Question about a spider bite

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

My dd was biten by some sort of bug/spider... now she said it is burning/ stinging and she said her foot feels "heavy". We do have black widows and the occasional brown recluse here (brown recluses are not very common but are found here sometimes) But I looked up the symptoms of a widow bite and I am not sure that is what it is. Where she was bit is red (bigger area than it was) and it is a little swollen. WWYD? Would you worry? Wait and see?

[Julie in CA]

I would worry--but I would probably wait it out a bit. I'm not advising *you* to wait, I'm just sayin' that's what I'd probably be doing if I were you. Maybe someone else who's more knowledgeable will come along, but I wanted to post and let you know you weren't alone out there! I'll pray that everything turns out ok. :grouphug: :001_smile:

[dcurry]

Several of us in our family have been reacting very strangely to mosquito bites recently. The first one to react was me, and we know it was a mosquito because we saw it. It bit me right under my eye, and it started swelling & burning immediately. I couldn't get something on it for about 15 minutes, and by then half of my face was swollen, hot, hard, and burning. I took some benedryl, (and put "sting-eze" on it) and over the next couple of days, it went away.

 

My kids have been getting bites like this too, on arms, mostly. I think I would watch it, and if it's getting worse, I'd go in to get it checked. But if it is getting better over time, it's probably ok. We have black widows around here, too, but since we've seen the mosquitos, I'm just assuming that's what the bites are. None of us have ever reacted like this before. What area are you in?

[fhjmom]

Does the bite area look like a target: red spot in the senter surrounded by a larger red circle? That is the typical look for a brown recluse bite and if it looks like that, I would not hesitate to go ahead and call the doc about getting her in. If the "heavy" feeling continues, she has an increase in pain, or there is redness moving up from the bite site, I would take her in immediately.

 

My DD had a weird bite-ish looking place on her arm surrounded by a bruise that I noticed today. She said is didn't itch or hurt though. I marked it with tiny dots at the margins so I can keep an eye on it and tell if it changes size. If it is bigger in the morning I will call the doctor. Since hers didn't scream spider bite to me, I am okay with the wait and see.

[ktgrok]

put some lavender oil on it if you have any, it works wonders on spider bites.

[Perry]

Did you actually see a spider? MRSA is very frequently confused with spider bites.

 

I'd have her seen.

AAFP

If the patient says spider bite, think MRSA, says Assembly speaker

 

BY PEGGY PECK

When a patient presents with a soft-tissue infection and claims it is due to a spider bite, perhaps you don't want to go there. "Spiders are getting a bad rap. Get a culture because what you are seeing is probably community-acquired MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus)," says Tom Frank, Pharm.D., B.C.P.S., an associate professor of pharmacy practice and assistant professor of family and community medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Jonesboro, Ark.

Frank, who conducted the Dialogue session "Antimicrobial Therapy: New Challenges, Few Tools" at the Assembly, says that "77 percent of patients presenting with soft-tissue infections are showing up with MRSA on culture." Most of these patients attribute the infection to spider bites, he says. This observation was confirmed during the discussion when several physicians noted that they, too, were seeing a surge in spider bite complaints.

 

[ReneTL]

Did you actually see a spider? MRSA is very frequently confused with spider bites.

 

I'd have her seen.

AAFP

 

:iagree:

My daughter had what appeared to be a spider bite, but was treated as MRSA. Luckily she didn't have to be hospitalized ("only" two antibiotics at once), but a friend of ours spent two days in the hospital. I'm not typically one of those people that runs to the Doc, but I say don't mess with this Go to the doctor.

[KatieJ]

My Mom was bit by a spider last fall. ( She was in her car and it was on her mirror..)

 

She developed a rash that spread up her arm and eventually all over her trunk. The Dr. didn't treat it as a spider bite for months and she was miserable in spite of their treatments. Eventually it was cultered and came back as a infection due to an insect bite and she was treated appropriately and got over it. but it took months.

I would have her seen.

[KnitWit]

No matter what it turns out to be, she will probably benefit from soaking her foot in water as hot as she can take with epsom salts added. Let her sit until the water cools, but not more than about 30 min. Then do it several more times through the day.

 

My dd had a bite like that and she could *feel* the epsom salts *drawing* on the wound. After she soaked, she pat it dry and put an antibiotic ointment on it. We monitored the appearance of the bite and her temp, just in case. It is totally healed now. We also have no idea *what* it was.

 

Edited to add...since we did not know what we were dealing with..including poss. staph, we were VERY careful with the soak water, the towel, our hands etc. Everything was single use and then cleaned and disinfected. We washed our hands religiously...when stuff was draining out, we used gauze to dab it and disposed of that wrapped in the trash...just in case.

Edited July 13, 2010 by MSPolly

[Parrothead]

I'd have it seen about. I've had spider bites, but nothing like what you described.

[momof3sofar]

My 18yo dd was bitten the other day by an unknown assailant as well. She had a red raised bump in the middle and a swollen red area around it. We also marked the edges of the redness to see if the swelling or color increased. It did but not too terribly much. After 24 hours she said it burned and itched intensely. She took a dose of Benadryl and things started to "calm" down. Try some Benadryl to see if it helps at all, if it doesn't do anything in the first 30 minutes call the doctor to see if they want to see her. It has been a couple days and dd's bite area is bruised but has really started to heal. We will probably never know what bit her either.

[AnitaMcC]

My dd was biten by some sort of bug/spider... now she said it is burning/ stinging and she said her foot feels "heavy". We do have black widows and the occasional brown recluse here (brown recluses are not very common but are found here sometimes) But I looked up the symptoms of a widow bite and I am not sure that is what it is. Where she was bit is red (bigger area than it was) and it is a little swollen. WWYD? Would you worry? Wait and see?

 

 

These are the symptoms that my Dd describes when she gets bit by a spider. But I don't think we have dangerous spiders here... at least not that I have heard about. What I do when my kids get bit by spiders, etc... I give them benadryl.

 

My Dd reacts bad to any sort of insect sting/bite so she automatically gets benadryl and if she swells she gets prednisone. But she reacts even with just mosquito bites where he fingers/toes and face get puffy regardless where she gets bit.

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

Did you actually see a spider? MRSA is very frequently confused with spider bites.

 

I'd have her seen.

AAFP

 

 

Yes we did see a spider, but her reaction was to squash it into a black smear... there was nothing left :001_huh:. It was really late last night and I watched her and this for replies but after the first I went to bed after just reading one. I told her if she could not sleep to let me know, or if she woke up and it was at all worse to let me know. This morning it was just a bit and very red in about a 3 in circle, but nothing else. Through the day it went down so I would guess just a bad reaction to it as a pp said! Thanks for all the replies!!!! (Stupid spiders anyways :glare:)

 

:001_smile: