Spider Bites

[Bobby]

Is there any specific first aid required for basic spider bites? I know that poisonous spider bites need treatment right away, but do normal every day crawl-into-your-shoe-and-bite-your-toe spider bites need special care?

 

[Refrigerator]

a mild antihistimine and some ant itch ointment works for me. Or use one of these.

StingEze, 22152 | Insect Protection | Insect & Sun Protection | GEAR | items from Campmor.

Tender After Bite - The Itch Eraser, 82166 | Insect Protection | Insect & Sun Protection | GEAR | items from Campmor.

The Extractor for Snake, Bee, Spider and Other Bites, 81296 | First Aid Kits | Health & Safety | GEAR | items from Campmor.

 

[Starling]

Whenever I get a bite from anything, I turn right to alcohol. It's cheap, burns, and I like to think thaat it's helping even if I have no clue. I'll take a look at some of the products Ref posted though, because I've never had any really painful bites from spiders and should probably expect them more often.

 

[dinosaur]

I believe it was seven years ago, I was bitten repeatedly by a Brown Recluse Spider on my left ankle when I put my boot on. I could feel it biting and pounded on the boot with my fist. I removed the boot and found the dead spider. Oh, dear, a brown recluse. My ankle had a crescent of bites, eight of them. I was miles from any help and the recluse is venomous. So, I applied alcohol both externally and internally. Obviously it worked because I am telling you about it. I lived and the spider didn't.

I had a black 3/4 moon on my ankle where the skin turned necrotic for almost a year before it faded away. And, the ankle did throb with pain for about fifteen minutes after I was bitten. Other than that the only reminder is in my brain. I don't pull my boots on until I check them for foreign objects and strange visitors.

 

[oldsarge]

I had a student in Panama get bitten by a Brown Recluse on the back of his leg as he slept. Of course we all didn't know this untill after the fact. That night he woke nauseated and coughing, I asked if he was alright and he said yes and went back to sleep. About two hours later we all could hear him moaning and withering in pain. We all got up and turn on flashlights to see what the problem was. It turns out it was our medic who was bitten. We had to carry him in a field expiedient strecher over 400 meters through the jungle to get him to the road. Last I heard he was missing a large portion of his hamstring from the incident.

 

[Benny]

Some spider bites can be about as serious as a snake bite! I wouldn't take any chances and wait until it got worse - I would seek medical attention immediately if I saw more than just a small welt.

 

[Barney]

But what would you do in case of a radioactive spider bite? I'm sure that creator of Spiderman was probably camping when he got the idea.

 

[Grandpa]

I was in the shower when I first noticed a quarter sized scab on my leg. Never any pain or other symptoms that I was aware of. Eventually, a cone shaped chunk, about 3/8 to 1/2 inch deep just fell out. It has since filled in and is darker than the surrounding area.
Doc said it was a 3-4 day old brown recluse bite but with no further reactions he didn't prescribe anything. Son-in-law was a corpman in the navy and had a marine get a bite on the upper arm. His bite had similar reactions to Sarge's story above with a 4 inch by two inch slab of bicep rotting off clear to the bone. I guess Dino and I were lucky.

 

[dinosaur]

Well, Grandpa, I'm still functioning and apparently, so are you. God bless us both.

 

[Aria]

As far as Brown Recluses go. I would venture to a doctor if I knew it was that kind of spider, just to be sure. A spider bite for whatever reason is a prime spot for MRCA or CA MRCA. My sister found that one out the hard way and got a bite when she was pregnant. My nephew was born 14 weeks early. Those little spiders are not nice.

 

[BCBabe]

I was "had" on the back of a shoulder blade while in the crawl space under the house. It hurt like blazes for days.

And there's still a cyst-like lump on my back from that bite, 4 yrs later, that I'm going to have to have addressed by a doctor.

 

[IndianaHiker]

Brown Recluse or Fiddle Backs as many call them here in Indiana are not joke. While I was in basic training for the Army one guy got bite and tried to hide it from the drills. He ended up having to do basic again and had to have a couple of skin grafts as the flesh rotted so bad. When the flesh start to decay infection is a serious risk. This guy was in the hospital for a week with IV antibiotics before the surgery.

 

[Jobiwan]

If you feed them and take care of them, pet them and love them, they won't bite.
This is Duchess, my Chilean Rose Hair, when she was a baby

 

[twodogs]

Wow another reason to keep a fifth of Jack Daniels around , snake bites and spider bites . Ive read that people swallow 2 spiders a year while sleeping.Not sure how they know this .

 

[JollyRogers]

I was in the shower when I first noticed a quarter sized scab on my leg. Never any pain or other symptoms that I was aware of. Eventually, a cone shaped chunk, about 3/8 to 1/2 inch deep just fell out. It has since filled in and is darker than the surrounding area.
Doc said it was a 3-4 day old brown recluse bite but with no further reactions he didn't prescribe anything. Son-in-law was a corpman in the navy and had a marine get a bite on the upper arm. His bite had similar reactions to Sarge's story above with a 4 inch by two inch slab of bicep rotting off clear to the bone. I guess Dino and I were lucky.

Your son-in-law sounds like an exceptional young man!:tinysmile_twink_t2:
(so says the former Navy Corpsman who also served with the Marines):spider:

 

[Grandpa]

Your son-in-law sounds like an exceptional young man!:tinysmile_twink_t2:
(so says the former Navy Corpsman who also served with the Marines):spider:

He was in '94-99, does that overlap you?

 

[Sophia]

If you feed them and take care of them, pet them and love them, they won't bite.
This is Duchess, my Chilean Rose Hair, when she was a baby

That's cool! I didn't know you actually "pet" them! I think that they really only bite because they are scared. We don't even know they are there, so we probably do something to disturb them, and they react.

 

[oldsarge]

Holding a tarantula is one of the creepies things I ever experienced, takes a little getting used to. Guys used to catch them in the Mojave desert. They are very interesting to look at and study but I just can't get close to one as a pet. I seen people eating these on TV once, rosted them in a fire to get all the hair off and munched away. For some reason I think I'd like to try one.

 

[Grandpa]

I seen people eating these on TV once, rosted them in a fire to get all the hair off and munched away. For some reason I think I'd like to try one.

I'll save that opportunity for life critical moment:tinysmile_tongue_t:

 

[Jobiwan]

That's cool! I didn't know you actually "pet" them! I think that they really only bite because they are scared. We don't even know they are there, so we probably do something to disturb them, and they react.

True, domestic tarantulas rarely bite. They usually use their hairs as a defense mechanism. Duchess does like to be pet but I don't too often because of the hairs. Every now and then she'll shake a little due to fear,nerves or whatever, and throw off some hairs. These are like stinging nettles and if they get in the nose or eyes it itches & burns for about a half hour.. She does likes resting in an open palm though. (the warmth) She will live for about 20 years. Very low maintenance. 1 cricket every 1-2 months. No crap to clean up. Keep a watering sponge wet. And handle them 1-2 times a week for a half hour or so.