Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everyone, I am looking for information on spider bites. On july 2nd I woke up and I was bitten by something in the night. When I got out of bed I felt a small itching or tingling sensation on my stomach and rubbed my fingers over it to see what it was, it was a small welt about the size of a pea, so I thought it was probably just a tick bite, well later that day i examined it again and now the welt had grown in size from the size of a pea to the size of say a lima bean and now it had a red oval area around it. Well i still didnt think much of it because it wasnt really itching or hurting at all. So I went to bed that night and got up the next day (july 3rd) and the welt had grown even more, now the welt was the size of a peapod and the red area around it was about 4 inches long and 1.5 inches high. I began to get a little worried, I went to bed that night and still have no pain or irritation, but it was a bit tendor to the touch. I woke up on July 4th and the welt had grown even more, about the size of a lima bean pod and the red area was about 5 inches and 1.5 inches high. I was very worried so I went to the emergency room and they told me it was probably a spider bite and there was really nothing they could do, so the prescibed an antibiotic and sent me on my way. Well that night around midnight I began to feel fevered and achey, i went to bed and I tossed and turned all night. I woke up the next morning (july 5th) and I was feved and achey. I took some advil and it seemed to break the fever for a few hours. The welt seems to have slowed down in growth a bit and the red area seems to have changed colors a bit also. I went to bed and woke up this morning and was fever again and achey, I took a cold shower and took more advil and I feel pretty decent today, but i know the fever will be back I can feel it. Anyone have any clues? The welt doesnt seem to be going necrotic as of yet, and I have no pain or itching. But its scaring the hell out of me. Any information would be greatly apprecieted. Here is a pic of the bite form today July 6th, 4 days after the intial bite. Size is about 6 inches long and 3 inches high. Thanks very much.

Sam Craver

Sam,
Although it could be a spider bite, it may also be a tick bite as you first thought. The "bullseye" rash is typical of a lyme disease infection, although it's often quicker and easier to just treat it with antibiotics than to test for a positive lyme result first.
It may also be a a sensitivity to the saliva of a tick bite. Many people, myself included, are not "allergic" to the saliva, but react differently than others who get bit.
If it is a spider bite, I wouldn't worry about it. If a widow bit you, you'd be in major pain, a recluse bite usually causes a necrotic effect, although not always. Most spider bites will cause a localized reaction, the severity of each depends a lot on the species and your own immunity. Keep an eye on it, keep taking the advil, and if it doesn't start healing within another week, go back to the Doctor. ECO