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Brown Recluse Spider Bites

I received an email today from my mother-in-law with these photos and while I don't usually forward things I felt this information was VERY important. I personally know a man who almost lost his foot to a Brown Recluse bite a couple years back. If bitten don't delay, seek treatment right away.

My mother-in-law asked a friend of hers who uses Essential Oils for everything, and this is what she recommended:

"The best thing I have for spider bites is Redmond Clay. You take the powder and make a paste with mustard consistency. Then you put this over the bite and let it dry. As it dries it will suck out the poison. Then before repeating this process I would treat it with Helichrysum oil which neutralizes toxins. Then I would repeat the clay, then the oil, etc... until symptoms are gone.

The thing about brown recluse is their venom never stops eating/digesting/poisoning the flesh. It keeps going and spreading and going on. If you get it sucked out, and then neutralize the area and repeat this process it will have amazing results.

There is a lady who was bit by a brown recluse and treated it successfully with the clay alone. In 2 days she could not even see the bite.

Activated charcoal is similar in its use for this. I hope this helps."

If you are comfortable with essential oils or homeopathic remedies, give this a try otherwise get to a doctor immediately!!!

These photos get progressively worse......but they show just what a spider bite can do to a person! It's springtime & cleanup is going on. Be careful where you put your hands. They like dark spaces & woodpiles. Also areas in the attic.

..............................................
This guy was bitten by a Brown Recluse spider.

Day 3

The following illustrates the progression of a brown recluse spider bite. The affected skin actually dies on his body!

Day 5

Day 6

Day 9

as you can see by the photo, the man is now in the hospital!

Day 10

DISGUSTING!!

The Dangerous Brown Recluse Spider ~ We should all know what the spider looks like.

Please be careful. Spider bites are dangerous and can have permanent and highly negative consequences. If left untreated a person can die from it's bite.

They like the darkness and tend to live in storage sheds or attics or other areas that might not be frequented by people or light. If you have a need to be in your attic, go up there and turn on a light and leave it on for about 30 minutes before you go in to do your work! PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO YOUR RELATIVES AND FRIENDS! People will be digging around, doing yard work, spring cleaning, and may have a need to go in their attics.

Sandy Noll
Realtor, eAgent
Keller Williams Realty Kirkland
425-890-0878
sandranoll@kw.com
www.letsachieveyourgoals.com
Kirkland, Woodinville, Bothell Home Expert

PS: My mother-in-law just emailed me that our family friend had his foot amputated last Thursday! They believe the nerve and tissue damage occured two years ago when he was bitten by a Brown Recluse and delayed seeking medical treatment. He also has diabetes so that probably prevented proper circulation necessary for healing. How sad!

Posted by Sandy Noll on 04/12/2008 05:30 PM

Comments (37)

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Originally posted at: Sandy Noll.....Real Estate and More: Brown Recluse Spider Bites

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37 Comments on Brown Recluse Spider Bites

APR

2008

Sandy- Thanks for the head up/reminder. These buggers MOVE fast too! Their venom is to paralyze their victims and they eat them later. I too have seen some bad bites, the issue is that the venom causes necrosis(death) of the tissue, so even if you get it out whatever was affected is gone. They leave ugly scars and crater like dents in skin and muscle. We have quite a few here, I had a client whose dog was bitten last summer/fall. I saw it and told her that it looked like a brown recluse bite, sure enough it was. The dog was treated and ok but has a scar. If you are worried you have any in the house put out a few sticky traps and see. Also shake out shoes and boots after they have been in a dark closet for a while.

Sandy-Oh my goodness! That is horrifically disgusting and so scary. That is why we spray around our house often because of the danger behind those bites. What a great professional you are to get this out to the public. Have a great weekend.

Sandy..I had gotten these a long time ago....as gross as they are,it is a good thing to give the heads up!

Yep, that's what they look like. I had a friend bitten by a recluse - they got out most of the venom but it still did some damage. VERY UGLY! Check out my blog for my bee story (and the happy ending when I get it posted).

Thanks for the info.

Vince - DUCTZ

623-466-8625

Vanessa your welcome! I don't think I've seen one, but the man I know who was bitten lives here so they must be around! Or maybe I didn't know what it was if I saw it. I know now! It sounds like the best way for a quick recovery is IMMEDIATE treatment and this will also minimize the damage. The man I know who was bitten has walked with a cane now for the past couple years. He put off getting treatment for a few days. Thanks for the trap and shoe shaking tips too!

