Brown Recluse Spider Bite
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Written by Jim on August 5th, 2007 with
310 comments.
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Hi,
My Daughter was bitten 4 times in 3 months. First bite was on her inter thigh then a week later her bottom
This is he forth bite in 3 months…
1 in Aug back of neck
2 in Sept on arm and inner thigh
1 on Monday worse of all of then 102.8 fever, flu like symptoms, muscle aches…
she had to get a shot in ER then massive med’s and if this does not get better
Hospital….
I’m being told that it’s a bite but NOT a Brown Recluse.
She was almost hospitalized today. This last one almost killed her so please don’t take them lightly!
If you have any idea of what might have caused this, please let me know!
Make everyday your BEST DAY
Mary
um this is scary stuff i am positive i’ve been bit by these things
but it just turns red makes me sick for a day if that and then go’s away
i think it’s time to spray.
thank you Jesus, for this web site.
This is to mary and her daughter, I have a bite that looks very similar to those, mine is much bigger. It is so painful and hard I didn’t see a spider bite me but I did find two big brown spiders that I killed (prior to being bit) and I did not look closely at it because I’m afraid of them. I have been marking it to track the spreading. The doctors did the same to me saying its a bite/sting but they don’t know what until it pops open or something. Here are my pictures:
The first photo below is at two days
and the picture below was taken today (third day).
my name is Kathy ,i don’t have a picture i have a place on the back of my leg and in the middle there is a dark spot and a red streak running from it and the pain drives me crazy, what should i do how can i take care of it at home.
that article was grose but very intresting to me to read and i learned alot about spiders thanx.
I think I was bitten by a brown recluse on tuesday night aka i noticed a small white like pimple on my stomach and now its getting bigger and red i feel like a knot around where it is (navel) area can some1 tell me what to do im afraid of the doctors
Hey, I was bitten by what I think was a spider about a week and a half ago. Now, I did go to the doctor about it yesterday, and he said it looked like a brown recluse bite to him, but he was surfing the net at the time to figure out treatment options and what exactly it was, and honestly, I think he may be a little wacky. The reason I have difficulties thing A recluse did it is because it didn’t have the tissue eating effect. It really is horrendously painful, and it is a large red welt, the red outer circle getting so large that if I ball my right hand into a fist and hold it over it, it doesn’t cover the entire area. The is a single white spot in the center, which is very swolle, peeling, and red/brown/purple/blue. My skin in the center has become scaly due to the peeling, and it is so sensitive and tender that if even my shirt sleeve hem lightly brushes it, it’s excruciating. It sends random bolts of highly concentrated pain through my whenever it feels the need to I guess. I would really like to know what type of spider did this, if it actually is a brown recluse or whatever. I’ve begun a cycle of antibiotics now, but it would greatly ease my mind to know what kind of creatures I’m dealing with here, as the house I was bitten in is where my three month old nephew lives, and I want to know who’s living with him. So if anyone can help me out, please do!
I was bitten last night in my work shop by what I believe to be a brown recluse. It started out looking like a bee sting and feeling that way . By 4 this morning I had broken out in a red welping rash all over my body,the bite is now the size of a coffee cup mouth, but is not perfectly round,it is hard feels like it is on fire ,the outher edges are a lite pink,then it goes to darker red ,and is purples,blue with a white spot right in the middle. I have gone to the doctor they gave me a styroid shot,antibodic shot,and a benadryl shot.
The doctor gave me a pain med anticbodic to take by mouth and steroid. I am still having pain and hot flashes getting sick to stomach, throughing up .feels like someone taking hot poker and continually poking my thigh where the bite is.
I got bit on Thursday at sometime I didn’t even feel the bite. I was in a lot of pain that night and the next. I had a friend look at she said it was a spider bite to go see the Dr. I went in on a Saterday to the Dr. she cut it open and tryed to drain it out. Now it is Tuesday I am still in pain I am on bactrum Twice a day for 2weeks. My bite is on the back of my neck and is about the size of the back of my hand. I can’t see it to tell you what it looks like just how it feels. Oh, by the way I live in northern Arkansas and think this may be a brown recluse bite.
I came home and changed shirts around 2am tuesday morning. I felt something on my back/side and when I reached around I grabbed something in my hand, it was a spider. I must’ve killed it when I grabbed it. I went to lay down for bed. an hour later I started coughing really bad. I couldn’t breathe and it felt like fluid filled my lungs. all night I had trouble sleeping as I thought I was catching the flu. I woke up at 6am and took a hot bath. around 10 am I had to take my sister to the airport. I could barely move. I was coughing, couldn’t catch my breath, my head hurt so bad, I had chills and when I finally muscled up enough strength to get out of the bathroom I dry heaved so hard that I almost collapsed.
I dropped my sister off at the airport and then drove home (don’t remember the drive). I was so weak I fell asleep in the car for over an hour. When I got in I felt my back start to hurt. I looked in the mirror and I noticed a red mark about an inch in diameter. I grabbed the spider and put it in a baggie, researched online. then a friend told me to go to the doc now. so I went. the doc said it was a brown recluse and by 2pm it was already turning purple and some skin has come off. she gave me hdrocodone for pain, some meds for nausea and antibiotic. she told me not to work until friday.
Today I looked and it’s about 2 inches or so in diameter and purple and blue with a white crater. it hurts so much. I cried all the way to the store to get my prescription. I’ve been putting cold compresses on it but as I do research I see that it is only going to get worse. That’s scary. I hope it gets better. I go back to the doc on friday to look at it.
I think I got bit by a brown recluse lastnight, i’m not sure. I never felt anything bite me but all of a sudden my foot started burning and stinging, when I looked down at my foot it was red, swollen and had a huge knot in it. At this point I had already been in the house for a while when it started hurting. I showed my husband and we think it’s a spider bite. He got bit about a year and a half ago in the woods on Camp Lejeune doing some training, and it looks similar to his bite when we first found it. Today it’s swollen with a red dot in the middle and the side and it still has the knot. My foot is extremely sore, so my husband told me to go to the doctor. I’m going today at 315pm.
Okay so last night i was bitten 13 times by a spider when i was sleeping. theres 8 “pimple-like” marks on my left thigh, 2 on the back of my left leg, and 2 on the right back leg. they didn’t hurt much except for when i went to pop them. however a few hours ago i experienced pain when walking in an area id like not to discuss, and i noticed another bite there. this morning i was looking in the mirror when i saw a spider near me, and it looked somewhat similar to the one in the brown recluse pictures for the few seconds i saw it. I’ve been a little itchy but i feel that it just mite be me being paranoid. should i seek medical attention soon because of where the bites are, or could it be something else?
On Wednesday morning, I laid my leg over the top of the covers and got bit by a brown recluse. I found the spider in my bed after I got up. Knew immediately that I had gotten bit because of the burning in my leg.
I went to the doctor who gave me bactrim. Took one pill and broke out in hives all over my trunk. The doc thought it was from the bactrim but now I think it is a reaction to the spider bite. My skin is red to purple all along the right side of my body from neck to knee. I itch horribly and the bite is extremely painful.
The first picture is of the spider bite on Friday, two days later.
The second pic is on Sunday, 4 days later.
The white streaks are from the baking soda and water paste that I have put on the bite to draw out the poison. It still hasn’t made an ulcer but is extremely painful. The bite is on the right inner thigh.
I live in Oklahoma. Our house is nestled in trees and we have always found brown recluse spiders in our house because of the trees but this is the first time in 17 years that any of us has been bitten. I have put out sticky mouse traps again. In the past they have helped to reduce the inside spider population, sometimes the traps are covered with spiders and other creepy crawly bugs.
I would encourage anyone who lives in Midwest to get spider or mouse traps. This has been a very painful experience and I don’t want to go thru it again.
ps I have not had my house sprayed and I probably will not because the traps do help when you get an infestation and I don’t have to worry about what the chemical spraying is doing to our health.
Thanks for the information on your website it has helped.
Patti
I was bit by a brown recluse about 8 years ago on my left breast. It was during the night. I was woke up like I was having an allergy attack to something. It was about 3am, I got up, took a bath, then gave myself an allergy shot. I went back to bed and tried to sleep but I was very restless.
I gave myself the shot you usually give for bee stings so your throat doesn’t swell to the point of not being able to breathe. By about 7am I still was feeling shaky and feverish but I went on to work anyway. By about 9am at work red streaks were starting to run up my neck and I had a terrible headache and was very sick. My supervisor told me I needed to get to the doctor.
