Spider Bite?

You will probably lose your foot if you don't go to the emergency room now! If it is not too late already. Let us know what happens. Thanks for your due diligence.

we've had problems with these. We bought an older house and had to eventually spray to get rid of them. One morning dh and I woke up with several bites on our legs each. I had just changed our sheets and had been keeping them in out closet. It's dark and there is one place where you could see the old siding from the outside of the house. After looking online our bites looked just like those of a brown recluse. We're in SC and I had several people tell me they don't live here. Bull! I killed one later on in the bedroom. I went to the doctor. I had two bites on my ankle. It was swollen 4 times its normal size and it was all I could do to walk. It hurt so bad! All the doctor did was prescribe amoxicllin. I have problems with alot of antibiotics and he thought that would be safe.I thought it was useless. So what I did was come home and start on goldenseal and echinacea. I also put goldenseal powder on the bites. They were swollen and erupting and I would just make sure no matter how much it hurt to get that goldenseal in the bite. I also would pour straight tea tree oil over them a couple times a day. It took 2 months before they even started healing. But heal they did. I still have a small scar where each bite was. I used to be one who thought not alot about spiders and was content to let them be. Not anymore. I don't care about how amny insects they eat. All I know is if that had bitten one of the kids they would probably be dead. I no longer keep sheets in that closet either, we figure that one or two was in the sheets when I put them on the bed, then there we come sticking out feet and legs all around that spider. All clothing that is in that closet gets shaken out and looked at really good before it goes on us too. We did end up spraying and bombing the house too. I still throw a couple of bombs under the house twice a year to make sure they're not under there.

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Ginnie..
http://ginniequilts.blogspot.com/
You can say what you want about the South,
But you never hear of anyone retiring and moving North.

Tango - How are you? I got to tell you girl, don't believe them when they say brown recluse don't live here or there. They live anywhere they can hitch a ride in a box. And that's about anywhere.

I was bitten by one about 10 yrs ago. Got me on the inside of my thigh about midway. It was hiding in a pair of jeans. Just felt like a small bite, but I pinched the spider in the material so was able to identify it. My leg swelled up like I'd been hit with a basketball. I started on Benedril - found out I was allergic to that. By the next morning I was delirious with fever and nausea. My leg hurt so bad and there was a white blister with angry red circle around it. Just like the pictures. The emergency room doc happened to be my reg doc. He gave me a shot and a prescription for cream and antibiotic. Within three days it was evident that what I had been given was going to do no good. There was a black ring around the wound now and it was a stinking eruption. Nasty and painful. I sent to the health food store for some burdock, goldenseal and echinacea. I made up a salve with these and cocoa butter and beeswax. At least twice a day I washed the wound out with a very hot handheld shower. Then I made a hot poultice pack of burdock/goldenseal/echinacea. I would hold it on the bite till it cooled, then apply the salve. Dailey more flesh sloughed off and at one time I could put my hand into the wound. Sounds gross, huh? It was. It took about three months for the healing to start. About half my hair fell out from the prolonged fever. Fortunately, I had very thick hair. But it never came back as thick.
Now I have a scar that is about 3 x 1/2 on my leg. I consider my self lucky. I would think that there is not nearly so much flesh on the side of your foot as on your thigh - so there is potential for much more damage.
A brown recluse enjects an enzyme when they bite you that digests the flesh that is why it turns black and sloughs off.

I'm hoping that the reason you have not posted again is because your getting medical help.

As a side note - I have heard that using a stun gun on the bite will stop the action of the enzyme. I don't know that this has been proven but if I was bitten again I'd try anything!

Halo

I sincerely thank everyone who has responded with concern and advice. I did not go to the emergency room last night but I didn't take your advice lightly. CG I am so indebted to your beautiful offer for financial help but I can't accept. I have been in touch with others who have been bitten and have followed first aid and precautionary procedures. I'm going to the doctor today and will check in afterward.

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Tiny Forest ~ my tiny blog

Thank goodness you're going for medical help!! We supposedly don't have brown recluse spiders here in Oregon either, but this spring 3 people were bitten, one of them lost her finger because of the bite!!! I'm not sure either how these critters are traveling so far, but since our airports are "international" and vehicles are comiing and going all across the US, I guess these spiders are just hitching rides!! Please let us know what the Dr. says..

Tango, the money offer is no big deal. I've had people here make the very same offer for me. And I'm a strong believer that lack of money should be no obstacle for getting medical care.

That said ... I'm glad you're going to the doctor.

And I also think that sometimes, the only people who can gauge the seriousness of something are the ones affected. I remember a couple of months ago, I suffered a crazy muscle spasm in my leg --- the thigh muscle so, believe me, it hurt! The same thing had happened the summer before at almost the same time.

