Spider bites...

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Ummm... this is a scenario for those of you that know a lot about spiders possibly.

I am unsure when I was bit, but am positive that I was. Will be going to the doctor tomorrow, but am unsure as to what might help it tonight or at least in the morning before I go to sleep.

To get a better idea or possible clarification as to what exactly I'm talking about, I will explain how I stumbled across discovering it.

As I am unsure how long ago it happened, but it had to have been within the past 2 days. I haven't had anything that even remotely looked like a bug bite until I took a very hot bath tonight. There was nothing before going into the water, and a huge blister on my leg upon getting out. I drained it, thinking stupidly that the water just might have been too hot. I shouldn't have touched it, I know, but it was hard to resist So now, 4 hours later, my leg is starting to puff up, and there is some dark coloring (burgundy/purplish) around the site of the blister (which is STILL draining some), and a rash looking circle spawning from it with a red streak going up the side of my leg about 1 inch or so.

I know this is probably a lousy description, but maybe it is enough for someone to at least have an idea of what might have bitten me that would have caused a blister to appear within about 10 minutes, and what I might do until I go into the doctor... also possibly how much worse it might get within 12 hours, lol. Any info would be appreciated, just so I have an idea of what to expect. I looked up stuff about it, but I keep getting pics of just what happens within a day if it's bad, and I have no clue how it morphs from one day to the next or anything...

Look on the bright side; if it was a radioactive spider you'll become a webslinging crimefighting superhero.

rofl. I keep checking, but no such luck I'd love to get all the toys cleaned up throughout the house in one quick swipe of my arm

I've had spider bites, they're plentiful here. Mine usually swell like a big mosquito bite and they hurt. One time, I don't know what the spider was, I had one get me on the back of my knee. It swelled like I had a second knee cap and I couldn't even bend my knee. At the hospital, it began darkening in the center. They drained two tubes of muck from it (OUCH). I had a nasty reaction. Spider bites can vary. You could have been bitten by any bug. Anything that streaks should be checked out right away. Do you have an Ask-A-Nurse service to call in your area? They might be of help.

no, but it's 2 a.m. and my neighbor is a nurse, lol, so she can look at it in the morning. Any time I call to ask a question (which is rare) from a nurse in a hospital, they just say they don't know and to come in anyway, lol.

I'm pretty sure it was a spider... scratch that, positive, lol. It never did a mosquito bite looking thing, it was just plain before the bath, then blistered all to heck after I got out (reading about spider bites, they said applying heat was BAD in any form, lol, so I assume that could be what caused the fast blistering). Now it's itchy, stingy, and my leg is kind of sore. The spot jutting off and going up my leg is getting redder as well.

I was looking up spider bites, and it looks much like a brown recluse bite (which are pretty darn common in Missouri I found out), but without seeing the spider, I can't be certain. The main reason I say spider for certain, is I go outside so incredibly little that the only thing that bites me normally are the mosquitos flying around when I have to get something from the car or check the main for a whole 5 minutes, lol. However, spiders are PLENTIFUL in my basement, which is where I suspect I was probably bitten.

Ultimately I'm just curious at the moment (since I'm having it looked at tomorrow regardless) what to expect by morning (possibly of course since nothing can be certain even if we did know exactly what bit me) with it moving at this rate. This sucker keeps looking worse and worse every time I look at it. Ice is making the redness fade a little, but it returns instantly when I take the ice off, lol.

My son thinks it looks really cool, but is now scared to death to walk anywhere in the house and is convinced he can HEAR the spiders downstairs walking around, lol. He's very nervous.

You need to move to England, the spiders don't bite over here (we've taken all their teeth out)

rofl! Yeah, he asked tonight if we can move when I explained where I was when it happened.

The Brown Recluse is a nasty bite.

Ice slows the spread.

We people of the swamp chewed tobacco, made a paste, packed the wound.

It counteracts the venom of wasps and spiders.

Spider bites turn flesh liquid, leaving a crater. It just keeps growing.

I had one on my forearm, bent it up where it touched the bicep, and just the liquid made another crater from contact.

A growing crater, a growing mound under it, a red ring around it, and red streaks following the blood flow away. It sounds spider to me.

Ice, something to absorb the fluid, without spreading it, blot often.

Same type of venom as Atox, Rattle Snake. dissolves flesh.

I am of the draw out the venom school, wound sucking is older than doctors. Cutting is optional, for a big snake, yes, shallow bite, spider, the venom is near the surface. The suction cup in your snake bite kit, tie off above the wound, softly, slow blood flow out, let it flow deep in. Undo the tie every five minutes or so, for three, then tie again.

It puts pressure under the bite, then draw out from the surface. No snake bite kit? Use a turkey baster, with cotton, you do not want what comes out to touch your skin.

