Bitten by a spider in my arm pit two nights ago.

[Jilly Beans]

Ouch. I have two bites in my arm pit. My mother wants me to go to the ER, but, damn, who can afford that.

I've been headachy and sleeping a lot. The bite is inflamed, but no red streaks, so I'm not too concerned. If I start getting red streaks, I'll go to the ER.

Anyone else been bitten by a spider? It HURTS.

(Maddy McCall)

[SarahB]

1. Benedryl now!

Both orally and the cream. It'll help and if it gets worse or for one second you feel short of breath, get to the ER. I hope you feel better. :hug:

[Jilly Beans]

3. Thanks, SB.

I've been taking benadryl and putting the benadryl spray on it. I think that's why I've been so sleepy. I went to sleep last night around 7, and I didn't awake until this afternoon at 1. (!!) I never sleep that much. I thnk the benadryl, not the bite, is doing that to me.

Thanks for caring. :hug:

[SarahB]

11. If you been doing it and it's still this bad...

you should get it checked out quickly. Seriously. I see all kinds of stuff like this at work and I'll spare the horror stories, but it's nothing to mess with. Benedryl will make you sleepy, but it shouldn't knock you out. We just want you to be ok (your mom too I'm sure). :)

[sweetladybug]

13. If it's red or swollen GET TO THE ER. A spider bit my son

and was almost put into the hospital. It had to go to a surgeon and have it lanced opened. And also he had to go to our family Dr daily for about a week.

[Jilly Beans]

22. Thanks, SLB...I promise, if it doesn't improve I'll go...

I've had a previous run-in with a spider, and I went immediately. This one doesn't feel as bad as the previous one, so I'm watching it and taking Benadryl and putting alcohol on it.

Thanks. :hi:

[El Fuego]

OH MY GOD.

That's horrible. I hate spiders, so I would be totally freaked.

Maybe you should have it checked out. If it was a brown recluse, it could be serious.

[Jilly Beans]

8. I think if it was a BR, I would already know.

I'm thinking it was some kind of outside spider that got me when I was walking thru the woods to the guinea pen to feed them.

I had on a sleeveless shirt, so I'm pretty sure that's when it happened.

If it gets any worse, I'll go to the ER.

Thanks! :hi:

[neebob]

2. Mmm ... armpits!

Sorry. :)

[Jilly Beans]

9. Hey! Watchit!

I do dig guy armpits, but let's not discuss fetishes. :evilgrin:

[neebob]

42. I'm not a guy

and I meant that's what the spider said.

[mtnsnake]

4. Spider bites are nasty

You'll be fine, I'm sure. If it's really bothering you, maybe you should go in and get it checked out. Whatever you do, don't do any Google searches for pictures of brown recluse spider bites or it'll scare the hell out of you.

[Jilly Beans]

12. LOL!

Actually, I was bitten on my booby by a BR a couple of years ago. I had to take mega antibiotics and watch it really close. It felt like a cigar burn the instant it bit me. I went straight to the er, and so I avoided the nasty after effects. I did miss about two weeks of work, though, because I was so weak I couldn't walk. And the wound was pretty nasty. Like I said, it looked like someone had jabbed me on my boob with a lit cigar.

I lived in a different house then. When I moved out, we found several BRs. It scared the shit out of me to the point that I have my house sprayed by an exterminator once a month.

[jandrok]

5. Listen to your Mom.

DU ain't no place to solicit medical advice, BUT, my own experiences with spider bites in the family support getting some kind of medical intervention.

The armpit is awfully close to the heart. That venom will spread, and that's too close for comfort.

[Jilly Beans]

24. I'm not soliciting medical advice, I'm just kind of whining.

I'm watching for red streaks. If I start seeing any, I'm going in.

[mcscajun]

6. Ouch! Yeah, I had one last year on my shin.

Big blotchy 'bruise' and hot to the touch..and it Hurt!

Went away in time with no aftereffects.

Armpit? You have my sympathies.

No med advice, but check out www.mayoclinic.com and webmd.com if you're curious/concerned.

[Jilly Beans]

14. I have two bites in my underarm...one on my torso

and one on my arm. They match up when I put my arm down. I'm having to walk around with my arm extended out to my side at a 90 Degree angle.

These feel like knots. They hurt. But I'm taking excedrin for my headaches. Am running mild fever, too.

