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Spider bite information...?


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I was reaching for an item in the closet today. As I brought my hand down, it felt like I was pinched hard by something, There wasn't anything there to pinch me, so I think it was a spider. On my hand I could see a dark blue spot forming that was a bit bigger than a pencil eraser. It hurt, but not excruciatingly so. It is on my lower thumb knuckle. I only see one hole, not two and it is dead center....so maybe not a spider?

 

I live in the PNW but I haven't seen a brown recluse or any other known problematic spider around the house. I looked in the closet to see if I could find it, but no luck. There are a couple of small strings of an old spider web, in the top corner, but nothing that looks new or in use. It is our shoe/outdoor gear closet, so it could be a new roommate.

 

I soaked it in ice water for a few minutes, rubbed in benadryl cream, made a baking soda paste and took a benadryl. I repeated the cream and soda about an hour later. I don't have any meat tenderizer or papaya enzyme.

 

Is there anything else i can do to help it? I have a have dollar size welt, the bluish area is dime size but not as dark as it was originally.

 

Any ideas?

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Not knowing what it is - I'd say watch it very closely. Draw (with a sharpie) a circle around the edges of the red area and the blue-er area. If they continue to get bigger, or if you see any red "trails" snaking away from the circles, go to the doc immediately. Also - if you start running a fever, get a really bad headache, or start to feel sick - go to the doc.

Even if it was a brown recluse, you may not have to go see a doc. Watch that blue area very closely for any changes that don't look better :)

Sounds like you've done all that you can without a doc.

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My dad had a nasty bite that he thought was recluse. They told him it might be or it might be scorpion. He did have tissue damage but either way, short of controlling infection, there wasn't anything special they could do. I'd watch for infection. FWIW, I don't think you're in range for brown recluse spiders.

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Thanks everyone, it looks a bit better tonight. I have some antibiotic ointment, so I put a smidge on it just to be safe. I have had cellulitis a couple times from wasp/bee stings, so that is pretty good advice to consider. I seem to be fairly susceptible.

 

It still hurts, is pretty swollen and it looks bruised. My thumb is pretty stiff, but I think it is just from the swelling around the joint. I am glad it is my left hand. :) I wonder if it hit a capillary? Maybe that is why it looked so bad, so fast.

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  • 7 months later...
Guest Cotopaxi

Luckily, the internet is a wonderful thing and there is a plethora of online resources for your spider bite predicament. One that I would recommend is firstaid.webMD.com

Just google spider bite info and it will be the third link on the list!

The best of luck to your man!

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Well, if you live in the PNW, the good news is that it's very unlikely to be a brown recluse. They don't live here. We do have hobo spiders in the PNW, but I'm told their bites are relatively painless, so maybe that's hope that it's something less venomous.

 

Let us know how you're doing. I hope it heals quickly.

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Well, if you live in the PNW, the good news is that it's very unlikely to be a brown recluse. They don't live here. We do have hobo spiders in the PNW, but I'm told their bites are relatively painless, so maybe that's hope that it's something less venomous.

 

Let us know how you're doing. I hope it heals quickly.

 

Yeah and those hobo spiders live in dark corners. I want to die thinking of spiders.

 

I hope it clears up OP.

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