Anyone ever bitten by a Brown Recluse?

[Sensei]

Did you see the spider that bit you? Necrosis from BR bites is rare and most people have another skin condition causing the problem. I see 4-5 people every day who think they were bitten by a spider, but actually have an abscess caused by a bacterial infection of the skin. This most often comes from MRSA which often has a necrotic center. If it is draining pus, red, and indurated then you have an abscess that needs to be drained. This is especially true if you or other household contacts have had similar wounds since MRSA colonizes the host and the colonization spreads among contacts.

[jhs1969]

Did you see the spider that bit you? Necrosis from BR bites is rare and most people have another skin condition causing the problem. I see 4-5 people every day who think they were bitten by a spider, but actually have an abscess caused by a bacterial infection of the skin. This most often comes from MRSA which often has a necrotic center. If it is draining pus, red, and indurated then you have an abscess that needs to be drained. This is especially true if you or other household contacts have had similar wounds since MRSA colonizes the host and the colonization spreads among contacts.

I am 99.9% sure it was a BR, although I didn't acutally see it. The house we live in has somewhat of an infestation. Two summers ago we were helping to finish the third floor. We put up the walls, (log home), ran the final wiring, sanded and sealed the wood walls and ceilings. We would see 5-6 a day on many occasions. I was curious as to what kind of spiders we were seeing so I started researching it. I postiviely identified nearly everyone of them as BR's. My father-in-law, who lives on the lower floor, uses firewood stored in an attached room on the lower floor (natural wood, covered with bark). We still see 1-3 a week, still positively identified as BR's. I was bitten this past monday, I became curious about a BR bite on tuesday and called my wife from work to research it. It turns out I had some phase of every symptom listed. The research said the necrosis starts 1-2 weeks after the bite. I visited my NP on wednesday morning who prescribed an antibiotic. She felt the anitbiotics would take care of the bite and didn't prescrib any creams. I have a tube of cream left over from a tick bite last year. I may need to start using that cream as well.

It sounds like you may be a doctor, if so, any other advice I should follow. I was bitten in the crook of my elbow and don't have a lot of flesh to lose here.

[GIJew766]

I'm no doctor, but I've been around enough of these bites to know a thing or two.

1) Do not apply heat to the area, especially if the tissue around the wound has already begun to deteriorate.

2) Do not apply hydrocortisone creams to the affected area.


What I recommend is to see your doctor as soon as possible. There are things the doc can prescribe that will allow you to recover from the bite a bit quicker. Benadryl prescriptions generally help for the burning/itching, and if the wound has begun to show signs of necrosis, there is a patch that can be prescribed that will help heal once the doc has removed the dead tissue.

As someone else mentioned, be alert for MRSA however, as the spider bite could be what is known as a distracting injury.

Get well.


H

[Horsehide]

One bit me on my right cheeck (no, not on my face...) about twenty years ago in Texas. For days it felt like I had a burning silver dollar under my skin. The necrosis never progressed beyond a dark reddih/purple ring and it eventually went away.

[Sensei]

I am 99.9% sure it was a BR, although I didn't acutally see it. The house we live in has somewhat of an infestation. Two summers ago we were helping to finish the third floor. We put up the walls, (log home), ran the final wiring, sanded and sealed the wood walls and ceilings. We would see 5-6 a day on many occasions. I was curious as to what kind of spiders we were seeing so I started researching it. I postiviely identified nearly everyone of them as BR's. My father-in-law, who lives on the lower floor, uses firewood stored in an attached room on the lower floor (natural wood, covered with bark). We still see 1-3 a week, still positively identified as BR's. I was bitten this past monday, I became curious about a BR bite on tuesday and called my wife from work to research it. It turns out I had some phase of every symptom listed. The research said the necrosis starts 1-2 weeks after the bite. I visited my NP on wednesday morning who prescribed an antibiotic. She felt the anitbiotics would take care of the bite and didn't prescrib any creams. I have a tube of cream left over from a tick bite last year. I may need to start using that cream as well.

It sounds like you may be a doctor, if so, any other advice I should follow. I was bitten in the crook of my elbow and don't have a lot of flesh to lose here.

I am an emergency physician and the good news is that you will probably be fine without any treatment other than Motrin and topical Bacitracin or Neosporin cream. Significant necrosis is rare and there is no evidence to support many of the prescribed treatment such as Dapsone and antibiotics (provided that the wound does not show evidence of an infection). Some people have mentioned wound debridement or excision, but this practice has been abandoned as some limited studies have shown that cutting on BR bites actually inhibits wound healing. I've seen hyperbaric therapy used in extreme cases, but you are no where near that stage if you are reading this message. I bet you will be just fine with the Motrin, topical Bacitracin and twice daily dressing changes. The first 2 weeks will suck, but remember that pain is the sensation of weakness leaving you body. You have problems if you have redness spreading from the wound, purulent drainage, fever, etc.

[afff_667]

I got bit on the top of my foot by a brown recluse that decided to crawl into my bunker pants and down into my boot about seven years ago. I put my foot into the boot for a call and apparently got bit, although I don't remember feeling the actual bite.

I got off shift the next day and went home and mowed the yard. The next morning my foot felt a little stiff, and I noticed what I assumed was a fire ant bite on top of my foot...a really huge fire ant bite with a reddish head and large, angry, warm, red circle around it that continued to grow. Foot proceeded to get very sore over the course of the day and began to hurt.

I limped back into work the third day and had show and tell. The bite looked remarkably like the one in a rookie's paramedic book (just like it did in my old book, but I wanted a few second opinions), so off I go to the City doc. I ended up with an orthodedic surgeon who put me on antibiotics and return for daily debridings and flushings for four or five days.

It was nasty...I changed the packing on my own between debridings and for about a week after. It healed over the course of about a month but left a pretty good scar. Treatment appears to have changed over the past few years, but I wouldn't mess with it.

[Grayling14]

Sorry all. I had some great pictures of the necrotic effects of a BR bite that a family member had sent to me in an e-mail. I realized after the fact that they may not be public domain. Better safe than sorry, so I deleted them.

[sadmin]

I was bitten near my hip by one of those bastards. It was quite an ordeal, due to the low fat content on my hip. I went to an old country doctor who gave me a Z-Pack and told me to soak it in hot epson salt after the necrosis set in; then to get tweezers or needle nose pliers and pull the rotten flesh plug out of it. After about a week, it looked like I had a quarter size bowl of queso on my hip with a black edge and red rings around that. I did what she recommended and pulled the rotten flesh out and I had a perfect hole, no more than an inch deep, which was funny looking. It was a little sore to the touch for a couple weeks, but healed up nicely. Have fun!

[Rob Haught]

After arriving home last year from South Africa, my wife noticed a red mark just above the belt line on my back. It got the trademark ring and black center of a spider bite and I went to the Urgent Care in our town. It was diagnosed as a spider bite and I was given an antibiotic. In two days with no relief I went to family Doc who had also traveled in Africa and she called some specialists who determined that it was probably a Fiddleback bite. A close relative of the BR and also that the original prescription was not right. A change in meds and after a couple days I started to see improvement. I had fevers and chills for the first few days after I got home and it was nasty. Took a couple weeks before I was back 100%.

Never knew when I was bitten, could have even been on the plane ride home for all I know. Still have the scar.

Rob

[Bionic Dead]

My pitbull sat on one in my basement a few years ago and a quarter sized area of skin came off of his sack. We got some cream from the vet, and it heeled up in a bout a month. He is a fawn colored dog and the fur that grew back in the area of the bite turned black
Just thought I'd throw that out there