To put it bluntly, I feel shitty. :(

[suegeo]

7. I hope it wasn't a brown recluse spider

There was a post on the early Internet by some guy who got bit by a brown recluse spider. His post went on and on for pages and pages. It was really disgusting reading, and must have been really an awful thing to go through.

Here is a really REALLY graphic site showing various stages of a brown recluse bite. (WARNING! The picture are bad!)
http://www.surviveoutdoors.com/emergency/spiderbites_recluse.asp

Get thee to a hospital if you think one of these spiders bit you. You can potentially lose a lot of tissue.

[Jilly Beans]

16. I've been through that.

See my post above. I still have a scar. It screwed me up for several weeks.

:hi:

[Elidor]

18. GAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

I really, really wish I hadn't looked at that! Can't say I wasn't warned, though.

[mtnsnake]

21. No pizza for you tonight! LOL! n/t

[Jilly Beans]

23. I didn't look.

I did lots of research the time before this that I was bitten, and it scared the bedevil out of me...which was good, because I went right away for treatment.

But I am 99% sure that this one isn't a serious spider bite.

[fujiyama]

39. Ewwww

and I thought I hated spiders before!

And that's a small looking spider that too. Shit, and I thought the small spiders in my basement were harmless!

[SmokingJacket]

Maybe there's a walk-in care clinic you can go to?

They charge about the same as a regular doctor visit, but you can go on weekends or when you can't get an appointment in an hurry. They're good for sub-emergencies.

Good luck --

[Jilly Beans]

17. Not in my small home town...

The walk-in clinic closes at noon on Saturday. It's the ER if I go anywhere here. I guess I could drive up to Jackson, though.

:(

[HereSince1628]

10. I was bitten on the forehead by a Brown Recluse

it never really hurt. The area became swollen and inflamed and then a couple of days later the tissue started to die. As I watched the necrosis get larger I decided scrapping away the dead and dying tissue needed to happen. As there was no pain involved and I owned many nice sharp scalpels I did it myself...sort of like a much too close shave.

The bite was at my hairline on the side of my forehead...apparently I rolled over on it while I slept (the apartment complex I lived in near Bryan/College Station had an abundance of these guys).

My hair has receded and I now display a nice little divit somewhat smaller than a dime. When people ask, I tell them I was attacked by a native Texan.

[Jilly Beans]

19. Yes, mine left a little impression about the size of a dime.

But it burned like hell when I was bitten. See my little story above.

I was stung by a scorpion in Texas about 15 years ago. I still have the knot on my thumb as evidence. I almost lost my hand for not getting immediate medical attention on that one.

Bugs suck. :-)

[mtnsnake]

25. Wow! You were bitten by an unknown 2 nights ago, a BR 2 yrs ago & a

scorpion 15 years ago. What is it with you and bugs, Jilly Beans?!?

Maybe you should think about changing that favorite brand of perfume you've been wearing the past 15 years!

BTW, I think it's only fitting that you share with us a wide-angle photo of that scar that the BR spider left on you. :evilgrin:

[Jilly Beans]

27. It was about five years ago when I was bitten by the BR.

I'm an active person and I am always in creepy-crawlies' habitats. I'm lucky I haven't been bitten by more little bugs. I was picking up firewood for a campfire last year and I noticed a shiny little bug crawling on a log I had just picked up. It was a Black Widow. I immediately shook the bug off the log and stabbed it with a stick.

And I've told numerous snake stories here at DU. Just last year, I had encounters with two cottonmouths and one copperhead.

I live in the woods, literally in a forest, on a creek, so I'm in ideal habitat to run into all of these scary fellows.

But the upside is that I see deer, turkeys, beavers, and even an otter, rather frequently. Wouldn't live anywhere else. The birds out here are pretty, too. I have a little indigo bunting that visits my bird feeder pretty regularly, and I never saw one of those when I lived in town.

:)

[Rowdyboy]

15. Poor, poor baby.....I am so sorry. My former roomate was bitten by a BR

some years ago and the infecton lasted for months. He lost an area of flesh as big as a quarter. Get thee to a doctor if it gets ANY worse.

[Jilly Beans]

20. Thanks, Rowdy.

I promise, I'll go. I'll probably drive up to UMC if it gets any worse.

We only have D-grade doctors down here. I won't go into it, but I get all of my medical care in either Hattiesburg or Jackson now.

