Anyone ever been bit by a spider?

[goofinoff]

I have this huge red bump on my shin. I noticed it the other day and it was small. It seems to be getting bigger and bigger. The area around it is swollen and sore to touch. It's also warm. Someone told me that it looked like a spider bite which is harmless and there's really no treatment for it? Anyone have any experience with this?

 

[Tazicket]

I don't have experience with this type of injury, but I would suggest getting it looked at by a professional just in case.

 

[noodleknitter]

I've been bitten, and for some reason wound up with blood poisoning. Streaks started up my arm.

I've know way more people who ha NO problems, though. I would keep an eye on it, and if it doesn't start to heal, or starts to look worse, see your doc.

No, I am not a doctor, but this is what i'd do if it were one of my kids.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

You should have it looked at to rule out Lyme Disease. Don't go by what anyone else says. Good luck.

 

[rie'smom]

Go to the doctor! DM was bitten and ended up with a deep wound that took months to heal. She has a scar on her leg.

 

[paigevz]

I have...............they would itch and hurt at the same time. I couldn't ever see them, though, as it was always when I'd sit on a chair, so it would be my back or .........something.........

My cousin was bitten by a brown recluse on her forearm...............she didn't go for a while and ended up having to have a big chunk taken out of her arm. They had to fill it in with fat from somewhere else and do a skin graft.

 

[stinkerbelle's mom]

GO TO THE DOCTOR especially since you said its getting bigger. Some bites get worse over time.

My dd1 was outside playing one night, she was about 9 at the time, & when she came in I noticed her left thigh was 3 times the size & she had a mark on it like a misquito bite. We ended up taking her to the ER. She spent the evening on anitbiotics and Benedryl. After about 2-3 days the swelling went down & they were able to confirm it was actually a spider bite. She was very lucky.

Earlier in the day when the bite happened, she had shaken the dog bed out & laid it on the railing by the mailbox outside to get air. Apparently she didn't shake it out when she brought it back in. Weird thing is she never sits on the dogs bed, but she had been sitting on it earlier that day playing with the dog.

 

[stinkerbelle's mom]

I have...............they would itch and hurt at the same time. I couldn't ever see them, though, as it was always when I'd sit on a chair, so it would be my back or .........something.........

My cousin was bitten by a brown recluse on her forearm...............she didn't go for a while and ended up having to have a big chunk taken out of her arm. They had to fill it in with fat from somewhere else and do a skin graft.

Wow, she's really lucky. Brown recluse spiders usually result in death!

 

[Planogirl]

I agree with everyone else, go see a doctor just in case. It's true that some spider bites are relatively harmless but if it was a brown recluse that bit you, you wouldn't want to wait.

I was bitten by one of the harmless varieties when I was a teen. I got this big swelling on the back of my leg and it hurt!

 

[Honu]

Yes. I was bitten on the stomach this past summer and it turned into a huge infection. It swelled up from a red hard warm bump to the size of a grapefruit overnight and then exploded like a volcano. Sooooooo gross! I had never had a reaction like it before. I was on antibiotics for a very long time to clear it up.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

The rule of thumb is "hot to touch" go to the DOCTOR. Infections need antibiotics, doesn't matter what the cause.

The danger is that a staph infection can set in and they can kill you.

 

[pumba]

please go to the doctors.......we live in Maine too and contrary to popular belief ......Brown recluse live in Maine also......18 confirmed......YES CONFIRMED spiderbites that end up being infected......or this could be a tick bite too.....so go and see whats up.....antibiotics are good ROFL.....
keep us posted

 

[FloraFauna]

My DS got bit 3 years ago by a spider. I didn't know it happened, all of a sudden the top part of his leg got really inflamed and hot to the touch. I brought him to the doctor and he said it was a spider bite. He put him on some antibiotics and we would put compresses on it during the day until the swelling went down.

Don't fool around with this, go to the doctor's office.

 

[phamton]

Wow, she's really lucky. Brown recluse spiders usually result in death!