I asked a question about it here and got some pretty panicked answers, some suggesting I needed to go to a neurologist ( ), others implying I was very likely on death and debility's doorstep ( ) --- when the real truth was ... I don't eat salt --- and I work outside during the summer in high heat.

IOW, you might have a serious situation on your hands, but you might not. And it isn't uncommon for people on internet forums to panic about the situations of others. But ultimately, only you and those who can actually SEE you can make the decisions or gauge the severity.

Soooo ... long way around to apologize for contributing to any panic.

I don't see it necessarily as "panic" to advise seeing a doctor or PA or nurse practictioner over something that isn't healing, or is very painful.

I don't know if Tango has insurance, but if you do, the bigger companies have 24-hour toll free "nurse lines" you can call and let them help you decide to go to a doctor or not. Was it an emergency room or urgent care situation immediately? Probably not. But, it could become one if you wait too long...still cheaper to see the regular doctor in a timely manner. Most doctor offices are not open evenings or weekends, so that is where the "urgent care" facilities come in, but they are still cheaper than the emergency rooms.

Spider bites are no joke. I see the issue raised with the muscle spasm, but maybe that is because there was not enough info in the initial post for people to even think of heat and the lack of salt to be the problem.

All I'm saying is that sometimes waiting can be more expensive in the long run, not to mention more painful and more worrisome, and it keeps you from getting back on your feet and getting back to work/play/whatever. You can only do so much research on the computer, not everything is there to find, and verifying the reliability of the info is not always easy to do.

Good luck at the doctor's.

True. Still, I felt some pangs of guilt. Sometimes, those urgent warnings can really interfere with the process of making good decisions. But sometimes, they're necessary.

In any case, Tango, be sure to post what the doctor says for all us given to worrying.

I agree with you CG. People tend to panic and think SOMETHING needs to be done and that something should be a doctor! It sounded to me more like a yellow jacket than a recluse. I've had them hurt like that and swell and be extremely painful for hours. The charcoal always helps me. I take it right out of the wood stove. It really doesn't need to be activated. You just need less with activated than with home grown. I've chewed charcoal from the stove and stopped stomach virus problems dead in their tracks more than once. I always pack it on stings to draw the poison.

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I believe in God's willingness to heal.

Cyngbaeld's Keep Heritage Farm, breeding a variety of historical birds and LaMancha goats. (It is pronounced King Bold.)

Went to dr. I have an infection going in my foot. Hyper. Feel like I'm on drugs. Bite site is a blister as I was told it might become. Dr. was in a hurry and rude. Going to another dr. tomorrow. I appreciate all the advice. Had this happened to eithe rof my chldren we would have been in the emergency room with or without insurance. I have no insurance and that does affect my decisions for myself ( my children do have insurance). I now know what I have going on and will continue with medical help. Having dealt with a lot of reptile bites including bacterial infections from lizards, I was concerned since the bite ocurred. I think I now know more about insect bites than my doctor and I don't think he appreciated it. But since yesterday I was in contact with otherswho had been bitten like several of you posted here about your experiences. And I had been taking measures to protect my health. No one's advice fell on deaf ears but I had to do some weighing of the information and I chose to wait.

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Tiny Forest ~ my tiny blog

So was it a spider bite that caused the infection or an insect bite? (I guess technically arachnids aren't insects?)

Glad you're going to be okay--and hope you find a better doctor. There's no excuse for doctors to be rude, although they often are, sad to say.

Tango my DH got bit on his belly by a Brown Recluse. It hurt but he thought that it'd pass by morning. The next morning it had the bullseye rings, swelling and was in pain we went to his doctor and they gave him a shot and a prescription for Cipro 500mg.

Now we take spider bites very serious. PLEASE check with another doctor and take care of yourself.

CG you were very considerate to offer Tango financial help.

Star

My sister got a nasty staph infection from a wasp sting last year. So it can happen. Although it seems odd an infection would set in that quick, unless it was blood poisoning (which i got about 10-15 years ago --- nasty stuff, came on like lightning from a blister on my heel, i think).

In any case, yea, if you're doctor was rude about this, might be a good idea to start shopping around. I'm shopping around for a new doctor --- mine has gone from one of the fairly sensible ones to one of the EVERYONE MUST BE ON AT LEAST 2 PRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS, JUST IN CASE!! doctors.

Gack.

RAC, the dr. didn't give an opinion either way. I said bite he said "Hmmm, looks like a blister, not a bite." What confidence he inspired....
Star, I received cefdinir 300 mg and am supposed to go back in five days but I'll just go elsewhere tomorrow and get a second opinion from someone who inspires a little more confidence in me. CG, I was taken aback by the infection setting in so quickly also. My readings seem to indicate 24 to 72 hours though so it seems on track in that respect (joy). The top of my foot looks like it's sunburned. That's wierd to heard about your dr. I can't even get tylenol from mine. Last year when I embedded an old wire an inch into the ball of my foot (same foot exactly 12 months ago btw, talk about coincidence) I was hurting and got advice on aspirin for pain but I did get a tetanus and antibiotics.

