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About an hour ago I killed a small spider with my hand, and then rubbed my eye (unintentionally, of course!) Now my eye is burning and almost swollen shut. I have a picture of him, but it's post-battle, and he's looking pretty bad. Can anyone tell what kind of spider it is? He's very small (probably about the size of a dime when alive - leg length included). I don't know if it helps but I live in northeast Missouri.
I don't think it is poisonous - I think it (or something else on your hand or in your eye) acted as an irritant to your eye. Flush out your eye - over-the-counter eye wash is the first choice, distilled water 2nd, but regular tap water is okay. If that doesn't help, you had better see a doctor.
PS - a little dust from grass clippings from the mower bag did a real number on my eye once - instant pink-eye. It didn't swell shut, it swelled open - I couldn't close it and it looked like a peeled tomato. Yuck! The point is, it doesn't take much to irritate your eye.
Definitely not a dangerous species. With extremely few exceptions (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uloboridae), ALL spiders have venom glands, but only a very few have enough strong venom (as well as fangs long enough to deliver it) to be dangerous to humans. See the 'sticky' on spider bites at the head of this forum.
