My dad thinks it was a spider, but it happened while he was asleep. Now his elbow has been swollen for 3 days. The swelling is travelling towards his hand, but not decreasing in area. Really tender to the touch, but no visible color changes to point towards a brown recluse. Any recommendations??
2006-09-05 15:29:54 · 20 answers · asked by stlgirl 1 in Health ➔ General Health Care ➔ First Aid
Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 for free, professional advice!
2006-09-05 16:53:01 · answer #1 · answered by Madkins007 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I got bit by a brown recluse on the side of my knee about seven years ago. Swelling from a spider bite could be caused by a secondary infection, meaning that the bite venom killed the tissue under the skin, and the dead tissue got an infection. I got such an infection and it can be VERY serious. It would be a good idea to have a doctor look at it. If the area is red or warm, it is most likely infected and your dad should see a doctor very soon. This kind of infection is often treated with the same medication used to treat leprosy, and can spread very fast, so it is serious.
The color change you mentioned is probably the dark band of dead looking tissue that drains pus and infection and other nasty stuff. That happened to my bite, but the infection took hold days before that even started. Without treatment, the infection could have spread into my knee joint and down my leg before the typical signs of a brown recluse bite started to show.
2006-09-05 15:57:20 · answer #2 · answered by dave 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A brown reculuse spider bite is very very painful. What area does he live? A friend of mine got bite by one a couple months ago in Ohio. They are just recently up that far...use to be a more Southern spider. He should go to the doctor's!
2006-09-05 15:32:26 · answer #3 · answered by Dorothy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Definitely see a doctor, and it wouldn't hurt to call your local hospital's nurse-line! They may be able to give you some suggestions. You can't really tell for CERTAIN if it's a spider bite, but either way...if it's swelling and traveling, he definitely shouldn't try to be Mr. Macho and wait it out. Remind him that he only HAS one right (or left) arm as the case may be. Worst case scenario...he goes in, they tell him it's nothing and he goes home. Best case, he goes in and they stop the tissue damage caused by a spider bite!
2006-09-05 15:31:58 · answer #4 · answered by Lisa E 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
definitely see a doctor, even if it's not a brown recluse bite it can become infected and make him very ill. staph infections are a risk too. He should hurry before it gets so bad that it needs to be cut open and drained. A brown recluse bite will progress quickly and the skin will turn black and slough off.
2006-09-05 15:33:11 · answer #5 · answered by curiosity 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He should have a doctor look at it.
I've been bitten a few times by a spider while I was sleeping. I was always out camping at the time. The site of the bite never got that big or swollen.
2006-09-05 15:32:13 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I found these sites really interesting. At this point I refrain from calling anything a spider bite since it seems it could be anything. Even the myths about identifying bites and the spiders themselves, what happens when a brown recluse bites, etc.
http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/plantclinic/faqs/faqs_spdrs.html
http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/spidermyth/myths/2marks.html#poison
http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/spidermyth/myths/brownrecluse.html
http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/spidermyth/myths/fiddleback.html
2006-09-07 04:32:11 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well...I had a spider bite once, but it was just like a really big mosquito bite. So I just put calimine lotion on it and it left. But we still aren't sure if it was a spider bite or something else, does it itch? Like a mosquito bite? Is there a little bump like a mosquito bite? That's what mine looked like, so I just treated it like a mosquito bite. If this doesn't work, or you're still not sure, see your doctor about it cuz it might be serious maybe...
2006-09-05 15:36:47 · answer #8 · answered by jskaliski 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go to the Doctor immediatly, my mom got bitten in the middle of the night once and it got all swollen and got a blister, the doctor had to pop the blister because the spider might have laid eggs in her, thank god it dident. And now she has a HUGE scar on her leg, because she waited too long to see a doctor. I suggest he sees one.
2006-09-05 15:33:11 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
All I know is that Brown Recluses and Black Widows are like deadly. Your dad should see a doc.
2006-09-05 15:32:10 · answer #10 · answered by Lady W. 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