Spider Bite Treatment
Have you been bitten by a spider? If so, then this page will provide you with some great information about treating spider bites. Even though 80% of bite victims never see what actually bit them, most assume it’s a spider and most point the finger at the Brown Recluse Spider.
Spiders rarely attack people and bite only when threatened, such as when hiding in clothing and being pressed against the skin. Only a few spiders are big enough to inject their venom into your skin and of those spiders, only a few species have venom strong enough to do any damage.
Some experts recommend capturing the spider while others warn against it do to increased risk of being bitten a second time. Having the spider will most definitely help in the identification and treatment process.
If you can’t find the spider and didn’t see what bit you, or if you have multiple bites, it’s probably a TIC, Bed Bug or something other than a spider.
Unfortunately, many Doctors have not had to treat spider bites and information on identification and treatment is often confusing. Below, you’ll find a number of comments that have been left by visitors from around the world; this information may help your doctor with the treatment process.
See Brown Recluse Spider for information on how to ID the Brown Recluse and Brown Recluse Spider Bite on how to ID the Brown Recluse bite.
One visitor, Gerald, stood out among the rest and offered some great information on the treatment of spider bites; I’ll start off with his story and go from there. Feel free to leave comments and I’ll make sure they get posted to the site.
Gerald’s Story:
I could write a book about spider bite treatment, but I’ll get right to the bottom line. My wife and I have been bitten by Brown Recluse spiders several times each over the last 20 plus years thanks to our rural Northwest Arkansas farm lifestyle. Fortunately we knew a quick, safe and economical cure for them so it was a 10 minute distraction to treat it, making it little more than a mosquito bite. We learned it from our vet long ago, after my first bite went poorly.
In our area farm vets combine a high incidence of personal Brown Recluse bites with a lot of medical knowledge. Who could be more motivated or equipped to find the cure? Vets fix themselves by injecting 1/10th CC of Dexamethasone (a cortisone) divided into two or three subcutaneous shots right around the perimeter of the bite inflamed area. [Dexamethasone is a high potency steroid used to decrease swelling and inflammation]. He recently said he had used it to treat himself six or more times in his career plus a few times on his kids and wife. My wife and I together tally about a dozen bites treated that way.
I once asked a farm vet in another town where we take horses how he treated his spider bites and he told me the same thing. Over the years about two dozen of our friends with bites tried our advice with complete success. In total that is almost 50 bites given this treatment that I know of, and every single one started to mend immediately. There were no failures and no negative consequences. Several times a friend told his doctor what he had learned and what he needed done, and the doctor did it, usually saying something like “Sounds reasonable to me. I know the way I’ve been doing it doesn’t work well and there is no risk with such a tiny dose. There is no down side to trying it.” Not all react that way though.
None of the bites caught early needed antibiotic treatment and more than half got none. If a doctor is doing the injections they usually prescribe antibiotics too. If it gets to the open lesion stage you need them. Treatment in the first 48 hours is always best, but it works much later too.
The worst case I’ve seen cured was a woman sharing a hospital room with my mom about 10 years ago. She had a bite on her foot and had been in the hospital about two weeks when we met her. The lesion was about 3 inches across and about every other day the doctor unwrapped it and scraped the necrotic tissue out to her heart rendering screams. He and a consulting doctor had begun to discuss amputation. We told her and her husband and two adult kids of our experiences and advised they consult some out of town doctors. They found a doctor in Springfield, MO that had used cortisone to successfully treat several cases. When her then doctor refused to listen, confer with the other one, or release her, they took her out anyway. About two months later we got a long letter profusely thanking us for butting in. She was by then healed up and on her feet again, feeling we probably saved her foot and maybe more. No doubt that took more than a tenth of a CC.
Other kinds of cortisone might work, but both vets preferred Dexamethasone. It is thin like water so can be injected through tiny insulin needles, an important matter when injecting a super tender spot three times. A tenth of a CC isn’t much. It is about like 1/8th of an inch of a wooden pencil eraser, then split that in thirds per injection. That is a small fraction of a normal systemic dose given for arthritis and such, so risks are also tiny. Visit MedLinePlus and read the precautions so you will know what to advise your doctor about, like pregnancy or fungal infections.
It’s not new knowledge. My bad first bite I mentioned was in the eyebrow. I had a small bump there but thought it was just a rare zit. I also had a bad sinus headache I tried to treat with hot compresses and a muscle massager on the cheek to break it loose. The third day I had to take a flight some states away to deal with another’s emergency. I woke up with one side of my face badly swollen, but had to go. The pain and swelling became worse as time passed and it was two more days of frantic work before I could get to a doctor without causing another crisis. By then I was a mess, but recovery began after a big cortisone shot (unsure what kind) in the hip. The doctor said he usually injected around the bite, but he couldn’t because cortisone injections near an eye can damage it. That doctor knew and discussed site injections with me back then, well before we happened on the topic with our vet. Back then I didn’t grasp the rarity of that doctor’s knowledge of spider bites or my good fortune in going to him for treatment.
Combining my doctor’s information with that of the vets taught us an effective treatment we used occasionally, but had no clue so few others knew it. That only came over time as others told us their past or pending treatment methods. Many we headed off, but some we couldn’t. About 1996 the web came along and gave me a peek into how pervasive ineffective treatment was. The web was slow, and blogs were rare, but all the medical “fact” sites said the “antibiotic only, cut open, scrape, suffer, and live with the crater” was the only effective spider bite treatment. Most shared verbatim wording. I thought I ought to write up what I knew and get it out there somehow, but wasn’t sure how, so I procrastinated.
Today I’m re-motivated, because this month a friend had a recent spider bite on his finger treated the old way and it turned into the typical horror story. That led me to begin searching the web for sites that gave good treatment advice to refer others to. I was shocked. Twelve years after I looked last time, nothing is better. Only the volume of horror stories has grown. Twelve years ago a letter like this might have altered our current reality. Well, maybe by 2020 ——. There is very little mention of treatment with cortisone or especially site injection. A couple of visitors on this site www.badspiderbites.com/brown-recluse-spider-bite/bugs-2/ like #67 received systemic cortizone treatment and it fixed them but that’s about it.
By telling you this I am not advocating self medication! I am however, suggesting that you ask your doctor how your bite will be treated; if the old way is mentioned (cut and scrape), then offer the information found on this page. If your doctor is closed minded and is not open to suggestions, then it may not be a bad idea to seek the advice of another doctor.
A doctors knowledge is based on experience and not all doctors have had experience with treating spider bites. We found that the emergency room and after hours clinic doctors seem to be more open minded and have steered several friends in this direction who later reported back that their ER doctor said “sure, that is how we treat spider bites anyway”, and not just locally. For example, a relative was helping move someone to Atlanta. While loading he was bitten on the stomach. Days later and the night before they were leaving at 6 AM I saw him and he was worried about it. I told him to go to an ER along the way or once there and what to ask for. In Atlanta they injected around the site, saying that was their normal treatment, and he was healed in few days. If that fails too, ask a farm vet how he treats his own bites and what doctor he suggests.
I’m not a doctor, and I’m not giving medical advice beyond “it’s OK to shop for the right doctor” but this treatment approach needs exposure, discussion, and trials. I believe widespread use could eliminate untold suffering and costs to people like earlier writers to these blogs. If you have any questions I’ll be watching this site for discussion. If you want to discuss something privately, Jim has my email address.
Thanks for sharing Gerald!
Spider Bite Treatment at Home used by Gerald:
Gerald offered the above information to help those seeking medical attention with treatment suggestions that can be offered to the doctor. The information below is what Gerald and his wife use to prevent the need for a trip to the hospital.
NOTE: We are in no way suggesting that bite victims try treatment without consulting a doctor first and in fact, we strongly urge you to seek the advice of your doctor immediately after being bitten. However, when doing so, and after reading Gerald’s story, you’ll have information that you can present to your doctor that he/she may approve or disapprove of. I’ll repeat this statement at the end of Gerald’s home treatment.
My wife is hyper-sensitive to all kinds of stings and bites. A bee sting that is ten minutes of pain to most of us would usually cause so much swelling a trip to the doctor for a cortizone shot was needed. The doctor prescribed an Epi-pen (Epinephrine emergency injector) in case she reacted even more severely sometime.
Spider bite kit
That all changed when we discovered the Sawyer Bite & Sting Kit, also called the Extractor. Imagine a big plastic syringe with a cup on the nose that somehow creates great suction when you push the plunger down. It sucks lymph and poisons right back out the same holes they went in without need for cutting. Routine stings and bites quit hurting her in 15 minutes and no swelling occurs.
Though primarily a snake bite tool, it is just amazing for plain bites and stings from bugs of all kinds, cleansing small puncture wounds, and especially poisonous spider bites. We have an Extractor in every car, truck, tractor, and building on the ranch. By the way, you can buy them in the sporting goods department of most Wal-Mart stores for $13.97 last time I checked. (Incidentally, I have no connection to either Wal-Mart or Sawyer)
Venom Extraction with the Extractor
To use, select a clear cup that fits the bite site and press/twist fit it into the nose of the yellow barrel. When you apply the Extractor the skin humps up like half a marble from its power. I’m surprised it doesn’t cause a hickey but it never does. You may suck some blood out and that’s OK. Especially if applying to a puncture wound. A few minutes is usually enough. The disposable razor is there to shave a spot if hair is breaking its seal.
Because this is mechanical removal of venom or contamination, it can work on almost any kind of skin breach, unless already bleeding too much to help. From splinters to Black Widow bites it has got to help if used promptly.
