OT: A Bad Bite

[Ash]

Three days ago, I woke up with an intense pain on my upper right area of my chest.
I went to the bathroom mirror and saw that I had an enormous red welt a bit bigger than a .50 cent piece.
I'm assuming it's a spider bite but I'm not quite sure.
If it is, it's without a doubt the biggest bite I've ever seen or had.
It looks as if whatever bit me hit me at least 3-4 times right in the same area.

The possibility also exists that it may be another creature.
Since I've lived in my new apartment I've spotted a single large black ant and a small brown beetle that appeared from under my refrigerator.
Both were fed to my hungry scorpions.
I also killed a small black spider with a sandal that was on my wall.

It's literally driving me nuts not knowing what the hell bit me while I was sleeping.
I've searched my place and have found nothing.

Here's two pictures of the bite:

Pic 1


Pic 2


(sorry, the pics are bad...I took them on a crappy webcam)

I just worry about how serious a bite like this can be.
I've researched info on the bites of the Black Widow and the Brown Recluse and thank God the bite I received isn't from either of those species.

It's been 3 days and the bite hasn't improved but it hasn't worsened either.
The wound hurts when touched and the inflamed tissue has firmed/hardened up slightly.
Also, you can notice a slight red aura surrounding the main bite area and pain somewhat radiates outward toward my right arm. The pain is very slight....not too bad.

Should I see a doctor or am I getting worked up for nothing?
Any ideas as to what bit me?



Post Edited (06-18-05 00:47)

[Dr. Kobb]

Just on the off chance...

it didn't look anything remotely like this, did it?



Seriously, though.  I'd have that looked at by a professional, ASH.

[Mr_Vindictive]

Ash,

It probably was some type of spider, although if I'm not mistaken, they don't usually bite humans while humans are asleep.  

If it is a spider bite, rest assured that it's not a brown recluse.  My father got bitten on his foot by one a few years ago.  We didn't know what the bite on his foot was until the skin began to melt away.

[dean]

Yeah, Skaboi, that's going to make him feel better: thinking of melting skin!!!

Well I think you should follow Dr. Kobb's [aha get it?] orders for seeing a professional: when in doubt, check it out!

That being said, it sounds nasty, and I've never really heard of someone getting bit whilst sleeping.  But that being said, you could have got the bite earlier and it just took a while to 'welt up'.

Keep us updated so we don't know you have succumbed to the evil ways of the vampiric spider.

[Susan]

yeah it's definately not a brown recluse, your flesh would start rotting away. Black widow bites can hurt, and scorpions. Depends on what kind of creepy crawlies live in your area, sometimes people just have a worse reaction to something than others. (For instance ant bites hurt me but my mother is allergic, when one bites her - her entire foot is likely to swell from a single bite).  If it gets worse or you get another i'd see a doctor. Otherwise get the bendryl

[ulthar]

ASHTHECAT wrote:

> I also killed a small black spider with a sandal that was on my
> wall.
>

You keep sandals on your wall?

[sorry, couldn't resist]

1. I agree with those who said go to the doctor/ER.  If it still hurts after several days, it really probably should be checked, no matter what it is.

2. I could be wrong about this, but I have done a little reading on brown recluse spiders.  Here is my understanding:

--a. brown recluse is not a single species, but a group of spiders.
--b. the bites effect different people differently.  We all associate the 'skin melting off' with their bites, but that's because they are the sensational stories. There have been many people bitten by them that have had little to no reaction.

Best of luck.  (we'll all be keeping an eye on you, Ash.  Let us know if you start to discover your inner Spidey Sense and shoot webs out your wrists...or worse).

[Ellie]

I have been bitten by a Brown Recluse when I was in Council Bluffs, Iowa. It was on my lower arm and it was horrible. A country Doctor came to where I was living and gave me double "barrels" penicillen shots.  My souvinier of Iowa!

[Mr_Vindictive]

Ulthar,

As you mentioned, people do react differently to the brown recluse (fiddleback) venom.  I've read about situations where the venom traveled through the body causing gangrene in the limb that was bitten and the removal of the limb, etc.

