Can a Tarantula Blind You?

A tarantula owner was nearly blinded after getting some of his pet's tiny, barbed hairs in his eye. The 29-year-old man was treated at St James's University Hospital, Leeds after the hairs embedded themselves in his cornea.

Can tarantula make you blind?

Without treatment from experts like Shah, Pineda or Carrim, victims of a tarantula's barbed hair could eventually face severe scarring and vision loss. Shah said hairs stuck in the outer part of the eye can cause scarring to the cornea.

What happens if a tarantula hair gets in your eye?

It has been proposed that the hairs inflict injury initially through an acute inflammatory reaction followed by chronic granulomatous inflammation. Common presenting symptoms of ocular injury from tarantula hairs include conjunctival injection, foreign body sensation, periorbital facial rash, photophobia, and tearing.