary & Alternative Cancer Therapies", American Cancer Society, Atlanta USA, 2009

2. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/orthomolecular-medicine

3. http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/163/2/192.pdf

4. http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/ortho.html

5. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/72/5/707

6. http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/no-index/about-ama/13638.shtml

7. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17327526

8. http://naturaldatabase.therapeuticresearch.com/nd/Search.aspx?fs=ND&pt=100&id=1140&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

9. http://mct.aacrjournals.org/content/4/4/578.abstract

10. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15586232

11. http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-1140-RABDOSIA RUBESCENS.aspx?activeIngredientId=1140&activeIngredientName=RABDOSIA RUBESCENS

12. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/rabdosia-rubescens

13. http://alternativehealing.org/dong_ling_cao.htm

14. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/st-johns-wort

15. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-stjohnswort.html

16. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18843608

17. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11939866

18. http://nccam.nih.gov/health/stjohnswort/ataglance.htm

19. http://nccam.nih.gov/health/stjohnswort/sjw-and-depression.htm

20. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/depression/how-is-depression-detected-and-treated.shtml

21. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11939872

22. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12132963

23. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16423519

24. http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/299/22/2633

25. http://bastyrcenter.org/content/view/972/&page=

26. http://jac.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/62/4/769?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=staphaseptic&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT

27. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2145499

28. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9055360

29. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12451368

30. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9848442

31. Bishop, C.D. (1995). "Anti-viral Activity of the Essential Oil of Melaleuca alternifolia". Journal of Essential Oil Research: 641–644

32. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/tea-tree-oil

33. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-teatreeoil.html

34. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18816275