brown recluse (Full Version)

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xxblushesxx -> brown recluse (5/7/2007 9:47:25 AM)

I seem to have been bitten by one a few days ago.
I think we are past the point of danger, and it looks like any necrosis will be minimal. I was reading a book ('Bite' a vampire anthology of all things!), glanced down at my hand, and noticed part of it had swollen to about the size of a golf ball halved.  It was red and purple and white, with a couple of little puncture marks, and I totally freaked when I realized what it was.
Right now, it just looks like a large part of my hand has a sunburn, there is still the distinctive white area where I was bit, and one finger has just a teeny bit of black/purple on it. It is still pretty painful, and last night, when I scratched an itch on my hand, I caused that area to turn dark....very very freaky!
Master says it's healing, and, he does have a couple of medical degrees, but not is necessarily all that knowledgable about this.
Does anyone know alot about brown recluse bites and how to treat them?  I've seen the horror pics, and don't need to see more, just advice from someone who really knows what they're talking about would be great!

Thanks,

~Christina



phoenixinchains -> RE: brown recluse (5/7/2007 9:56:22 AM)

 my friend got bit by one in louisianna. it was on her neck, and looked as you discribed. i know she'd gone to the doc shortly after it happened and the hospital helped her treat it, though it ended up scarring a bit.



TigressFL -> RE: brown recluse (5/7/2007 10:10:44 AM)

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/spider_bite_brown_recluse_spider_bite/page6_em.htm#Brown%20Recluse%20Bite%20Treatment



xxblushesxx -> RE: brown recluse (5/7/2007 10:11:49 AM)

I think everyone should know that if you are bit by a brown recluse, you won't necessarily see the spider, or feel the bite, but the venom is verrrry potent, it brings on swelling, red and blue around the punture marks, and a small patch of white between the puncture marks and the red/blue area.



mistoferin -> RE: brown recluse (5/7/2007 10:23:35 AM)

My advice to anyone who thinks they have been bitten by one is to seek professional medical treatment....it is nothing to play around with or make guesses about.



KatyLied -> RE: brown recluse (5/7/2007 10:40:55 AM)

I echo Erin.  I know of someone who had to have plastic surgery, so much damage was done to the skin from the necrosis.



proudsub -> RE: brown recluse (5/7/2007 11:17:29 AM)

You're not the only CM member who has been bitten:

http://www.collarchat.com/m_715000/mpage_1/key_brown%2Crecluse%2Cspider/tm.htm



opensoul -> RE: brown recluse (5/7/2007 4:09:08 PM)

Treatment as soon as possible should always be first, these are not the times to wait and see. Untill you get treatment the venom is still working and it may look okay on the outside but it needs treatment soon to decrease the damage. Please see a Doc asap



IrishMist -> RE: brown recluse (5/7/2007 4:11:01 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: mistoferin

My advice to anyone who thinks they have been bitten by one is to seek professional medical treatment....it is nothing to play around with or make guesses about.


Ditto



Vendaval -> RE: brown recluse (5/7/2007 4:13:09 PM)

You need to get the Emergency Room as soon as possible.



Najakcharmer -> RE: brown recluse (5/7/2007 4:15:57 PM)

For starters, read the papers on medical misdiagnosis of "spider bite" aka necrotic arachnidism aka loxoscelism (googling all those terms will get you a wealth of reading, particularly if you are sure to include "medical misdiagnosis" in the query.

Not all necrotic wounds are loxoscelism, and in fact the vast majority of them aren't - even quite a few of those so diagnosed by a medical doctor. 

Your described symptoms are serious enough that it would be advisable to seek medical treatment.  I may be able to help you figure out whether the cause of your necrotic wound is loxoscelism or not with more information about your case, but the cause matters less than getting treatment for the symptoms.



HutchGarahl -> RE: brown recluse (5/7/2007 9:17:19 PM)

Blushes,
If you have even just the slightest idea that it was actually a brown reluse, then you need to get medical attention. I have seen personally what theose little critters can do and it ain't pretty. Not trying to scare you, but there have been case where people have been bite by those spiders, and have lost limb because if it.