As soon as my doctor looked at the bite on my breast he said that I had the bite from a brown recluse. He then referred me to a dermatologist that he knew that specialized in this sort of bite. When I saw the dermatologist he prescribed me dapsone I think is the name of the drug. It is the same drug they give people with leprosy. He said the drug helps to break up the poisons in the body because it usually will attack certain organs.
I went back to work from there and told my supervisor that I was going to take vacation time because I felt so sick. I came home and because I had allergy syringes I took one of the syringes, put directly in the bite, pulled out as much fluid as I could from the bite. I then washed it and then put a raw potato on the bite.
I had to go to the dermatologist nearly every day to have my blood checked with the medecine he gave me. After about 2 weeks when I went to the dermatologist, he said he could not believe how my bite had healed. He said he had never seen anyones bite like I had heal like it did. I told him what I did but it was like it went in one ear and out the other. But he did say that when he first saw me that he didn’t say it at the time but he thought I would have to have reconstructive surgery on my breast because it looked so bad. My breast at the time was a bluish purple and almost black.
I also noticed after a few days what I thought was a second bite, but the doctor told me that the brown recluse bite is like electricity, it bites you in one place and the poison somehow comes out in another so you think you have two bites. But, I was really fortunate. I had little scaring and no rotting like I have seen on so many pictures.
I believe by drawing out as much of the poison as I could and then putting a raw potato on the bite made all the difference. I just kept changing the raw potato when the fever in my breast would feel hot. I also would put ice packs on my neck for comfort. I hope this helps someone if they ever get a bite from a brown recluse.
By the way I also live in Oklahoma. We cannot get rid of the recluse in our house even after having it sprayed several times. It did cut down the amount that we find, but we still have to be careful!
Jan, In Oklahoma
I live in pa in got bit by a brown recluse spider in july i was in the hospital for 4 days on antibiotics i broke out in a rash almost like my bite but I keep getting the sores all over and nothing i do stops it i’m starting to get them on my face and they are very painful I’m covered in them and i keep getting more I’m always tired and dizzy with headaches the doctors around here are clueless can someone please help or give me ideas of what to do.
I have never been bitten by a spider, but if I ever get bitten I will take Vitamin C every hour. A nutritionist said that it would help. I know that I take it for infections and the flu and it really helps if taken soon enough. I would take 2 or 3 grams every hour. Vitamin E is good for scars.
My friend was told to put it on her son’s leg when he was bitten by a brown recluse. Keeping your immune system in good shape will probably help fight lots of things. Beta Carotene keeps me and my son from getting sick with colds and flu.
It is amazing what your body can do to fight against bacteria and infections when you are healthy. I have read that Chinese chlorella absorbs heavy metals in your body. Maybe it would help absorb other things.
I had a spider bite about 28 years ago. I found a very small dead baby spider in my bed next to my leg, the next morning. The bite woke me up, with my leg twitching and muscles hurting and then it itched something horrible. It has itched now for 28 years. The sunken skin, light brown, was biopsied by my dermatologist, in Sept. She said it came back, as a poisonous insect bite. It still itches and now it is turning red around the rim of the volcano- like sunken skin. How in the world can I get rid of this?
How can it still itch after 28 years? Shouldn’t that be impossible?
Jackie Hamilton
I recently had a small bump on my right breast underneath my arm. It was irritated and sore. Later it hurt very bad but was not real large. I popped it and squeezed but nothing came out. There is no evidence of pus or drainage. Now two days in it is about the size of a dime. It is very bright red around the edge of the wound and it is literally black in the middle. I have tried draining it and it appears dry.When I attempted to remove the black area with a small scapel it didn’t even bleed very much! I really hate hospitals and have no medical insurance right now. Do you have any helpful info? I will go purchase some comfrey salve tomorrow.
Hello,
Back in May of 2006, I was bitten by a brown recluse spider on my lower leg. It was extremely painful and as you can see from the pictures below, it was very large.
If you think you have been bitten, please, seek medical help!
Tim
I was bit about a year ago by a recluse, it took about a month to heal, but ever so often it will start to itch very badly in the same place and look like a mosquito bite and go away within a day or two. is this normal?
I was bitten by something, I do not know what it was but I fear that I have a brown recluse spider bite. All I know is that I felt it when it bit me on my left thigh. I jumped out of my bed and through back the cover, I saw nothing. Before I got in my bed I had just put on clean bedclothing and turned the room around. I felt pain like I never had when it came to a bite. It itches and hurt for a while. I played it off until Monday when I noticed that I had a big knot, it was a circle on my thigh about 2×2 wide. And my left thigh was on fire, hurt to touch and it was and still is, hard to touch.
The doctor told me that it was a spider bite, and she could not lance it because it had not come to head. But she gave me some Batrum to take. I do not know what the strength is. I took this medication before and i never had a problem. I have to take them for 2 weeks and go back to the doctor. I take a clear-Atadine 10mg. It helped me with the itching. And later that night I was itching everywhere and had big blister on my breast, stomach, under my arms. I put Benadryl cream on the itching, which helped a lot.
The doctor wants it to come to a head or bust. She told me to soak in hot water. Put Peroxide and alcohol on it. O.K I was in the tube and it busted. And right now it is not hurting like it has all the week. She also told me not to sween it. And so far it is running like crazy. Just like all the other people were saying about their bite, my bite is doing the same.
I pray to God that I never get bitten again. I hope that I do not loose any of tissue on my thigh. It is now sunken in, in the area where I was biten. What else can I do. I just hate these spiders! Every time I see a spider from now on, he belongs to me. Don’t know if this will help or not, but this web site help me out a lot. I am more careful Brown Recluse Spider.
What is going to happen next, now that it has busted? Today is November 17, 2007. And I am moving out of this invested house.
While visiting family I was bitten by a brown recluse on my forearm in OK. Everyone told me it was a mosqiuto bite, but it itched severly. In less than 24 hours the next morning I had a dime size blister. Accidentally popped it and yellowish goo oozed out. My grandmother put her hand cupped over the blister and said that it felt “warm” and said that meant something (not sure if that meant anything).
My mother brought me to the doctors immediately. They took my blood, gave me a anti-venom shot, a topical cream, and I believe a oral medicine(can’t quiet remember I was 9or10). My sister’s friend previously had a recluse bite on her leg and put ice on it which she said saved her….so I listen to my sister’s advice and put ice on it 24/7 which kept the “fever” of the bite down.
A couple of days later I caught an air-borne allergy which gave me a purple rash and an additional medicine. The bite was smaller now, but still had blackish-blue(dead flesh) showing and felt very warm (around area of the bite) and rings of red around it, unless I kept the ice on. At 1st they thought they may have to dig the flesh out, but in the end didn’t. I was advised by the doctor to keep it from warm/hot areas.
If I had listened to that I believe it would have been much worse. So whether the ice made a difference or not, I think it did.
I live in Littleton, Co. an area in which I didn’t think was native for the brown recluse but I awoke at 5:30am to use the restroom and all was fine. I went back to bed and woke up again at 7:30am to find a dime size purple area on my Right lower leg just lateral to my knee. The purple area was surrounded by a white area of skin which what surrounded by a reddened area which was surrounded by a darker red area. By the next day the red and white area had disapeared and the purple area was a blister which lasted for 3 days. It has been 1 week now and the area is necrotic. It is almost black, looks worse than a scab and looks like it may be even deeper. Could this be a brown recluse bite?
i’m convinced after seeing the doc that what I have is a brown recluse
bite. I was put on antibiotics and I am awaiting the healing process, which I hear is quite long
My name is Andrew, I live in South Africa, Cape Town. My dad 2 days ago was bitten by, we think a violin/brown recluse spider. it bit him when he was sleeping on Thursday night. Think he must have rolled over it or something. His leg has a white blister on it and the surrounding area’s are swollen. We have taken him for medical treatment. Does anyone know if we should take him to hospital because it is now Sunday and there is no change in his legs from the antibiodics?
Can someone please tell me what would be the best thing to do??
what is the death rate of a recluse spider bite??
yeah i was going to go work out earlier today and i lifted up my weights and 2 brown recluses crawled out i was freaking out then i kept looking and i found 7 more and now im completly freaked haha but now that ive disturbed them i afraid they are goin to come in the house and that would be bad
I am not sure if i was bit by a Brown Recluse Spider but if I was, I hope I don’t end up like those pictures!
