Got bit by a spider, hand and arm is all swollen. They don’t seem to think it is a big deal. Jumping people ahead of me in the queue, here in the waiting room.

Hand and wrist are bright red, hurts like the dickens

Otony

Good luck. Hope it is minor & temporary.

Sorry to hear this. Good luck. MY wife and dog get serious reactions to bees and the like so I keep the Benadryl hands. Hope it doesn't get worse.

My son got bit twice in 3 weeks behind the knee while splitting volumes of firewood. He took good care of the site with antibiotic ointment. After 3-4 weeks of serious itching, ice, etc, a piece of flesh turned black and fell out, larger than a BB. He had a pair of tan-proof white dots there.

Mike

Prayers for healing.

Hurry up and get better.

Certainly hope by time this posts, you are home safe and sound, and on the mend. Prayers and well as hopes. Benedryl always in emergency bug-out kit.

Nasty thing those spider bites...pray you are back home and healing.

.....since I take a beta-blocker.

Otony

....massive infection, running from my knuckles halfway to my elbow. Doctor prescribed two antibiotics, and to continue taking ibuprofen. It's been three hours (and a nap) since my first dose, and I can already see a visible difference.

Got bit on Wednesday, Thursday the hand was sore, Thursday night it was hot and puffy, plus chills and fevers. Knew I was headed for the hospital this morning.

What I didnt know is that it ISN'T first come, first serve, but that they take you in based on your perceived pain. If you sit and quietly act the stoic while the ferret chews your innards, folks with lesser issues go in first.

Not that I'm faulting anyone else, they all hurt too and need to be seen, but apparently drama has a value in the waiting room. They took in four different people ahead of me before I asked why. When I told them the breeze from the door opening was hurting my hand, and they saw how puffy it was (skin tight, like a sausage), I was next up.

Otony

nt

had similar from a puncture of back of middle finger, normal precautions were taken, and woke up next morning after feverish nightmares with hand/arm swollen and bright red lines from wound all the way up top of forearm. I knew I was in trouble.

NT

nt

Just got to the office and see this. Also see you're home. Sure hope you rested well and are on the way to full recovery. ER is much the same anywhere - if you're not bleeding on the rug or thrashing around in pain you're going to wait until someone determines they can't put you off anymore. Take care, my friend. Obey the doc's orders. Tell Natasha you need an extra dose of babying today.

...out and are on the way to wholeness again. Well, as much as can be hoped for at your advanced age. Do you know what kind of spider it was that bit you?

It was a stealth spider, the worst kind, meaning I don't know. Bit me while I slept, the bastage.

Years ago I was bitten by a brown recluse. Made me terribly ill, the doctor said it must have been either a very young spider, or one that was unable to deliver the full load of venom. Bit me while I was sitting on a very old wooden deck, but I thought at the time I had sat on a small splinter. Yeah, bit me there.

Since then, whenever I'm bit by any insect, even a mosquito, I have a bad reaction, swelling and itching for days. Usually treat the area with calamine lotion or absorbine, but in this case it became infected. Sorta scary to watch the redness crawl up your arm!

Otony

...using 1% hydrocortisone cream? Works like a champ for relieving inflammation, swelling, itch, etc. Available over the counter, in generic (i.e. relatively cheap) form.

.....it is staple in our first aid kit. Helps with the itching, but very little relief from the actual bite area and where the skin is distended (which is still most of my hand).

Making a fist hurts like crazy, because it pulls skin that is already taut, tighter. At least the swelling in the arm has subsided, but the wrist and elbow are still achy.

Have I ever mentioned that I don't like spiders?

Otony

didja ever figger out which kind it were?

......the joint pain would seem to indicate a hobo spider, from what I've been able to figure out.

We tore apart the bed, and flipped over each nightstand, came up with nothing. The darn thing cannot be found.

Otony

Mebbe you need a Costco size jug of malathion!

This sounds crazy, but if you are where you can get some Osage Orange fruit (some folks call'em hedgeapples) in the fall when they are ripe, and place a few of them around the house, it seems to keep spiders and other bugs away. Some of the old folks around here strongly believe this, and I was persuaded to try it in my garage/shop where there were LOTS of spiders. For three winters in a row now I have seen very few. Put the green fruit in a foil pan and stick 'em under the bed and furniture. After a while the fruits will get pretty funky and the foil pan will keep them from staining the carpet or floor.