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Here's an email sent in by Tina:
Four years ago my then
13 year old daughter woke me and said her leg was stinging. I looked at
her leg and knew it wasn't an example of a bite I'd ever seen.
In Texas we have a lot of insects and other critters; I'd seen just
about every kind of sting and bite except spider and scorpion, but I
couldn't identify this bite... Since we hadn't seen ANY scorpions in the
area, I figured spider as my first guess. The bite was the color of
bubblegum and about as big as a quarter with a tiny hole in the middle.
I told her to run slip on some loose shorts and get in the truck. Since
I am allergic to most bites, I wasn't taking any chances with her being
allergic.
By the time we reached the clinic the area was about the size of a
silver dollar, dark, blood red, with a black spot in the middle.
At the urgent care physician identified the bite as a spider bite,
probably a Brown Recluse. He gave her an antibiotic perscription and
steriods. He told us to also buy some Benadryl and give her a LARGE dose
of it immediately and every 4 hours for 48 hours; then as needed for
itching. He also said we should have administered Benadryl as soon as we
noticed the bite. (You might add that to your first aid recommendations.
I had no idea it would help a spider bite, but he said it helps the body
stop reacting to any venom. It sure helped her.)
Over the next several weeks, we battled infection. I had no idea that
the "Bull's Eye" people say to look for took weeks to become
recognizeable. The original bite was about the size of a silver dollar.
As it started to clear, a welped area popped up about an inch from the
original area...blistered, and began to heal, then again, another inch
another whelped/ blistered area...it worked in that pattern until she
had rings around the original circle from below her knee to above her
hip. The original bite was about mid-thigh.
The very center, or bull's eye was the only area that rotted out, and
though it took months, it did finally heal completely without scarring.
The Doctor said we were fortunate that we acted so quickly and were able
to begin treatment within an hour of the bite. I wish I'd documented
with photos, but I didn't. It was a very interesting process to say the
least.
I like your site very much. As a teacher it's nice to find a
comprehensive site so well laid out for students and teachers.
Tina Cobbs
More photos and information on
treating bites may be obtained
in the links
below.
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