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Spider Bites

2222 | Posted in General Discussion on March 24, 2009 06:58am

Hi all, I am new here.

So I woke up with this weird bruise/bump on my leg three days ago. The first day the bruise was only 2 inches and it had a lump in the middle of about 1/2 inch.

Now the bruise is about 3 inches, but the lump is only about 1/4 inch.

The day before this happened, I was just hanging out at home (wearing long pants). Spent some time on the patio, but not much. House is spotlessly clean, just changed the sheets, no spiders in the house…so what the heck?

Any clue what it might be?

(sorry for the silly question, been lurking for quite some time.)

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Replies

  1. rez | Mar 24, 2009 07:09am | #1

    What part of the country do you hail from, 2222?

     

    1. 2222 | Mar 24, 2009 02:36pm | #7

      Nor Cal.

      (I fixed my profile.)

      1. rez | Mar 24, 2009 07:48pm | #30

        Didn't mean to address yer profile but first thought was a recluse bite so I had to ask where you were located.

        Any new symptoms? 

        1. 2222 | Mar 24, 2009 10:12pm | #34

          Nope. I feel just fine. It just looks ugly. Thank goodness its not shorts season yet...not like I would wear shorts that are that short.

          NTTATWWT

          ...be sunning and drinking in vitamin D

  2. clinkard | Mar 24, 2009 07:12am | #2

    I think this is a job for the Kapex. slice that thing wide open. What about seeing a doctor?

  3. brucet9 | Mar 24, 2009 07:16am | #3

    It could be Lyme Disease; a lump surrounded by a ring that grows wider day by day. You'd better hustle to the doctor for a definitive diagnosis before the disease causes serious and irreparable damage.

    http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/yellowBookCh4-LymeDisease.aspx

    BruceT
    1. 2222 | Mar 24, 2009 02:59pm | #9

      We don't really have any ticks in our area. Only trees are way out back and I haven't been out there lately.

      It doesn't really look like the lyme disease pictures I found, either.

      thanks tho.

      1. john7g | Mar 24, 2009 03:06pm | #10

        I think you ought to wait a few weeks to see what happens.  No need going to the Doc too early you know.  Waiting will really reduce their options so it'll be easier for them to decide what to do.  I always hate it when the Docs have too many choices for treatments. 

        1. AitchKay | Mar 24, 2009 03:47pm | #11

          And I've been thinking of starting a "Home Surgery" thread: I've done some stupid hacks, like the time I was camping in the UP with my family. While collecting firewood, I got a scrape on my forearm.During the night, it felt bruised. Next day, I've got a goose-egg-sized red spot there.But Geez, who wants to look for, then sit around in, an ER when you're supposed to be on vacation? So, I get out my Space Pen, and trace the outline of the red area. Good, waterproof ink, so I can go swimming.Next day, the red area is about 1/4" bigger all around, but I'm thinking it's less angry-looking.Well, over the next couple of weeks, the inflammation slowly goes down, leaving me with a strange, 1/2" x 1 1/4" lump as the scrape heals.Around Christmastime, I'm wondering aloud about this stupid lump, and my daughter says, "Come on, Dad, man up!"Now, them's fightin' words.So I get out the ice-cube-anesthesia and a utility knife. I start going in, and all of this thin, greasy blood starts streaming down my arm. But when I squeeze the incision, I can see I'm getting closer. So once more with the utility knife, and out pops an inch worth of "toothpick!"Arm heals up, can't even see a scar except in cold weather.Once again, a hillbilly hack beats Western Medicine. And stupidity rules!AitchKay

          1. 2222 | Mar 24, 2009 04:21pm | #18

            Reminds me of when I got a 1 1/2 inch shard of PT lodged in my lower calf while mowing the lawn. (Backed up into the raised hydrega bed.) Ouch. Couldn't even attend to it myself, due to the location, not that flexible anymore.

        2. 2222 | Mar 24, 2009 04:13pm | #17

          Well, I can't tell if you are kidding or not in your reply. I really hate going to the doctor so I will probably give it some time. It's not really bothersome, just looks alarming.

