Brown Recluse Spider Bites - Now is the time to spray your house! (graphic pictures)

myself ^ | 5/9/03 | brigette

[stlnative]

Thanks Neenah. I will let everyone know how it goes!

[tuckrdout]

It seems the "plantain", don't know if the spelling is right, "poltus" seemed to do a great job on the woman at the site. It seemed to draw the poison out.

I would like to know what it is, how I can get it, and how to apply it! I know the oldtimers use to use them before antibiotics.

[Neenah]

Dear Hairy Arms...

Just as long as we don't have to see someone's fanny that sat on the scanner, today !!!

[stlnative]

This site has some great pictures of how the bite looks at first (looks just like mine) and show it as it progresses. This Dr. suggests using nitroglycerin patches daily on top of the complete bit area that is affected.

[Conservababe]

You really should investigate hyperbaric chamber therapy. One of our hospitals has one. Just the other day, a woman with six BRS bites on the same leg, was written up in our local paper. They healed amazingly after therapy.

[stlnative]

Brown Recluse Spiders:
Avoiding the bite.
by Buck Tilton

Black widow is the stuff of nightmares and legends, but the most common serious spider bite in the United States is not from her venom. Instead, look for the solitude-seeking recluse (a.k.a., fiddleback, violin spider). Generally pale brown to reddish, with long slender legs two to three cm in length, they most often have the shape of a violin on the top front portion of their body. The head of this "fiddle" points toward the tail of the spider. Unlike the black widow, both sexes of recluses are dangerous.

The recluse prefers the dark and dry places of the South and southern Midwest, but travels comfortably in the freight of trucks and trains, and probably can be found in all 50 States. They don't mind the company of humans, and set up housekeeping underneath furniture, within hanging curtains, and in the shadowed corners of closets. In the wild lands they hide the daylight hours away beneath rocks, dead logs, and pieces of bark in forests all over America. They attack more readily in the warmer months, usually at night and only when disturbed. Curious children are their most frequent victims.

Like most spiders, their bite is often painless. Having relatively dull fangs, the serious wounds they inflict are usually on tender areas of the human anatomy. Within one to five hours, a painful red blister appears where the fangs did their damage. Watch for the development of a bluish circle around the blister, and a red, irritated circle beyond that: The characteristic "bull's-eye" lesion of the recluse. The victim may suffer chills, fever, a generalized weakness, and a diffuse rash.

Sometimes the lesion resolves harmlessly over the next week or two. Sometimes it spreads irregularly as an enzyme in the spider's venom destroys the cells of the victim1s skin and subcutaneous fat. This ulcerous tissue heals slowly and leaves a lasting scar. In a few children, death has occurred from severe complications in their circulatory system. Without the spider as evidence, it is difficult to be sure what is causing the problem. Initially, there is little to be done other than calming the victim, and applying cold to the site of the bite for reduction of pain. Any "volcanic" skin ulcers should be seen by a physician as soon as possible. Antibiotic therapy usually cures the patient.

By looking before poking your hands into dark places, you can avoid almost all contact with dangerous spiders. Set camp and gather firewood while there's still plenty of light. If you must move around the dark, wear boots and use a flashlight. Take a look in your boots before stuffing in your feet in the morning.

[TBall]

I did not have time to read the entire thread, but I was wondering how long you waited to go to the doctor after being bitten on the neck? I think I got bit by a BR about 15 years ago. Within 24 hours my whole arm was swelling and the bite area was extremely painful to the touch. My mom took one look at my arm and drove me to the doctor. The doctor drained my arm and put me on antibiotic and everything was OK. I think its fear of going to the doctor that can make the BR bite really bad

[stlnative]

Thanks I will if it does get worse. This is my second one and the first one got was about 3/4" across, that was 3 years ago. It is hard to say if this one will get worse... I know I have a hard area on my right arm about the size of egg today (not protruding like one) about an inch away from the bite and torwards my elbow. I am not in pain, only if I touch the area. I do have fibromyalgia and I am not sure if stiffness in my whole arm is from it or a combo of the bite and the fibromyalgia. My right arm is stiffer than my left arm today.

