spider bites

[Pauline Ashford]

I have attached some pictures that I was sent of a spider and a bite it caused – I thought that it may be interesting for you all to see – the resulting ulcer formed – and perhaps to ponder about the remedies you might look at to treat this – I do not know the person who was bitten so can give any sensations etc – Regards Pauline
Just a bit I looked up on the net about the bites

Bite Symptoms

The physical reaction to a brown recluse spider bite depends on the amount of venom injected and an individual's sensitivity to it. Some people are unaffected by a bite, whereas others experience immediate or delayed effects as the venom kills the tissues (necrosis) at the site of the bite. Many brown recluse bites cause just a little red mark that heals without event. The vast majority of brown recluse bites heal without severe scarring (http://spiders.ucr.edu/avoidbites.html).

Initially, the bite may feel like a pinprick or go unnoticed. Some may not be aware of the bite for 2 to 8 hours. Others feel a stinging sensation followed by intense pain. Infrequently, some victims experience general systemic reactions that may include restlessness, generalized itching, fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, or shock. A small white blister usually initially rises at the bite site surrounded by a swollen area. The affected area enlarges and becomes red, and the tissue is hard to the touch for some time. The lesion from a brown recluse spider bite is a dry, blue-gray or blue-white, irregular sinking patch with ragged edges and surrounding redness--termed the "red, white, and blue sign." The lesion usually is 1½ inches by 2¾ inches or smaller. Characteristics of a bite are further discussed at http://www.amednews.com/free/hlsa0805 .

The bite of the brown recluse spider can result in a painful, deep wound that takes a long time to heal. Fatalities are extremely rare, but bites are most dangerous to young children, the elderly, and those in poor physical condition. When there is a severe reaction to the bite, the site can erupt into a "volcano lesion" (a hole in the flesh due to damaged, gangrenous tissue). The open wound may range from the size of an adult's thumbnail to the span of a hand. The dead tissue gradually sloughs away, exposing underlying tissues. The sunken, ulcerating sore may heal slowly up to 6 to 8 weeks. Full recovery may take several months and scarring may remain.

It is difficult for a physician to accurately diagnose a "brown recluse bite" based simply on wound characteristics. It is absolutely necessary to have the spider for a positive identification. Necrotic wounds can result from a variety of agents such as bacteria (Staphylococcus, "flesh-eating" Streptococcus, etc.), viruses, fungi, and arthropods (non-recluse spiders, centipedes, mites, ticks, wasps, bedbugs, kissing bugs, biting flies, etc.). Necrotic conditions also can be caused by vascular and lymphatic disorders, drug reactions, underlying diseases states, and a variety of other agents. An annotated list of conditions that could be mistaken for a brown recluse spider bite is available at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2002/0 ... sa0805.htm. Misdiagnosis of lesions as brown recluse bites can delay appropriate care.
Pauline Ashford

Homoeopath

130 Ansell Rd Witta QLD 4552

Ph 07.54944101

email: paulineashford@optusnet.com.au

[Susan Cannon]

Hi Pauline,
Thanks for the interesting info. Now I'm wondering if that's what bit my neighbor about a month ago. I'd never seen anything like it. The doctors had no idea.
I was unable to download or open the pictures. Is there a place where I can look them up?
Thanks,
Susan

[Dale Moss]

Pauline,
I was unable to access your pictures, but I saw a brown recluse spider bite years ago while doing triage at a wilderness camp. A middle-aged man presented with a necrotic lesion the size of a quarter over his left shoulder blade -- and an axillary lymph gland swollen to the size of a large lemon! That was back in my pre-homeopathy days, so I didn't know how to treat it. Now I'd look closely at the rubrics dealing with phagedenic ulcers and gangrenous ulcers.
Peace,
Dale

[Irene de Villiers]

Hi Pauline - The Brown recluse spider - called the Violin Spider in many
countries due to the violin-shaped body - is what got me involved in
homeopathy.
It is a relatively small spider but it has especially long legs as an
identifying characteristic. (This is NOT shown correctly in one of the
links in the item you quoted, where a scrunched up spider with no
particular leg length is shown, and I wonder if they got the rest right!).
Here are some clearer and more accurate pictures. They belong to the genus
of Loxosceles, Brown recluse or Violin spider being Loxosceles reclusa:
http://www.hesperianbeacon.com/spider%20internet.jpg
http://www.ohmboy.com/blog/uploaded_ima ... 735510.jpg
Foot to foot is about one and a half inches, so it is a small spider,
mostly legs. Kinda like an larger body, fatter legged, version of a daddy
longlegs. I was bitten in South Africa on the back of the thigh. At the
time I swatted with my hand at what I thought was a particularly nasty
mosquito biting me.

A day later it was red hot and swollen. I took no notice, I have that kind
of allergic response to mosquitoes.
A few days later it was a good 8 inches diameter, and an inch proud and I
knew this was no mosquito bite. I tried antihistamines to no avail, and
then it erupted, the hole was at least 2 inches across, and goodness knows
how deep and wide internally, I went to the doctor. He was thrilled to
bits (unlike you know who). He had the most classic erupted violin spider
bite he'd ever set eyes on, and went to get all and sundry to come and
look and recognize etc.
Over the next several months everything in the allopathic toolbox was
tried to help this bite which steadily spread its tissue destruction
deeper and wider in my thigh. I was a very fit person at the time, but
I'm allergic to most antibiotics. My friend, a theatre nurse, first
tried some white paste or other (can't remember what was in it) to no
effect then suggested that some sort of black tarry mix in a compress
was likely to help. I applied it daily, messing up goodness knows how
many suits (I had a "3-piece" type job at the time) and gradually
getting sicker instead of better.
Eventually the allopathic profession gave up. The gangrene was
spreading, I was really feeling sick from it, and to make a long story
shorter, my leg amputation was scheduled in Joburg. (I lived in Cape
Town.) I had a cousin in Joburg whom I'd not seen since we were kids
and she happily agreed to put me up for a week before the surgery. I
just wanted to get it over with and stop feeling so sick.
But it turned out Gwen was a homeopath and though I was brought up
"scientific and anti-snake-oil" by my dad, I agreed to let her use a
remedy for the week I waited for surgery. She powdered the chosen
remedy, and sprinkled it directly into the huge open area a couple
times a day, and gave it to me by mouth twice a day as well. Next day
I felt less ill but did not believe .... but a few days later it was
obvious that the edges of the wound were starting to granulate before
my very eyes and the remedy was working very fast indeed.
I cancelled the surgery and still have my leg. The circulation is not
as perfect as it might be but plenty good enough and there was
initially a smallish scar - oddly it scarred only where the outside
closed faster than the inside healed, for about 2 inch diameter - the
rest had no scar though the open wound was at least 8 to 10 inches
across between knee and hip at the back, and internally a lot more
area was affected than just the open hole area. There was tissue
damage from knee to hip. What scar was there is now gone.
The remedy was Calendula 200C.

Since then I tried not to sit on Violin spiders on logs at picnics:-)
And of course my new direction in life had homeopathy at its core, and I
no longer wanted shares in bandaging companies.
Why only then to start with homeopathy? I guess some of us need to get
slapped upside the back of the thigh to get the picture:-)

Namaste,
Irene
--
Irene de Villiers, B.Sc AASCA MCSSA D.I.Hom/D.Vet.Hom.
P.O. Box 4703 Spokane WA 99220.
www.angelfire.com/fl/furryboots/clickhere.html (Veterinary Homeopath.)
"Man who say it cannot be done should not interrupt one doing it."