My friend got bit by a brown recluse spider last week. After seeing his physician, he is taking 2 different types of antibiotics. The doctor said there is a possibility that he may lose his finger. It formed a volcanic type lesion and exploded. It is crucial that you seek medical treatment immediately. He waited too long and now may end up losing his finger.
hi my name is taylor and my brother was bittin by a brown recluse on his hip he said it hurt for a while he squeezed it and pus came out im worried about it sincerly taylor fisher
i’ve just read most of the comments re the recluse spider bite, and I am jealous about having access to proper treatment! I was bitten on 3 days ago and managed to catch the spider and positively ID it, but as I am in a mountain in central honduras I have no access to a real doctor until i can take a 4 hour bus trip to the city on monday! (my pregnancy was confirmed here and declared a girl at 2wks gestation by kineaseolgy!) I have been in absolute agony, and all I can do is ask the small pharmacy in town for topical treatments due to pregnancy (have all been useless. when i first went in I was given calamine lotion, then an anti allergy cream!) have been trying to find out as much info as possible on the internet since in order to treat it the best i can, but fear it will be too late by the time I get to a doctor! (too late as in left with a gaping festering wound!) until then, i appreciated everyone’s comments and have written a list of the reccomendations above to take back to the pharmacy. thankyou!
Okay I was bitten last week on wednesday, I was asleep so I didn’t know. The next day I went to school and around my 2nd period class it started itching badly. I kept itching it and that day I went to my girlfriends house to stay the night. I changed and we looked at it. My girlfriend and I said it might be a bug bite or maybe even a spider bite.
The next day on Friday, we had to sit in the gym and do a few tests like weight, height, and flexability. It hurt when I stood up and I looked at the ‘bug bite’ It was red and it was hard in the center. When I had my friends look at it, since they were most of my girl friends, (The bite’s on the back of my thigh) My one friend. A spider bite expert in my group walks up from doing the tests and lookes at it. She looked at me and said it was a spider bite. I started to wonder what kind of spider it was and she showed me her arm. She had gotten a spider bite a few months before and kept going to the doctor. She told me that it could be a Brown Recluse and it worried me even more.
I got home that day and showed my grandmother, dad, and neighbor. My neighbor looked at it and said it was a spider bite. The same thing my friend had told me. They had both told me to go to the doctors. As the days progressed it seemed to get a bit worse every day. When I try to sleep my leg feels really still and then a sharp pain goes through it causing me to have violent flinches all the time. After a few more days my girlfriends mom gave me some Ichthammol Ointment. I put it on and the bite started to drain.
It’s been a whole 7 days since the bite. It’s gotten worse but it’s the pain that botheres me. When I went to take a bath tonight I didn’t think anything of the bite except that it would hurt when I got into the warm water. Boy was I wrong. When I sat down in the tub I wiped the bite off with a wet wash rag. That’s when I started to panic. When I wiped the medicine off with thw rag… some of my skin came with it. It scared me more than I already am! I paniced even more. I got out, grabbed a big towel and wraped it around me. Still dripping water I walked out of the bathroom and into the kitchen.
I showed my dad the bite and that’s when he said I needed to go to teh doctor. (Finally! After four days of me asking he finally said he’d take me!) I’m going to the doctor tomorrow and I hope the bite’s not to serious. I wouldn’t want them to do surgurey. I’m even more scared of spiders than I was before. I’m so scared that I might have to go for surgery or stay in the hospital for to long. (Like I haven’t missed to much school already from skipping class)
My mum was bitten by a brown recluse spider a couple years ago. I was… ten at the oldest. It had been living in her chair, and because she worked three jobs/went to night school she hadn’t sat in it for a while. Well, she did and she said it felt like a mosquito bite. No big deal. We lived in Katy, Texas at the time. Two days later, there was a small hole in the back of her leg.
Three: it had gotten bigger. There was no drainage, no pus, nothing like that. For her, the venom ate through her leg. She was studying to be a nurse at the time, so when she saw the underlying muscle (which you should never be able to see, duh) she went to the ER immediately. She hadn’t even noticed it until my little sister pointed it out to her; it was also numb so she didn’t feel it.
Because we were extremely poor at the time, they gave her the anti-venom or something like that, and these pieces of gauze that were soaked in some kind of liquid. We didn’t have the money for pain killers, so twice a day use three kids listened to her try to hold back her crying as she took out the old gauze and replaced it with the new. She likened it to alcohol straight into the blood stream. Luckily, it started to heal quickly.
When she could no longer get the gauze in and out of the wound, she had to pour the liquid in, let it sit for five to ten minutes, and then thoroughly rinse it out. It’s scarred over now, but it’s like a mini crater in the back of her right thigh. She told everyone the story about a million times when we moved to Leander, Texas some five years ago. Talk about spider infestation…
She freaked when I was stung by a scorpion. Luckily, my dad caught the scorpion and reassured my mum that it was non-poisonous. Wish I still had the pictures of her leg to share.
After giving birth to my daughter I was happy to be able to wear normal clothes again. I had never experienced a spider bite but because my clothes were packed for 9 months, a family of brown recluse made their home in my box. I slid on a pair of my favorite jeans, checked ‘em out and then took them off. After all, I’d just had a c-section and was still rather sore. A day later I’m feeling really ill, and then look down to see that the entire front of my stomach about 1.5″ above my incision is just blood red/black and filled with little blisters. I flipped out, called my surgeon and was rushed in to the office. They took one look and said, “Venomous bite”. Didn’t know what from but they asked a few questions as they debreeded the leision. Fortunately it didn’t do any irrepreble harm but a scar. One the size of 2 silver dollars and that was after being debreeded 3 times. That was in 1990. Here it is 2008 and I’ve still got the lasting scar of a very scary spider encounter. Don’t mess around. I still have no feeling in my stomach thanks to mr. spider. I wish I had known he was in my pants. He could have kept them!
thanks! I’m on my way to the E.R.!
It has been since July 30, 2006 since I was bitten by a brown recluse, today is Feb. 9,2008. I am still having trouble healing. My surgeon want’s to take it out. It is right on my face, Never does it heal up . Sometime’s it is almost gone, and then it’s back. It has been a year and a half. I did all the med’s.
Hi again! Yeah My spider bites gotten a lot better. When I had gone to the doctor he basically squeshed it until all the icky stuff was out. It hurt. (REALLY BAD) I was cluching to the bed like a cat trying to get out of the water. I was biting on me stuffed dog and crying. After that was over he said that he was going to cut out the dead skin and tissue and then pack it. Now, at the time I wasn’t so scared. Shaking and crying, yes. I watched the doctor as he pulled out two kinds of scissors. A small pair and a large pair. I’m not to sure what they did.. I was laying on my stomache the whole time and hiding my face in my stuffed dog. It didn’t hurt for a while… then the doctor pulled up a peice of my skin… and chopped it off! It hurt so back I wanted to scream… But… that was the last cut. I didn’t know that they had already cut out all the bad tissue… I couldn’t feel it.
They packed it and… it felt really funny. They covered it up and stuff and the doctor apologized for hurting me and said that I should be alright. They gave me special medicine and pills for it. Antibiotics… the pills hardly costed $10…. but the cream to go on the bite…. well… that was only $50…. heh. the pills were hard to swallow… since they were horse pills. I was limping for a while but now I’m all better. I wouldn’t say all better… the wound has healed and I have a bit of a scab there now.. it’ll be an interesting scar too…. but… now.. I have Aracniphobia… not to all spiders… but a lot of them… see… I only like spiders that will eat the bad ones. Not all of them are bad. ^_^ Well that’s all. I’m all better.
For people who get a spider bite, go to the doctor. Don’t let it just get worse. The doctor told me that if I would have waited about one more day, it would have turned into a staff infection. Spider bites are bad news! Get them checked out A.S.A.P.
2 weeks ago i was bitten by 3 brown recluses all up and down my arm. The bites have merged together into one long oval. It is painful to move because its spread across my elbow. be careful around these things.
I have been bit twice by a brown recluse spider. Once on the back of my leg, and (now) on the front on my thigh. My first thought was either folliculitis or staph infection. Wrong, obviously.
Tip # 1: NEVER SQUEEZE THE BITE!!!! There is a “core” in the middle of the bite that goes deeper and deeper as days pass, and as you squeeze and squeeze. The core is what is eating all your tissue and “meat” up. If you have to relieve the pressure, dont squeeze it together.. kind of “spread” it apart. It will hurt like hell, but it helps afterwards.. you might want to get someone to do it for you.. grap the tweezers in case the core starts coming up.. pull it out.
Tip # 2: Seek Medical Attention ASAP – even if you don’t think it’s a brown recluse bite – it could be – so don’t take chances.
Tip # 3: Never wait for it “To clear up on it’s own” – I almost lost my leg due to this method.