[stlnative]

About the one on the back of my neck in my hairline from 3 years ago. I was not able to see it. It took about a month before it broke open and was about dime size then and eventually grew to about 3/4" across (the hole). I went to the doctor after it broke open when it was dime size or about a month after I discovered it. I thought it was a infected hair follicle. This time I will not wait a month... I am educated now about BRS bites and I can clearly see this bite and watch it carefully.

[TBall]

Have you not been to the doctor yet?

[stlnative]

Yes... I went Friday, they ID it. Told me to keep an eye on it and come back or go to the ER if it gets worse. Sometimes the bites are only minor, only time will tell if it is a bad bite. If it gets massive over the weekend I will go to the ER.

[stlnative]

The one on the back of my head was a minor one also. They just take a long time to heal. The bite can be as small as a 3/8" and stay that small or they can be small and end up affecting an area about 10". It all depends on the person and how much poison was injected. My concern is many people do not know how bad these bites can get, I never knew until about 2 1/2 years ago... the best measure to take is, to bomb your house quarterly to kill them off.

[LaineyDee]

I think I might offer a less painful antidote. Take the inner lining of a fresh egg and lay it on the bite. Let it dry and fall off....then apply more... continuing this process until the bite heals. It usually takes about 3 days.

I got this "recipe" from a fellow nurse who'd gone through 3 skin grafts on her arm....plus countless rounds of antibiotics over a 6 month period of time. She went to visit her 81yr old grandma the week before she was to get her 4th graft (it had broken through again). The grandma cracked an egg, peeled the lining and put it on the open wound. By the next morning it had adhered to the open wound.....but the outer part started scabbing over. By the 3rd day the "cap" that had adhered to the wound, fell off and it had bright pink "new" skin. It never returned.

I was chatting online with a biology professor a few years ago...when he complained he was growing a second belly button from a recluse bite..because all the treatments he'd received hadn't worked and it was continuing to pit and slough the tissue. I told him of the egg treatment.....and of course everyone in the chat laughed, accused us of voodoo, etc. He was so desperate he said he'd do anything. Well....a few days passed and he came back to the chat and said the bite had scabbed over (for the first time) and proclaimed it a miracle. *chuckle* We came to the conclusion that since spider bites are composed of protein, the protein in the egg some how nullifies the protein properties in the venom. Who knows? Tho this all sounds a bit weird...but I've used it on myself and my kids about 4 times...ONLY with brown recluse bites.....and it worked beautifully. Just my 2cents!

[justshe]

Both my son and I have been bitten my BRSs (confirmed).....in Oregon Cascade mtns. This map is incorrect.

[Chameleon]

Mine has completely stopped itching, and I can rub it real hard and barely feel any pain...But mine was never painful as you describe.

Today mine is swollen about 1/4 of what it was yesterday, and the redness has died down to a light pink. The second hole, which was barely visible yesterday is now very obvious. There are two dark holes, not black but very dark reddish-brown.

Whatver it was that bit me, the wound seems to be going into remission, and feels more like a slight puncture wound or scratch now, as opposed to the really itchy expanding bump I had over the past couple days.

[jacksonstate]

A lot of people have blamed the Hobo Spider and come to find out the BRS did the dirty deed.

BRS can be any place in our mobile society!

[CyberAnt]

This is really serious - a former brother-in-law DIED from this kind of bite. He died because HE REFUSED medical treatment.

Don't fool around with this!

[Joe Hadenuf]

I know a guy that was bitten on the head by a black widow, his head got really infected bad, and his entire head swelled up almost twice it's size.....Really nasty stuff.

[MarkL]

I think that is a black widow female who eats her mate after mating

No, that was my ex-girlfriend...

Mark

[MarkL]

My favorite method to kill spiders is using Aqua Net --the super hold stuff.

I never tried this on spiders, but when I worked in a machine shop, we had a series problem with wasps. The best stuff we ever found was Gunk Engine Brite. You hit a wasp with that stuff, and it starts disolving right then and there. Much more effective than that wasp and hornet killer insectiside, where it can take a few minutes to kill the things. If they're flying, they drop like stones, because their wings are the first part to disolve.

Mark