Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 3, 2023 4:39:45 GMT -6
Having been bitten by a Brown Recluse (Fiddle Back) spider that was hiding in my bath towel, I thought I'd relay the experience here for those who might be curios.
I was bitten on the belly by the spider as I pushed the towel against my wet skin. It didn't hurt much at all. In fact, I thought I had been poked by the quill end of a feather. If any of you have ever owned a feather pillow, you no doubt have had the experience of one or several of the quills working their way through the pillow ticking and poking you in the face or hand. It felt just like that.
A few seconds after being bitten, the immediate area began to whelp and swell up like a bee sting or a wasp sting. Not knowing what else to do, I went to see my doctor, who told me that it would get much worse, as spider bites kill the flesh below the skin and cause it to turn black and eventually rot away. He told me I'd need surgery later to remove the rotting flesh. We looked at photos of spider bites gone bad on the Internet. he prescribed strong antibiotics ...
Well, as it turned out, nothing bad ever happened. The place where I was bitten turned hard and formed a flat topped knot that was similar to a fatty tumor, but was absorbed into my body in the next few days following. No biggie.
After that, I read an account by a home repairman who had been bitten by Black Widow Spiders repeatedly during his home repair endeavors. It was an interesting account, so I'll paste it below.
Here is the Plumber's Account:
I've been bitten four times by three different Black Widows while replacing the plumbing on a modular home. I've been told that the Black Widow doesn't have the strength to bite through skin except where the skin is thin. I don't know if that's true or not, all four times I was bitten on the face.
The first time (I was bitten twice that time) was the pits. When I went to bed that night (probably about 4 hours after the bite) I felt pretty sick. I started shaking like I had hypothermia and my teeth were chattering. That progressed to muscle contractions similar to a mild seizure. By morning I felt like I was recovering from a bad case of the flu. The next day I felt pretty bad like I had the flu and felt like I had just run a marathon. The day after that I felt well enough to go back to work.
The second time I was bitten I didn't feel quite as bad and all I got was milder shaking. Not enough where my teeth were chattering and I didn't get the seizures. The next day I felt run down and tired but it wasn't a big deal.
The third time I felt a little sick, like I had a cold coming on but I slept fine. No shakes or seizures, and I felt fine by morning. After that I pretty much lost my fear of black widows and now when I see one I squish it with my thumb. It freaks people out.
I told my doctor about it and he said I should have gone to the emergency room. I talked to a friend of mine who is a doctor and she told me that they have antivenin for black widows at the local hospital but there was a catch. If you get the antivenom for a black widow bite then you can't get the antivenom shot for a rattlesnake bite for a year after.
Both bites are very common in northwestern Nevada. The great basin rattlesnake that's common in this area is a very mellow rattlesnake and doesn't bite unless provoked but I'd much rather take my chances with a black widow than try to survive a rattlesnake bite without antivenom.
Although, I've never been snake bitten, I had a dog that got bitten on the nose by a pacific rattlesnake. The vet said the antivenom shot would cost $800 (which I didn't have) and only works about half the time. I asked what about the other half and he said they died. I asked what can I do if I don't have the $800 and was told the best thing is to give the dog massive amounts of Benadryl.
The dog developed a lump about the size of a baseball that started at her nose. It moved back and dropped down on her throat. It started moving to her chest and I thought she was a goner because it was heading for her heart. She slept through the weekend (Benadryl will do that) and by midweek she was fine. After that she declared war on all snakes though. I lived in an area with a lot of rattlesnakes. It was pretty common after that to walk out the back door and find a dead rattlesnake on the porch. She killed dozens every year and never got bit again. And so ends my trip down the rabbit hole!
I was bitten on the belly by the spider as I pushed the towel against my wet skin. It didn't hurt much at all. In fact, I thought I had been poked by the quill end of a feather. If any of you have ever owned a feather pillow, you no doubt have had the experience of one or several of the quills working their way through the pillow ticking and poking you in the face or hand. It felt just like that.
A few seconds after being bitten, the immediate area began to whelp and swell up like a bee sting or a wasp sting. Not knowing what else to do, I went to see my doctor, who told me that it would get much worse, as spider bites kill the flesh below the skin and cause it to turn black and eventually rot away. He told me I'd need surgery later to remove the rotting flesh. We looked at photos of spider bites gone bad on the Internet. he prescribed strong antibiotics ...
Well, as it turned out, nothing bad ever happened. The place where I was bitten turned hard and formed a flat topped knot that was similar to a fatty tumor, but was absorbed into my body in the next few days following. No biggie.
After that, I read an account by a home repairman who had been bitten by Black Widow Spiders repeatedly during his home repair endeavors. It was an interesting account, so I'll paste it below.
Here is the Plumber's Account:
I've been bitten four times by three different Black Widows while replacing the plumbing on a modular home. I've been told that the Black Widow doesn't have the strength to bite through skin except where the skin is thin. I don't know if that's true or not, all four times I was bitten on the face.
The first time (I was bitten twice that time) was the pits. When I went to bed that night (probably about 4 hours after the bite) I felt pretty sick. I started shaking like I had hypothermia and my teeth were chattering. That progressed to muscle contractions similar to a mild seizure. By morning I felt like I was recovering from a bad case of the flu. The next day I felt pretty bad like I had the flu and felt like I had just run a marathon. The day after that I felt well enough to go back to work.
The second time I was bitten I didn't feel quite as bad and all I got was milder shaking. Not enough where my teeth were chattering and I didn't get the seizures. The next day I felt run down and tired but it wasn't a big deal.
The third time I felt a little sick, like I had a cold coming on but I slept fine. No shakes or seizures, and I felt fine by morning. After that I pretty much lost my fear of black widows and now when I see one I squish it with my thumb. It freaks people out.
I told my doctor about it and he said I should have gone to the emergency room. I talked to a friend of mine who is a doctor and she told me that they have antivenin for black widows at the local hospital but there was a catch. If you get the antivenom for a black widow bite then you can't get the antivenom shot for a rattlesnake bite for a year after.
Both bites are very common in northwestern Nevada. The great basin rattlesnake that's common in this area is a very mellow rattlesnake and doesn't bite unless provoked but I'd much rather take my chances with a black widow than try to survive a rattlesnake bite without antivenom.
Although, I've never been snake bitten, I had a dog that got bitten on the nose by a pacific rattlesnake. The vet said the antivenom shot would cost $800 (which I didn't have) and only works about half the time. I asked what about the other half and he said they died. I asked what can I do if I don't have the $800 and was told the best thing is to give the dog massive amounts of Benadryl.
The dog developed a lump about the size of a baseball that started at her nose. It moved back and dropped down on her throat. It started moving to her chest and I thought she was a goner because it was heading for her heart. She slept through the weekend (Benadryl will do that) and by midweek she was fine. After that she declared war on all snakes though. I lived in an area with a lot of rattlesnakes. It was pretty common after that to walk out the back door and find a dead rattlesnake on the porch. She killed dozens every year and never got bit again. And so ends my trip down the rabbit hole!