I once attended the Waurika, OK rattlesnake festival. There was a small sunken stage with about 400 rattlers piled around and a half dozen guys (women are to smart?) wading among them and doing unreasonable things with them. The point is, they had some EMTs standing there, each with cocked Sawyer units in hand.
Two warnings: Don’t get blood inside the yellow barrel, or get water in it during cleanup. That can damage it. It is a complex mechanism inside with springs, seals, lube, etc. Also, too much force attaching the cup can crack the barrel nose causing an air leak and ruining its value. Glue can fix it usually.
Don’t confuse the Extractor with those little rubber cup snake bite kits that have been around for at least 60 years which contain a little pointed razor for cutting open the bite site before trying to suction out the venom. Those old kits contain instructions such as “Relax, stay calm, keep your heart rate down” and “start cutting X’s on yourself”; In my opinion, such kits kits are so bad it ought to be a crime to sell them to the unsuspecting. If you check the medical sites like Emedicine, Medicinenet, etc., you’ll find such kits are not recommended but they do say good things about the Extractor.
Unfortunately the medical sites don’t recognize the Extractor’s value in treating spider bites, where they specifically caution against doing any kind of suction treatment. That isn’t surprising since most of their other Brown Recluse advice is wrong too. I wrote the earlier story about the quick, effective treatment by Dexamethasone injected around the bite. Actually, we now reserve that for older more advanced bites. If we get a bite now, we normally know by the delayed burning pain in a few hours. Usually we can see the twin fang marks on the red mound also. We use the Extractor on it, pulling out one or two tiny beads of lymph containing the venom, then put a good dollop of cortisone creme on the spot, cover that with a bandaid, and by morning the bite is history.
Here is why I think it works so well for spider bites, and is also relevant to the Dexamethasone site injection method too. The bites are extremely shallow, unlike a fang injected snake bite. The venom is deposited in the first under layers of the skin served only by the very slow moving lymphatic system, not the fast moving blood circulatory system, and there it stays for many days. It and its associated bacterial infection don’t start moving much until the necrotic hole eats it way deep enough to get into the faster circulatory system.
The early swelling and pain up a limb plus fever and overall illness make one think that the venom has traveled a lot, but I don’t think that is true. Most of that is the allergic reaction to a small invasive injury it recognizes as a great threat. The swelling and heat is the body’s soldiers massing for battle.
The venom is usually injected inside the shell of another bug where it paralyzes them and pre-digests its insides so the spider can suck it out later. I think that the venom stays at the contact surface between the digested tissue and the healthy tissue walls of the lesion. It is not inside the good tissue, just on its surface and in the most recently digested tissue. On a small lesion of the whitehead stage (not yet open to bacterial invasion) a good suction effort seems to remove the venom with the digested tissue and some surrounding lymph. Top it off with the cortisone cream and a bandaid and you are fixed. If it has reached the open lesion stage, its time for Dexamethasone.
DISCLAIMER: We are in no way suggesting that bite victims try treatment without consulting a doctor first and in fact, we strongly urge you to seek the advice of your doctor immediately after being bitten.
Gerald’s story should serve as information that you can pass along to your doctor. Your doctor may find this information helpful. You should always seek the advice of your doctor.
Written by Jim on August 2nd, 2007 with
156 comments.
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This page about spider bite treatment was informational about bites, but it did not actually give much information about how to treat a bite!! I would like to know what to do if I or my children get a bite. We will obviously “seek medical attention immediately”, but what should we do with the bite on the way to the doctor? Ice? Heat? ??
Hello NH, information has been updated – See Above.
is there a cream or some kind of medicine you can buy over the counter to treat a supected sider bite?
Most everything suggests antibiotic lotion or cream. Visit your Rite-aid or Wallgreens and ask for exact type.
Specific treatment for any type of spider bite will be determined by your physician. Treatment may include:
* Wash the area well with soap and water.
* Apply a cold or ice pack wrapped in a cloth, or a cold, wet washcloth to the site.
* To protect against infection, particularly in children, apply an antibiotic lotion or cream.
* Give acetaminophen for pain.
* Elevate the site if the bite occurred on an arm or leg (to help prevent swelling).
* Seek immediate emergency care for further treatment. Depending on how bad the bite is, treatment can range from administering corticosteroids and other medications to surgery of the ulcerated area. Hospitalization may be needed.
* Prompt treatment is very, very important to avoid more serious complications, especially in children.
Don’t wait on the bite! If you look around, you’ll see stories about people who waited because it seemed small – it can change very fast, so seek medical attention to be sure.
I just recieved my first spider bite I did go to the dr. but there is no pain just alot of oosing and redness. is there any other cure for this.
i was bit by something unknow, i think it could possibly a spider bite, the other day it was hard at the site and hurting somewhat….had a nurse on my job to try to ooze out the pus/poison i guess and treat it with an old fashion remedy but since then infection feels like its spreaded and half of my arm is hurting now, the site is so inflammed and warm around the area…i can barely feel any comfort at all when moving it…sure the swelling is gone now, but the pain is terrible.
please help…and where can you go for treatment….that wont charge a arm and leg
Thank you for this site. Is the poison in spider bites acid or alkaline? For example, mosquito bites are acid.
I have been bit by something, a spider I assume, on my collar bone. I am about to panic, it hurts really bad and I don’t know if I’m just panicing or if I am truely sick at my stomach. I hate spiders, terrified of them, so I’m kinda trippin’. Hospital or no?
For spider bite treatment, I use a paste of water and baking soda which draws the poison out of the wound. I simply place the paste on top of the spider bite and the bite starts to improve within a few hours.
I recently recieved a spiderbite on my inner thigh, talk about an uncomfy spot to get one, right at the inseam of my pants. Anyway, I’m assuming the little bugar was in my pants (which I’ll admit were on the floor when I picked them up) and I didn’t feel the bite until about an hour later.
The rubbing of my pants actually made the spider bite worse and caused it to swell and was purple and yes it was very gross. However, I did what Laura said on the 30th of April and made a paste of 1 tsp bleach, 1tbsp of baking soda and 1tsp of water. Something my grandma taught me a long time ago, as Laura stated, it draws out the poison and relieves the pain.
After that it’s neosporin and a bandaid unless of course it’s horribly bad in which case take your butt to the hospital before it kills you! Anywho, that’s what I do and it works wonderfully. I work in a garden a lot and here in ND there are massive amounts of little black spiders all over the house (point in fact I’ve killed 12 in the past week alone due to the fact that I have two small children and rather them not get bitten). I wish for a state that has very few spiders!!!
Yeah I know, it’ll never happen, but one can dream!
Yesterday I woke up with a several bites on my arm. All the bites are in the same area. I really don’t want to go to the doctor since it’s soo expensive.
Can any of you recommend me something I can buy. I’ve been putting some cream to calm down the itchyness. It’s funny that it doesn’t itch where the actual bites are, but some parts of my arms. Today I woke up, same bite size as yesterday, but I have a few red dots where i had been scratching around my arm.
I’ll be going to a Walgreens today and ask the pharmacist on what he/she recommends.
My mom has had some of the same bites, but her bites have turn black, they look like small bruises. Other than that they have stayed like that for the longest.
Thanks
Id like to have some kind of home remedy for spider bites i think i have one its making me very ill and i dont have any insurance
I was bitten by something (unknown if spider bite) on the inside bend of my arm. The redness and itching did not begin to improve until I started taking 4 grams (that’s 4,000 miligrams) of Vitamin C per hour. After three such doses the improvement is so great that I am taking the 4 grams every 2 hours. The wound is greatly improved and much smaller and no more itching or redness.
I use large doses of Vitamin C to treat numerous things. And no, if there is a wasp sting, illness, etc. there is no diarrhea. I have taken as much as 7 grams per hour wih no problem.
this is a very great site for those who dont kno what to do if there’s a spider bite..!!!
A cold (used) Black Tea Bag as a compress helped tremendously.
Three months ago, my husband was bitten. The area was red, very swollen and painful. The center of the wound appeared to be chemically burning. I grabbed the closest cold compress I could find – a tea bag – and applied it to the site. Within 15 minutes, the hot skin temperature had cooled significantly AND the swelling and hardness of the surrounding tissues diminished and softened.
For several weeks, we continued to treat the area with tea bags, neosporin, clotrimizole, gently cleansing off the skin decay, and carefully bandaging the tender area. Three months later, he still has a thumb-print sized red spot.
It was horrific. I’ve taken the time to research folk remedies and web-md. Some reports led me to believe that neutralizing the burn with tannic acid (tea bags) and/or baking soda would be beneficial. Personal experience taught me that as well, so I want to share the story. Thanks for this website. Those things are scary!
Thank you for posting this useful information!
Hello,
I got bitten by something (I’m assuming a spider) over a week ago. I thought it was a mosquito bite at first, but soon found out that it wasn’t a mosquito. It bit me on my knee and the pain in my leg has been really bad. A week or so later, the poison is finally oozing out, but now my knee seems to be more swollen than before. Could you please send me some home-treatment suggestions?
Our house is not finished and we have had problems with spiders for two years. Our children have been bitten and so have we. Orkin did not help. I had to have one lanced. I have used black drawing salve from the pharmacy. If you have to squeeze the bite then apply the salve. One doctor told me not to squeeze the bite but it was painful.
Yes I have a spider bite on the back of my leg and it’s infected. I have been to three different doctors and they all said it looked like a spider bite I thought it was a bug bite. I am on day 4 and it still hurts and it’s swollen and red.
