Spider Bite

[blike]

Day 10 of a Brown Recluse bite.

 

 

YUM!!!!

[Dave]

ouch.

 

coincidentally, I hope that's not your hand.

 

If it is, I think I'd get it checked out

[Kettle]

Ew, ew ,ew ,ew EEEEEWWWW!

Suddenly my brekkie fry-up isn't so appealing

 

And I am *so* turning off "Show image attachments in posts"

[blike]

lol, you should have known when you clickd a thread titled "Spider Bite" with an image attached

 

Its not my hand, thank God. Florida is infested with those spiders though. Seriously, they're everywhere.

[ThEmAdHaTtEr]

Insane, that was a good one. HUGE wound. Well, I suppose I would rather be bit by a Diamondback Rattler.

[Kettle]

lol - you'll have to forgive me, as I come from the UK the worst a wild spider can do over here is crawl up your leg under the duvet and give you a nasty look.

 

But why the hell did the infected person live with that for 10 DAYS before getting it looked at??? Nutter.

 

[daisy]

Err...Kettle, I'm reasonably sure that we get Brown Recluse's here in the UK......but probably not a strain that can produce that effect!!! I'm an arachnophobe and I say "death to all spiders" When I rule the world there will be no more spiders. And don't give me all that crap about them eating flies and stuff....I'd rather have a fly any day.

[Dudde]

...I don't think you should kill all spiders..I like spiders...everybody hates spiders:(

oh well^_^

I live up in the northwest where there isn't much more than black widows everywhere;)..well..I live in Phoenix now...I did live up there though...

[Sayonara]

Look what I found:

 

http://www.snopes.com/photos/brownrecluse.asp

[matter]

sorry guys but florida sucks. my father had black widows all around the outside, and i think the inside of his house one summer.

[Dudde]

...my grandparents' house has been invaded one summer by fuzzy caterpiller things (they were EVERYWHERE!) and then also by daddylongleg spiders (as cool as they are, I don't like waking up with them all over me)

 

not as bad as black widows of course, but black widows around here (around washington) usually stay outside or in dark damp places, so only goths have to worry about them

[blike]

interesting sayo. i hate the internet, too hard to know whats real and whats not.

 

 

 

i take that back, i love the internet

[Sayonara]

I found that while I was looking for info on that "you eat 8 spiders while asleep during your lifetime" crap.

[timokay]

I like all the fluffy bunnies.

[YT2095]

I`m with Kettle on this one, why the hell wait 10 days!?

it`s not like he`s here in the UK with the NHS waiting list (satire).

something says he should get his head checked out 1`st.

 

I`m off to empty my bucket now

[NSX]

Referring to blike's attachemtn:

 

How the heck does that happeN?

Is it a HUGE spirder or something?

 

Or does the wound spread out?

or..?

[Sayonara]

The venom is a toxin that actively attacks cell structures, causing necrosis. Some spiders bite once, but others bite repeatedly while they are able - macerating the skin and allowing venom to more easily spread through the subcutaneous tissue. I'm not sure if the brown recluse does this.

 

This page describes how bites from that spider can take 3-4 hours before they are noticeable, and discusses reasons why spider bites in general are difficult to diagnose and therefore may get a bit... icky.

 

 

That snopes page I posted earlier did not come to any clear conclusion but it does say:

 

In fact, just about the greatest danger of a bite of this nature is not the direct effects of the venom, but rather the introduction of secondary bacterial infection due to the patient's continually scratching the site (spider bites can itch terribly!) or otherwise failing to keep the wound clean

 

I can see how someone might get bitten, dismiss the bite, then when it gets itchy and sore a few hours later, it gets infected by their scratching.

 

Whoever it was in that photo was certainly unlucky

[YT2095]

I think the enzyme they use to do this is Protease, it`s how they eat, inject the prey, dissolve them then suck up all the juices (hope your not eating), often accompanied by a neuro toxin to parylise(sp?) the victim, I think it`s a Choline Esterase Inhibitor (creates signal over loads in the nerves and intense pain) Snakes use it also.

[Sayonara]

It is extremely likely the backbone (excuse the choice of word for describing an attribute of an invertebrate) of their venom is a protease, yes. Can't say I've ever looked into it though

[Dudde]

which reminds me....I woke up about a week ago with a huge fat lip. when the swelling went down all that was left was a bite mark....

 

good thing I don't bite my lip;)