North Carolina mother's warning after toddler bitten by spider

HIGH POINT, North Carolina -- A North Carolina boy is recovering from a black widow spider bite.

The child's mom is now urging all parents to check everything your kids play with outside because it could save you one long scary visit to the emergency room.

Erin Walker said Friday started light and fun as she and her three kids enjoyed a summer morning in their backyard pool.

But there was something else swimming with her kids that would send the mom into a panic.

"James, my middle son, yells 'there's a spider in the pool,'" she said.

"I saw the red mark on its belly so that's how I knew it was a black widow," the boy said.

Walker was frantic at first, she said. Then calmed down after it didn't appear anyone was bitten and her kids said they were fine.

However, time would tell.

"I laid him down for a nap, Beckett, and just after a few minutes he started complaining of his stomach hurting," Walker said.

She gave her 2-year-old son, some stomach medicine, but the pain seemed to get worse.

"I started to think, I still have this spider in the back of my mind," she said.

Not taking any chances Walker rushed to the hospital.

"As we were walking in is when I noticed the bite on his arm," she said. "They confirmed it was a black widow."

What's really concerning, Walker said, was that the symptoms didn't show up right away.

"It was about an hour and a half later," she said.

The mother said she thinks she knows how this all happened.

"Almost positive it was his life jacket, the puddle jumper, he had on," she said.

It was outside, hanging next to the pool.

Now, Walker says she checks everything her kids may be wearing or playing with and urges other parents to do the same.

"You do those extra things just to keep them safe," she said.

So what are the signs and symptoms of a black widow spider bite?

Look for one or two small fang marks, they look like tiny red spots.

You may experience pain, swelling, and redness at the site of the bite.

Sometimes, severe symptoms can appear within 30 to 60 minutes.

Those symptoms include chills, fever, nausea or vomiting, and also numbness.

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