Yesterday I couldn’t even sit on it or walk on my right leg it hurt so bad. I think this happen when I was asleep Friday night and I woke up Saturday morning and it itched so just be careful out there.
Found this site in desperation – great to read other peoples´ ideas. I live in Southern Spain and have a large bite on my calf. I have been attending the local centro de salud every other day. They have diagnosed it as a spider bite. This happened six weeks ago! Didn´t feel it at the time, but very tense and painful, with huge red/white/red rings around bite, that night, followed by blistering and oozing the next day.
The medics have been scraping it with a scalpel blade to get rid of the hard septic cover and then applying antibiotic cream. It hasn´t worsened but it really isn´t improving either – I still have an open central crater about 2cm across and a hard red ring around it. I think I´ll try the baking powder paste myself between treatments.
Any other ideas?
Here is a picture of my spider bite
SPIDER BITES CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS. My buddy got bit on the toe. Gangrene set in. The spider bite treatment by doctors was to cut off his toe and continued up as time passed, cutting. Soon after they had cut off his leg, he died.
The recent news reported that some 6 people had been bitten as they sat on the toilet, 5 died. It seemed that under the seat of the toilet has just the right temperature and moisture for the spiders.
I’ve been treating and finally am successful in getting rid of a bite. I used soap and an anti-biotic. It’s been at least two months.
Three days ago I noticed a puffy red area on my calf that had 2pin holes and some white pus. I have only been treating it at home with rubbing alcohol and antibiotic cream but it is still there. After reading the above comments I am going to call my Dr. in the morning to have it checked out.
I was bitten by a red spider mite two days ago (I know what it was, because I didn’t realize it was biting me as I watched it until it hurt like CRAZY and I had to kill it. It’s surprisingly painful when they bite, even though they are incredibly tiny! After two days of treating it with rubbing alcohol, then peroxide, it has unfortunately become a a very small open hole with tiny blisters around it and a wider, 4″ rash circling it.
It itches like crazy off and on. I went to the doctor today for something else and showed it to her. She wasn’t that concerned, but told me to use cold compresses and Neosporin ointment until it went away. But that if it became, literally, a growing open hole, to come back to see her again. So I guess while I am sensitive to spider bites, it’s not that big a deal and can be treated at home with patience and OTC medication. But it still ITCHES!!!
My daughter woke with a red mark on the palm of her hand. Painfull and swelling. Wev’e taken her to the Dr. anticipating some form of bite. She’s on antibiotics for pain and antihistimines. It will be going on 2 days and the swelling is still there.
Raised red marks have come and gone, but the redness is still spreading slowly but surly. It’s still itchy. But unlike many of the comments i’ve read on your site. There is no apparent bite mark or hole. At one point she reached 105 deg. We’re taking her in tomorrow, but any comments would be appreciated.
I have a spider bite on my uncle with 2″ dia very red area and a blister in the midle, I lanced last night and treated with Cortaid, it does continue to drain, and as long as it dose drain probably will get better, but I am going to try the tea bags and baking soda.
My grandmother used to make a baking soda paste for bee stings I am going to try on my spider bite. Used baking soda and cider vinegar – enough to make a paste. Was putting hydrocortizone on it and still will – thought at first I was bit by a misquito as well – but it is red with a yellow pus center just like the pics on this site. Hurts a LOT now, been about two of three days since I noticed it. Friend told me it sounded like a spider bite and gave me some scary stories about them so I had to look it up on the web. Will update on the cider vinegar baking soda trick in a few days to let you all know how it went.
i was bitten by a spider in LA three months ago on the crease of my butt and it was little at first then grew and my mothers dr. friend told her he had a lady come in and she waited too long for a bite on her arm and they amputated it sooooo……i went to the hospital and had it cut and drained for only $500 dollars with insurance thank you dr. world for being soooo cheap!!!
I moved back to Austin Tx and three days ago i was bitten again and this time luckily its on my cheek…..hurts really bad drained a bunch and my head hurts …..im really kinda freakin out .
will i live? hope so
i got stuff to do tomorrow
i was bit by something on my cheek near my ear.. just felt like nothing there like a fluff had landed and i brushed it away. felt like a sliver was stuck in… thought maybe a blind pimple. 24 hours later swelling and grapefruit like surface. my daugther thought she saw 2 black spots. put after-bite on it and had an antihistamine.
36 hrs later hiving on the area /(size of a nickel), teeth numb, glands along the neck and under chin swollen, more hiving, swollen pink around the bite area. went to the doctors, cortesoid/antibiotic cream, benadryl, antibiotics and aspirin.. blisters for several days.
Day 7 – swelling going down, blisters drying up, some blisters remained with pus in them – that came out with the cleaning.. now day 10, blisters gone, teeth are mine again, glands normal. still on antibiotics, benadryl, cream and aspirin… looks like a few layers of skin gone, raw pink skin – not sure if it will scar.
I am applying vitamin e around new pink area. don’t know what it was but wont lay outside anymore, may go see my doctor to see if i need to see an allergist as i swell up with mosquitos and blackflys..
I appreciated the information. I noticed a small red spot on my lower calf on Saturday that looked like a mosquito bite. It grew worse over Sunday. Last night (Monday) it looked really awful. It had grown into a 4 inch, hard, red-hot area with a bright red quarter sized center and in the very center was a blister. That is I went to the web, and became convinced it was a brown recluse spider bite. I iced it and propped it up for a while. I decided to try an experiment, and treat it like a bee sting. I rubbed it with meat tenderizer. The meat tenderizer did make it sting. The blister opened up without popping it.
I made a paste of unseasoned meat tenderizer, water and thick-it. Thick it turns water into a clear gel, and is used in health care for stroke patients. Any binding agent would probably work, such as unflavored metamucil or even oatmeal. I wrapped it in a clean rag and kept an ice pack on it. This morning I searched for spider bite meat tenderizer, there are some similar recommendations from professional sources. Meat tenderizer has an enzyme that breaks down venom. It is also very, very salty.
It was dramatically better within an hour. This morning it continues to improve.
I was camping in Oregon by Diamond Lake. I pitched my tent under a tree that turned out to be full of hobo spiders. When it rained at night, the spiders were washed onto the tent and they got up under the rainfly and inside the tent. I noticed them in the morning and got out and cleaned off the tent. I was looking in the mirror and noticed a bite between my underarm shoulder. It was purple, like a blood blister with a little white cap. I had headaches, nausea and my vision was blurry. I drove to the emergency room in Bend, Oregon and the doctor said he couldn’t do anything for me, what an idiot. I rubbed some neosporin on it and it seems to be improving. Be careful where you pitch your tents.
I was bite by unknown suspect spider – it occurred Weds morning by Weds night my arm had swollen the size of a grapefruit lump with itchy red wet blistery area about 2″ x 4″ – it began to affect my breathing – ER treated me with benadyl, steriod and sent me home. Each day the area got larger – no pain – I went to my health food shop where they recommended Black Chosh ointment mixed with Black Chosh tablet powder into a paste – THIS WORKED! It does not smell great but it reduced the redness, swelling, infection and it has stopped spreading. I am going to my MD tomorrow – because the area is now hard like a rock -
Black Chosh (Cimicifuga racemosa) is a plant from the buttercup family and can act as a anti-inflammatory, suppress LH levels which help control hormone surges that cause hot flashes, also helps alleviate insomnia.
Dosage: tincture 10-60 drops/daily
Root or tea 1-2 gms/daily
Most common form of Black Cohosh is Remifemin – usual dose 2 tablets (60 or 120 mg per tablet) twice a day.
** Caution: it can cause stomach problems, headache and dizziness, and should be avoided if you are taking medication for high blood pressure.
Help, I was recently bit by an unknown spider or thing. I believe this occurred as the cleaning crew hit my office and it disturbed the spiders. The bite is on my right arm and it looks very odd. The wound it red, looks filled with pus and a small line protruding from it. I am going to the doctors tomorrow.
I was bitten on my buttox when I was sleeping 6 days ago , at first I thought it was a mosquito bite but then it became red and swollen and it is painfull and there is a scab on it so I think it was a spider bite. I read somewhere online to put salt on it but that made it swell even more with more pain of course.
It is not infected, the only thing that seems to help at all is putting an ice pack on it, but because of where it is I can’t exactly sit there at work with an ice pack on it. I can’t afford to go to the doctor so if anyone could offer some advice I would be gratefull.
After realizing that I was most likely dealing with a spider bite, I tried a variety of treatments. Iodine – marginally effective; colloidal silver gel – so so; Oil of wintergreen – felt good for a while but didn’t do much; tea tree oil – worsened; finally stumbled over an old bottle of ‘Camphor Spirit USP’ and started using it, what a difference. The itchiness disappeared almost immediately, the open sore crusted over within a few hours, and now after applying it two or three times for the past four days, the whole affected area is reduced to a small red patch with flaking skin.
Here is the monograph from the bottle: ” To aid in the relief of sprains, bruises, headaches, skin eruptions, insect stings and cold sores: Rub into affected areas. Contains 10% w/v camphor. KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN. ”
I have to say something about tea tree oil. I have used it successfully in the past to remove moles and ‘age’ spots, but I had forgotten about how it creates an intense itchiness. Since all here have reported itching with the spider bites, you can imagine the situation with the use of the tea tree oil – well okay, maybe you can’t: However itchy you were – double it and make it last longer. Big mistake. I sincerely hope that this helps someone.
