Posted on 05/09/2003 6:40:47 PM PDT by stlnative
This is a semi-vanity post - but others should learn about this nasty little spider and the damage it can do.
This is my 3rd day into my second Brown Recluse Spider bite that I have had in the past 3 years. The first one took over 6 months to heal and left a 3/4" diameter crater in the back of my neck at my hairline. I was bitten again 3 days ago, at least that is when I notice a pin head size bump on my right forearm and thought it was just a mosquito bite. Today is day three and I decided to keep a record of this new bite this time if it decides to get worse or hang around for 6 months like the other one. It was pin head size 3 days ago. I found a website after my first bite that keeps records and case pictures of brown recluse spider bites (warning if you think snake bites are nasty or anthrax sores are gross - well Brown Spider Bites are just as bad - they get uglier as time goes by!). I did not record my first bite as I figured it would just heal. But it got worse and worse as the weeks went by.
Anyway people in the midwest should learn about these nasty little spiders, even more if you have kids... you should bug bomb your house often and keep clutter away from and inside your homes. Right now the little nasty things are moving back indoors due to all the rainy weather we have had in the midwest.
Today is 5/9/03 and I am into my 3 day of being bitten by BRS (Brown Recluse Spider). My picture below looks like it is not much of anything and I am hoping that it stays as little as it now. But I am prepared to record it this time if it does get worse. Hopefully my picture of my 3 day old bite will help others recognize when they have also been bitten by a BRS, everyone is affected differently depending on the size of the spider and how your body handle the poison. Since this is my second bite it may not get any worse.
I have started a bite history on a website that has records of over 400 BRS bites (tons of photos there that would make your jaw drop if you have never seen what a BRS can do to you once it bites you) My case number is #995 (maybe they have 995 recorded cases now) the website url is http://www.highway60.com/mark/brs/default.htm
My little bite is how all of it starts for some people, that little bite can turn into this...
Graphic Picture of Hand after a BRS bite and the link to this persons BRS bite story
I don't think I need to say more here - just visit the BRS Bite site and use the search link at the top... Put in the information you want (if you just want to see the stories with pictures check off just the "Yes" next to the Picture option and hit the search button at the bottom.
Do yourself a favor and your kids a favor... spray or bomb your house at least once each season (spring, summer, fall, winter). You can buy house bombs at any local discount store in packs of 3 for about $6.00.
I posted this so that people mainly in the midwest can learn about these nasty little spiders, I didn't do it to draw attention to my own bite... I just know now how nasty they can get and how you can lessen your chances of being bit. I got bit before I had a chance to bomb my house... it has been rainy here and I should have known they would start coming in through the cracks between the window screens and window frame. All in all I should be fine, but some people do not fair as well.
I had half a dozen a few years ago. I'll never have another.
You are the first one to tell me of a use for the Britannica. (Got my set in 1994 just before the Internet blossomed, dumbest purchase I ever made.)
Ummm............well, always heard that plastic wrap keeps meat fresh, so................
I'm glad you pointed that out ---I won't use insecticides.
I wouldn't count on that.
I notice that you live in Georgia. My brother lives in Gwinnett County (Berkeley Lake) and he discovered them in his home and a storabe shed in his backyard.
The University of GA has a current program to discover their range throughout the state. They acknowlege the spiders presence they just don't know how many and the distribution.
There was a popular notion that the Brown Recluse was only flound in the Panhandle area of our state (Florida) but that is absolutely untrue. Three years ago, a fellow about two miles from here was bitten on the leg by one and died despite treatment.
My wife was bitten by a Brown Recluse on her right thigh. The ulcerating infection spread quickly to some orthopedic hardware in her knee. She had to undergo surgery to remove the hardware followed by two and a half months of IV antibitics. She is fine.
It should be noted that these spiders are found worldwide, most commonly in the tropics, with some species reaching temperate latitudes. Here in Florida we are blessed with three varieties of the buggers, all very poisonous:
I would be very surprised indeed if you have some where you are.
LOL! How did they get along with your jackalopes?
Make that, "...if you didn't have some where you are."
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