Tell us where your bite is (arm, leg, nose, whatever)
Back of leg, below knee
Why I think it's a spider bite
I felt a pin prick while collecting and chopping firewood while at the ranch Saturday afternoon (3 days ago). That night started with systemic reactions consistent with brown recluse spider bite: body aches, joint pain, chills, fever, fatigue, nausea, sweating, body rash, itching. Did not see the culprit. Doctor said it probably was a spider and gave me a steroid shot on Sunday. Bite area has been painful and red (bulls-eye) with a small clear blister since Monday.
What happened
Sometime Saturday afternoon (somewhere between 2-7 p.m.)I felt a pinprick while collecting and chopping firewood at a ranch in South Texas. Later that night (about 8 or 9 p.m.) started feeling body aches, joint pain, and chills. A hot shower felt good on my aching body. Thought at first it may have been a tick. However, after inspecting my body I remembered the pin prick I had ignored earlier and sure enough there was a small bite mark in the area behind and below my knee.
Advice
- Don't know what I could have done differently.
- Maybe be more alert.
- I'm concerned about what to do now (seen too many gruesome photos online)
Rod Brouhard, First Aid Guide, says:
Unlike many of the pictures we get here on About.com First Aid claiming to be the work of the dreaded brown recluse, this possible bite actually happened within the spider's known habitat. While there was no spider of any kind actually witnessed -- the description of the activity (messing with a wood pile) and the geographical location of the reader -- I would give a nod toward an actual spider as the culprit.
Was it a brown recluse? Well, we'll never know for sure. Either way, the reader sought help from a doctor, who seems to be treating it. Good call in my book.
Any opinions expressed here are for educational purposes only and are not intended for diagnosis.