I believe there is a way to detoxifie the venom, you can put carmex on it and cover it with a bandage. I was told this by my gram who put the carmex on the spider bits which i didn’t expect to work but the next day the bite burst open and started to pour out blood pus and the left over venom.
The Venom color is usually blackish purple color when it comes out of your wound it will pour a lot or a little depending on how bad the spider bit you. Also, these spiders are mating with common house spiders which causes a problem. It worked for me and although it may not work for everyone, I though I would mention it and help others out here. Also, watch for little sack to come out. If the sack comes out of the wound go to a doctor immediately.
Carmex is a topical lip balm commonly utilized for reducing cold sores and dry chapped lips with active ingredients being menthol, camphor, alum, and salicylic acid.
Hello, this is a follow up to my post found here: http://www.badspiderbites.com/spider-bite.php#comment-15256
1. Hot compressing it got the venom sack to draw towards the opening, and I was able to get it out without spreading more venom into my skin by just lightly touching it with a piece of toilet paper, when I pulled the toilet paper back the sack clung to it and came out with it. Yes, it hurt considering how far down my bite had really gone, however the pain resided rather quickly and from there it was just a matter of keeping it clean and not irritating it anymore.
Mind you though I did hot compress three times a day, twenty minutes each time. Best way I was able to get it hot enough was take a wet wash cloth and heat it in a microwave for 35 seconds. Judge how hot you can handle it and leave it on the bite for twenty minutes till it cools on its own. If you want, do it twice each time. Considering it helped with the pain for me it might for someone else as well.
2. I kept it covered up when I was sleeping. Just used a large band aid for bigger areas, or gauze taped over it, with a thin layer of Neosporin on it so the leaking it did while I slept didn’t make it stick and thusly removing it in the morning wasn’t painful, nor would it make the hole worse.
What this seemed to do was keep it considerably warm while I slept which in its own way left the same effect as the hot compress did when I removed the bandage. Wiped it clean and found that a lot of the gunk inside was quick to pull out to the surface. And on the plus side this kept it from not only getting irritated at night, but from getting infected by rubbing against my bedding and clothes or anything else through the night. The less irritation you cause to it the better off it will be.
3. Don’t let shower water fall directly on it if the bite has finally started to show signs of being in the clear venom and pus wise. I did once and felt enough pain to know better the next time. I have a hole that goes a little over an inch deep in my lower back, and the water shooting into it from the shower burned and irritated it. It hurt for a long while after that.
Currently I’ve found that like with most wounds one gets it itches, obviously I haven’t scratched it. Though I do have to say that chances are if your bite runs as deep as mine does DO NOT LET IT CLOSE UP FROM THE TOP. I had to go in to my Doctors office and he had to put a wick into it so that it heals from the inside out. This way dead tissue isn’t stuck inside, and as it heals it will slowly push the wick outward.
The wick itself is actually just a strand of gauze that has adhesive on both sides so it doesn’t stay stuck to the inside of the bite like it would if it were just plain gauze. Point is letting it heal up from the top and leaving the bottom bit alone isn’t wise. It will trap the dead tissue, as well as any remaining venom and pus inside of it. Could cause a very deep and bad infection to start up.
Granted it was painful getting the wick in, considering it was pushed into me by use of a long thin piece of surgical metal. But if this does happen don’t pull it out. The more it heals inside the more slack you’ll notice on the outer end of the wick. Cut some of it off and leave it covered with a non stick gauze bandage, as well as another layer of gauze taped down to it with paper tape. That way when you go to change the bandage it will not pull out the wick, and while it will feel itchy you won’t be able to do anything about it unconsciously like you might with a mosquito bite. Also cover it with plastic while showering, fluid of any kind other than what’s leaking out getting into it will only help it get worse at that point. So its best to keep it dry and let it do its thing on its own without making the bite get temperamental on you from being wet.
Yes the wick hurts being that it’s lodged in my skin; however it only hurts if something or someone prods at it. Other than that it doesn’t bother me one bit, aside from knowing that my lower back is basically a candle right now lol!
Anyway that’s my experience with it thus far. Hopefully that’s helpful to someone on here.
My step mother told me a old southern way to treat a spider bite. A few days after she told me about it my husband was bite by a spider and we didn’t have the money for a hospital visit. Not to mention my husband hates doctors and paying them. So, i did as my step mom instructed and IT WORKED!
Here is what worked for me. Open an egg, peel out the “egg membrane” (slimey film stuck to the shell) and place it on the bite. I know it sounds crazy but it works. Just put one on about twice a day and leave it on for a few hours at a time with a bandage and when you peel it off of the bite it will be yellow instead of white showing that the poison was sucked out.
It worked on my husband, my mother, and a friend of my step moms. Try it if you can’t get to a doctor quickly. Also, sea salt mixed with warm water or Alum works because it draws infected cells and bacteria out of sores.
On saturday morning I was at breakfast and randomly in the middle of eating i felt the area of my jaw closest to my ear tighten and swell. I then turned my head and felt pain from a spot right under my earlobe. I put my hand on the area and felt a large amount of swelling. (this happened within MINUTES). My boyfriend examined the area and noticed a few redspots in a rough diamond formation just under my earlobe. I immediately went to CVS downed three benadryl, some motrin and put ice on it.
The swelling went down quite a bit but not entirely. I thought it was getiing better, so over the next few days I started to decrease my benedryl dosage. Then yesterday (4 days after the initial reaction) it started to swell up again, just as bad. I began taking benedryl and the swelling went down.
Now-day 5- i took some bendryl this morning and the swelling has been managable…i can at least chew. the small bumps are still there, but there are no blisters or pus filled sacks. the skin over the swollen area isa little dry, but not red at all.
I plan on going to the dr this afternoon, but want to know if anyone has experienced a similar phenomenom or knows what may have bit me…or how long it will take to heal? Is this an allergic reaction to the venom or the actual venom screwing with my lymph system (cause what is swelling feels like a lymph gland).
any info would be greatly appreciated.
thank you!
I plan on going to the
Tea Tree oil can be effective to take the itch and redness out of a bite. It has antiseptic properties as well. It can be found at most health food stores and many vitamin centers.
I have a hobo bite and would appreciate any information about this bite and how I should go about treating it.
Thanks!
My 88 year old mother, the doctor believes, has been bitten on the outer side of her right foot. This has been a good 3 to 4 weeks. She is on her second round of antibiotics by mouth. He finally gave us a prescription for an antibiotic cream to put on it.
The bite is round about the size of a penny at least, it is hard, the skin around it is red, in fact her whole side and top of her foot is red and swollen. The doctor said for me to leave it alone, don’t soak it, and do not use a needle on it or put a poultice on it. He said the bite would eventually dry up and fall off. I can’t see this…. It has never drained, I have mashed around on it but it is really tender.
Her skin is soooo thin. We can’t put tape on her skin only cloth tape. We live in a really small town close to the mexican border, I’ve been tempted to take her to the emergency room just to get a second opinion. If it were me it would be different, I’m really worried. This is her second round of antibiotics to take by mouth.
Will this slough off or will it open on its on or will it have to be lanced?
I was bitten by a brown recluse a week ago and was horribly sick for three days…nausea…fevers…chills and blurred vision. I was away from home and did not seek medical attention. My bite is about five inches below my navel in no man’s land…and upon further inspection, I discovered two bites with central cores and fang marks, etc.
My husband, a biologist, told me to lay down with a towel underneath me three times a day and pour peroxide over the bite, which had spread and was festering with blisters. A week later, I have continued to use the peroxide method and at night I put on an antibiotic cream to avoid nasty/painful oozing.
It has almost healed over…it is still a little red and tender to the touch. But it is not getting worse and it is not going to leave a horrible scar. I am a big fan of home remedies and often use baking soda, vinegar, buttermilk and lyposine to treat sunburns, bites and other skin irritations as we are big outdoor folks.
Best of luck to everyone with their bites and concerns. Rest and lots of hydration is also a contributing factor in any type of wellness regime.
Godspeed.
I just wanted to share that I was bitten by a brown and ended up with MRSA. It took nine surgeries and has ruined my life. Please, if are bitten, seek medical attention!
I have been bitten by something, i am assuming is a spider over 20 times in the last 3 days. I’m kinda sick of it. I checked out my room and naturally could not find anything, cleaned up a couple of cobwebs, but no spider physically. Is there anything i can do to get rid of it or something i can eat to repel it?
My 29-year-old daughter was bitten a couple of days ago. She went to the doctor and was given and antibiotic and pain killer. Her calf is hard, red, swollen. She has hallucinations, fever, nausea, and incredible pain even on the pain killers. This young woman has a very very high pain thresh-hold. Today she is in route to the doctor again for spider bite treatment.
Do these doctors not understand that time is of the essence in venom cases? Why do they start out with such bottom end antibiotics when TIME matters?? I’ve told her to go directly to a different emergency room if the doctor will not treat this as life-threatening. She now has a large green/blue/purple spot off to the side of the bite site.
She was told by the doctor that it was a brown recluse. Today she also has numbness up to her hip and cannot walk on the leg. I will update later. I’m shocked at the lah-de-dah attitude taken by the medical profession toward these life and limb threats. If it was a cancer test that came back positive, it’d be viewed as a big deal.
It’s disturbing.
Update 8/24/07
The last I wrote to this site my daughter was on her way to get a different antibiotic because the one first prescribed did no good. Thankfully the second course of something stronger did. She is on about day 10 of this saga, she is still spending much of her time in bed, the tea glass bottom sized red and raised bite site has a purple center that is fading somewhat, peeling, and oozing yellowish bloody goo.
