Next time you are in South American and the ‘Brazilian wandering spider’ bites you and you think you may die – you may but you will also get a 4 hour erection (assuming you are male).
New research has shown that the wandering spider, whose formal name is Phoneutria nigriventer, bite has similar effect to those of Viagra. The down side to the erections are that they are accompanied by the side effects of shortness of breath and severe pain. Also if not treated with an anti-venom you may die from lack of oxygen.
Nonetheless, English researchers want to take the positive effects of this spider bit and see if it can become the next Viagra. The spider’s toxin would be used on patients that do not react positively to Viagra and it is also being looked at as a treatment for female sexual dysfunction.
The Brazilian wandering spider is an eight-legged arachnid found mostly in tropical banana plantations and is native to South and Central America. And only 10 out of 7,000 have perished from its bite.