Please help,
I am was bitten by something about 2 months ago, in Naugatuck, Connecticut. I have seen scary, brown , big spiders in my basement, but have no speciman. I was bitten about 2 months ago, and never felt it. I have 2 small children, 4 and 7, who sleep with me, one day I must have rolled over on something. It was itching, and did’nt seem to heal, yet I ignored it. I do recognize that I constantly have chills, and an 8 inch diameter of numbness around whatever bit me. I can’t feel anything on my left hip to the touch, I see none of these sypmtoms on any websites. Can you point me to a path? Thank You.
Okay what you really NEED to do is go to the doctor. If it gets any worse it can turn into staff. Which could get plenty worse. You should check your children too. If you haven’t already. You might want to get something to kill those spiders in your basement too.
i recently got bit by two spiders one on my hip and one on my left ring finger…they hurt and after reading this article i will seek treatment …i kinda figured they were spider bites seeing as it would not be my first brown recluse bite, but being stupid i put off seeking treatment now im in pain and my joints on my left hand are swollen and burning and the pain is intolerable…very informative article
It’s always a good thing to get any kind of bite checked out. Even if it’s not a brown recluse bite, I’ve permanent bruising from them. It’s not really fun. Not only that it helps to research the spiders and other critters before you move into any new place. Make sure to check your new house before you really start moving into it. Also, check your belongings while unpacking. It’s a very good way to make sure that you don’t have any “hitch-hikers” I ‘ve learned to make sure that I’ll never get another bite like I did.
i was bitten monday (2-25-08) night while i was sleeping something bite me my hand is swollen i have 3 bites on it and my face has a bite on the cheek that is red and itchy with what looks like small blisters that leaks a clear liquid as for my hand it just itches and is swollen the bites look like moskito bites or flea bites but its winter so i know it cant be that what do you think it is and should i go to the doctor i hate doctors they cost to much.
EWE!!! U guys seriously- ur freakin people out badly about getting bit so there not living there life and worrying to much about being bit… STOP!!! Plus not all people are affected.
I have had two incidents of what I believe are Brown Recluse Spider bites, the first was on my calf, about midway up the outer side of it. I had a black spot about the size of a nickle, and my whole leg below the knee was turning blood red and it was too sore to walk on, It felt like ground up hamburger, the only way I know how to describe it. It, as usual with any thing drastic, happened on a holiday, so I was so desparate to stop the pain, I greabbed our cattle medications, DMSO and Penicillin G injectible, and put it on my leg topically, almost immediately the pain started to get better, the swelling and the redness subsided and I felt so much better, not as frightened about it as I had been. I treated it for a few more days and that was that, it was almost well.
Right now, I have about 5 black spots on my foot, on is on my heel, mostly on the inside edge of the sole of my foot, and the others are on the top of my ankle and down to the back of the other side of my heel. I treated it with DMSO and Liquimyicin, and then switched over to Penicillin G. It is much better, but not well. I thought it was just from when a dog stood on my foot, I thought it was a very slight puncture from his toe nail to begin with, so I didn’t take such drastic measures, as I resorted to when it showed all of the characteristics of a Brown Recluse bite. Learned my lesson on that. Don’t ever wait around to get to a doctor if you know you have a bite. I haven’t in either case untill the pain became severe, which is sudden and unrelenting.
I believe I was bit by a BRS about 1 month ago. At first it just looked like a in grown hair but it got so red and sore. I started icthing at it, and it just got worse. There was no head on it, my sister tried to pop it for me because it hurt way to much for me to do it. Nothing came out it just hurt worse. I put alcohol on it, but it kept getting worse. 2 days later I called out of work, and went to the ER. The doctor is not sure if it was spider bite, or staph. He put me on 2 very strong antibiotics,(by this time it was black, blue and blood red.) I’m now almost healed all the way, but it leaked brown and yellow liquid 1 day after I started the medicine and did not stop for weeks! It was almost the size of a half dollar before it started healing. When the pus would come out, my leg would tense up so tight I was limping for days. I’m so happy it’s almost gone, it’s got a peeling thing going on now, but no pain, or pus THANK GOD. To anyone else, just run to the doctor, even if your not sure, it is not worth what it could be.
Spider bites need to be shocked. There is a DR. in Texas treating brown recluse bites with shock therapy. It works!!!
Most of the things described here describe folliculitis. This condition is best treated by incision and drainage, warm compresses and in the event of systemic problems antibiotics. (Antibiotics usually are not required but are almost always given.) 70% of the time this is MRSA nowdays.
By contrast a true brown recluse bite will usually not have pus. Like snakes bites the brown recluse will not waste it’s venom on something it can’t eat. In those bites were venom is injected (usually painlessly) a blister will develop in 1-3 days. Good news venom is used < half the time, so it is not worth treating a brown recluse bite even if you know that is what happened. Bad news if a blister develops it is too late to treat. There is no known effective treatment for a brown recluse bite. Dapsone and hyperbarics may help. This blister will usually turn purple days 3-7 and may scab over. Now you really know it is a brown recluse bite. This will become an ulcer (open sore) and may take 1-3 month to heal with scarring. If you are sent to a surgeon, they are paid to do surgery and almost always debride (cut away dead tissue) these, statistically the only change in outcomes with doing this is increased scarring.
Do you need to see a doctor for this? I think yes. Risks include: anaphylaxis, tetanus, and secondary infections. The Dapsone might be helpful too.
Is the bite black at first?
I was bitten twice by a brown recluse in the span of a couple hours while serving in the Army in South Korea. I was given anti-biotics and the areas affected turned white with the area around the bite turned a red. Hours later while taking a shower, the white substance burst from my leg, it was very painful. I feel very blessed that I did not have to go through all the situations that I have read about other bites.
It’s regrettable that the medical community will not look into natural methods of treating the spider bite.
We have talked with thousands of Brown Recluse bite victims over the last 4 years and we have learned a lot of important things of what NOT to do if bitten by a Brown Recluse:
1. Do not apply heat. The number one mistake made by many is choosing to apply heat to the bite wound. Applying heat to a Brown Recluse bite wound will accelerate tissue destruction. Instead, you will want to apply a ice-pak to decrease pain, swelling and assist in inhibiting the tissue-destroying venom.
2. Do not assume that antibiotics will neutralize the venom. They do nothing to stop necrosis. Antibiotics are usually prescribed as a normal ‘wound management’ precaution against infection.
3. Do not engage in strenuous activities. This can spread the spider’s venom on your skin.
4. Do not apply do not apply camphor, phenol, or other household disinfectants.
So what should you do if bitten?
If you see a mark on your skin that you think may resemble a spider bite, examine the bite very closely. If it is a spider bite, there will be two separate “fang marks” about 1/16th of an inch apart. Not all bite wounds become necrotic, but if it does the next step is for the fang marks and surrounding tissue to eventually turn darker. The surrounding skin will be red in color. The dark color is the first sign that necrosis has begun. Necrosis is the death of living tissue.
If there is only one puncture present, the bite was more likely made by a mosquito, deer fly, or other insect. It may also be a sting or a thorn puncture.
Here are the steps to take if you are bitten:
1) Try to find the spider that bit you if possible so that you can bring it to a doctor who knows how to identify Brown Recluses. He will likely prescribe antibiotics.
2) Apply an ice-pak to the wound as soon as possible. This will help slow the activity of sphingomyelinase D, the protein thought to be responsible for tissue destruction.
3) If you know how to make an activated carbon poultice, apply it to the wound immediately. It will help draw out the venom. You’ll need to keep applying it every few hours at first, but then decrease the frequency as the wound heals. Don’t use just any old activated carbon. You’ll need carbon with a very high surface area per ounce to be effective. Don’t use plain powder or it won’t work. You need to mix it with some kind of liquid (to create a poultice) for it to draw out any venom.
Step 3 is what our product consists of. In our brown recluse first aid kit, we include the high-grade carbon and an herbal solution to mix it with to make a poultice. We also include full directions on how to make the poultice and when/where to apply it.
I encourage people to familiarize themselves with step three for healing the bite wounds. The medical community doesn’t do anything other than “wound management.” We have tons of testimonials of people who saved their limbs and a lot of pain and $$$ by using the poultice.
Thanks,
Tom
brown-recluse.com
Wow, I think i got bit by a spider about 3 days ago and it turned into a scab… i was curious to know if it could be a brown recluse…(i live in ishpeming upper Michigan) are brown recluses up here?
I was bit last week and I’m assuming it was a brown recluse while I was sleeping it became very swollen and irritated and come Saturday it became very painful and the pain would not go away. so Sunday I went to the emergency room where they cut it open and drained it leaving a big deep gash in my thigh, and today I feel terrible like I have the Flu and I also have a fever. if I would of waited another day i probably would of had to stay in the hospital. Also Friday I seen my primary care physician and he put me on bactrim ds for an antibiotic.
