What bit my dad? Brown recluse?

originally posted by: Dimithae
a reply to: ChaosComplex
He needs treatment right away.

>>>>>>STRONGLY AGREE

originally posted by: ChaosComplex

It's been 5-6 days since he noticed it, he just showed me earlier today, and I am finding a lot of conflicting information regarding brown recluse bites (and spider bites/insect bites in general).

The redness you see in not an infection. In wound healing it is called the inflammatory phase that lasts for 5-8 days. This is were the blood vessels dilate (hence small area of redness) to allow essential cells; antibodies, white blood cells, growth factors, enzymes and nutrients to reach the wounded area. Nor does the photo show evidence of necrosis.

Providing the scabs are not boggy and he is not developing increased pain at the site - all should be well with the healing process. Tell your Dad he has done a good job with looking after it.

originally posted by: howmuch4another
Probably a Hobo spider. They are pretty common and sure to bite. Not as bad as a Recluse but still nasty as hell. Maybe check some of the bite images on google.
Here's the wiki
Hobo Spider

OMG I looked up hobo spider bites and yes it looks like it very much but I am about to faint, it can do some horrid stuff....

originally posted by: howmuch4another
Probably a Hobo spider. They are pretty common and sure to bite. Not as bad as a Recluse but still nasty as hell. Maybe check some of the bite images on google.
Here's the wiki
Hobo Spider

That was my first thought as well. I got bit by one a few years back and the wound looked very similar.

It might not be as bad as a Brown Recluse but it still took 6 weeks or so to heal and left a nice scar.

Being in Florida that could still very well be a Brown Recluse bite and the internet is full of awful pictures and horror stories about people who procrastinated getting treatment.

As others have said, it would be prudent to have your Dad's doctor take a look.

Best wishes for your Pop

Im not liking the looks of that.As other posters suggest he should be seen.Go to emergency room and get some antibiotics, I suggest.

It looks like shingles to me... not spider bites...

shingles

a reply to: lonewolf2
I would agree with your take that his wounds seem to be healing just fine. I'd still suggest visiting the doc though. I've had spider bites but never like that, they are much smaller where I come from. What I can say though, is about a year ago I had an infection where they had to put in a peripherally inserted cather which is a tube to deliver antibiotic through the arm that goes through your vein to the vena cava. I had that for a month of 1 hour every day getting IV meds, when they took they whole apparatus out the wound looked exactly like the OPs picture after a week, only it was one hole. I think it was about 10-14 days it was all healed? I still have a tiny scar. I guess it's kinda scary if you think that I had an 18 inch tube that created that same looking wound. Wish you well OP, and really hope those recluses don't have 18" fangs. Best to be safe than sorry, GoodLuck!

So...

The doctor first claimed that "you won't lose a limb in Florida from a brown recluse, because there aren't brown recluse spiders anywhere south of middle Georgia". Oh really, Mr. Doctor man? I literally killed a brown recluse in the sink about 2 weeks ago, in my dad's house, I even called my little brother into the kitchen just to point it out and sort of quiz him on how to identify them apart from the very similar spiders in our area. He passed with flying colors.

The doctor went on to say something along the lines of "I don't know what kind of wound it is, whether it's a puncture wound or an insect bite, but it has staph infection." This statement confused me, because it doesn't account for the tiny black dot present in the middle of each "bite/sore". You can't see it in the pictures, but there is a very distinct, pin-head sized black dot in each splotch.

Thoughts?

According to a documentary on venomous spiders on one of the popular cable health channels, approximately 1 in 1500 people are "immune/ resistant" to brown recluse venom. I happen to be one of the lucky ones and from personal experience it appears your dad is too. I got bitten twice in one day on the chest. The bites never looked worse than that. Being young and stupid, I cut away the necrosis ( with the help of a fair amount of Jack Daniels), then kept them meticulously clean. Since, I've been bitten once on the neck and only had a dime size red and white bullseye. It itched for 2 weeks and went away. Being older and somewhat wiser, I would get your dad medical attention asap.

a reply to: ChaosComplex

The doctor went on to say something along the lines of "I don't know what kind of wound it is ..."

Thoughts?

Just one: Find a doc that _does_ know what it is.

In your OP you said

but they just seem to be getting worse

so don't dork around.

Get him to a hospital and tell the staff there that, "I don't know" is an unacceptable medical diagnosis. A referral to a specialist might be the best you get, but it's better than what you've got now ... which is zero progress.

Best of luck.