She has faithfully kept a sea salt and water wrap on it all of this time, changing the bandages several times a day, keeping that center portion leaking out the bad stuff. No one but the internet gave that advice. It has been a huge help in the healing. She is still far from healed, but is progressing nicely and can sort of walk on the foot now.
She was later told that the poison can be confined if one is given a cortisone shot at the site of the bite early on. Geeeeeee, the medical people should get their heads together on this and stop acting like it’s a small illness. She says it is the single most painful thing she has experienced….keeping in mind she had multiple days of labor in childbirth and emergency c-section.
I was just biten a few mins ago, and seeing as I’m an aracnaphobe, I wanted to find out the best way to deal with it. The initial bite hurt like crazy, very similar to a sewing needle stabbing me in my calf. It is a small brownish spider, NOT a recluse as fare as I can tell. There is a little swelling around the inteal bite. Not sure if it is serius, but any advice on spider bite treatment would be apperciated.
I was bitten by a spider about 2 weeks ago here in Louisiana and after 5 days I thought it best to go to the ER and have it checked out. I had originally thought it was a mosquito bite that had became infected because it itched so at first. I am not one to run to the Dr. over every little thing.
The bite was on the back of my leg, just under the bend of my knee. It was round, hard and red and warm to the touch but there was a blackish center. The Dr. who saw it said he wasn’t sure what it was (Duh!). After some research on the internet I drew my own conclusions from the other pictures that I have seen and have decided that it is the bite of a brown recluse.
It is not a pretty site and it is very painful with redness, swelling and pus oozing from the center. After a week of antibiotics, Bactrim DS to be exact, it has improved greatly and I am well on the way to mending, although there is still a small amount of discomfort.
It’s not nearly as bad as day 5-8. The picture above is what I believe to be a brown recluse spider bite. Good Luck to all who come in contact with these little buggers. Evidentially I sat on it and was bitten as they will not bite unless brushed up against or crushed from what I have read about these things. They love dark undisturbed corners and old clothes and shoes that haven’t been moved about in some time, so please shake everything out before you go putting anything on that came from your closets or anything packed away in boxes or storage.
Update 8/25/07:
Dear Readers, I have noticed the first thing most folks want to do with these pustules that come to a head is to Squeeze them! Bad Bad Bad. I wanted to do the same thing but this is exactly what you don’t want to do.
When you squeeze them like a zit, it causes the poison and all kinds of bacteria to spread throughout your body making it far worse then what originally started. This can spread through your bloodstream causing far worse problems, such as Staph and Cellulitis (nothing to do with fatty skin). It is a serious infection in the blood that can be caused by insect bites and bacteria entering the skin through a small crack or cut on the skin.
So please, Do Not Squeeze and seek medical attention if you see that it is not getting better. Also I have found that a clean hot wet washcloth applied to the site helps to draw some of this stuff out thereby relieving some of the pressure that builds up with these types of bites.
Also wash thoroughly with soap and water often. Good Luck to Everyone! I posted a pic on Aug 20 of my spider bite. It is much better now, but I don’t feel as if I am quite out of the woods yet. Now I have to watch it for any signs of redness again so I do not pick up a Staph infection or Cellulitis.
Even when the original bite gets better, watch for redness and streaks and warmness to the touch which could indicate an infection in the blood. Seek medical attention immediately if you notice these signs as this is nothing to play around with!
On about December 10, 2006, I woke up one morning with a swollen foot and a nasty eruption on my foot. I did not look for or see any insect, as I did not think of that being important to any firstaide. Initailly, I just thought it would go away, but on Christmas eve at a family gathering, my son in law saw the sore and insisted that we go to Urgent Care. The Dr. there said it looked like a spider bite and perscribed 2 antibiotics. It got better but did not go away, so on the second visit, the treatment was repeated after the 2 week period.
Although I do not have an open sore, I have had and still have many problem with that foot.
To this time, my foot reamins swollen and occassionally I think I am getting another sore on it. It gets very sore and itcty and I often suffer pain from it. It is so bothersome that I cannot sleep most nights. I am down the road from firstaide treatment, and now need secondaide treatment to releive my symtoms. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Thank you,
Shirley Hall
i was bitten by something (might be spider). I felt so itchy when i was sleeping and i woke up with a round red spot in my right arm close to armpit..i still have it right now & it’s been 3 days, it’s little itchy and sore..i used hydrocortisone just now and i hope it’ll work..do i need to go to the doctor? or what other medicine can i use?..
Two years ago I was bitten several times over several weeks by brown recluse spiders which had infested my closet! One bite in particular was persistent. After trying anti-itch cremes, neosporine, ice, etc… My doctor husband told had no advice. The necrotic tissue was spreading fast!
A friend told me about an old remedy–you make a poultice out of the tobacco from inside of a cigarette that has already been smoked (the butt end that has been heated but not burned). It took me awhile to acquire the butts of a few cigarettes from smokers. It actually worked! After a few hours, the necrosis stopped and began to heal!
I certainly do not recommend smoking as a cure for spider bites but the chemistry worked for me! I kept the remains of those cigarette butts until they smelled up my first aid kit too much!
Why was Florida NOT on the list! We have brown Recluse, EVERY PLACE!!!!!! Sam I could send you pic’s of many kinds of spiders!!!
I just wanted you all to know I got bit by a brown recluse when I was younger and if you clean the top off the put a thin slice of a potato on it, the starch in the potato will “suck” the venom out of the bite. The other thing you can do is take flax seeds and grind them up then put those on the bite. this should work with pretty much all venomous bites. The doctor said if I hadn’t done that I probably would have had to have surgery and have a portion of my leg cut out because of the venom.
i live in fla and am on a little vacation in milwaukee. don’t want to go to the doctors, but i fear i have a spider bite that needs attention. there is a five inch diameter redness on my right arm with a small round sore in the middle. the skin about an inch and a quarter around the sore has hardened. the entire thing hurts to the touch and is throbbing.
advise?
Hi, I was bitten by a (spider) or some type insect inbetween my toe on thursday and by friday night my toes were numb and my calf and foot were very red in that area. I went to emergency room and ended up with antibiotics and pain killers, then sent home.
The next day it was full of pus and after taking a warm bath, it burst a greenish yellowish color. It has been 4 days and there is a huge whole inbetween my toe! What could this be from? Does anyone have any idea’s? my foot is real tender now and it is still hard to walk.
I came to this site to find a treatment for a spider bite on my hand and tryed the one with a raw potato and it helped, but its still swollen some and the area around the two puncture wounds still has some redness. So I’m going to futher treatment. But I think I’m going to try the one with the baking soda and water and if that don’t work, go back to the raw potato. I’m glad this site is here, too. Thanks!
i have several odd sours which started as small pus marks resembeling an ant bite. In aday or so getting large and inflamed,painfull,weeping greenish pus Does not respond to any topical med
My friend has a black dot with a white thing in the middle and it hurts to touch as i try to remove it. This is so sore for her; the spot is about the size of a dime and has a white center.
Please help
This is in regards to Phil’s bite I have a sore that looks just like the one you have posted it’s very painful and my muscles are sore feels like I’ve been working out for a week straight or something and using muscles i’ve never used before, I know that it is a spider bite but not sure what kind, I was bitten a year ago with almost the same kind of sore. I heard that once you’re bitten, that you are more prone to being bitten again because of some kind of chemical that the spider injects along with their venoum. Sounds crazy i know, but could it actually be true? A picture of my bite can be found below:
I’ve been bit by a spider and it hurts so bad! I got bit by my leg it was red yesterday but this morning I woke up and now it is purple. What should i do? I’m in pain!
I noticed a week ago that I had this redness on my left leg. I said oh something got me, so I put something on it and it went away than, a week later on the same leg I noticed another one but bigger real red and hurts real bad when I walk and has a pus head; I am going to the doctors early in the morning. I am scared and I don’t like the feeling it is giving me.
Hi to you all….
I had been to a baby shower early in the day, and when I came home, I wanted to take my dog for a walk, so I changed my foot-gear. put on a pair of my sneaks, and headed out….(NO PROBLEMS) until later that night when I took my dog out before going to bed…I got out side ok, but when I headed back into the house,I could hardly makeit up the stairs…I took my sneaks off and soaked my foot in hot water, which did absolutely nothing…the pain was worse than labor….it was incredible!!!! I screamed myself to sleep and called my daughter in the morning telling her about my problem….she said it was probably a spider bite and to make a baking soda and water paste and slather it on and leave it on for about 20 minutes my foot was red,hot and swollen before the soak, but it was MUCH improve after. I saw my daughter later that day and she was able to see the place where I had been bitten …..her advice was to check out my shoes with a flashlight before putting them on from now on….and believe me ….I WILL
I was bitten by a spider several years ago…It felt only like a pinprick and it really didn’t leave much of a mark. Several hours later I felt my throat get tight like I was choking. That feeling past and I went to bed. The next morning when I woke up, I was so stiff and sore that I could hardly get out of bed. After several doctor’s visits I was diagnosed with polymyalgia rheumatica. I have been on a treatment of steroids, plaquenil, and mega doses of ibuprophen. Help!! They said that the spider bite was just a coincidence and that yes, indeed, the symptoms for polymyalgia rheumatica could appear overnight. I’m still in a lot of pain even after all of this treatment. Any suggestions?
i recieved a bit on my leg a month ago it looked like a zit but then no pus, it almost looked like a blister a few days later. i left it alone and the the swelling went down. Now all that is left is a pinkish red mark sometimes appears a purple color about the size of 1/4 a dime. it does not hurt and there is no swelling. i do not believe there is any pus or anyting inside. but iam still worried since there is some color duration of the bite. any ideas if it was a spider bite and should i be worried
Please reply, thank you
I was sitting outside two nights ago and felt a bit on my wrist. Did not see the spider but looked around and I saw a lot of webs.
