Spider burrows under man’s skin

An Australian man had a tropical spider removed from his stomach after it burrowed its way into his body and survived for three days before being removed.

Dylan Maxwell was on holidays on the Indonesian island of Bali when the tiny creature burrowed through a small appendix scar and travelled up his torso, leaving a red scar-like trail from his navel to his chest.

Lifting his shirt, Dylan told an Australian television network “that’s where it actually burrowed underneath my skin”.

While still in Bali, he visited a local medical centre and was prescribed an antihistamine for an insect bite.

“Well, after running tests and putting things inside my stomach they finally found out it was a tropical spider that’s been living inside me for the last three days,” he posted on his Facebook page where he goes by the name of Dylan Thomas. “Haven’t felt so violated in my life before! Just glad it’s all over,” he added.

After returning to Australia earlier this week, doctors removed the tropical visitor.

“They managed to pull the spider out of my navel and put it in a specimen jar and took it away,” said Dylan, whose mates have now nicknamed him ‘Spiderman’.

He was celebrating his 21st birthday with his best friend when he awoke in pain on Saturday morning.

He discovered a small red mark near his belly button and went to Bali International Medical Centre early Sunday morning when he discovered it growing.

He said he was sent home with antihistamine and told it was just an insect bite.

“I woke up the next day and it had blistered all the way from the bottom,” Dylan said. “That’s when I got concerned and went back to the hospital.

“They didn’t know what it was, referred me to a specialist who came in on the Monday and they were able to determine what it was from a swab.”

Dylan doesn’t know what type of spider it was, but said it was about the size of a matchstick head.

“It was a bit concerning to know that something had been inside me for the last three days.”

The tradesman’s mother was the first to spread pictures of the scar when she put it on Facebook.

“Mum was a bit horrified, she was the one who originally put it on Facebook,” he said.

Dylan has embraced his new nickname, Spiderman. “My mates are never going to let me live it down,” he said.

“It is a bit of a memento from my trip to Bali. One I will never forget.”