By . Eleanor Harding . PUBLISHED: . 01:02 EST, 16 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 06:27 EST, 16 November 2012 . In Britain we like to think our native spiders aren’t capable of delivering a bite that could kill us. But Natalie Hemme, 31, feared she would either die or lose an arm after being bitten by one of the creatures in her house as she slept. The arm swelled up so much that the blood flow was blocked and the limb became infected. Natalie Hemme nearly had her arm amputated when she developed compartment syndrome after being bitten by a spider whilst asleep at her Surrey home . As the flesh on it began to die, doctors warned they may have to amputate to save her life. ‘I was in that much pain when they told me I needed my arm amputated I didn’t even care,’ said Mrs Hemme, a civil servant. ‘It was agony and I know I have been . very lucky to survive and keep my arm. I can’t believe all this happened . over a bite from a house spider. 'You’d expect it in Australia, but not here.’ Mrs Hemme, from Wallington in Sutton, South-West London, woke up to find a red bite on her left wrist in February. Over the following two days, her arm began to swell and throb and her local NHS clinic prescribed antibiotics. But over the next few days her . condition deteriorated and her husband Michael, 35, had to dial 999 when . she began vomiting and couldn’t stand up. She was taken to St George’s Hospital . in Tooting, where she was diagnosed with Compartment syndrome – a . condition in which tissue such as muscle dies off because the blood . vessels supplying it have been squeezed shut by pressure on them. She was treated with antibiotics to . control the deadly infection causing the swelling, but was warned she . would most likely lose her arm. Following physiotherapy after being bitten, Mrs Hemme has now regained the some movement and has returned to work . She added: ‘By now it looked like a balloon. I honestly thought I was going to die.’ In a three-hour operation surgeons managed to strip away most of the infected tissue. They stopped short of amputating the limb but warned Mrs Hemme she might still lose it. For the next three days she was taken back to theatre daily for more infected tissue to be removed. A week later it was infection-free and surgeons rebuilt Natalie’s arm using tissue from her thigh. Following physiotherapy, she has regained some movement and has now been able to return to work. She said: ‘My arm and leg are both badly scarred but I’m lucky to be alive. Now I always check the bed for . spiders and insects. At first I was worried it must have been a foreign . spider, but the doctors assured me it wasn’t. ‘Whatever bit me was the usual kind of creepy crawly that lives in houses across Britain. 'In this country we don’t worry about such bites but I want to warn other people to be aware of what can happen.’
Natalie Hemme .
suffered horrendous swelling to arm .
It blocked the blood flow and .
turned her limb septic .
Her husband called 999 after she vomited green pus .
Life-threatening issues but arm was eventually saved .
By . Eleanor Harding . PUBLISHED: . 01:02 EST, 16 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 06:27 EST, 16 November 2012 . In Britain we like to think our native spiders aren’t capable of delivering a bite that could kill us. But Natalie Hemme, 31, feared she would either die or lose an arm after being bitten by one of the creatures in her house as she slept. The arm swelled up so much that the blood flow was blocked and the limb became infected. Natalie Hemme nearly had her arm amputated when she developed compartment syndrome after being bitten by a spider whilst asleep at her Surrey home . As the flesh on it began to die, doctors warned they may have to amputate to save her life. ‘I was in that much pain when they told me I needed my arm amputated I didn’t even care,’ said Mrs Hemme, a civil servant. ‘It was agony and I know I have been . very lucky to survive and keep my arm. I can’t believe all this happened . over a bite from a house spider. 'You’d expect it in Australia, but not here.’ Mrs Hemme, from Wallington in Sutton, South-West London, woke up to find a red bite on her left wrist in February. Over the following two days, her arm began to swell and throb and her local NHS clinic prescribed antibiotics. But over the next few days her . condition deteriorated and her husband Michael, 35, had to dial 999 when . she began vomiting and couldn’t stand up. She was taken to St George’s Hospital . in Tooting, where she was diagnosed with Compartment syndrome – a . condition in which tissue such as muscle dies off because the blood . vessels supplying it have been squeezed shut by pressure on them. She was treated with antibiotics to . control the deadly infection causing the swelling, but was warned she . would most likely lose her arm. Following physiotherapy after being bitten, Mrs Hemme has now regained the some movement and has returned to work . She added: ‘By now it looked like a balloon. I honestly thought I was going to die.’ In a three-hour operation surgeons managed to strip away most of the infected tissue. They stopped short of amputating the limb but warned Mrs Hemme she might still lose it. For the next three days she was taken back to theatre daily for more infected tissue to be removed. A week later it was infection-free and surgeons rebuilt Natalie’s arm using tissue from her thigh. Following physiotherapy, she has regained some movement and has now been able to return to work. She said: ‘My arm and leg are both badly scarred but I’m lucky to be alive. Now I always check the bed for . spiders and insects. At first I was worried it must have been a foreign . spider, but the doctors assured me it wasn’t. ‘Whatever bit me was the usual kind of creepy crawly that lives in houses across Britain. 'In this country we don’t worry about such bites but I want to warn other people to be aware of what can happen.’
blood flow was blocked and the limb became infected. Natalie Hemme nearly had her arm her husband Michael, 35, had to dial 999 when . infection causing the swelling, but was warned