          1. ruffmike | Mar 24, 2009 04:24pm | #19

            Look like this?

            View Image

            Brown recluse.

            View Image

            don't mess around.                            Mike

                Small wheel turn by the fire and rod, big wheel turn by the grace of god.

          2. john7g | Mar 24, 2009 04:29pm | #20

            I hate going to the doctor too. 

             

            What I hate worse is being the guest of honor at a funeral home.

             

            Go to the doctor.  We're mostly carpenters here. 

            There might be a doc here but do you think he's going to give you any medical advice over the internet?  Any advice you get is based on solely your description of what you'r non-medical eye is seeing.  The doc will probably see a whole lot more.  Asking this kind of quesiton here before going to the doc is kind of like saying, 'my foot hurts. I think I'll see what they say at the Ford dealer.' 

            and my post was loaded with sarcasm. 

          3. 2222 | Mar 24, 2009 04:54pm | #21

            Gotcha.

            Just finding it hard to justify $70-$130 doc payment if it doesn't hurt now and I am not experiencing any other symptoms.

            It just looks weird.

          4. john7g | Mar 24, 2009 04:55pm | #22

            it's your money

             

            it's your life

             

          5. splintergroupie | Mar 24, 2009 06:38pm | #23

            I sympathize on not wanting to make the doc payment. If you aren't having any itching, headache, or other symptoms, it's a waiting game to see how it goes. Frankly, a lot of docs know diddly about spider bites or play them down until it becomes real expensive anyway, but i believe that the course of antibiotics i started on(I have them on hand at home) and my leaving the skin alone resulted in my not having a face- and wallet-disfiguring deformity. Your choice; let us know how it goes. One of my clients got a bite on her leg and the wound never, never heals. The docs just manage it with steroids and stuff. Food for thought...

          6. User avater
            Luka | Mar 24, 2009 06:46pm | #24

            Can't spend that 130 dollars on anything else, when yer looking at the dirt side of the grass.....

          7. rdesigns | Mar 24, 2009 07:03pm | #25

            There was a guy, Darwin Vest, who used to live in my neighborhood, who was (he disappeared about 10 yrs ago) one of the world's foremost venomologists, and who was often consulted by doctors regarding venomous bites of all kinds. His most important work was in connection with the hobo spider--he even named it. It's bite is dangerously necrotic, similar to the recluse.

            He told me that the most effective treatment is cortisone, which, according to him, forms a sort of encasement around the affected cells, which otherwise spread the poison to an ever-enlarged area. Thus the growing crater in the flesh. The cortisone treatment he described was by injection, so I'm not sure if a cortisone cream would have much effect if applied topically. But it wouldn't hurt.

            Your statement that there's no pain probably means it's not a hobo bite, because he said the bites usually burn and itch, and are painful. Your location in northern Cal. is definitely within the range of hobos, however. (They arrived in the USA in the 1920's in Seattle, probably in containers originating in northern Europe; they spread from Seattle in pallets and shipping containers--thus the "hobo" name.)

            I would say watch for any signs that the flesh is dying in the center. This means it is necrotic, and you must see a doctor. If it's just swelling and redness, it'll probably start getting better in a few days. The unknown with bites is your own sensitivity--different people's reactions vary widely. Anti-histamines can reduce swelling if the swelling us from an allergic reaction.

          8. 2222 | Mar 24, 2009 09:55pm | #31

            That's the same guy from the website SG reccommended. How/why did he disappear?

            Odd that his name was Darwin.

          9. rdesigns | Mar 24, 2009 10:48pm | #36

            His disappearance is an unsolved mystery with our police dept. He was kind of a strange character--near 50 years old, lived with his mother, kept cages of venomous snakes and spiders in the basement for studies of venom.

            He was called numerous times to appear as an expert witness or medical consultant in cases around the country that involved poisonous bites.

            There was an incident a couple years before his disappearance where the local paper reported he was stopped on his way walking home late one night from a bar when a couple guys beat him up for his allegedly propositioning them at the bar and becoming obnoxious about it.

            When he disappeared, his mother called the police to say he hadn't come home that night from a visit to the bar, and no other information has ever been uncovered.

