Recluse spider bite

[KayMichigan]

Agree with everyone. Get her to the doctor. Don't take any chances.

 

[maxaroni]

My first thought is to go to urgent care. My DH got bit by a brown recluse and it got very bad, very quickly. In the hospital 11 days, was close to losing his leg. It turned into necrotizing fasciitis and antibiotics were not working. The last ditch effort was double recommended doses of 2 antibiotics, taken together. He came home on IV antibiotics. It was awful.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Let us know what the doctor or ER (ER preferable) have to say about it.

 

[anniemae]

Did you convince her to go OP? I read that brown recluse bites can cause purple ring around the area. The last photo looks maybe like a purple ring? Please try to talk her into going to dr.

 

[DLgal]

She needs to go to an ER, not an urgent care. That is bad.

FWIW, my son got a mosquito bite that blew up about 3 inches in diameter but quickly settled back down. He has a darkened spot still, 2 weeks later, that is about the size of a quarter. He seems to be allergic to mosquitoes. If his leg had looked like THAT, though, I would have run him to the ER immediately.

 

[John VN]

Ask her to write her "Obit" so you don't have to think about it since you are ticked-off that she is not taking the bite seriously.

Good Luck

 

[slo]

Yikes….She definitely needs some medical attention.
I hope she feels better soon

 

[lovin'fl]

She went to urgent care last night. They didn't think it is recluse bite. Told her to rest leg, elevate and ice as needed.

 

[neverlandsky]

I was always taught to draw a circle around the redness of a spider bite and if that redness spreads beyond the circle to seek medical attention ASAP.

 

[mrs. magoo]

My daughter ended up with a mrsa from a spider bite - not a brown recluse. She had 2 injections of antibiotics and then spent a month on oral antibiotics. I would watch that carefully. She had another reaction to a bite 2 years ago that ended up needing more antibiotics but no mrsa. I am glad she went and had it looked at but I would watch it very carefully since that looks not good.

 

[LuvOrlando]

That's a big spot. Did she feel a bite or is this an assumption? Did the spot just pop up?

If it was me or mine at this point I would apply topical antibiotics and use a pen to draw a line around the borders this way if it moves more you can show another Dr., plus there will be no chance of mistaking it getting better or worse. This is what a Dr did for my DH with a lymph infection years ago, purple lines are bad if they show up.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

She went to urgent care last night. They didn't think it is recluse bite. Told her to rest leg, elevate and ice as needed.

I'm glad she went somewhere to at least have it looked at. Did they give any indication of what it could be like another type of insect bite or a reaction to a plant or something?

 

[floridafam]

Call the doctor. Even if it’s a virtual appt.

 

[floridafam]

I missed that she went to urgent care. Definitely keep an eye on it.

 

[bcla]

I'm glad she went somewhere to at least have it looked at. Did they give any indication of what it could be like another type of insect bite or a reaction to a plant or something?

Could be almost anything. I remember getting these 2 inch wide mosquito bites before. Other than itching, they weren't that bad, although super itchy is hardly fun. The closest thing I remember to that was when I was a kid and needed something more accurate than the standard TB test.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Could be almost anything. I remember getting these 2 inch wide mosquito bites before. Other than itching, they weren't that bad, although super itchy is hardly fun. The closest thing I remember to that was when I was a kid and needed something more accurate than the standard TB test.

Yeah that's why I was wondering because there's a lot that could have happened but I'm sure it would be nice to have an idea if it happened to me.

 

[lovin'fl]

Just for more info. She didn't feel a bite...sharp pain or anything. Nor see a spider. She got up and went to work (teacher) and about 90 mins after arriving to work her thigh started itching. Looked at it and it was red. That night she went to gym and then came home to shower and the bruise started showing.

The NP was not super interested. Barely looked at it and didn't care to see the photos of the day 1 (big red spot). Said it was fine and to elevate and ice as needed. She did write a script but said she didn't need it. But could take it to ease her mind if she wanted (bactrim). Diagnoses on discharge paper says suspected insect bite.

It seems okay today. No worse. She looked all through her room for a spider. In and around her bed and in the clothes she was wearing. And nothing. So maybe she walked into something and just didn't remember. Or pinched it too long or something. She is special Ed teacher and is doing some hands on physical type things so maybe somehow had injury but was too busy to think about it.

 

[FQLover]

My daughter was bitten by a brown recluse last June while unloading plants coming in on a big truck from Texas (she worked at a nursery/garden center). The bite was sharp and hurt but she was busy and forgot about it, never mentioned it to anyone. The next day after she got home from work, she immediately showed me her thigh. She had a large red-ringed spot about 3.5 inches diameter that was raised and swollen and very hot to the touch. We called her doctor's after hours number and the on-call doctor said to go right to Urgent Care.

The doctor there showed her the two fang marks in the center and told her that it had already developed into cellulitis. He prescribed a huge dose (2000 mg a day) of a powerful antibiotic that she needed to start that very evening and take for 10 days. He told her it may look worse for the next two days, but it if doesn't start improving by day 3 or 4, she needed to go to the ER. He did not know what kind of a spider it was, but the landscaper at her job later told her that those trucks from TX always have brown recluses burrowed into all the plants that are being delivered.

It did not get worse (we drew a circle around it, too) and it gradually did start getting better. It was probably a month before all the discoloration and swelling had faded away.