I put ice on it and then some cream. I then took some Benadryl and keep putting Hydrocortisone Cream 1% every few hours.
The skin around the bite is hard and it is a bit red around the area about 2 inches. I know it was not a bad spider, just want to know if I am doing the correct thing.
I read about the raw egg white and did not try it, should I and how long will this take. Can I take a hot bath because I have been using ice?
Please any advice would help. I did go to a drug store last night and was told I was doing the correct thing.
Thank you,
Frada Merritt San Francisco
I’m glad to see the posts about natural treatments. I pretty much treat most things that way and find that its successful both for myself and the others I try to help using interactive sites that are naturapathic, herbalistic, homeopathic. There are lots of on-line sites for traditional/AMA medical treatment. (traditional in this use being somewhat of an untruth!)
I have had spider bites and treated them similarly to a couple of the comments here. I found in my case, and that of some others I’ve worked w/ that the Immediate use of a drawing poultice is a key in the treatment. It starts to remove the toxins and infectious ‘goo’ right away. I continued to do poultice on it for several hours after the initial bite, then daily for a few more days. Anytime after that there would be any sign of swelling etc, I would do another draw.
Colloidal/ or Ionic Silver topically and internally . Charcoal important -Again topically and internally. I used baking soda and charcoal ,and or a combination of those w/ the silver and or lobelia, calendula in the poultice mixture. Also internally fenugreek and Yellow dock. I will always try natural first. I am aware others do not, or may not understand or know about it.
In any case these spider bites are serious business, and should receive immediate and continued attention by what ever method you choose! G.
i got bit a couple a weeks the spider that bit is unknown . i can not afford to go to the doctor. its red and hard . and its hard for me to walk .i need help asap
#61 written on Oct 20, 2007, I have had the same thing happen to me. If you spelled your name with a y instead of an i, I would have thought I wrote the article. I took all the same meds for 2 years and decided that was enough. I had blood work done and it showed an infection, quite bad, for that long. Steroids got the numbers done and I did feel better but they are so bad for everything else in the body that I quit them. I have flare ups from time to time and a hot tub seems to help but I think I will be sore for the rest of my life. It is not polymyalgia rheumatica, I have never had pain in my shoulders, hips or neck. I think it was just a name the doctor could write on my chart. Blood work doesn’t lie, the pain wasn’t in my head, (which is what he thought at first). Spider, tick or whatever, the bite has really done a job on me. Wish we could keep in touch. Patty
I had two raised red bumps over my left eye. Less than 24 hours later I developed flu like symptoms, tremendous joint or muscle pain, and fever.
My Physician treated me with a steroid injection and a Medrol dose pack. The pain persisted for more than 24 hours after the injection even after taking tylenol with codeine around the clock!!!
We live in the country, and in the process of working in the woods, my husband apparently was bitten by a spider or spiders behind the ear and on top of his head. He is in quite a bit of pain, has raised bumps on his head (about 4 places) with redness, small white bumps behind his ear and his lymph gland at the base of his head near his ear is swollen. A heating pad relieve the swelling for a period of time. What can I do to eleviate his pain and help the situation. It is hard to treat his head with his hair (short) in the way. He keeps getting shooting pains throughout his head and it even hurts to just barely touch his hair! He is feeling weak, too.
Thanks!
I have a solution to most spider bites that’ll blow some of your minds. It worked for me! I fell on this cure totally by accident! We were on a ranch about a hundred miles from the nearest town or another home. Called the doctor and they told me that when the bite begins to turn black and begins to ooze, bring my child in to be seen! ( I thought, are you kidding me?) Because there’s not much they can do for spider bites until they are really bad! ANYWAY, with that said….Take a cotton ball and rubbing alcohol, place the soaked cotton over the bite. Leave there for about 15 mintues. Then a bandage with Tinactin on it. That’s right Tinactin. (used to cure athletes feet) After the first application you will see the spider bite going away and the pain being drawn out. But continue to soak in alcohol and re-bandage with Tinactin about 3-5 times a day for 3 days from the first notice of the bite. I have used this remedy many times on myself, my 3 children and many friends. NO one can believe how quickly this works!
Make sure you consult a doctor before you try this.
In response to Phil and Rebecca:
My bite is very similar. About 6 or 7 days ago, I was sitting in my apartment room at the university I attend, and I felt a sharp, shooting pain in my left breast. I looked at it and it appeared to be a red bump, a little annoying pain, but nothing more. The next two days after that the pain continued on-and-off again, and as soon as I went to my doctor. (My ‘female” doctor, at the time I thought it was maybe swollen breast tissue or an infected gland.)
By the time I got a doctor’s appointment, (two days ago) it turned into a tiny black scab, with raised reddish skin around it, it was warm and hardened underneath the area. I knew it was infected and I expected her to give me antibiotics for my “breast problem”, but as soon as she looked at it she told me that something bit me, probably a spider. She prescribed Dicloxicillin, 4 times a day. I have been taking it for about a day and a half.
The area has continued to go from an achey, muscle pain in my breast and pectoral muscles, to a shooting pain, to no pain at all, switching from one or the other occasionally.
At my boyfriend’s house this evening (about 10 hours ago), I was in the bathroom and noticed that it was weeping a little bit under the scab, so I wiped it, but more liquid was coming out.
What happened next was the most horrifying thing to ever witness on my own body.
I touched and squeezed around the scab, hoping to void more of the liquid, and a thick gush of yellowy and bloody pus gushed out. I was initially a little shocked, but I kept trying to clear it out. It kept oozing and oozing, and when I finally gave it one last little squeeze I felt an almost audible *POP* and even MORE thick yellowy pus poured out.
I’ve never been one to be squeemish, but I felt my skin become clammy and my ears rang and my vision became spotted. That is the closest I have ever come to fainting in my life.
A few hours later when I returned home, I decided to lift up the bandaid I had used to cover the small crater-like wound, and as the bandaid came off, immediately yellowy pus and blood POURED out of the wound. It caught me off guard, and I again tried to squeeze out the rest.
AGAIN i felt a “pop”, and this time, THICK, almost hard, greenish pus popped out. I almost fainted and I felt myself almost dry heave.
I have since taken another one of my antibiotic pills, and covered the wound with neosporin. It is currently weeping a clearish fluid, I’m hoping the worst is over but I doubt it.
As much of a sissy it makes me sound like, that was probably one of the most horrifying, disturbing experiences with my own body that I can imagine.
P.S. Of course I’m currently worried about MRSA now, from my research I have been doing and every website I visit tells me it’s probably staph and not a spider bite….who knows? I’ll see how this antibiotic works.
I am NOT looking forward to clearing out the pus again tomorrow.
i am grateful for this website. As i move to the end of my second bottle of cephalexin 500 mg, i feel that after almost a month of treatment i should be getting better. i have one bite on my rt leg and the best i can figure about 9 bites on the left leg. the right leg irritates me but the left leg has gotten really red, hard, itchey, blistering, swollen and with the edema really created a hard leather band in the middle of the usually swollen area. like a figure eight, swollen above and swollen below the area.
My wife is a naturepath and we have thrown every thing in the book at this problem. christopher’s BFand C , professor cayenne, and plantain ointment have helped the itching and controlled the potential infection that some of you describe, i tried some comfrey leaves from the garden but we have been on vacation and have not had access to the garden lately. lately i have been worried about the pain in the shin bone especially when the 8 grand kids come running around.
For me i think that the vitamin c 4000 mg is a good idea, this is found in the cayenne pepper; i like the enzyme action of the meat tenderizer: i like the benadril and the neosporin applied topically to prevent infection. the idea of bleach, baking soda and water makes sense in neutralizing the acid based venom; i don’ understand the cider vinegar (acid) approach other than it is a good idea for just about everything else in general health. there should be a consideration for assisting the liver which has to filter out all of the poison.
Additionally i have had a huge boil on my back that squirts out 3 to 6 feet when you squeeze it, but i don’t know if it is related to the detoxing. i am very happy for my wife daily message of my leg. who is also a massage therapist. initially it was very tender and now i can stand more pressure as my leg is beginning to soften a little. it was at least scarrey to me, however i see that others have had it worse. I pray for us all, allopathic medicine continues to treat the symptom and not the cause as do the natural medicine types.
I am grateful to live in a time where there is an internet. maybe sometime the doctors will consult is for the healing arts and not just buying more condo’s in hawaii. we also have the brown recluse in california. Suerte. SSS Bob henry
This site works very well for me. I hope.
A couple weeks ago I woke up and went into the bathroom to urinate. I notice a small reddish bump at the bottom of my male part. I live in Rhode Island and it is January so everything is pretty much frozen, Im trying my best to rule out a spider. I popped what I thought was the pimple and pus came out. I thought it was gone but it wasnt. Tonight I popped it again, It increased in size a lot since that first day. Pus, blood, and a clearish liquid came out of the bump. Also, I could see what looked like two little dots around it, but I might just be scaring myself. I am going to try taking Vitamin C in high mg quantities and see if it clears up at all. If not, anyone have any remedies for this reddish, white liquid filled sore?