            So, maybe just having a spider bite is not so bad after all, or like they say: You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from.

          10. TomT226 | Mar 24, 2009 07:07pm | #26

            Guy I used to work with lost a testicle to a brown recluse.  Ignored it for three days, then it was too late.

            Put a plastic one in... 

          11. brucet9 | Mar 25, 2009 06:17am | #43

            "Guy I used to work with lost a testicle to a brown recluse."Quite apart from how the spider got up there, I can't help wondering, what would a brown recluse want with one of those things anyway? :)BruceT

          12. TomT226 | Mar 25, 2009 12:57pm | #44

            We were working way out in the country, and the guy was shackin' with some old hide that lived in the area.  Didn't even have a bed stead, just a mattress on the floor.  Apparently he took off his underwear, threw'em on the floor, spider crawled in, and he put'em on next morning.

            Apparently the spider did not appreciate large hairy monsters trying to crush him... 

          13. Catspaw | Mar 25, 2009 03:02pm | #45

            Here's a story about a guy who was paralyzed. He got bit by a spider and can now walk again!

            http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2009/03/15/stritto.miracle.spider.bite.kovr?iref=videosearch

            I guess not all spider bites are bad.

          14. User avater
            JeffBuck | Mar 25, 2009 01:58am | #38

            btw ... I worked for an ER Doc on one long remodel. We became pretty good bud's and he loved watching my job site self ER treatments in action.

            He said the "percents" of what ya see a Dr for ...

            80% of it will/would heal just fine on it's own.

             

            think about that ... seems right to me. Most people get broken bones set in casts ... but they'll heal by themselves given time. A dr just makes it heal better.

            He said of that extra 20% ...

            10% of the time ... they make the difference and you live as opposed to die.

            and 10% of the time no matter what they do you're gonna die.

             

            Based on those odds ... I generally avoid wasting time in the ER waiting room.

            Jeff    Buck Construction

             Artistry In Carpentry

                 Pittsburgh Pa

          15. Piffin | Mar 24, 2009 10:34pm | #35

            "I will probably give it some time."I can't tell you how many times in myself and others I have seen something turn very ugly because of that thinking.but it's your body. Do what you want with it. 

             

            Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

          16. 2222 | Mar 25, 2009 04:31am | #39

            As I mentioned, I still have no symptoms of any kind. Bruise is still there, but I have always bruised easily and they tend to stay around for awhile...must be my low blood pressure. The knot in the middle is nearly gone.

            I feel kinda silly for even posting it now.

      2. brucet9 | Mar 24, 2009 07:23pm | #29

        Ticks don't need trees. I got my Lyme tick bite in a vegetable garden, got treatment and it went right away.BruceT

        1. 2222 | Mar 24, 2009 10:06pm | #33

          Well, the odd thing is, that the bite is on the outside of my upper thigh. And I have not been outside much, except to run to the grocery store.

          We really don't have ticks here...not like other place anyway.

        2. cussnu2 | Mar 25, 2009 04:54pm | #48

          A guy in St. Louis area got Lyme disease that went undiagnosed for years and years they wrote a big article about it in the post dispatch....then a couple of years after that he was still having problems....they just wrote about him again....he was the guy that walked into a church and shot the pastor dead for absolutely no reason!!!!

          1. Shoemaker1 | Mar 25, 2009 05:19pm | #49

            Last summer my wife was working in the garden. Next morning had a big bruise on her chest. I Googled Lyme's. The Doctors next door said Lyme's is not in Canada. She went to her doc got put on antibiotics and got the blood test. She had lymes antibodies.So I wouldn't mess around with it. As a former nurse saw lots of heros!!!!If you are Diabetic there is no such thing as a small wound. Especially if you have lost some sensation in your feet. I carried a few feet out of the OR in green Garbage bags.

  4. splintergroupie | Mar 24, 2009 07:42am | #4

    ABSOLUTELY DO NOT SLICE IT OPEN!!!

    If it's a hobo spider bite (very hard center), that's a good recipe for disaster. I got bit a couple years ago and still have dimples where necrotic flesh formed and fell out of the skin, and i'd started taking antibiotics immediately. Dogs regularly die from being bitten, and the territory where hobo spiders live is expanding. My neighbor ended up on an antibiotic drip to save his foot bec he neglected it for a few days.

