Who has been bitten by a brown Recluse?

M

MikeH

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Oct 18, 2001
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I need some first-hand experiences related. Did the bite hurt when it occurred? Were there any physical symptoms other than at the site of the bite?

Last Tuesday night at my late mother's house, which stands unoccupied except when I am using it for a fishing or hunting trip, I noticed a small red spot on my right wrist when it began itching like crazy. There was no sting, no bite sensation of any kind, just itching of a small red spot a little less than the size of a pencil eraser. according to info I find on the net, Brown Recluse and Black Widow bites hurt, a lot.

There were two tiny black spots that might be fang marks, but they were a lot farther apart than I would have thought spider fangs would be.

According to net info, BR's and BW's cause nausea, vomiting, and possible muscle spasms. I have had none of these and feel fine.

By Thursday afternoon, the red area had doubled, and I called my family doctor. He was closed on Friday, so it will be Monday before I can see him. His nurse said to take Zyrtec and use hydrocortisone cream until I came in on Monday. Meanwhile, the spot is appraching dime size and is starting to puss up around the possible bite marks.

Any first-hand experiences would be appreciated.
 
My friend was bitten, she now has a hole the size of a golfball missing from her thigh. The toxin eats away at the flesh very quickly, and I would reckon you would know what you had by now.

If you really think its a recluse, which I doubt by what you describe, you should get to a hospital.
 
Well, the bites don't hurt all that much when they happen, but as they worsen they become extremely painful as the tissue is essentially rotting. Follow the nurse's instructions and watch it---spreading of redness isn't unusual with any bug bite. Full onset of symptoms from a BR bite (severe pain, vomiting, cramping, fever) will generally occur within the first ten hours. I'm thinking it was some other critter.
 
While I haven't been bit by a brown recluse, I have been bit by more spiders than I've been able to properly identify so I do know a bit about it I guess. Because of the absence of pain and systemic symptoms, I doubt you have a brown recluse bite. Or, at worst, you have one that is not developing the necrosis the species is known for. Most recluse bites don't, actually.

Personally, I'd try a brown salve, ichthammol I think it's spelled, and not worry too much about it unless it continued to grow or started hurting badly. I was once bit by a yellow orb weaver- it's basically the sissified little cousin of the black widow and brown recluse- on the elbow and that felt like getting stung by several wasps and was followed by a red spot that spread to the size of a quarter within a day or so and developed a good sized black center shortly thereafter. It didn't feel especially good:) but ~18 hours after putting the ichthammol on the inflammation was gone and the skin all looked like still healing 2nd degree burns with a small pit in the center. It worked for me and I always keep some handy now.

YMMV!
 
MikeH said:
This is sounding encouraging.
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To me, as well. I think you're fine ... but I'm one who believes 'better safe than sorry.' Keep a very close eye on that bite and be ready to hit the ER at the first sign of genuine necrosis or the on-set of radiating pain.

I've had more than my share of insect bites, here and OCONUS, over the years. I've learned to watch closely for those two signs and bolt for the medic at the first real signs.

Hang in there and keep a close look-out on that bite.
 
I was bitten by something unidentified on my right wrist with the same symptoms you describe. My doctor said it was probably some sort of spider and gave me some very powerful antibiotics. That cleared it up for me but I got to my doctor much more quickly than you. My doctor said there isn't much flesh on the wrist and the last thing You want is for that to get down into the joint. You need to see someone before Monday!
 
I would be heading to the ER right away. Brown recluse toxins cause necrosis in cell tissue. One of our frinds was in the hospital for a month while the affected area ate away her leg. She almost lost it.
 
Don't take any chances.
 
What OP said.

Got nailed by one on my left forearm a few years ago and at first did not think much about it. Then after a few days it was starting to become necrotic. There was an open sore about the size of a quarter. It did not hurt, but it was not healing which is unusual for me. I would throw some Neosporin on it and went about business. After a couple of days, I woke up with red spots over a good part of my upper body and the sore had grown to the size of a 1/2 dollar. Decided I better get to the doc. He figured out what it was pretty quickly and told me if I had waited any longer, things would have been a lot worse. They had me on some pretty strong meds for a week or so and it took a extra long time for that sore to heal. Doc said people react in different ways to the bytes, but if it happens to me again, I have learned almost the hard what what to do right away when I see the signs - get to the doc. ;). I was very fortunate that they did not have to dig out tissue from my forearm.

If you normally heal quickly and that bite does not show signs of healing and gets worse. Go.

The beginning of necrosis for me was a pink colored raw tissue looking spot. The appearance was very uneven and raw looking. It looked like a miniature caldron of pink goo just beginning to come to a boil.
 