Not really. http://spiders.ucr.edu/expert.html

"Below are quotes taken from an article by Dr. Phillip Anderson published in the journal, Missouri Medicine. Dr. Anderson was one of only a handful of practicing clinicians in the U.S. whose specialty was brown recluse spider bites, so his opinion is authoritative. He was a university physician specializing in dermatology, in particular on the effects of brown recluse spider bites from Missouri, which is in the heart of the range of the brown recluse, where they are very abundant.

The quotes from the review article below were generated from the experience of examining and studying over 1,000 probable recluse bites over 30 years time. Several deaths from loxoscelism were reported in medical journals, but none of the reports is convincing. We are not aware of any verifiable deaths caused by the bite of the North American brown recluse spider. Healing may be slow, but all lesions heal and mostly with a minimum of scarring. Surgery can offer little or nothing more. No medications are required to treat brown recluse spider bites."

And this from the AMA: http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/site/free/hlsa0805.htm

 

[Frantasmic]

You should go to the doctor to rule out a Brown Recluse spider bite.

However, I had the same thing when I was in high school. It was probably a spider bite from a spider in bed with me.

It was middle of the shins. The skin grew to the size of a walnut probably, and had a recessed center about the size of a small pencil eraser. The whole mound was hot to the touch and turned really red. After few days, the eraser sized center hardened and eventually come off and there was all sorts of pus, blood, gunk in the middle that eventually drained. It acts like a big boil.

It happened on each shin about a week apart. It healed and didn't scar. I couldn't tell you to this day where it occured other than remembering it.

 

[4nana]

I would not hesitate to get it ck'd by a doctor.

DH was bitten on his finger last year, by what we think was a spider. He never saw it, so we are not positive. We live in a wooded area and black widows are very common around logs, etc. which he was using. There was never any pain, at first just minor swelling.

As a precaution, I suggested he use peroxide warm soak, vit E and neosporin. A few days later it really started to swell up into his hand and I convinced him to get it ck'd. The dr also felt it was a spider bite, as in the center you could see tiny markings, so put him on an anitibotic. We continued to soak it several times a day (dr recommended peroxide), use neosporin, Vit E and kept it wrapped.

After a week it started to drain. Another re-ck by the dr and thankfully by third week he was good to go. We have 2 friends who were bitten by recluse spiders and we are talking serious business and major health problems there.

 

[CarolG]

The rule of thumb is "hot to touch" go to the DOCTOR. Infections need antibiotics, doesn't matter what the cause.

The danger is that a staph infection can set in and they can kill you.

Do you remember actually being bitten by a spider? If not, you may have CA-MRSA (Community-Acquired Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus).

Take a look a these Google links for MRSA infections mis-diagnosed as spider bites.

Our son went through this last fall - we thought it was a spider bite near his elbow. The doctor started him on one antibiotic, but it wasn't getting any better. (His arm was so swollen his friends were calling him Popeye.) They did a culture and changed the antibiotic right after.

You have to treat MRSA with the right antibiotic, or it won't heal. Please see a doctor and have it checked!

 

[SueM in MN]

You also want to keep in mind that what a lot of people think are spider bites are actually an abscess caused by a germ that is resistant to antibiotics.
Here's one link to information about MRSA:
LA Health Department
and another short article from the American Academy of Family Physicians.

 

[SueM in MN]

I guess Carol and I were typing at the same time.
I was at an infection Control conference last week where they talked about MRSA soft tissue (like skin) infections. If it's treated early, it might be able to be treated by just draining the abscess and keeping it clean. Sometimes antibiotics are needed, but they have to be the right ones, as Carol mentioned.

 

[Brise Nannie]

Have it looked at. DS got bitten at work and had a horrible reaction. His arm got HUGE, it was feverish, got infected...he was literally sick to his stomach, and we later found out there are spiders that are very dangerous one being the Brown Recluse. He saw a doctor and had to take meds. Better to be safe.