-Cheers

a reply to: ChaosComplex
Aww man, I suppose that inspired a lot of confidence. Doesn't have a clue what it is and then gives an extremely broad diagnosis. What kind of antibiotics did he prescribe? Triple antibiotic ointment?

My guess is it's part of the scab, I know I've had enough cuts, scrapes, punctures to have built up a lot of scar tissue, not too many bites though. Scabs are always weird. I'm pretty sure many were infected too before they healed up. If it were me, I'd probably tweeze that black dot out, and just keep cleaning it with the alcohol and peroxide like your dad's been doing and put Neosporin on it. Doc didn't seem too concerned judging by your post. Anyway, that's my thought.

a reply to: dfens

You must have been relatively unwell to require 4-6 weeks of medication. It is unusual for the insertion site to take it's time in healing, however medical illnesses and certain medications can delay the healing process. Normally the old insertion site is closed between 12 and 72 hours. Perhaps the strain of the infection you where being treated took it's toll on you. At least removal of the line is a lot more comfortable than insertion!

I hope you are keeping well.

a reply to: lonewolf2

Thanks for the kind words and I'm doing much better. Osteomyelitis. You must work in healthcare, cuz yes I didn't feel a thing. Maybe I exaggerated the time, It looked like the picture above for at least a week but I don't think it actually bled after I took the bandage off.

Anyways I don't mean to derail the thread. All I know from personal experience is that there are some very good health professionals and some not so good. Do you have experience with spider bites? cuz I don't think the OPs father was given a good diagnosis. I would've probably just looked some things up then maybe get scared enough to go to the doctor if it wasn't healing right, but don't take my advice. It helps when the doctor isn't so dismissive and inspires confidence in my opinion.

He needs to go and have that check for MRSA/Staph infection pronto.

a reply to: ronpip

Any bullseye appearing bites should also be checked by doctors as disease infected ticks (lyme, etc) often leave a bullseye mark.

originally posted by: GogoVicMorrow
He needs to go and have that check for MRSA/Staph infection pronto.

Doctor said staph infection.

He picked up his perscription of Cefalexin this morning, hopefully it clears up.

a reply to: ChaosComplex

Good thing he went to see a doc!




Thanks for the final outcome.
You just never know these days what could be biting you or get into wounds.

a reply to: GogoVicMorrow

I had that one looked at. There was never a tick near there. The bite wasn't there when I went to bed and appeared while I slept. Dog sleeping in his crate right beside me got a bite that night as well. Over the next day or two,he developed an abscess the size of a baseball on his neck. The vet seemed sure it was a brown recluse bite, so I had my family doc check my bite.

originally posted by: ChaosComplex

originally posted by: GogoVicMorrow
He needs to go and have that check for MRSA/Staph infection pronto.

Doctor said staph infection.

He picked up his perscription of Cefalexin this morning, hopefully it clears up.

Must have gotten worse in the recent days since your photographs. Did the Dr take swabs of the wound?

originally posted by: lonewolf2

originally posted by: ChaosComplex

originally posted by: GogoVicMorrow
He needs to go and have that check for MRSA/Staph infection pronto.

Doctor said staph infection.

He picked up his perscription of Cefalexin this morning, hopefully it clears up.

Must have gotten worse in the recent days since your photographs. Did the Dr take swabs of the wound?

The photographs were taken yesterday, maybe an hour or so before posting this thread, he went to the doctor shortly after we ate dinner. By yesterday I mean 7/15, I haven't slept so it still feels like my yesterday...

The doctor didn't do any swab, he didn't poke it with a needle, didn't scrape any tissue from it, didn't do much more than visually inspect the wounds and declare that they couldn't be brown recluse bites because "they don't go south of Georgia". My dad is the kind of guy to take someone's word simply because they have a nametag or fancy clipboard. I'm slightly disappointed not only in the way this was handled by the doctor, but also in the way that my dad was completely passive throughout the doctor visit.

Whether or not this is a case of staph or a spider bite...whatever it is, I'm still confused how this doctor has apparently never heard of a brown recluse bite in Florida. The only information that I assume he knows is that this spider is not native to Florida, and a lot of "professionals" don't think that there is/are any real population(s) in the state. I tend to disagree with a lot of "professionals", across many fields.

A few years back the wife of a guy I worked with was in the hospital with worries of losing a limb from a brown recluse bite. A few seconds with a search engine will show you a man in Polk county who DIED earlier this year due to complications from a BR bite, and many other stories of Florida bites leading to serious complications.

Another poster said something along the lines of wanting a doctor to speak in a way that "Inspires Confidence". That is certainly something that has not happened with this experience.
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