I’m wondering if the brown recluse spider is known to be in the Cabo San Lucas area of Mexico. I returned from there and have what I think could be a bite from this type of spider. I don’t remember seeing one, but have strange bites on my shoulder blade that are rather painful.
i have been bitten by a brown rescluse more than once. the first time was the worst, with skin turning black and a whole in the middle. i believe it did not get worse as some pictured here because i took large doses of vitamin c. however each successive time, the bite has been less severe, i believe i read somewhere you can develop a tolerance to the venom. and yes i was bitten again yesterday. this time i didnt feel the bite, but noticed later after shower the bite,itching with blisters leading away. i am having fever and vomiting today, but have been putting tea tree oil on it. the qtip is clear when i dip into the tea tree oil and yellow after i treat the area. but still feeling pretty crummy.hoping this bite will not be as bad as previous ones.
I was bit in May of 2002 in my left knee. At first it seemed as though it was a pimple. The next day it was a little larger and my knee was severely sore. I then went to a baseball game on the 3rd day and had a horrible time. Every time someone walked by my seat and lightly inadvertently brushed against my knee I was astonished at just how painful a bite could be!
I started to get worried and a friend knew a doctor who came into the bar I worked at. So he gave me chephylexin. That took away my fever however the necrosis continued. Day by day it got worse, however during this time I met 2 other people bitten by brown recluses that year, both had skin grafts but they were in very fleshy areas, so I actually waited longer thinking well I was bit on top of the knee.
My wound eventually was slightly larger than a quarter, during 10 days it just ate away flesh and skin and almost reached my kneecap. I decided I waited long enough. I could barely walk and I was so tired of cleaning it with nepsporin and peroxcide 4-5 times a day. I do believe applying these may have helped with slowing down the deterioration.
I finally went to the hospital and they confirmed it was a BRS bite, they cut out the damaged tissue, routed it and almost immediately I felt better, I went back to the bar, worked until close and almost immediately i noticed my hole was filling up liquid.
I later learned that was our bodies way of regrowth for tissue. The only thing I can say is WOW- I WAS really BIT BY A BROWN RECLUSE SPIDER. I wish I would have taken photos of the 10 days.
I live in Pennsylvania and as far as my research shows, BRS are not native here, I think they are here. Another friend of mine the next year was bit by one in her thigh 2X and have to have major surgeries to repair the tissue lost.
One thing I believe is this, I worked in a bar that advertised 500 different beers. She worked in a bar that brought in a lot of micro brews, not as many but a lot. Maybe these spiders hitched a ride and that is how they made it to our presence.
I do not remember being bit and neither did she. Not sure how I could miss a big ugly spider knawing away at my knee but I will never know.
That is the most disgusting thing iv ever seen in my life and i was scared to get bit by one of those spiders before i saw those pictures!!
I live in southwest Missouri and last year my friend got bit by a brown recluse on the foot!!!! He said his shoes were wet so he put them out to dry and the next morning he just put them on and was bitten!!!! hes okay he had to walk on crutches for about a month, i cant remember exactly how long. he is fine now i haven’t seen his foot since so i don’t think the bites will always cause permanent damage because he runs track really good and everything. So if u leave your shoes out to dry or have brown recluses around the house please check your shoes, and don’t reach in with your hand!!!!! And the reason im on this website is because about 15 minutes ago i spotted what looked like a brown recluse crawling up my wall and i killed it. I learned what the brown recluses looked like in my biology class and i remembered that there is a VIOLIN SHAPE right behind its head, so thats an easy way to remember. but im not sure if it was or not so i was just browsing. this is a good website by the way!!! So if i get bitten ill try to post pics on the website and tell you about it!!! :{
Hey, I live in Saudi Arabia and I was once bitten by a Brown Recluse on my left chest. Initially I felt no pain or any of the above symptoms but in about 2-3 days after the bite, small blisters started developing and it was really painful.
I believe the spider hid inside my bra, so please be careful and check before you put on your cloths!
Hi there, I was bitten 5 months ago by a spider, I did not find the spider so I am not sure what was it, I did not pay any with attention until 2 days later started to fill tired and flu like symptoms, my leg was very sensitive.
On the third day I called the DR he gave me 2 shots, antihistamines and Neosporin , fortunately the infection he said was caught on time. I was fine for 4 months just with a big spot of dried skin as a reminder, but yesterday I felt itchiness around the spot and its a bit swollen and red with a little heat.
Can this happen?? the odds of a new spider bitting the same spot seems to me very unlikely, so can the infection or venom re activate??? I called my DR again and I am taking claritine and neosporin.
This is a bit scary whats going on? I was never afraid of spiders but now I HATE THEM! annoying and dangerous little things
I’m from Texas and also think that I was bit by a recluse spider on my wrist. I started out with a small hole that I itched, and next it is a small black kinda ate out hole about the size of the end of a pen cap. the area is swollen and getting worse by the day.
This started Sat and its now Monday, I’ve made an appointment with the dr. cause I’m really scared after looking at some of these photos. I can feel it start to burn a little from the redness and getting swollen by the hours.
I have more bites, but living in a wooded area I always get bits by something working in the yard. This will not look pretty, since I work in a law office building. Well, my appointment is in 30mints so I’ll will keep you posted.
J from Santa Fe, Texas
I’m not sure if I’m experiencing long term effects from what i believe was a bite by a brown recluse. i had a volcano type of legion about 1and 1 half in. high and half dollar round pus filled and what seemed to have 2 fang holes after i lanced and squeezed the pus out. It was extremely painful and lasted about 4-6 weeks.
My ongoing problem is i keep getting similar pus filled legions on different parts of my body. i have one right now on the top of my foot i wish i had a camera to send a picture. about one week after the first bite went away,a painful legion similar to the 1st one appeared between my toes i went to the doctor and all they said was it was just an abscess and i shouldn’t be to worried. this sore i have now makes the 7th or 8th one since the first.
I live in South east Michigan..This is my second such bite shown in the picture below:
My kids have had them also. Definitely need medical attention, again, and the Dr. asked, “have you tried catching this thing?” Of course, but I haven’t found him..Dr. suggested I bait him with an ant..we don’ have ants, maybe that’s why. Good possibility of the brown recluse, which is rare in MI. but is not impossible. They must be hitching a ride on a big rig. The black on top is what makes the brown recluse suspect. You can see the fangs so definitely spider.
Any suggestions..??
Kathy
On Saturday – I was repotting in the front yard. I saw a mosquito on my arm – and smacked it away. I didn’t get to finish potting and on Monday night – decided to clean up my mess. There was a particularly strong and old ivy plant that had taken over this huge pot. I decided to pull on my gloves, chop what I could off, and finally grabbed the base with both hands and pulled. That next morning – I had the worst stomach pains, fever, and chills. My body was aching all over. I went to the doctor who gave me antibiotics. I didn’t even think to show him the bite – as I thought it was a mosquito bite.
The bite kept growing, turned all white one day, and by Thursday had developed a hard top. My entire body was covered in red flat bumps – my face experienced the worst of it. I couldn’t figure out what was going on. Here I am always nauseous, hot/cold, trouble with my asthma, and covered in bumps with a heinous red bite on my left forearm.
I went back into the Dr and showed him my rash. Then he saw my arm and asked where I got that. I never saw the spider so I thought it was a mosquito bite still. He just sighed and said – that solves everything. He gave me a strong steroid to take as well as allergy medicine to reduce the bumps. Advises me to call if the blister opens. It is day two of medication and at least the bite has stopped growing.
My father said it was a Brown Recluse bite because he had one before…a long time ago. Still has a scar.
Tony,
Are you by any chance in construction work? My son gets those a lot also. (also had a spider bite previously). A medical Dr. suggested a supplement from a health food store…Red Clover…supposed to remove toxins from the body..he just started taking it..He stills gets them but they’re not as bad and heal quicker..We are hoping they will stop with time.
Kathy
I woke up itching my leg in the middle of the night two nights ago. In the morning i looked at it real quick and thought it was just a flea bite. Later I looked close and saw two small fang holes. I washed it and put on hydrocot. cream for the itching.
It started to get red and swollen by the evening. I looked at a few web sites and went to the ER. The doc thought it was just a tick bite, until i mentioned the fang marks. And I was running a fever. I was given antibiotics, bactroban ointment,and tetnus shot. I was also told if the redness got bigger to come back for IV antibiotics. It did look a little better the next day, just oozing a little. I am on the oral antibiotics for the next week. Perhaps a Brown Recluse spider bite, we are not sure.