Cupping works, heat the bottom of a narrow glass, test tube from your lab, What no lab? Well small olive jar, heat the bottom over a flame, fill with cotton, put a little cooking oil around the lip, and press to the wound. As the air in the bottle cools it will exert several pounds of suction.

Three choices with venom.

Slow the spread, ice, let it run it's course.

Counteract, jelly fish stings are surface treated with vinagar, spiders, wasps, fanged snakes with tobacco.

extract, suction, drain, flow outward.

My medical training got me a First Aid Merit Badge.

It was based on treat, transport, dump on a hospital.

Bug bomb your house. You will live and get a nasty scar, Little kids it goes to the bone, organs, so it is kill or be killed.

I am not anti spider, after a decent interval, that the bug bomb wears off, you start seeing bug again, get a Wolf Spider, very smart and friendly, and a spider killer.

I'm Australian, so we have plenty of nasty, venomous creatures here.

I've been bitten a couple of times by redbacks (related to the black widow) and it's weird. The skin where I'm bit starts a cold sweat and becomes clammy. the skin loses a little feeling, sort of feels like latex instead of my actual skin. And then I get this feeling of contentment and wellbeing. Yes, spiders get me high.

It lasts for a few hours and then I'm back to normal (with no hangover or other bad side-effects I might add). But the skin continues to sweat for a couple of days and then the feeling slowly returns.

I DO NOT recommend people go out to get bitten by spiders to get stoned. I know that most other people have a similar reaction as you have described Nobodyzdream. I'm just lucky and as I've said, it's only happened twice.

You'll survive, most likely. Spider bites are "bad" when you have an allergic reaction to the venom; said allergic reaction happens real quickly (anaphylaxis).

I don't think you feel recluse bites.

Ice can help the swelling.

all spiders here can bite,even those garden ones,didn't know that until sister told am,am have never been bit as always handling them to get them out of baths,sinks etc. apparently there is a new spider here as well,that has got different colouring on it's back and it causes symptoms same as what noboydzdream has got,thought that might have been the same spider when reading this but then are likely to be alot stronger spiders in Missouri.

I live right next door to you in Kansas, and we have found SEVERAL poisonous spiders this year. I've never even seen a brown recluse until about a month ago, so for whatever reason they're more plentiful then usual this year. From what I read (I looked it up as soon as I saw the damn spider, so I would know if one of my kids were bitten) most people don't need medical treatment other then what you can do at home. I hope you get to feeling better soon.

Thanks guys Yes, right now the redness seems to have ceased spreading, but the thing feels... well, nasty, lol. It's not painful, but my skin is very very weak feeling in that spot-as mentioned, it feels much like latex. Son says it looks more purple and colorless than it did last night (despite the red around it). Aside from that the muscle is just a little sore this morning, and really only when walking around. I've kept ice on it as some of you have mentioned

This is the first time I've ever been bitten by a spider, and oddly I haven't been that freaked out, but moreso interested in how it develops, lol. I'm gonna get it taken care of today (lol, I saw the pics, so I'm not gonna let it develop that long at all-that's some nasty stuff after a few days-judging by what it looks like right now). For some reason I always imagined it would be extremely painful, etc. No doubt it gets that way as it gets worse, but mostly people are complaining about itching when it first starts, and that is also my #1 complaint at the moment, lol.

Thanks for all of the advice. Will bug bombs really kill off the spiders? I'll be getting some of those really soon. I'm mostly concerned about one of the kiddos getting bit by one of these damn things.

lol, mine is the size of a dime roughly. Redness makes it the size of a quarter if you include that, minus the streaky thing of course.

Last edited by nobodyzdream on 29 Sep 2007, 10:05 am, edited 1 time in total.

Very interesting-what is your new spider called?

Some sites (very few) mention hobo spiders could possibly be around here. I'm still leaning towards recluse though Mainly because the hobo spiders apparently aren't all that typical to find around here from what I gather... but then again, I'm no spider expert. I'm just leaning more towards brown recluse because they are common here. Heck, I saw one site that referred to the brown recluse as the "common household spider" in Missouri.

You would know by now, but the brown recluse is one that can destroy flesh. I knew a person once that had part of his face destroyed by one. ALSO, there can be an infection. That is usually in the form of the inflamation you describe. It is BOUND to happen to some degree, and is fine if it stops. It sounds like you are fine. The flesh problems become obvious within hours, and the inflamation would become apparent within a day.

Still, that hot bath might have saved you from some bad consequences.

Would be nice if it helped, lol. I started vomiting this morning and it hasn't stopped, along with a lovely headache. Awaiting arrival of bf to watch the kiddos now-just going to make sure... lol.