Has anyone here ever been bitten by a brown recluse? I read that in some cases it heals on its own with no intervention. How quickly to the symptoms develop when you get a Brown Recluse spider bite.
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Has anyone here ever been bitten by a brown recluse? I read that in some cases it heals on its own with no intervention. How quickly to the symptoms develop when you get a Brown Recluse spider bite.
Not all bites are created equal - even from one brown recluse bite to another. It will depend on how deeply the victim is bitten, how much venom the spider decides to inject, and quite possibly each individuals particular susceptibility to the venom.
Most bites will produce little more than a red lesion or mild blistering within 8 hours or so after the bite. More often than not, the victim won't feel the bite, only notice the lesion later.
Wow, I'm pretty thankful that we don't have any dangerous spiders here in the UK! I almost moved to Australia but after hearing about the spiders they have I changed my mind!
We have them here in Florida. They scare me to death. But I thought they were a very dangerous spider to be bitten by. Isn`t that the one that makes a bullseye type mark on you? I`ve heard you can get really sick from them. Yuck on all spiders.
You are probably thinking of Lyme disease spread by tick bites. That is where you often see a "bull's-eye" rash. Another tick-borne illness called STARI can cause a bull's-eye rash, but no spider bites that I know of will do the same.Quote:
Originally Posted by ilovethecountry
I don't know, I know it can be really serious, but I talked to my doctor and she agreed that not all brown recluse bites are equal. So far I only have a small blistering spot. We are just watching it for signs of necrosis.
It is not so rare that large wounds will develop from a brown recluse bite with huge pits developing from necrotic flesh. These sometimes just seem to grow and grow. I've seen pix that will really turn your stomach. I recently was really happy to find out I had a staph infection requiring surgical intervention and weeks of bandage changing, wound draining, and multiple antibiotics because I was worried it might have been a brown recluse bite which could have been much much worse.
I have a friend who is a PhD entomologist (biologist specializing in bugs/insects) He was standing on a chair in his den working on a drapery rod support when he saw a brown recluse walking along the rod toward him. He just launched himself out into the air, falling where he may on whatever he might to get away from the spider. He said he'd rather risk some other injury than chance a brown recluse bite. (And this from a guy who has had a couple spinal operations and doesn't need to take a fall leaping out into space from a chair. He is no "fraidy cat" as I have seen him chase down snakes bare handed, both non-venomous and venomous. His actions were guided by his risk analysis, comparing the chance of being bit to being injured from the fall. He chose to NOT BE BIT. Sure, not everyone has a pound of flesh rot off and some bites are virtually a non-problem but how do you find out except by being bit?
Cypermethrin a cousin to permethrin as well as permethrin is a good defense against spider infestation. I use a water based spray (made up from a wetable powder, brand name Viper) that is odor free, safe on carpets and wood work or painted surfaces (anything that a light misting of water won't hurt) and is child and pet safe after it dries. A light spraying will last for a few months. Side effects includes killing any roaches, water bugs, fleas, ticks, scorpions, or just about any bug that comes in contact with it. I spray it outside around the perimeter of the house and it stacks up dead bugs like cord wood. I spray indoors because we have a problem with scorpions. It gets the scorpions and just about every other bug that crawls on the floor or tries to hide under a sink or a baseboard.
Note: Scorpions eat spiders. Kill out the spiders and you get fewer scorpions. Of course the spiders eat a bunch of other bugs but not to worry, the permethrin (or cypermethrin) will kill all the bugs contacting it. Permethrin is the active ingredient in the shampoo they use on kids to kill lice. The cloth that military uniforms (BDU's, Battle Dress Uniforms aka fatigues or cammies) is made of is treated with permethrin before being made into clothing. Wally World sells spray cans of permethrin to spray your garments with to prevent mosquito, tick, chigger, and other insect problems. You can buy permethrin at an ag store and dilute it to 0.5% (1/2 of one percent - same as Wally World) and get $1800 dollars worth (at Wally World prices) for $50. Smaller quantities are available at slightly higher cost per ounce. Permethriin clings to the cotton fibers and foils the insects systems, NOT YOURS. It will last a year or 50 hot detergent washings.
Mosquitoes will not bite you through treated cloth. It stops chiggersk, ticks, spiders, and on and on from crawling on your clothes. (Not for application to your skin as your body chemistry will render it useless.)
Pat
Here is a picture that is not so atypical of a brown recluse bite.
It can be so dangerous i know because i suffered brown recluse spider bite on my vocation..
i was in texas at my uncles home and spider bites me.
In first time i didn't know that was spider bite. After few hours pain was horrible and i decided to go to explore on internet some about spider bites.
Informations and pictures was telling to me that was really spider bite. I called 911 and went to hospital.
Doktor sad to me that brown recluse is so dangerous spider that can produce anputation, i was shocked!
That's my story people. I'm hoping i will help someone if read this and learn more about bites..
Sorry about mine bad english, i'm from bulgaria.
Dekisha, My father told me Bulgars make very good loyal friends, telling me of his best friends before coming to the USA in the earley 1900's. We are Armenian.
I was bitten on the back by a spider a couple years ago, thank God it wasn't a recluse. The area was puffed and watery. About two weeks later I broke out in a rash all over my body, it lasted for a week.
There are, we are told, Brown Recluse up here but I'm not sure I've ever seen one.
Best of luck to you and yours.