I too felt stupid going to the ER for a bug bite, but if I didn’t it would have gotten a lot worse than it is. I am just praying it doesn’t get any worse. I think I caught it early thanks to the informative web site. I did not see any spider. And we just sprayed the house with” Home defense “.
wow this site is very interesting. i am very interested in this type of spider bite (brown recluse) as i have not really heard of it often. i live in Canada, and they are now living here in southern ontario. there have been a few cases of the brown recluse bite.
i would like to know more about the spider itself. if anyone has any valuable information to share about this spider, or how to treat the bite please email me at caity.hicks @ hotmail.com i am only 16 but i am very interested on learning more about this.its facinating how such a small creature can do so much tissue damage. do they use a neurotoxin to numb you when they bite so you do not feel pain right away?
if anyone knows any info please please contact me. i would like to know if there is an anti venom yet, and if there isn’t i would like to know if they are working on one or if they can even stop the effects from happening.a friend of mine got bit by a spider about a year ago and it laid eggs under her skin. the doctor told her that she was supposed to let the eggs hatch and then squeeze them out..but she ended up getting them cut out before they hatched. ever since that incident i have been facinated by spiders and spider bites in particular. again, if anyone has any info they would like to share with me about the brown recluse, please contact me.
Excellent site!
I have a doctor’s appointment in an hour for him to check out my BR bite. And it definitely IS a BR bite.
I’ve never been a spider lover. I’m even less of a spider lover now, although I do realize that God in His infinite wisdom made spiders for a reason. But, I have to tell you that this bite HURTS.
I’ve actually heard from an arachnid biologist at my university that the picture in the article is NOT a brown recluse bite. It’s just become so circulated as one people start to believe it. He explained how there’s many kinds of other infections that people get that even the doctors misdiagnose. Supposedly there’s a test out now that detects the actual brown recluse venom, but it hasn’t started circulating commercially yet.
pretty nasty and this is coming from a guy i caught one when i was walking through a dry patch the other day it scared the crapp out of me so i put it in a glass jar and let it die and then added it to my bug collection!
man 1 ugly spider bite
after looking at all the images and peoples responses i think i will go to the doctor if i have a big bump from a spider bite i also heard that they cant survive in winter because its to cold for them.
Hi, when I was in first grade I got bit by a Brown Recluse spider in the face. I was so scared I thought I was going to die!!!You see, a Brown Recluse spider bites and when it does puts vinum in you.Then the vinum starts to eat your insides then out ofcourse.I AM AFRAID OF ALL SORTS OF SPIDERS!!!!!!!!!!!But that happened 5 years ago.So I am fine,for now.
My father in law was bit by a brown recluse in May. He went to visit relatives in Missouri and when he came home he informed us that he had been biten by something but did not know when. We told him that it could have been a brown recluse. His hand started to get painful so he went to the emergency room us and was told that yes he was probably biten by a brown recluse and was given a shot. The following Monday he went to see his regular doctor who agreed and gave him another shot. After being followed for 6 weeks his hand started swelling . After two weeks like that his arm started swelling and he started developing lumps along the inside of his arm. After alot of fussing I finally got him to see a real doctor instead of a PA and he was admitted into the hospital for IV anitibiotics because he has developed septicemia . By this time the ulcer had spread to most of his hand.After 11 days in the hospital he is now going to have the veins in his arms stripped to remove the infection. He is 88 yrs old with dementia and it has been very hard on him.
Brow recluse spider bite are nothing to ignore that is for sure.
I was bitten about two and a half inches below and one inch in from my right knee by a brown recluse several years ago. I noticed the bite only after it began itching. I worked in a warehouse where dust mites were common and they also bite so I didn’t think much of the itch until I noticed the bump.
The bump itself (in the first few hours) resembled a mosquito bite except for the fact that it had a brown pinpoint spot in the center. I did not panic and simply told co-workers that I would keep an eye on it.
Several days passed and I noticed that there was a pain in what felt like the bone every time I used that muscle. I researched the recluse bite and found that raw garlic could help so I finely chopped some and placed it on my bite for 3 nights.
After the third night I woke up to find a blister about 3/4 of an inch long, 1/4-1/8 inches wide and about 1/2 in tall beneath the garlic and gauze.
I went to my doctor and he sent me to the spider bite unit at Vanderbilt Medical Center. The doctor diagnosed it as a recluse bite, cleaned out what little dead tissue was already present and prescribed me Erythromiacin (sp?), a leprosy medication to slow the decay and another med (I don’t remember).
It took over two weeks to completely reverse and begin healing. I have a very small scar, a small depression from the loss of tissue and a mysterious black “freckle” left over.
My body is very quick to heal and very strong immunity-wise. I was told it is very unusual for a body to react so lightly however I attribute some help to the garlic.
Sorry there are no pics; I never thought of it as I got around on crutches for two weeks.
On a side note: the Erythromiacyn contains a natural anti-venom to help fight the venom. I don’t remember the name of the leprosy medicine but that was strictly to hinder the decay of tissue from the venom.
ANY TIME YOU HAVE A SUSPICIOUS BUMP/BITE/MARK it is always best to seek medical attention. Not all emergency rooms are familiar with recluse bites or the recluse itself. I took a live recluse spider in a jar to my local ER for them to learn about it.
Eight days ago I was “stung,” I thought, by a wasp, etc. White circle with red, stinging center. Started taking 4,000-5,000 mg of Vitamin C each hour. The 2 1/2 X 3 1/2 inch oval of redness, itching, swelling, and pain stopped growing. I continued taking Vitamin C and it seemed to be improving.
Overnight I only took the C once. The next morning, 26 hours after the injury, the area looked worse than shortly after it happened. It was angry red, swollen, itching, stinging, and was several degrees hotter than surrounding skin. Got online and became convinced it was a spider bite. Have known several people with spider bites and what the doctors did didn’t help them until it was time for surgery to remove necrotic tissue.
The antibiotics, narcotics, steroids, didn’t do diddly so I didn’t want to go that route. Went online and googled “spider bite + Vitamin C.” Unbelievably the dose of Vitamin C recommended was 10,000 mg every 20 minutes. (Yes, that’s 10 grams). I have cured stings, shingles, colds, etc with what I thought was big doses of Vit C….6-7 grams per hour. Whatever amount it takes to get to “bowel tolerance”. If unfamiliar with that term google “bowel tolerance + Vit C”. Since the wound was ominous looking I took the 10 grams every 20 minutes for over 2 hours and still had not reached bowel tolerance, but it was looking MUCH better. Must have been some serious toxin. Oh yes, was also having headache and felt fatigued. That too got better.
Headache was gone after 2 hours. Now at 8 1/2 days after the bite the wound is 97% well, but I am still taking lots of Vit C because if I forget…the redness and itching start to come back, but as soon as I take 4-5 grams it’s o.k.. (Don’t need as much C now as the toxin level is much lower.) So will continue to take as much as possible, depending on work schedule. Oh, I also made a paste of Vit C and water and rubbed it onto the wound. Don’t know if it helped or if all the improvement was internal. I will continue dosing with the C for several days after all sign of the injury is gone. Spider bites are nothing to fool around with but if the C treatment gets rid of it in two weeks…I will feel very fortunate. Have not taken anything for pain, has not been needed though I think without the huge amounts of C there would have been plenty of pain.
I used a Sharpie to outline the wound so I could know if it was growing or shrinking but didn’t think to make photos. Wish I had…the difference between then and now is remarkable. The wound took several days to shrink but it was very obvious that the redness was decreasing and normal skin color was showing up within the area. I know I will have to be diligent about watching this for quite a while, but am very pleased with the improvement. If it had not improved I would have sought medical treatment, but I am hopeful that will not be necessary.
I believe that I was bitten by a recluse about 6 weeks ago. The bite initially looked just like those on this site. I tried several different things and nothing seemed to be working. Then I began washing the bite with Hibiclens antiseptic and putting peppermint extract on the affected area. The peppermint extract had an unusual effect on the bite. It caused the area to become very dry and the tissue became chalky white. It only had this effect on the bite and not other cuts or scrapes as I did try it on other minor injuries. Now there is almost no trace of where the bite occured. Another thing that I suspect might have helped is that I got a fairly bad sunburn on the bite and I suspect the UV radiation might have had some positive effect.
Good luck, bite victims.
jeff
I was bit yesterday by something, I don’t know what. The bite on my leg is itchy but yet pretty painful. Its like a little hard bite and the surrounding area is also very hard. theres some streaks out around it. I sleep in a dense dark basement =( so thats not really a good sign. I’m a little worried but my family doesn’t seem worried and I keep putting oils and bandages on it. After seeing some of these pictures I shudder to think of this being a brown recluse bite. Anybody help me out here??