:hug:

[DistressedAmerican]

26. I Was bitten Twice By A Taurantula. TAKE BENEDRYL!

It will make you sleepier. But, When I was bit, I could feel a firey itchiness spreading up my entire leg. It was intense! I should have developed big, black pus filled bite sores.

I took 4 benedryl (I'm very large 6'4" Over 200 lbs). It was amazing. An hour later it was like I have never been bit except for the fang holes.

If I works on a big daddy taurantula, It may work for you!

[Jilly Beans]

28. Yes, I've been taking Benadryl since last night.

I'm not as big as you ( :-) ) but I took 4, too. I think that's why I've been so sleepy.

[DistressedAmerican]

29. That could be a lot of it. Keep an eye on it. I'm no doctor.

But,I can tell you that stuff is a hardcore miracle when you need it.

[Jilly Beans]

30. Gotta agree.

I also have been spraying the Benadryl spray on it. If you don't have any in your med cabinet, get the to the pharmacy and get some now. It takes away all of the topical itchiness, should you ever get in redbugs.

[Venceremos]

31. Are you sure it's a spider?

Years ago I got a red circular rash around an insect bite I got while walking through the woods. I assumed it was a spider so I didn't go to the doctor. A couple weeks later I developed high fever, then weeks after that joint pain, then a host of weird symptoms.

They finally figured out it wasn't a spider bite at all, but a tick bite -- I had Lyme disease. My initial symptoms sound similar to yours.

[Maddy McCall]

37. Welcome to DU, Venceremos

I'm back to my old username now. Each welt has two punctures. That's why I thought it was a spider bite. Each welt has what feels like a knot underneath it.

[Venceremos]

41. Thanks for the welcome

Not to creep you out but check the knots to make sure there aren't tick(s) in there. The ticks that most commonly carry Lyme are so tiny they often fall off before they're even noticed. They resemble tiny spiders with long legs.

After a few days my initial rash started to look like a raised bullseye.

[huskerlaw]

32. OH MY GOD

ok, now I'm like totally freaked out. I found a spider in my living room last night, and I'm about 80% sure it's a BR. I was so crazed that I ended up running to the store at 2 am to buy a magnifying glass. I still can't tell for sure...am taking the spider body to an entomologist on Monday.

But omg, now I'm like, afraid to sleep until I know if that was a BR or not. :scared: :hide:

Hope you're feeling better soon!

[SoCalDem]

34. When you sleep..spiders tap dance on your face

:) sweet dreams :)

[huskerlaw]

35. gaaaaaack

I am so arachnophobic, it's not even funny. I was totally proud of myself for being able to look at the freaking spider through a magnifying glass...and keeping the body, I deserve a medal. ;)

[SoCalDem]

36. Spider bites need looking at by a DR..ASAP.. A recluse bit me

on my wrist bone 20 years ago, and that side of my hand still has some numbness. :(

[Maddy McCall]

38. Not to alarm you...

but when there is one brown recluse, there are usually several more nearby.

Look for the violin shape. If it's there, it's a BR. I hope it's not a BR, and just a non-dangerous house spider.

[huskerlaw]

40. Yeah, I've been warned

I think that's what I'm most freaked out about. I also hear they're quite hard to get rid of. :scared:

I looked on its back, and no violin, but according some websites, there's more than one kind of BR and they don't all have that marking. The key, apparently, is to check its eyes. Most spiders have 8, BR's have 6. Unfortunately, I can't really tell...its eyes are pretty much the same color as its body. Hence, the entomologist on Monday. Until then...I'm trying not to think about it.

[skygazer]

33. Yes, I have

And I'm just like you about going to the ER - can't afford it and hate sitting there waiting for hours (when I broke my back, it was FIVE HOURS before I even saw a doctor).

I got bit a while back on my hand. It was about 8 at night and I had to work the next day. I didn't want to go to the ER but it was swelling up. I told my hubby, "if it gets to my wrist, I'll go in."

So we played some cards for a while and soon it reached my wrist. I said, "well, it's not so bad - if it gets to my elbow, I'll go in."

We played more cards. I'd taken some Benadryl but the swelling continued. I could actually see it spreading slowly up my arm. By about 10, it had reached my elbow but now I REALLY didn't want to go so I said, "well, if it gets to my shoulder, I'll go in."

It stopped about two inches below my shoulder. I saw my doc the next day. He just shook his head and sighed.....

Feel better... :hug: