The red eye revisited: ophthalmia nodosa due to tarantula hairs.

We present the case of a 17-year-old girl who came to our center with a red irritated eye from exposure to tarantula hairs. An ophthalmology literature search revealed six reported cases. There have been no reports of these cases in the general medical and pediatric literature. Due to the increasing popularity of tarantulas as pets, we present the following case report and discussion to bring attention to this potential complication of tarantula handling.