who has been bitten?

[MassExodus]

I was bitten over my right tricep, by a male brown recluse. I found his smashed body in my bed sheets. The necrosis ate a hole straight down to the muscle, and it was like a huge cavern under the main bite, when the doctor would swab out the resulting gunk, made by the Mrsa Staph Infection. I almost lost my arm. Nowadays I have a shotgun blast-like indention on my arm, and the tissue that was underneath the bite area grew back abnormally, forming benign tumor-like shapes. I've made a cool drawing of the recluse, sitting on my arm and the venom eating skin away. It'd make for an awesome tattoo. That all happened back in the summer of 2011 and cost an assload to treat! Nowadays I get patches of skin that will flare up, and look like the original bite for awhile, after a few weeks to a month or so, they will go away. The initial 103 degree fever and chills, on the night of the bite were crazy!

Jesus, that's terrible. I've found several recluses in my bathroom over the years. Plus I find them in the hospital I work at. 99% of those are in bathrooms as well, I have no idea why. Maybe a water source, or prey attracted to the water.. I've read that some folks only get a minor reaction to them, and that cases like yours are all people that are highly allergic. I sincerely hope that's true.

 

[PanzoN88]

Been in the hobby since 2014 and I have not been bitten yet, nor do I plan to.

 

[Adraps11]

Jesus, that's terrible. I've found several recluses in my bathroom over the years. Plus I find them in the hospital I work at. 99% of those are in bathrooms as well, I have no idea why. Maybe a water source, or prey attracted to the water.. I've read that some folks only get a minor reaction to them, and that cases like yours are all people that are highly allergic. I sincerely hope that's true.

I like to take everything to the max! I had a case of poison ivy and poison sumac a few years back, that the doctors said was the worst they'd seen in years. I was working in the oil field, just doing some light weed trimming around the tank batteries and pump jacks. It looked like I had been rolling around in the stuff for hours. Two shots in the ass for that! Now I have to carry an EpiPen. *knocks on wood* I've never been bitten by a T yet. If that day comes, I hope the reaction's only like a bee sting!

 

[kormath]

Only thing i've gotten bit by, other than the random stupid brown house spiders, is a black widow in my early teens when i was doing entemology with the 4H. Got bit on the wrist while trying to capture the widow. Was sick for 2 days, but i'm guessing that was from the antivenin and not the venom.

 

[MassExodus]

Only thing i've gotten bit by, other than the random stupid brown house spiders, is a black widow in my early teens when i was doing entemology with the 4H. Got bit on the wrist while trying to capture the widow. Was sick for 2 days, but i'm guessing that was from the antivenin and not the venom.

That's another issue I read about, Latrodectus antivenin actually killing some people who were highly allergic and reacting very badly to the original bite. There's papers to be found online about that as well, medical studies. Doctors were actually afraid to use the antivenin for awhile, and apparently some still are. You'd be surprised how many ER docs know nothing about venom. I've had them ask questions about spiders and venom that stunned me..the doctor on duty right now asked if my tarantulas are toxic..and he's actually a good doctor that's been practicing for 40 years. I guess that's either a statement on the rarity of spider bites, or how often doctor's have to refer to their books..I don't know..it's kind of interesting though.
Edit: You would also be amused at how many people come to the ER claiming a recluse or widow bite, when they actually don't know what bit them, or if it's a bite at all..or a boil, or an abscess, or an ingrown hair, etc etc..

 

[kormath]

That's another issue I read about, Latrodectus antivenin actually killing some people who were highly allergic and reacting very badly to the original bite. There's papers to be found online about that as well, medical studies. Doctors were actually afraid to use the antivenin for awhile, and apparently some still are. You'd be surprised how many ER docs know nothing about venom. I've had them ask questions about spiders and venom that stunned me..the doctor on duty right now asked if my tarantulas are toxic..and he's actually a good doctor that's been practicing for 40 years. I guess that's either a statement on the rarity of spider bites, or how often doctor's have to refer to their books..I don't know..it's kind of interesting though.
Edit: You would also be amused at how many people come to the ER claiming a recluse or widow bite, when they actually don't know what bit them, or if it's a bite at all..or a boil, or an abscess, or an ingrown hair, etc etc..

i had a friend at my last job like that. Her son was very allergic to mosquitos and his mosquito bites would swell up to the size of half dollars sometimes. They took him to 4 different doctors to find that out. And she swore up and down every time that they had an infestation of brown recluse spiders (it would be the only infestation in this part of the state) and they were recluse spider bites lol. that's why she went to 3 doctors, they all told her no they're not recluse bites, but they didn't know what the bite was from. The 4th doctor had seen this before. I loved saying i told you so to her and that mystical infestation of recluse spiders just vanished lol.