New research from the Hunter shows the anti-venom for redback spiders used for decades doesn't actually work.

It is not the news many arachnophobes would want to hear.

Treatment for the notably painful redback spider bite does not work, according to new research from clinical toxicologist at Newcastle's Calvary Mater Hospital Geoff Isbister.

"That's right," he said.

"If it works, it only has a very small effect and there's risks with using anti-venom and our assessment really is that the limited benefit or potentially no benefit of anti-venom isn't worth the risks of using a treatment.

"All anti-venoms have a risk of causing anaphylaxis or allergic reactions and although that's rare in redback anti-venom, it occurs in about four to five percent of cases and it occurred in four percent of patients in this study who were given redback anti-venom."

224 patients in hospitals around Australia were treated for redback spider bites and given standard analgesia but only half were given the anti-venom.

Dr Isbister says that made no difference.

"We showed that it didn't actually matter whether you got the anti-venom they didn't have improved response to the pain or improved treatment of their systemic effects with anti-venom," he said.

Dr Isbister says the findings will change the way he treats patients and he is going to stop giving his patients redback anti-venom, which has been used since the mid 1950s.

"For me personally, yeah, it will change what I will do and I won't be giving patients anti-venom anymore," he said.

"But certainly, in the future if any doctor treating redback spider bite, we need to think of patients getting enough analgesia but also looking at other treatments.

"The problem is, is that with showing a treatment doesn't work we haven't actually found another option."

The research, a collaboration from Newcastle's Calvary Mater Hospital, the University of NSW and the University of Western Australia, was presented at a major toxicology conference in Dubai last night.