Im just really hoping it isnt a spider bite,It isnt giving me much pain, until of course I pop it, then it is quite painful, but other than that it is just there. Thanks for your time.
I found this site looking for spider bite treatments. It took 6 months to get over one on my foot, now I have one on my calf that I can’t seem to get rid of. My bites are like a magnified fire ant bite…hard pustule center, red infection around it.
HOWEVER I want to tell you about my Yorkshire Terrier who was having problems last year, a mass on her right side, trouble walking, and sometimes a spasm of her right rear leg. I took her to her regular vet…the idiot just said “oh, her knee cap pops in and out but that is common with yorkies”. $180 later, after taking her home she seemed worse and I took her to a different vet the next day. He said she needed immediate surgery. They operated, removed the mass from her side, sent it to a lab, and it turned out she had been bitten by a brown recluse.
It took a long time to heal. She had a drainage tube in her side and pressure bandages for a couple of months after the surgery. She is fine now, but I vigorously exterminate my decks, stairs, around windows, etc. monthly. I do NOT like spiders of any kind!
Thursday- at about 5pm my husband reported pain in his leg so excruciating that he couldn’t tolerate the drive home from work…so once he arrived to pick me up from where I work, I drove. When we got home, I was anxious to take a look at the “bite site” on butt of his right driving leg that he reported as being “immobile and painful” stopping him from performing simple, everyday tasks.
…later on that evening the pimple busted, he took a bath, the sore became larger and spreaded from the size of a pimple to the size of a dime. Thinking that it was a boil, we treated the infected area with peroxide.
During frequent monitoring, I observed that the bite site was oozing very little clear substance and blood. We continued to treat the bite site with peroxide, sterilized gauze padding and bandages.
Friday- it appeared that the hardened area and swelling had decreased. Although the bite site was on his butt his the pain consumed his entire right leg. His right leg was swollen from his quadriceps to the inner thigh above the knee. He continued to complain of pain after the pimple on top of the bite site busted.
Sunday- applied neosporin, peroxide, and bandage
-noticed rubbery white thick substance, medium bleeding
Monday- cleaned with peroxide, more bleeding, improved skin condition, the sore/bite site decreased in diameter from quarter to nickel size.
Tuesday- will try the egg membrane (venom suction home-remedy) and heated towel today. Needless to say, he has been unable to work since Friday.
Nevertheless, the pain has subdued, swelling has decreased substantially, and in the midst he has communicated his confidence in the power of prayer and positive thoughts.
Last April, my husband was bitten – we applied the cold used black tea bag – very helpful – continued to treat with antibiotic cream and antifungal cream … this took months to clear up.
Eleven months later, this morning, all of a sudden the pinky red leftover spot got a lot redder. He said it itched – I put Benadryl cream on it, thinking maybe he scratched it in his sleep. It looked almost like those ingrown hair follicle things at first. This evening, it’s redder still. ????????? It doesn’t seem to have a “hot spot” like it did in the beginning. I’m just puzzled. Any one ????????????
Do not know what bit me, but this is what happened.
Mon – noticed what I thought was an ant bit on my inner left thigh near the groin.
Tues – was sitting at my desk and felt a painful blister. When I looked at it, I found a pustule the size of a pencil’s eraser. I broke the pustule (now I find out I shouldn’t have done that). I started taking Benadryl and acetaminophen.
Wed. – called my physician and he prescribed Augmentin. Experienced chills and was shaking a bit, but this subsided.
Thurs. – went to physician. He said it was NOT a spider bite, but another venomous INSECT. Recommended staying on Augmentin and using hot compresses. He said if it comes to a head, go to a surgeon.
Fri – Saturday – center has become larger and it is draining blood and pus on its own. It feels so much better after we drain it and apply more Neosporin, under sterile conditions.
What type of bite do you think I have experienced? If it isn’t better by Monday morning, I am going to a surgeon. I have not had any other physical symptoms. Pictures being sent now.
I have what I think is a spider bite n my neck- – -
my neck itched – the outer layer of skin peeled off to make it a dime size red sore. it looks like one teeny dot in the center-I put poroxide on it- doesnt hurt
I live in Lake George NY. Last year I developed a sore on my rear. It was pretty painful to sit and went away over the next few months. Another incident occurred in October near the original bite/sore. I finally sought treatment from a PA 12 days ago. He diagnosed bug bite and prescribed Agumintem, misspelled. I went through the first 10 days and got another script for a second 10 days. The bite has crusted over and the pain is slight. Am I on the right course?
I think I may have been bitten by a rather weak southern black widow. I have a small red bump surrounded by a white ring that is then surrounded by red ring. My entire leg is sore and weak. I also have sharp pains around the bite. I have been having abdominal pain, dizziness, chest pain, headache, fever, dry mouth, and high pulse. I don’t have insurance so I am not sure what I should do. Please someone help me!
I’ve had the bite in the picture shown below on my forearm for 6 days now.
It started out looking like a pimple and now it is the size of a quarter. Red Rash is over a third of my forearm, guess I should get to the Dr. and get meds.
I live in Florida and two members of my family have been bitten by the Recluse. My son seems to not have much problems with them but my other half got bit on the upper thigh and within 5 days it was a volcano. The redness was getting bigger and bigger and this kid told us about this salve called Draw Out or Black salve and told us to put it on the bite and cover it with a bandage. Every 6 hours change the dressing and add more of the salve. We did this and I would say it took care of it almost right away. Within a couple days it was already closed and healing. He now has a big scar on his leg but at least that salve took care of it.
I found the salve at Walmart for about $5. You can also use this on other bites, boils or anything like that. It actually draws out the infection. Pretty neat stuff.
I got bit two days ago and it’s now starting to get bigger and itchy and when I scratch it, it burns so I’m assuming it’s the same deal and will be using the salve. Please try this product, it worked for us and a few other people I gave it to. I think you can probably also purchase it in a drugstore though I never checked.
Good luck to you all
Teri
Someone help.
Was bitten by something 5-6 days ago….Started farily small and has grown into a large lump.
The bits is on the back of my leg. Last night I couldnt bear the pain anymore and squeezed the hard, blue, and affected area. Goo started coming out. Clotted blood, pus and some other foriegn stuff.
Leg still hurts today, and dark blood pours ou7t when I squeeze the area.
No heath insurance, so I dont want to go to the doctor.
any advice would be appreciated
i was bit by a spider on my foot at the heel and it was really hurting. I didn’t notice it until it was time for me to leave work (a lot of pain by then) When i arrived home i asked my wife if she had seen anything on my foot and she said no.
I went to sleep and awoke several times throughout the night and by morning it was a big sore hard bubble with green stuff and red surrounding it.
I went to the hospital because my ankle starting hurting all the way up to my leg. The doctors couldn’t help and just gave me antibiotics. I then went to my mothers house and she busted it open and cleaned it out for me.
I felt better right after that and took my medication as usual………
i got bite by some spider (I don’t know what) and i have a big red ring on my thigh and a hole the size of a pencil eraser, pus started to come out so i popped it! and boy did that hurt! Now there’s an empty crater on my leg!! and around the crater its purple/black i have no clue what is up? hopefully it will go away I’ve been applying neosporin to it an peroxide and have had the same results! so anyone with the same symptoms, holler back!
Dear readers,
I was bitten today may 14th 2008, I do not have a clue what kind of spider has bitten me. I AM SCARED TO DEATH!!!!!
I really appreciate all of the great comments on home remedies, but I don’t know whether to go to the hospital or not .
My question is: there is a lot of info for how to treat a spider bite.. but what about a LOT of them like over 50 bites, and over 8 or 9 of them are not the venomless dry bite but have caused an obvious allergic skin reaction. I mean just treat each one like the single bite or should i be worried because the sheer volume of bites?
I was bitten in bed over the course of a few days then found the wolf spider after connecting the bites to sleeping in the bed as i normally sleep on the couch. it looks like spots of poison oak but, i didn’t get poison oak in bed. i live in Georgia and after the bites started i experienced kidney and chest pains for a day or two, and stiffness in the joins where i got bit, in the back of the hand knuckles wrists elbow sides hip knees back of knees ankles calfs chest and right under my adams apple.
It has been 5 days but i was bit over the course of 3 or 4 days so its been 2 days since the last bite. how much longer am i going to be itching because its real bad itching to the point of hydrocortizone creme caladryl and taking benedryl pills doesn’t really help it much.
When i had poison oak it lasted a month and had to get steroids from the hospital to stop it i hope that wont happen from this but it seems like its getting slowly worse not better what do i do ?
I just wanted to thank you guys for sharing your experiences on this website. It really helped me. I wish I would have known about it sooner, since I have been bitten 3X’s, by probably the same spider. The first time I went almost a week and a half w/out any treatment. I didn’t know that what I had on my left side hip was a spider bite. But after I couldn’t take the pain anymore I went to the Dr. All he gave me was antibiotics and a creme for the inflamation. He suggested Tylenol for the pain.
I was so upset when the medicine did not really help me. I finally convinced my mom, who was a nurse, to burst the spider bite open and take out everything that was inside. As you can imagine, it hurt a lot but once all of the dark blood came out w/pus I felt much relieve. After that we kept the area disinfected and clean. The next day as I laid in bed I felt something running through my side and it was more blood w/gunk.
To be honest I freaked out a bit because it was a lot, it didn’t hurt, but I hadn’t done anything for it to come out like that. Well afterwards it healed on its own and became a scar. The 2nd X, it wasn’t as painful as the first and I decided not to go to the Dr. My friend gave me a bee sting reliever and it completely healed the wound. However, a small bump and a scar remain. I believe the bump is due to the venom that did not come out. The 3rd bite however, was the most painful one of all. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a hold of the bee sting medicine and endured the pain for a couple of days.