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Tiny Forest ~ my tiny blog

It looks sunburned? Then at the very least, you've got a staph infection. !

Still, when that happened to my sister, it took about three-four days for it to set in. And she's diabetic. So ... hmmm.

Tango, I love the doctors who don't like drugs. Because I don't either. This doctor of mine, however, has become a great believer in Pre-Emptive Prescribing.

:no:

Just like the drug companies.

:no:

She once sent me home with a bag of drugs, including steroids (?????) and scopolamine (????????????????????) and some other VERY strange stuff.



In any case, really, keep us posted. Even if it's staph and not a spider bite, that's bad stuff. From the sounds of it, however, I'm really glad you're seeing another doctor.

Don't believe to much into web sites that tell you certain things are only in certain areas. My grandmother was going through some boxes of my aunts that had just died and all of a sudden she felt like someone had put a hot iron on her under arm. She kept felling worse and worse so the family rushed her to the hospital and they wound up air lifting her to baltimore hospital and she almost died there. If it hadn't been for a doc. from texas looking at the bite because he was wondering what all the rushing around as about. She probably wouldn't have made it. She wound up losing alot of muscle in the under arm area. Enough that you could put your fist into it. This was in 1976 in Maryland.
If you think of all the people that have moved from area to area since 76 and of all the people that like to keep spiders, poisenous snakes, and other such animals them things can be everywhere nowadays. I can see how if they were migrating by themselves then that map would probably be accurate but with our society things are much bigger.
Now when I got bit by a spider on my neck I used the charcoal to help pull it out and then I used bentonite clay. It helped a great deal with the healing but make sure you can get yourself into the hospital also.

Hope your doing better.
Tex Art

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Remember folks THANKSGIVING - it's the holiday to gobble till ya wobble!

Make sure you keep on top of the doctors and get a complete, straight answer. My husband's aunt (who was diabetic) got bit on the calf from a brown recluse. The doctors were called for advice and they said don't worry about it, unless it gets bigger. So she didn't and it got bigger...and bigger. They also told her don't pop the blister. Let it heal on it's own. I think that kept all the poison inside as well. Then they had to take her to a big hospital three hours away and amputate her leg. She was near death's door for 5 months. She died within the year. This lady had overcome lymphoma and breast cancer (cancer free 5+ yrs) and was brought down by complications of a spider bite. I'm not trying to put anything on anyone, but spider bites are very serious and doctors don't always take them seriously. I, too, have one of those doctors that used to be pretty good, and now I don't trust him. I feel like a cow being put through the chute at the cattle auction. I now have another that I found that I really like, but it takes a while to get in to him (because everyone else likes him too! Especially the older folks) and he takes time to really talk with you! Almost unheard of. And he doesn't necessarily push the medicine and he really keeps after you to exercise. You also are usually an hour late for your appointment, but I just think of all the time he's taking with the older people that really need it.

Kathy

Wow, an hour late? I hope his receptionist is calling around letting people know--sounds like your doctor overschedules his day somewhat, considering the way he knows he takes time with his patients.

Part of the problem too with scheduling is that Doctors offices deliberately schedule you 15-20 minutes ahead, sometimes for paperwork (smart/considerate doctors mail that stuff to you ahead of time)--all of that HIPPA stuff, for one thing. Add that to someone running late and/or deliberately overbooking, and, well my time is valuable too.

Funny though, I didn't have this problem when we had Kaiser (and the doctors do take time to answer your questions--helps if you're organized and write them down--I miss Kaiser) and never have the problem at the dentist's office. Only have been late at the Dentist when there was a bona fide emergency case, and I understand that.

One dentist we had was so tired of the Dial-a-Ride bringing in all the seniors late, he had one of his receptionists drive them in. Another was always punctual himself, so if you were late the first time, he'd have a "chat" about how you were being inconsiderate of the other patients and his staff, and if it happened again without a really good reason, he dropped you. He never overbooked--and had like 15-minute windows between patients, so there was always time to visit. We no longer live there, but we always drop by when visiting relatives (waiting 'til he's free), so he can see how the little ones have grown.

Luckily I go to the doctor so seldom I don't have to put up with the nonsense much, except for filling out the medical history because it's expired....

In fairness, though, I think much of the problem is patients who insist on medicine for everything. Also, these days people have time to search the internet for the latest "cure", however outlandish and unproven it might be, and they expect the poor GP to be up on the latest info in even specialty fields--not exactly fair to the GP.