I got bitten by one my friend and me were outside and then it jumped at me and… whem! They hurt like CRAZY! C. R. A. Z. Y.! My friend P.J. rushed me back home and my mom had to take me to the hospital. Now im better after 8 months the scar was completly gone. My friend saved my life.
I Hate These Spiders. I got bit by one a Year ago. God was looking over me. I Had to go to Three, Yes I said 3. ERs before I got The right meds. we moved back to Arizona. was back their a year and moved back to Missiouri. sometime lastnight my 7year old daughter got bit by one. I ask for you all to pray for Her. Thank you.
We need to find an antivinom for these mean Spiders.
Hi everyone!,
I live in Phoenix Arizona and work security at night so all this is very helpful. I also wondered if Lupus would slow down a necrotic bite. I have lupus of the skin and my body’s immune system acts like it’s on crack…But I do always check my body before during and after work…you just never know!
I have recently heard that they are now becoming more common in Ontario. I was wondering if anyone else had any further details on this, and if so could they please respond. I have read the article and realize it says they have not colonized here. Yet I am still hearing from others in our province that there has been supposed spottings, and several bites.
Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance.
what does a brown recluse actually look like of the male species
the pictures i seen are narly and make me feel fortunate cause awhile back i was bitten by a brown recluse it was so gross i didnt think it was gonna get as bad as it did but about a month later it finaly got better but because of me not taken care of it when people told me i have a nice little scar atleast it didnt turn out like some of those pics i seen.
Please – I beg all of you to take this little killer seriously. My son almost died from this spider when he was 9 years old. We went from thinking he might have the flu to heading straight to the ER when he began peeing blood. Doctors at the emergency room could not figure out what was going on because his white blood cell count was declining rapidly. They sent us immediately to Children’s Hospital in Dallas where we found ourselves in the ICU.
They brought us the chaplain to tell us that we were going to need to make arrangements because our boy probably wasn’t going to make it. “WHAT”? My husband and I fell to our knees in prayer begging God not to take our sweet boy from us. God is good. I still think about that day especially when I hear another story of someone getting bit. Not all bites are fatal. In fact, they seem to act differently in different people. My sons’ reaction was for his body to send white blood cells to destroy the invading venom. Problem was that it didn’t stop there. It turned on his own body and starting destroying his organs. His kidneys had already shut down and they said his lungs and heart would be next. My son was lucky. We thought he would be on dialysis the rest of his life and they said his growth would be stunted. Today my boy is 30 yrs old and 6′3 and not on dialysis. I look back and can’t believe in one day my child went from healthy to near death from one little feakin’ spider. Let’s see if we can’t get an anti-venom for this spider.
About 4 yrs ago after a trip to Louisiana i noticed that i was left with an insect bite. Usually most the insect bites i get dissapear in a few days. This one got worse. it got bigger and the centre opened up like an ulcer.
A trip to my doctor and she prescribed antihystamine creams, then later tablets. Nothing worked. Eventually after me insisting that i see a specialist, my GP refered me to the local hospital dermatology dept.
They carried out a biopsy and the results were surprising, it read that what originally was a spider bite had now been diagnosed as a BCC Basal cell carsinoma, a low form of skin cancer. Usually affecting skin with hugh exposure to sunlight. As the wound is on my inner ankle his does not ring true.
Yesterday i had the wound surgically and painfully removed, and the area repaired with a skin graft from my thigh. Very painful.
My specialist and myself still beleive that the original trauma was caused by a brown recluse spider, but had turned to a BCC.
Has anyne else had such a problem.
I noticed what I thought was a blood blister on my arm when I hit it against my desk. The night before I had been sick in the middle of the night and thought I was getting a virus (I now know this is probably when I was bitten). The “blister” was extremely hard. It never erupted as I have heard described, it slowly oozed fluid after a couple of days. I had a very red outer circle and a small black center within 4 days. The black tissue has now almost filled up the original
larger red outer circle. I have the white edges as expected.
After 7 days of things getting worse, I went to the doctor. He gave me oral and topical antibiotics. This was given not for the venom but to prevent secondary infections. Apparently there is no “fix” for the venom other than luck or cutting out the poisoned area.
Surprisingly the flu-like symptoms didn’t start with me until these last 3 days. Legs, back of head and neck are hurting. Major headache and very high temperatures that come and go. Chills. After 3 Advil the temp continued to elevate. Finally was able to get it down to 101 by getting in a bath of cool water and cold rags. Since the tissue is still dying and I’m having these symptoms I have to go back to the Doc tomorrow. 10 days into this ordeal and it seems to get worse each day.
If you think you have been bitten by one of these spiders, go to the doctor. Don’t wait like I did. These spiders are common here where I live and I even know people who have been bitten. I have seen what the bite can do and still I didn’t go to the doctor. I made the mistake of thinking it was something other than the BRS because I never felt the bite and didn’t have the flu-like symptoms in the beginning.
People react differently to the bites…Lesson learned. As I’m writing this I feel fine, wouldn’t know anything was going on except for a little itching on my arm. So far today I have felt this good for maybe a total of 6 hours. The remaining hours were spent with the flu symptoms and high fever. It’s been like this for 3 days now. Hopefully I’ll be able to sleep tonight without the “flu” returning.
After reading some of the other comments I just wanted to add mine since I realized there can be varying reactions to this. Again, go to the doctor if you think you have been bitten!! Take care everyone!
Ok, so unfortunatly im horrible with remembering times and days, so everything here is going to be in “about” speak.
So, about 3 days ill say ago, I was bitten by something, most likely in my sleep. Location is my left knee, right below my knee cap. It was just a red bump, but you could see the little fang marks that bastered left behind! I wasn’t too concerned so I just went about my day. Over the past few days the effected area got super duper swollen and itchy. Now the swollenness (tell Webster we have a new word!) has gone leaving a very red and blackish bumb. The raised area is about the size of a silver dollor but the redness extends about 4 to 5 inches al around. And it is super tender to the touch about 6 inches away from the newly opened wound that appeared about 6 hours ago. Its burns really badly, and aches terribly most of the time.I have difficulty bending my knee now. The pain is very consistant and pain meds will only take the edge off. Im kinda starting to get worried here! Any advice???
Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008 (NE Alabama)
I felt a bite on the back of my calf. It felt like a mosquito bite, and I didn’t bother to look at it until later. I made a cross on it with my nails to let the poison/itch drain. Later I noticed it wasn’t draining and made another cross on it. The next day it was sore and swollen around it. It resembled a cigarette burn, white center surrounded by a red circle. Then the swelling started. The initial bite was tiny, smaller than a dime. By the weekend the swelling was at least two inches around the bite.
Monday, Aug 25, I went to a doctor with it and another separate infection. She asked which sore came first, and told me I had transferred the staph from this one to that one and that it wasn’t the bite. Now, I’m wondering if she even realized there was a bite. She put me on two different antibiotics and both infections have begun to heal.
I’m pretty sure I washed my hands before going from one sore to the other, and I didn’t mess with the bite much because it was too painful and I was afraid I’d make it worse.
Monday afternoon, the bite started “weeping” a pink watery liquid- not exactly blood. I have been taking pics of it since I started being suspicious of the Brown Recluse as we live in the southeast and have recently been cleaning out closets, moving furniture and painting.
I have several pics and will send a few at different stages, but I don’t really have many of the beginning.
My husband and I have been debating this – he thinks its all staph. I think one is staph, and this one is a BR bite. Supporting his argument was your site for staph infection pics, and supporting mine is http://www.highway60.com/mark/brs/casestudy_volcanoes.asp?Msg=2860.
The need to be right is not nearly as important as the treatment. And either way, ANTIBIOTICS are gonna help!
I went back to the same Dr Wednesday, Aug 27. Looking back, I told her it was a bite and she didn’t say one way or the other. She was going to schedule me for surgery to have it lanced and drained to make sure they got the pus sac out of it.
Note: I have a high tolerance for pain, and the worst pain of this was the swelling of my calve, and even now the initial first steps in the morning after my leg has been inactive. Once I get moving, it feels relatively normal with occasional sharp pains, but nothing constant. Now it looks horrible, its oozing with an occasional worm-looking chunk of dead blood coming out. When I peel the bandage off and that comes out of the center, its not painful at all, surprisingly. I ran out of peroxide and used alcohol on it one day, cleaning the swollen area around it BEFORE cleaning the bite site. I steeled myself for the burning pain of alcohol that never came. It felt like cold water, and I am grateful for that. This is one of the biggest reasons I think it may have been a BR. Surely an open wound would have set my blood on fire when I added alcohol. Unless the nerves are deadened.