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It could be a staph infection, sometimes staph infections are mistaken for spider bites at first.
 
Bastid said:
What OP said.

Got nailed by one on my left forearm a few years ago and at first did not think much about it. Then after a few days it was starting to become necrotic. There was an open sore about the size of a quarter. It did not hurt, but it was not healing which is unusual for me. I would throw some Neosporin on it and went about business. After a couple of days, I woke up with red spots over a good part of my upper body and the sore had grown to the size of a 1/2 dollar. Decided I better get to the doc. He figured out what it was pretty quickly and told me if I had waited any longer, things would have been a lot worse. They had me on some pretty strong meds for a week or so and it took a extra long time for that sore to heal. Doc said people react in different ways to the bytes, but if it happens to me again, I have learned almost the hard what what to do right away when I see the signs - get to the doc. ;). I was very fortunate that they did not have to dig out tissue from my forearm.

If you normally heal quickly and that bite does not show signs of healing and gets worse. Go.

The beginning of necrosis for me was a pink colored raw tissue looking spot. The appearance was very uneven and raw looking. It looked like a miniature caldron of pink goo just beginning to come to a boil.
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That's it!! You ever see that ... sprint to the doc!!!
 
Last year after camping I had a trio of bites on my knee. They did not hurt, but iched like crazy. About a week after they were puffed up and about the size of a half dollar. I used neosporin and they all broke open. went into the doctor and he said I had been bitten by a BW or such, but that for some reason did not get a real big dose of venom. Put me on some meds (goopy ointments) for a while. Still took 4 months to heal. Get in and see the Dr, they just don't go away. good luck! Steven
 
Ive taken two different inmates to the hospital who were spider bit. One by a brown recluse and one by a black widow. Both ended with nasty rotted out holes that you could see bone thru. Dont take the chance, aint worth it.
Ive been spider bit a few times. One ended with a small hole(that took forever to heal) another with a large orange and purple spot. Saw that one, too big to be a recluse. One I got laying in my bed. I felt it and smashed the spider but couldent tell what it was..That one ended up making a big sore that took weeks to heal.
 
Here in Ky. the dogs and I are bothered by ticks and deer flies, every time I walk in the woods this time of year. But, so far no extremely venomous spiders. Or maybe I should say capable of biting a human spiders because I read all spiders are poisonous, just most can't effectively bite a human. The black widow and brown recluse, have the biting power and fangs to penetrate human skin and deliver their poison.


recbite.jpg
 
I found this upon more looking into spiders and it seems a very few are not venomous, but most species are.....

"Only a minority of spider species possess chelicera strong enough to penetrate human skin, however due to their strong surviving potential, they are those most frequently encountered in human habitats. About 98% of the bites inflicted by these species are harmless,[1] but some symptoms can include necrotic wounds, systemic toxicity and, in some cases, death. Only some two hundred species in twenty genera (out of over 40,000 known species) are known to have serious, potentially lethal bites.[2]

In most cases of bites, the chief concern is the spider's venom, although in some cases medically non-significant spiders can transmit infectious diseases. Spiders regarded as dangerous possess venom that is toxic to humans, in quantities that can be delivered by a single bite. Only three spider families are known to be non-venomous, i.e. lacking venom glands or any proper way to deliver it. They are Uloboridae, Holarchaeidae and Liphistiidae. These spiders, however, do possess fangs and can deliver sharp, unpleasant bites. In addition, the fangs of Liphistiidae can often inflict infections spread through the skin, mostly due to their large size, which in theory could represent more danger than the bite of a non-lethal venomous spider species.

Spider bites may be misdiagnosed by both the general public and medical practitioners. Many other conditions both infectious and non-infectious can be confused with spider bites.[3] Many of these conditions are far more common and more likely to be the source of necrotic wounds.[4]"
 
If it begins to look like a bullseye I would get to the doc right away. I have not read the responses but it could be a tick bite. Lyme disease can be devastating if left untreated.
 
dttomcat said:
If it begins to look like a bullseye I would get to the doc right away. I have not read the responses but it could be a tick bite. Lyme disease can be devastating if left untreated.
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Ticks don't bite you and leave. They attach and engorge, for days before dropping off. So, if it had been a tick he would have found it attached.
 
Six days later: The redness around te bite got to about the size of a quarter. No bullseye. The festered spot did not get larger and is now just about healed over. The red spot is fading.
Never had any other symptoms at all. It never did hurt, but still itches a lot. I cancelled my doctor's visit this morning.
 
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