Old medic new tricks.

[FlightmedicSAR]

Going back to work after a 4 year illness, still here anyway. wish me luck and skill.

[medicmole]

Sorry to hear that you had an illness severe enough to keep you off work for 4 years. Good news that you are now able to return to work.

All the best.

[FlightmedicSAR]

Yeah, I took 5 hits from a brown recluse spider. One on each hip, my left thumb, and above both eyes. All in all, no Sepsis, all of my parts still attached. Not a fun time. Cheers.

[mikeymedic1984]

Glad you are better. Your story begs this question though : Do you remember actually getting bit ? I read a study where most "spider bites" are actually misdiagnosed MRSA sores. Since they look identical, and you typically treat both with the same antibiotics, the bite / sore eventually heals, so there is no follow-up to know which one it really was. But since you had it in so many different parts of the body, I just wondered if you really had MRSA that spread. Doesn't matter now, here is a link to what I am referring too, but is not the study that I read (think CDC publication):

http://patients.about.com/od/Blog/fl/Is-It-a-Spider-Bite-Or-Is-It-MRSA.htm

[paramedicmike]

Spiders get a bad rap. Most spiders, with a few notable exceptions, in the US can't actually bite people. To diagnose a spider bite three things are generally needed:

1. A witnessed bite

2. Positive identification of the spider (usually entomologist or arachnologist)

3. Exclusion of other possible causes

Usually, if there are multiple lesions present that can exclude a spider bite as bites are usually single lesions.

Without knowing more specifically the circumstances surrounding out intrepid OP, of course, it's all speculation.

Regardless, I agree with MikeyMedic that it's good you're on the mend.

[FlightmedicSAR]

I was bitten while sleeping, over a two night period. It at first just appeared to be some kind of a bite from a insect. KIlled 2-4 spiders

that were lurking in the corner of my room. Looked it up in my medic book- and several insect books. Unfortunately they were confirmed

Brown Recluse.The weird part was that they were painless, but what they do is something else to see. The venom breaks your skin down

and the side affects are very unpleasent. I was staying in a old apartment at the time. Most people are bitten while sleeping, and the spiders

become very aggressive in the fall and cooler temps just berfore they die.

[paramedicmike]

Perhaps some additional reading from sources other than your medic book is in order. If you have a subscription or access to UpToDate you'll find a pretty good discussion regarding alleged spider bites.

Also, some spiders get aggressive when threatened. They aren't blood suckers. They don't go looking for people to bite regardless of the time of year.

[FlightmedicSAR]

Additional reading and training is always good as you say. Most insects will defend themselves if threatened. However if a spider is crawling over you while your sleeping

and you brush it off-they may or may not bite you. I think thats why most Brown recluse bites occur during sleep. Reading up on the information 4 years ago thats is what I recieved. Never said anything about Blood suckers- I dont know where that came from. I am just describing injuries I recieved. My comments were off the cuff and very simplistic. I wasnt trying to open a thread on Spider bites. Cheers.

[triemal04]

Perhaps some additional reading from sources other than your medic book is in order. If you have a subscription or access to UpToDate you'll find a pretty good discussion regarding alleged spider bites.

Also, some spiders get aggressive when threatened. They aren't blood suckers. They don't go looking for people to bite regardless of the time of year.

Looked it up in my medic book- and several insect books.

Acting like a dick isn't the way to get people to post more.

Brown recluses are a well known problem in the southeastern part of the country (and other parts), with well known and documented results from bites.

(to be clear, this wasn't directed at the OP)

[paramedicmike]

Wasn't trying to be. I'm familiar with spider bites. The story was a curious one as what was presented isn't common among those who report them.