I was bitten on the face twice by a recluse, one by my right eye, the other on my cheekbone area. The darn spider was living behind my pillows!! This was in Vallejo, CA. I was on CS already as a preventive, and when I realized the red spots weren`t just zits, I began applying CS directly to the bites. After a day or so they went to a dry black scab, and when the scabs dropped I had 2 small pits in the skin, still visible now, 10 years later. I can live with that! No horrible scars from skin grafts. Thanks, CS!!!Marshalee
On Mon, Jun 1, 2009 at 1:49 AM, Jean Baugh <oldgl...@bigcountry.net> wrote: > Hi, > > This story might or might not apply to a tick bite. > > About 8 months ago I was bitten 4 times by a Brown Recluse Spider. On the > bottom of my foot arch, between the fore and middle finger and twice on my > right inner knee. It was actually two bites close to each other on the > inner knee. I was soaking my feet and left shin (infection), in Epsom Salt > water or I would not have known heat and drawing would help at all. When > the first bites happened, my knee itched intensely and I thought it was a > chigger bite because I react strongly to these and this was all I could > compare it to at the moment. > > I put 7% iodine on the four bites, thinking it was chigger bites because > I'd > been working in the weeds on an electric fence, and then working by night > lights, brushing cob webs off with a 10 foot long cob web brush. Wrong > thing to assume! > > I soaked my feet and left shin shortly after this in Epsom Salt water and > this means my bitten foot and right hand were soaked in Epsom Salts and > very > hot water. I did not do anything to my knee area. > > Two hours later my gigantically swollen knee was throbbing in intense pain > and I could not sleep for the horrific pain. I decided to use Epsom Salts > on the knee the next day but it was too late to change most of the end > results. I also used the Epsom Salt water on the foot and right hand twice > a day from the beginning. No fan of most doctors, it didn't enter my head > to see a doctor until over a full day after this, when I realized I needed > a > second opinion. The doctor diagnosed it as Brown Recluse Spider bites and > by now the knee had blistered and broken open, and was draining. I had a > bandage over it. I asked if Epsom Salt water would help. Yes, was the > answer. I also had to take two weeks of antibiotics, which I absolutely > hate to do, then deal with the most awful pain from the bites, the knee > being far and away the worst. The doctor said the drainage was staph and > to > be very careful and avoid touching the fluid. I was also told more than > likely I would have to have the bites surgically cleaned out later. The > center of the inner knee bites was a glowing red 2 inch circle and the > outer > circle was 4 more inches, or a total of 6 inches across. I had no idea if > the swelling would keep going or not. The pain stayed intense on the knee > for perhaps 2 weeks. The other bites did not blister and break open, > because in my opinion, I had treated them nearly immediately after the > bites > and they responded to the heat and drawing. Not that they weren't painful > and swollen but nothing like my knee! > > In the end, my finger and foot arch bites resolved slowly and were alright. > The knee swelling and redness began to recede very slowly and at about week > three, after keeping on with the Epsom Salt soaks and antibiotics (until > used up), the bite began to take on a black look where the terrible red > look > was. I wondered if this would have to be scraped out but I think the Epsom > Salt did the work and it finally disappeared. It was a very painful, long > tedious time of wondering how it would end. No one should ever have to > live > through this kind of bite and I'm wondering why no one has ever found a > cure > for it before this. > > We have a thunderstorm approaching so will close down and continue the > story > of the next two Brown Recluse Spider bites in the next letter. > > Jean > >