    There's also a brown recluse with some similar symptoms. No spiders in your house and yard? Ha ha ha.

    If it's a growing wound, take it seriously and get to a doc for an accuate diagnosis. Here's some food for thought:
    http://gotspiders.com/spider_bites.htm

    1. 2222 | Mar 24, 2009 03:48pm | #12

      I checked out the hobo and brown recluse spider pictures but I don't really think they are common to my area. Daddy LongLegs, occasional Black Widow, oh and the teeny tiny spider hanging from the bill of my ballcap swinging back and forth messing with my vision.

      "No spiders in your house and yard? Ha ha ha." Really. If they are there, I am not seeing them. No webs in the house or garage. Actually, every few months I set off one of those bug bombs in the garage to keep spiders out of the rafters where I store stuff.

      The weird thing is, that it doesn't hurt. Well, it was tender the first day, but I have had no other symptoms. It just looks ugly, which is what sparked my concern.

      Ewww...googled spider bite images, yuck. Still haven't found one that looks like mine.

      (See my post to Jeffy below.)

  5. User avater
    JeffBuck | Mar 24, 2009 08:03am | #5

    either a vampire or general contractor trying to suck U dry.

    if U had any money tucked into your sock I'd say definitely GC.

     

    Jeff

        Buck Construction

     Artistry In Carpentry

         Pittsburgh Pa

    1. 2222 | Mar 24, 2009 03:54pm | #14

      Well Jeffy, the bite is on my upper thigh. Can't remember the last time I wore stockin's that high.

      That was useful. thanks.

      1. User avater
        JeffBuck | Mar 25, 2009 01:54am | #37

        I'm always wondering why every spider bite has got to be a deadly brown recluse.

         

        coupla years back I typed on I had a spider bite ... same advice yer getting here.

        I purposly avoided the Dr so I could prove everyone wrong!

         

        it's always worst case senerio ... never a harmless bug bite.

        too many people watch too much TV.

         

        if it gets any worse ... cut it open with a utility knife ...

        it's probably the other end of the toothpick sized splinter!

        Drink a beer, you'll feel better.

        Jeff    Buck Construction

         Artistry In Carpentry

             Pittsburgh Pa

        1. 2222 | Mar 25, 2009 04:38am | #40

          We don't have the brown recluse spiders here. Black widows, yes, but I grew up with them, know their webs by heart. BW's actually are quite timid by nature, they run and hide but I always find them.

          Read my post above to Piff. Most are suggesting I should be more concerned than I am at this point.

          We'll see what happens....

          1. draftingguy | Mar 25, 2009 07:02pm | #52

            I don't know where you are in Northern California, but I can tell you that there are absolutely ticks in the majority of the state.  Below is a map of newly reported Lyme Disease cases in 2005.  While the east coast and Great Lakes regions have many more cases, California isn't immune.  Get to a doctor and get it checked out.

            View Image

        2. rez | Mar 25, 2009 04:56am | #42

          Spent years around Tulsa, Oklahoma. Previous to that I'd never even heard of a brown recluse.

          Was always amazed at the freaky bugs the south has. That and seeing aggressive water moccasins made me decide to stay out of crawlspaces.

          Had a cousin that was bit by a recluse and the thing ended up making a big hole in his back.

          A friend was renting in an apartment complex in Tulsa and keep seeing the recluses around the place. He stuck his head up in a ceiling tile and saw whole nests of the things.

          The management at first refused to revoke the lease and let him leave until he put a couple in a jar and took it to the office

          telling them if they wouldn't let him go he was taking the jar to the City Building Board. He moved out that week.

          Another buddy down there who was diabetic had what he thought was a minor bite and since he healed slowly just thought things would take a while

          'til he woke up one morning and looked at his foot to see the bite area had rotted unseen from within and fallen in on itself leaving a large hole.

          Ended up having to have his foot amputated.

          Ya, I can be a bit paranoid sometimes with somethings.

          Sometimes almost makes me appreciate Ohio. 