My brother in law got bit by one last summer. While he managed to keep his leg, it did some major scarring and nerve damage. It took several months to clear the infection and he was in great pain the whole time.



xxblushesxx -> RE: brown recluse (5/8/2007 12:35:42 PM)

Master is a professor of pathology, He's been watching it for necrotic (gross!!!) tendencies.
I sure do appreciate everyone's concern though.
Oh, and a girl I go to school with is a nurse, and she said it looks good, too.
It did have all the hallmarks of a brown recluse bite though, I did a lot of research when it happened, and am very sure of my diagnosis.

Thanks, all, for your help!



calamitysandra -> RE: brown recluse (5/12/2007 8:16:56 AM)

I would echo Najakcharmer. Even professionals frequently misdiagnose spider bites. How can you be sure?

See a doctor.



windchymes -> RE: brown recluse (5/12/2007 9:16:21 AM)

The problem with seeking medical advice is that the doctors won't diagnose you as having a brown recluse spider bite unless they actually see the spider that bit you, and how often does that happen?  I got bitten by one in my sleep, and was diagnosed with an "abcess" and told to apply heat.  This is the worst thing you can do, because the heat activates the enzyme in the venom that necroses (eats) the flesh that turns blue or purple.

The best thing to do is to apply ice to the spot, that slows down the necrosing action of the enzyme.  There is no antivenom and antibiotics won't help except to prevent a secondary infection.  Steroids help with swelling.  But it just has to run its course.  And, don't be alarmed if the swelling recurs months later, that is common.  Keep treating with ice packs.

I'm not saying not to see a doctor, but just be insistent about the likelihood of it being from a brown recluse.  After my first bad diagnosis, I went to an emergency room where I was lucky enough to have a doctor who had done his residency in Arizona and had seen a lot of the bites.  He verbally said it was one, and treated it as such, but on my discharge papers, my "official" diagnosis was "infected insect bite". 



MadameDahlia -> RE: brown recluse (5/12/2007 2:51:47 PM)

My mother mentioned hearing about her friend's husband getting bit. He lost his nose. Yucky stuff.



xxblushesxx -> RE: brown recluse (5/13/2007 1:32:32 PM)

Master applied ice as soon as I realized what had happened.
My hand is healing well, and, to look at it, you'd never know what heppened.
Oh, in answer to the question how I knew, well, I did a search, and, brown recluse bites have a very distinctive 'red white and blue' look to them.  Mine was classic.
I also diagnosed myself with meningitis one time, drove to the doctor, told her what I had, and why I thought I had it, was transported by ambulance to the hospital where they took spinal fluid, and, yep...I was right! *lol* I shoulda been a dr.! (but I squick too easily!)



AAkasha -> RE: brown recluse (5/14/2007 10:33:13 AM)



I am curious why so many people post medical questions on newsgroups (which is fine, it's always ok to get opinions) but so often refuse to seek medical care. For those that have had medical conditions, minor or major, why do you choose not to go to the ER or see a doctor?  Is it because you don't have insurance or just don't want to deal with the hassle?  If it's mostly because people don't have health insurance I can understand that I guess, but it would seem like a hell of a lot of people don't based on how many refuse to see a doctor. 

Akasha



jj292 -> RE: brown recluse (5/15/2007 11:13:21 PM)

Personally, I am not all that impressed with doctors anymore. Practically every single problem i've ever had has been misdiagnosed to hell and back.... I've had 2 really bad experiences. And it wasnt just one doctor, it was multiple doctors. And I dont know how many times doctors thought I had mono when I was a kid. I swear every time my parents took me to the doctor, the idiot was convinced I had mono. Did the tests several times...always came up negative.

And with the cost of healthcare being so high these days....Im not going to a doc unless I have a serious problem. Because most of the tume they will just tell me something that I already know, can figure out myself, give me the wrong diagnosis, or they just wont have an answer.



xxblushesxx -> RE: brown recluse (5/16/2007 11:48:55 AM)

Because I'm a full-time student with no insurance. Master would take me if I asked, but, I would only do that if I had to.
Plus, I've found that there are alot of wise people here with well-thought-out opinions.



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