Luckily, when my father was bitten, the reaction wasn't too bad.  There was a red welt for a few days which eventually "melted" and now all that is left is a circular scar that looks like the result of a car cigarette lighter.

As for Ash's bite, I'm not doctor, but it doesn't look like a brown recluse bite but the signs do point to a spider bite of some kind.

[odinn7]

It looks like a spider bite but, myself, I wouldn't worry about it. You said it's been 3 days and the way I see it, a spider bite will have it's effects on you before that. If you got a burning welt 3 days later, that's probably all you will get until it goes away. All spiders are poisonous it just depends on the severity of their poison and how you react to it. Different people react different ways as has already been mentioned. You probably had a spider on you while sleeping and you disturbed it somehow and  it felt like it needed to whack you.

You want information on spider bites, here's people's personal accounts of being attacked by various species of tarantulas. If you read some of them, you will see that all the experiences vary quite a bit. If interested, read the 'Haplopelma lividum' thread towards the bottom (this is one of the ones that I have but it hasn't gotten me...yet).
Spider Bites

Also ASH[/u], the main board on that link has some good information on Scorpions that you could probably learn quite a bit from. One thing you may want to know that I saw you write about: It is widely believed that feeding your captive animals (scorps or Ts) wild caught food such as you mentioned is NOT a good idea. Wild caught food could contain parasites that have the potential to kill your "pets". I used to feed wild caught crickets and grasshoppers to my Ts until I found this out. Just a word of warning.

And to ulthar: Damn you and beating me to that sandal on the wall comment. I saw that and couldn't wait to post a comeback and then I saw your reply...too funny.



Disclaimer: I am not a doctor but I am fairly knowledgeable about spiders (and I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express once) so, if you happen to get real sick or die (or they have to amputate your chest) after following my advice on medical care, it's your own damn fault for asking the medical advice of people on the internet and I will not be held responsible.
Just thought I'd throw that in there for good measure.



Post Edited (06-20-05 10:46)

[Ash]

Thanks for the link...I'll check it out.

The bite is actually improving now...I guess I got a bit worked up about it because the bite hurt so damn bad at first and because of its size.
Now it just itches like all hell.
Believe me, those crappy webcam shots didn't do it justice.
Everyone that saw it up close said, "Oh my God!"  "A spider did that!?"

Also, about feeding my scorpions wild caught food...
I have a book on keeping scorpions as pets and I did find in there a paragraph that said pretty much the same thing Odinn.
It isn't a good idea to feed them that stuff.
They bring mites into the cage and that is the kiss of death for scorpions.

And the sandal thing....hehe....the sandal was on my foot.
I took the sandal off of my foot and used it to kill a spider.
There.

:)

[Mofo Rising]

This is sort of OT even for this OT post, but ASHTHECAT's sandal reminded me of it.

I was in Ecuador last summer for a class.  The first night in our cabin there was a black scorpion on the wall inside.  I'd say it was about 3 or 4 inches along.  This being our first night in the cabin, we took the prudent option and killed it with a boot.

The next morning we took the carcass to the teacher who pointed out the small pincers on the scorpion.  Apparently that meant the scorpion was extra poisonous, since it wasn't depening on its pincers for defense.

Soothing words indeed.

I was bit once by something unknown when I was handed a piece of luggage.  Lucky for me the back of my hand swelled only a little, and it went away after twenty or thirty minutes.  I can relate to the anxiety of not knowing what the hell bit you.  My bite was mostly harmless, but it could have been anything and there are some very poisonous creatures out there.

I'd like to go back.

[dean]

And people say that Australia is filled with dangerous creatures, but you guys seem to have an abundance of scorpians and spiders, argh!!!

You'd be hardpressed where I am to find something even remotely dangerous...  I shall now sleep more soundly knowing that the real danger lies elsewhere!

[odinn7]

It's ok dean,
You've got some bad spiders over there too...and don't forget, I seem to recall reading that you guys have like 9 of the top 10 deadliest snakes. The way I see it, you can keep the snakes.

Good to hear you're doing better ASH. Did you check that link for the scorpion message boards?