Tell us where your bite is (arm, leg, nose, whatever)
Lower back
Why I think it's a spider bite
My son and his wife both woke up with what appeared to be a spider bite. Hers, on her lower stomach; his, on his lower back. They were both very red a swollen. We did not see what bit them.
What happened
It has been about 4 days since the bites. Hers itched and grew in size, but the redness is now much better and the itching has stopped and swelling gone down. His bite is much worse. The bite is located at his pant/belt line and we've contributed some of the irritation to that, however the itching is still present and the swelling hasn't gotten any better. It is also growing in size. The outer red marks are not apart of the 'original' bite, but are a part of the 'spreading'.
We live in the NW. It does look like the pictures of the brown recluse bite. Any input would me much appreciated.
Advice
I don't have any advice to share. I'm looking for some. Any advice would be helpful.
Rod Brouhard, First Aid Guide, says:
I'm not a doctor, nor am I an arachnologist. However, brown recluses are not known to exist in the northwest part of the country. Brown recluses are native to the southeast. Even in areas where infestations of brown recluses reach thousands of spiders per house, bites are rare. The name "recluse" refers to the fact that the spiders don't like company much. They tend to hide and are not considered aggressive.
That doesn't mean these aren't bites of some sort. They could even be spider bites. The reality is that most bugs aren't caught in the act, so we can never know the true culprit. Skin infections are also regularly blamed on spiders. An outbreak of "spider bites" in a military barracks was discovered to be MRSA instead.
Regardless how it got there, any lesion bad enough to cause concern should be evaluated by a doctor. Some skin infections can become quite serious and some bug bites can likewise lead to very unpleasant outcomes.
Any opinions expressed here are for educational purposes only and are not intended for diagnosis.
