View Full Version : brown recluse spider
docbuxton
07-12-2007, 07:18
anyone have some good treatments for brown recluse spider when far away from other medical?
Docb Buxton
Go to this site they have a good ref for the Brown Recluse. They can ba a nasty little creature.:mad:
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/spider_bite_brown_recluse_spider_bite/article_em.htm
Here is the Treatment:
Brown Recluse Bite Treatment
Self-Care at Home
Home first aid care is simple. This self-care should not replace a visit to your doctor or emergency department.
- Do these techniques:
Apply ice to decrease pain and swelling.
Elevate area if possible above the level of your heart.
Wash the area thoroughly with cool water and mild soap.
Avoid any strenuous activity because this can spread the spider's venom in your skin.
Use acetaminophen for pain relief.
- Don't do these techniques:
Do not place any heat to the area. This will accelerate tissue destruction.
Do not apply any steroid creams to the area such as hydrocortisone cream.
Do not attempt to remove the spider venom with suction devices or cut out the affected tissue.
Do not apply electricity to the area. Anecdotal reports of high voltage electrotherapy from common stun guns have never been shown to be effective in any scientific studies. This can also cause secondary burns and deepen tissue destruction.
Be very, very careful with home treatment, however. I almost lost my leg in Afghanistan to a spider (docs said camel spider but....) and I had identical symptoms to a brown recluse bite. At day 4, I couldn't bend or straighten my lower leg (bite on the back of the calf). I just barely missed losing most of the lower leg...
Just keep a close eye on it. If you notice tissue really starting to turn purple, take yourself into the ER.
The Reaper
07-12-2007, 20:30
I was thinking the same thing.
This is nothing to try and treat yourself, and there is a very good possibility it will get worse, rather than better.
Unless there is absolutely no doctor or medical treatment available, GO TO A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL.
TR
Michelle
07-13-2007, 10:32
FWIW I was the lucky recipient of a Brown Recluse bite four years ago. Thought I could tough it out with home care.
By day 5 the bite area had swollen to the diameter of a grapefruite (it was on my thigh) and I was having dizzy spells.
Went to ER and wound up on a 2 hour Cipro drip and blood work to see if my kidneys were being compromised.... seems I had a very adverse, systemic reaction to the venom. They said if I had waited another day I would have done some serious time in the hospital. Spent an additional 2 weeks on some heavy duty antibiotics after being released from ER.
Scary bite that can be. Good luck
m1
Be very, very careful with home treatment, however. I almost lost my leg in Afghanistan to a spider (docs said camel spider but....) and I had identical symptoms to a brown recluse bite. At day 4, I couldn't bend or straighten my lower leg (bite on the back of the calf). I just barely missed losing most of the lower leg...
Just keep a close eye on it. If you notice tissue really starting to turn purple, take yourself into the ER.
DITO. I should have put it on the Ref that I posted before. They are Terrible bites and you should get the H#@$ out of where you are and seek Proper Medical attention. The comments I put were only for if you can not get there in a timely manor.
:rolleyes:
swatsurgeon
07-13-2007, 13:59
being the guy that takes care of all of these around here.....
I agree with TR. IF you are far away from medical attention, take ibuprofen, antihistamine, multivitamin and an antibiotic if you have it (cipro, bactrim, avelox, flagyl, etc). This combo attenuates the inflammatory response...slows but does NOT stop the progress of the reaction to the venom. Not all of them make you sick, not all of them need surgical debridement but you need to be monitored closely for adverse reactions and potential debridement. I'm running about 50% with surgical debridement and ~20 % who get 'sick'. Time is variable based on location of bite, degree of evenomation and your general health.
ss
kachingchingpow
08-27-2007, 07:39
Wife was bitten by one back in July while we were in PC Beach. We figure someone must've brought one into the room in an old suitcase or something. Hit her on the top of the thigh about 2 inches above the knee. The morning after she was bit, she had a red bump about the size of a mosquito bite, but a purple halo around it about the diameter of a Fosters beer can. The purple faded back to the bite site after a day or so and a large pustule grew at the bite site. A couple days later the pustule was about 3" in diameter and raised a 1/2 inch with red and purple directly around it. She went to the Dr. and they gave her an oral. Cleared it up pretty quickly, I was suprised. She's got a nickle sized divot in the top of her leg now.
Doczilla
08-27-2007, 23:28
Most brown recluse spider bites (90%) resolve without necrosis or significant injury and without any specific treatment. We see a skewed population because we see the folks that have it bad enough to come see the doctor.
Conversely, EVERY cutaneous abscess I have seen is reported to start with a "spider bite", often described as a brown recluse, despite the fact that no spider was ever seen and no bite ever felt. These are more likely the result of aggressive bacteria than aggressive arachnids.
Register at emedicine.com and check out the articles there. As opposed to the emedicinehealth articles (which SF_BHT posted and are EXCELLENT resources for patients), the emedicine.com articles are more geared toward the healthcare provider. The articles are free, but you have to register to get access to them. I am on this site all the time for info.
'zilla
being the guy that takes care of all of these around here.....
I agree with TR. IF you are far away from medical attention, take ibuprofen, antihistamine, multivitamin and an antibiotic if you have it (cipro, bactrim, avelox, flagyl, etc). This combo attenuates the inflammatory response...slows but does NOT stop the progress of the reaction to the venom. Not all of them make you sick, not all of them need surgical debridement but you need to be monitored closely for adverse reactions and potential debridement. I'm running about 50% with surgical debridement and ~20 % who get 'sick'. Time is variable based on location of bite, degree of evenomation and your general health.
ss
can you give some insight on the multivitamin?
or is just a standard Rx you use?
swatsurgeon
08-28-2007, 15:56
Something like Centrum...has atleast 100% of the anti-oxidants: A,C,E
Elevate area if possible above the level of your heart.
I was bitten by a Brown Recluse on the Penis one time. Doing the above really helped:lifter
The Reaper
08-28-2007, 17:13
I was bitten by a Brown Recluse on the Penis one time. Doing the above really helped:lifter
I do not want to know what you were doing with the spider at that time.:rolleyes: :D
A serious case of necrosis there and you could be in a real bind, hermano.
TR
NousDefionsDoc
08-28-2007, 17:28
Good advice here. Most of the horror stories and pics come from people that were stupid and didn't seek treatment. I've been bitten a couple of times. Although the spider died in all instances, I still sought treatment. No major complications.
Boss, what he's not telling you is that he was standing on his head at the time.
swatsurgeon
08-28-2007, 17:53
Good advice here. Most of the horror stories and pics come from people that were stupid and didn't seek treatment. I've been bitten a couple of times. Although the spirdxer died in all instances, I still sought treatment. No major complications.
Boss, what he's not telling you is that he was standing on his head at the time.
Which ....head? Oh, I didn't really say that did I......I am a professional that deals with the extraodinary, the unusual and the unbelievable: what I deal with is every person's Darwin award winning performance of the "I thought I have seen it all and this won't hurt me" as they try to beat the odds of dying.
ss