I was waiting for it to mature like the 1st bite so that we could pop it again. Luckily I found this website and tried out the carmax and band-aid remedy and it WORKED! I put the carmax and band-aid just before I took two tylenols and went to bed. The next day when I woke up some gunk had gotten out and then the rest came out that morning. Right now I still have the band-aid on but I have neosporin on. Thank you so much for all your help again.
- Gaby
The Carmex Treatment!
I was bitten on 6/13/08 – yep Friday the 13th by a Brown Recluse on my thigh which I initially dismissed at a mosquito (I live in Louisiana). By Sunday, I knew it was more serious that a mosquito bite. After reading this forum throughly, I tried a few of the treatments and found one that worked. I washed the bite and then applied a thick coat of Carmex and put a bandage over the bite on Wednesday, June 18th – 6 p.m.
That night, my entire right side of my hip down to my toes was on fire! Yesterday morning the 19th, the bite burst open and the poison sack oozed out along with the sac string. The bite is now really oozing a thick bloody mess. This is a good sign though as at least the poison is coming out. I have added Neosporine to the Carmex and covered with bandage. The severe pain is lessening! Also – the bite is not getting bigger – it remains about the size of a quarter and I see no blackening or blistering…yet. I will post an update after this weekend.
when you see a white blister thinking it may be a pimple and then try to squeeze it out and find that the area becomes hard, red and painful ,then through out a short time it gets larger or more oozing ,and you want to just squeeze it out hoping thats all it takes. what your actually doing by squeezing it or ignoring it ,the posion is breaking through the skin from the inside and (sometimes the hole closes)
it goes backwards and travels at this point you must get medical attention. they give a shot directly in the wound to numm it and a small cut is done in the center releasing any ooz and slightly stuffed with medicated string gauze for about a couple days leaving it inside along with antibotics. for extreme cases the precedure could be more serious but myself has experienced this and my husband who hadi t from his finger and traveled to his elbow had to be admitted for 2 days.
we got better dealt with what we had to go through its way to scary and also it affects your entire blood system for all kinds of problems! If a doctor refuses to treat you go find another, also dont be stubborn and not see a doctor cause you dont want to wait 5 hours its worth the care for yourself more and for payment you can work something out even if it takes awhile. I care for people this is why I tell this story.
One of my triplet grandbabies(15 mon.old)recently got bit by a spider. We didn’t see the spider but we have hobo’s and brown recluse in the house that we’ve seen(and killed). It left a hole and fang marks and was nasty and pus looking, My son-in-law put a paste of bentonite and charcoal powder on it and bandage.
They would change this dressing every day and after one and a half weeks, the wound is closing up and is now just a small red dot. When the bite first happened, there was also small red lines starting out from the bite but cleared as soon as the paste of bentonite and charcoal powder was put on it.
Hello all,
I was bitten by a unknown spider in rhode island on either 4th or 5th of july
on the afternoon of the 5th of july at approximately 2:30 pm i had pain behind my knee i showed my wife and there was a hive ( raised skin area red in color ) the size of a pimple on the back of my knee. KEY thing here it was NOT ITCHY it just hurt anyway i disregarded it and went to work.
byt the time i got to work at approx 5:30 the pimple was the size of a dime in diameter but the skin around it was turning red with the middle now darkening more pain insued. at work i vomited 3 times towards the last hour of my 8 hour shift my face went numb for about 10 mins and i had hot flashes on and off. I drove my self to the hospital at 3 am
waited a while to be seen was given intravenous antibiotic 2 pill antibiotic pills benadryl and vicodin then was let go at 8:30 they did draw a circle around the infected area of the skin which at this point was the entire back of my knee. a softball size circle pain still ensued i went to bed seeing as if i was up for over 24 hours at this point. i woke up later that evening in immense pain at this point my leg at the knee area was completely swollen to the point where i could not stand or put any weight on it. I was taken back to the hospital.
This time i was admitted for 2 and a half days. they tried every antibiotic they had to stop the infection
with no results. then they used sulfa something a very powerful antibiotic that it was so powerful they had to draw blood and check the levels in my body every 4 hours because you can become toxic from it.
I was told that it could be MRSA, West nile, a very bad case of cellotis, lime disease. or some kind of posionous bite.
MRSA – NEGATIVE
WEST NILE – NEGATIVE
Cellotis – Present due to a bite of some sort
Lime Disease – NEGATIVE – they tested this 2 times
They did a punch biopsy they day i left the hospital last wednesday and they did a full mri of my leg 3 hours of no movement ouch
anyway here i sit with a area of skin the size of 2 1/2 inches in height and 4 inches wide with skin just peeling away kinda like when someone gets real bad sunburn layer after layer of skin just falling off and the area around the punch biopsy is turning black still sore swelling is gone now thanks to TREMADOL if you ever get bit tell them you want this as long as you are not allergic it is a all natural drug that was the only thing that removes the pain and swelling,
I will wait 2 more days to find out more and keep you posted.
But as for a poisionous bite
here are the signs i know first hand
1. starts off as like a pimple looking thing but is slightly painful (NOT ITCHY)
2. In My case it grew 10 times its size in less then 8 hours
3. the initial bite area will be darker then the rest of the infection
4. Pain alot of pain – imagine a charlie horse that never goes away thats the best way i can describe it.
things to do to help.
1. If you or someone you know believes they have been biten by something and you have a lump or pimple watch it closely.
2. If there is pain but no itchiness GOTO THE HOSPITAL
3. Another key sign is it is warm to the touch the bite area was hot very noticeable temperature difference in the skin in the area and the area that was not infected.
4. Warm compress wet warm towel is what the doctors used on me.
BOTTOM LINE GOTO THE HOSPITAL !!! do not wait it will cost you your skin and i am serious.
hopefully everything works out ok for me
still trying to be optimistic
joe
On 7/29/08 an important new treatment story was added to the lead-in article on the “Spider Bite Treatment” thread. If you are hunting for treatment, and read that area before this date, go back and hunt for the story from “Gerald”.
Yeah I would just like to know what I can do to treat the bite locally. All I have been doing is putting neosporin on a bandaid. It’s ugly and it’s right on my neck. Seems to be getting larger by the day. Im gonna be upset if it leaves a giant scar on my neck.
I got bitten a week ago by, I believe, probably a black widow… They’re common around the outside of my house. But, it could have been a different type for all I know because it happened while I was sleeping. This was my first “major” bite. All others were like mosquito bites, just minor annoyances that healed on it’s own.
This one became noticeable in the morning as a highly raised white head on my leg, near my knee. It hurt just a little bit, but I pressed out the pus and applied some hydrogen peroxide to it. By the next day it had developed into a nickel sized red rash… Almost looked like ring worm. By applying hydrogen peroxide daily and then eventually some “Cell Rejuvenator” lotion (Peter Gillham’s brand) daily it’s remarkably improved over just a week’s time. The skin is turning back to normal. It still has a little ways to go, but I’m happy with the progress.
The hydrogen peroxide worked well to keep it disinfected. And the cell rejuvenator (made of essential oils and other good stuff) helped to sooth the rash, further disinfect the area, and promote healing.
Cheers!
By “locally” do mean no Dr? YOU NEED TO SEE A DR! Did you read the lead-in article to this thread referenced in #92? Print it off and go to a Dr. An open bite lesion is a much more serious spot than on arms and legs and thats bad enough.
I am a spider magnet
. I live in a rickety old house constantly under atk from insects. I have been bitten by a brown recluse 3 times, and a number of other species as yet to be identified. In my opinion, the Baking soda thing works the best. My grandparents told me to do it many years ago, I’ve been using it ever since, and it’s never gone wrong. It reduces swelling, and draws out poison. There is no science and no needed measurement, just put some baking soda in the palm of your hand and add water until you get a thick paste, then apply directly to the bite, and let it dry COMPLETELY until it begins to crumble off of it’s own accord. Anytime will work, but as soon as you notice a bite that is a suspect spider, I would suggest using it, the earlier you get to it, the less damage the venom will do.
I got bit by an unknown type of spider on 5/26/2008 on the back of my heel. I didn’t know it when it happened, but the next day and several days later it was so red and swollen I could not get my shoe on. A week went by and I went to the doctors and was put on antibotics and the bite site was lanced. Nothing came out but clear liquid. I limped around for two weeks and pulled a hamstring. I just finished thearpy for the hamstring. But the heel is still sore and the side of my foot is still sore. The skin all peeled off the heel a month and a half ago on the bite area. There are about 5 darker dots on the heel too. I think I was bitten that many times. Any ideals would be appreciated. Thank You
I live in NY could you help identify this spider we found on our scavenger hunt walk down by the creek. Sue and Kids at Daycare
bitten on the back of the leg 3 yrs ago. treated with anti-biotics, 3 months later it healed. I real wish this site was up then. Bitten by Hobo 3 days ago, use baking soda trick no bite left at all thanks alot everyone
i got a spider bite around 2 weeks ago at camping and i have no idea what bit me. it was just a regular bit but i kept scratching it and now it looks like a small/medium size bruise. it looks like semi-dark yellowish in the middle and around it red. you’ll see on the picture. i have no idea what to treat it with. so far im only using hydrogen peroxide and cortizone. my other bite blistered out already but my other bite (one im worried about) somewhat looks just a tab bit smaller. anyone help me?