          1. ruffmike | Mar 25, 2009 04:10pm | #46

            I live in Northern Ca., same as o.p.

            A good friend picked his golf ball out of the hole felt a sting but didn't think much of it. A few days later he ended up in the hopital 2 days and lost half of his index finger. I don't like going to the doctor either, but if body parts become discolored or started swelling I'd go. I do have health insurance though, so it's only 20 bucks out of my pocket.                            Mike

                Small wheel turn by the fire and rod, big wheel turn by the grace of god.

          2. AitchKay | Mar 25, 2009 04:43pm | #47

            "Sometimes almost makes me appreciate Ohio."Easy there, Big Fella, don't go TOO far!(Hope Calvin doesn't read this!)AitchKay

  6. runnerguy | Mar 24, 2009 01:53pm | #6

    Five words:

    Get to the doc tor.

    runnerguy

    1. 2222 | Mar 24, 2009 03:57pm | #15

      Look up^ to see my reply to SG.

  7. Piffin | Mar 24, 2009 02:59pm | #8

    Get theee hence to the doctor.

    NOTHING, not even my first wife, has done as much damage to my life and finances as having had a good case of Lymnes Disease.

    The newf ticks this time of year are all but invisible, having just hatched out and seeking their first blood meal.

     

     

    Welcome to the
    Taunton University of
    Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
     where ...
    Excellence is its own reward!

    1. 2222 | Mar 24, 2009 04:03pm | #16

      As I mentioned, I don't live in a tick infested area. Pretty rare here.

      After reading up, Lyme disease has got to suck. I'm sorry.

  8. Danno | Mar 24, 2009 03:53pm | #13

    I second (third, fourth, fifth....) the motion to hie to a doctor!

    I had some sort of abscess and I was self treating (X-Acto knife) and finally went to the doc. He was not amused when I told him I'd been trying to lance it. He asked if I'd ever heard of MRSA. He said, "Now we'll use my X-acto knife--I call it my number 11 blade." (I may have the terminology wrong. He did numb the area, which hurt far more than the cutting and "espressing.") In my case it was just one of those things--no spider bite, just a staph infection in a hair folicle. Anyway, since yours is getting worse, I would recommend that you see a doctor. These things can get out of hand quickly.

  9. maverick | Mar 24, 2009 07:19pm | #27

    my brother got a spider bite few years ago. by the time he got to the doctor it started to necratize. 6 weeks outta work, almost lost his leg

    spend the coin. you never see an armored car at a funeral

  10. Huntertn | Mar 24, 2009 07:23pm | #28

    Does the area feel hot to the touch? Do you have a fever?

    1. 2222 | Mar 24, 2009 10:01pm | #32

      "Does the area feel hot to the touch? Do you have a fever?"

      Nope. No symptoms at all. I mean, it hurts a little if I push on the knot in the middle, but even the bruising around the bite area is not even sensitive.

      It just looks bad.

  11. Poolman | Mar 25, 2009 04:52am | #41

    Go to Dr.  Lyme Tick bite in 2002, lost 30 of 190 lbs, you don't want to wait to feel bad, the damage is done by then.  Symptoms last forever, even after you are "cured"

    Give some blood, wait 48 hrs and know for sure.

     

    Trust me!

    untill the circumstances change, my answer will remain the same...
  12. renosteinke | Mar 25, 2009 06:03pm | #50

    For any bite or sting, from any source ....

    First, I carry a "Sawyer Extractor" in my first aid kit. This thing, which looks like a big srynge, applies a strong suction to the bite - removing some of the poison.

    Then, there is the "Skeeter stick." There are two different versions out there; the one I refer to has ammonia as the active ingredient. Nearly all such poisons are enzymes, and ammonia destroys enzymes.

    Cleaning and disinfecting afterwards is always a good idea.

    If there is ANY doubt, any continued damage, it's time to see the doctor. Period.

    1. john7g | Mar 25, 2009 06:34pm | #51

      There are a a lot of opinions that those Extractor suction kits cause more damage by increasing the trauma, hence blood flow to the area than just leaving it and seeing a Doc pronto. 

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