I have refused the surgery for now, as my insurance has not gone into effect yet and I can’t imagine the cost. And from all I’ve read, it looks like it doesn’t heal any faster with the lancing than without it.
Today my son was complaining about his leg hurting and when he showed it to me, it looks quite familiar. I will be taking him to the doctor tomorrow. My husband asks what are the odds of both of you being bitten by a Brown Recluse vs the odds that you infected him with the staph? I decided against mentioning that we live in the same house…
and maybe his doctor will know more than mine did.
He is 7 years old, and I ask that you please keep him in your prayers. From all I’ve read, it harder on kids and the elderly to fight it off.
Pics to follow….
I have been bitten by a brown recluse. The doc in a box at the clinic missed the diagnosis he diagnosed it as staph or MRSA. He gave me Cipro antibiotics and told me to keep warm compresses applied to it. WRONG answer doc, I later found that the WORST thing you can do for a spider bite is apply heat. The venom spreads much quicker and speeds up the tissue damage.
A second visit to the Emergency Room at my local hospital revealed that the wound was NOT MRSA or Staph but was indeed a SPIDER bite of the same type as a Brown Recluse. The applied heat had spread the venom throughout my lower left leg, bite was outside of left calf muscle. Now my bite lesion was much larger and the necrosis had spread much faster. The ER doctor had to inject novocaine and open the bite surgically to allow it to drain.
Now I am off from work for a few days and I cannot hardly walk on my left leg. The pain is unbearable, the headaches and nausea are bad enough. If you are bit by a spider apply ice to the wound, do not try to extract or squeeze out the venom, and seek immediate medical attention. Try to bring the spider with you if at all possible, for identification puposes.
Ten years ago I was bitten by a Black Widow and it was very painful. Now I know that a Brown Recluse bite is much more painful than a Black Widow bite, for me anyway.
The doctor says I am going to have a scar, just how bad depends on how bad the necrosis gets. I am on two different antibiotics and hydracodone for the pain. I have to keep the wound clean and allow it to drain. I have to change the dressing twice a day. The antibiotics the doctor gave me is a long term high power dose.
My previous note doesn’t show being posted yet, but I wanted to let you know that I took my son to the Dr today and he was diagnosed as having a staph infection. I asked his Dr to look at my bite as well, and she said it was also staph.
So I was wrong. I will begin draining it as soon as the tissue softens up. I am so surprised that a staph infection could look this bad.
My son is a REAL TROOPER, as his Dr drained his infection in the office and while he was in a great deal of pain while she was pressing on it, and it is amazing how much nasty blood-pus mixture came out of his poor little leg. But when she was finished, he had great relief!
I had to tell my husband that he was right and I was wrong and that, along with knowing it is staph and not as serious as a BR bite, has made his day!
Best of luck to all of you that have either.
Hey whats up my name is hannah my dad was bitten by a brown recluse and it didnt look good i dont have a pic though sorry
I don’t have a photo, because the bite happened over a year ago. I have a question though. I was living in Spokane, WA at the time, in a garage, it was in the summer, probably around June, July. I woke up in the morning and had a white blister with a red rim around it on my shoulder, and it was very painful, so much so that even a t-shirt was too much pressure.
Well, I went to the ER, that day, quite sure that I had been bitten by a brown recluse, or possibly a hobo spider. The Doc told me that it was definitly a spider bite, but did not tell me what kind of spider, but , he did tell me that spiders are like dogs, they can sense fear, which I do believe by the way, after reading a certain page on the web, that the severity of a bite from a recluse or hobo not only depends of the gender and age of the spider, but also on the victims psychological state, and I have always been very afraid of spiders, and being that I was living in a garage, well…. I was given an antibitotic, some pain meds, and bandages so that I could maintain the bite area. I did as instructed, a small “hole” formed in the bite area, and I continued to clean it, it began to heal, and about a week later, my left arm ( I was bitten on my left shoulder) went completely dead for about one week, while taking at least two weeks for me to regain feeling and control. My question is, was that caused by the spider bite?
I recently noticed what looked like a pimple on the undercut of my butt. By the next day I had a swollen whelp aproximately an 1″ or and 1.5″ across, very raised and with a purple head on it. Due to the location I really was aprehensive about going to the doctor or telling anyone.
This began this past Wednesday. It is now Saturday night and I am absolutely miserable. It hurts so bad. It feels as if the entire whelp will burst. Its really hot and immediately blanches with any pressure applied. Kind of like a bad sunburn would do. It is also very sensitive to any pressure at all. The skin around the center has started pealing off. I finally gave in and called my mom and she thinks it was a brown recluse spider bite. I do too after doing some research.
My question is now what can I do to make it through until Monday so I can go to my hometown and go to the doctor. I am a broke college student that is definitely suffer. It hurts so bad!!!!!! I am apprehensive about going to the ER because I am not sure if it is a bite or just something silly.
I was bitten by a BR back in ‘97 on my inner right thigh on a Tuesday night. On Wednesday night we used a 50K stun gun with one electrode placed in the middle of the bite, and the other placed in a radial pattern around the bite. We shocked it 8 times around the bite. When we shocked it, the bite was hard, red, and swollen about the size of a fifty cent piece. On Thursday there was no swelling, but the
red spot was the size of a small plate covering most of my inner thigh. I was running fever(101+) and felt like I had a bad case of the flu. On Friday I was still weak, but the redness was almost completely gone. I didn’t have anymore symtoms after that Friday. My Mother was also bitten on her upper right arm and we treated it the same way, with similar results. Hope this might help someone else, because it has been a blessing knowing that if My family or I do get bitten, I know that this remedy will work for us.
P.S. Like several other people who have left entries here, I also live in Oklahoma. GO SOONERS!
My cousin got bitten by a Recluse Spider about a year ago.
His doctors told him he will need to amputate his leg in 3 weeks.
Is there a doctor or anyone with suggestions or anything to prevent this amputation? He is in pain with it & I believe the blood is not flowing in his veins.
I do not know how I will see any replies to E-mail answers.
Please answer as soon as possible if you can help.
Thanks,
RM
WE LIVE IN THEFLORIDA KEYS. SEVERAL YEARS AGO MY WIFE AND I HAD CUT SOME BRUSH TRIMMINGS AND HAD BUNDLED IT FOR TRASH PICKUP. WELL A WEEK PASSED AND THE P/U NEVER CAME. SO WE CALLED AND WAS TOLD TO PUT IT IN A CONTAINER INSTEAD AS THE RULES HAD CHANGED FOR DEBRIS. SO SHE WAS PUTTING THE DEBRIS IN A CONTAINER WHEN SHE FELT SOMETHING ON HER LEG WHILE IN SHORTS AND NEVER SAW WHAT IT WAS THAT MAY HAVE BIT HER. TWO DAYS LATER SHE BEGANE TO DEVELOPE A BOIL IN THE GENERAL AREA THAT SHE FELT THIS POSSIBLE BITE. I TOLD HER TO GO TO THE DR. SHE PUT IT OFF AND HER FELLOW EMPLOYESS CALLED ME AND TOLD HE SHE WAS IN GREAT PAIN AND TO COME GET HER. BY THEN THERE WAS A BLISTER ON TOP OF THIS VERY LARGE BOIL. I TOOK HER TO THE DR AND HE IMMEDIATLY TOLD HER THAT IT WAS A BROWN RECLUSE BITE. AND CALLED IN HIS ENTIRE STAFF TO EDUCATE THEM. HE THEN CALLED THE HOSPITAL AND TOLD THEM SHE WAS ON HER WAS AND NOT TO LET HER SIT IN THE WAITING ROOM AS IT WAS POTENTIALLY LIMB LOSS THREATNING. WHEN SHE GOT THERE THEY WERE WAITING FOR HER. GOOD THING THE DR SAID. WHEN HE BEGAN HE PUNTURED THE BLISTED AND THE PRESSURE WAS SO GREAT HE GOT IT ALL OVER HIMSELF AND HAD TO WASH UP. HE THEN HAD TO CUT OUT THE DESTROYED TISSUE.
WHEN WE GOT HOME SHE HAD TO CLEANSE THE WOUND WITH DISTILLED WATER EVERY FOUR HRS FOR TREE WKS. YOU COULD HAVE PUT A 12 GAUGE SHOTGUN SHELL IN THAT HOLE, IT WAS SO DEEP IN THE THIGH. HE SAID SHOULD SHE HAVE WAITED ANY LONGER SHE MAY HAVE LOST HER LEG. SO GET IMMEDIATE ATTENTION, DONT TAKE ANY CHANCHES ON ANY SPIDER BITES.TERRY
i realy hope all of u feel better