Last Friday while gardening in my yard in suburban Maryland, I was bitten. By what is uncertain although the odds seem to favor a spider, given the appearance of the bite and the fact that I was in a sort of woody, weedy area pulling up roots and digging a new perennial bed. Within 24 hours of the bite, my arm was swollen and red and I had a 101 fever. I didn't want to pay for the emergency room and it was Saturday so I went to one of those Urgent Care clinics in my neighborhood and saw a young doctor who I don't know. He said, "I'm going to try and keep you out of the hospital" and gave me 2 huge hypodermic needles - one on each side of my butt. That was followed by some prescriptions for antibiotics and steroids. He said, "It looks like it could be a Brown Recluse Spider".
In relating this tale to various friends and family I am getting information/folklore about Brown Recluse Spider bites that I never knew before. It seems, based on anecdotal evidence, that the symptoms of a Brown Recluse Spider bite are as follows:
- redness
- swelling
- fever
- heart attack
- seizure
- paleness
- projectile vomiting
- excessive body hair
- creeping birthmark
- breast growth in males
- fused buttocks
- elephantiasis of the extremities
- retracted testicles
- a condition known as 'hot-dog finger'
- hemorraghing
- pustules
I have very few of these symptoms so I don't think it was a Brown Recluse. Thank you all for your concern.
2 comments:
Brown Recluse? Those are super nasty. Apparently, if left untreated, the bite starts to turn the flesh all around it necrotic. You can lose feeling in the area. It's just awful.
I hope it was not a brown recluse. And I hope your testicles do not retract, though a fused buttocks might be interesting.
I have been accused of fused buttocks but I categorically deny it.
Post a Comment