Please keep in mind that the same e-mail has been going around in different forms for years. While the photos seem to be of actual injuries, it has not been confirmed that they were from a spider bite.

Those types of bites can be nasty but my brother (a doctor) has seen that e-mail (and Recluse Spider bites quite a bit) and many times they look NOTHING LIKE THAT. In fact, I believe that bottom pic is from some documentation on the Staphylococcus bacteria (Flesh Eating Bacteria) not a spider bite.

Just another viewpoint.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

Julie my mother-in-law lives in Utah and they too have quite a few of them in their area. When you spray does that deter others from coming around? We don't spray, but we put up bee traps because my eight year old is allergic to bee stings. I hate to do it because I know we need the bees, but his safety comes first.

BLR Guy I don't recall seeing them before and if I did I didn't pay much attention, but now knowing someone personally who's been bitten, it strikes a cord.

Vince I'll check out your bee post. My son is allergic to bee stings so that's something we really watch out for!

I had a couple of friends who were allergic to bee stings in high school - we had to carry an epi pen, I think, to inject them if they were stung. One of those friends had a horrible reaction to a sting (just one) and had to be transported to the hospital. Contrary to popular belief, Africanized Honey Bees (AHB's for short) have the same venom as a regular honey bee, but attack in greater numbers. THAT is something I don't want to happen to me!

Brian thanks for the link and another viewpoint. My friends father who was bitten a couple years ago, had a good portion of his foot turn black and it started working it's way up his shin. I don't know if the skin broke open like the photos but his description of the bite area was that it was "oozing" He was told it was a Brown Recluse bite and it was treated for a LONG time. I actually just got another email from my mother-in-law and his foot was amputated last Thursday! Another family member told me the doctors believe the damage to the area from the bite was so extensive and he's a diabetic that the nerves and tissue never fully healed. Tragic! If he had sought treatment immediately things might have been different.

Vince we too carry an Epi Pen for my son but fortunately we've been able to give him Benadryl immediately and thats worked so far. The first time he was stung he was two and within about a minute he was covered with hives! Knowing Benedryl works on hives I gave him some and called 911. They said he exhibited signs of being allergic and because his body got hives so quickly each subsequent sting would be worse. His doctor and allergist confirmed so we've carried Benadryl and an Epi Pen ever since!

Sandy - I just shared this post with my whole family! If they see a brown recluse spider, they have been instructed to STEP ON IT!! This is really gross, but I am happy you shared this. Everyone needs to know about these and the damage they can cause. Thank you for sharing this post!

OMG... how awful - I can't even imagine how awful that is for these people. Thanks for sharing the information, I can't stand spiders.

APR

2008

Brad I shared with my kids too! My 8 year old loves spiders but knows this one is not his friend!!! Thanks for stopping by!

Debbie it does look awful and I can't imagine what he must have been going through either! It looks like it'd be awfully painful! Spiders creep me out too!

Sandy:

My oldest daughter was bit 3 times over a 8 week period. We could not find where the spider was coming from. We had e regular exterminator, we changed sheets, moved matresses around, we finally located him in her robe that she wore after taking a shower. Fortunately we got her to the doctor quickly each time and she did not suffer as bad as your photo's above.

APR

2008

Alan that is awful! You know my son kept getting bitten by a spider (not a recluse) and we never did figure out where it was coming from. We did the same as you, but never checked his robe!! I'll remember that if it happens again. I'm glad your daughter was ok in the end!!

MAY

2008

so i think this friend of mine got bit by a brown recluse, how can you be sure?

MAY

2008

Keaton if your friend was bitten or may have been bitten, you should seek medical treatment immediately!!! Don't delay!

MAY

2008

This is the very reason I steer clear of ALL spiders. Nothing else bothers me more.

JUN

2008

The hard part is that the Recluse and Common House Spider look almost identical and the House Spider actually eats the others. So I hate to squish them all, but I must admit that when I see a nasty brown spider it gets mashed. This is also a reason that I always wear gloves when moving things out doors! Something about shoving my hands into areas I can't see and where spiders love to hang out just screams 'wear protective gear!' to me.

JUN

2008

Chris I couldn't agree with you more! I'm not a big fan of sticking my hands in a dark hole I can't see into!!

Jim & Maria spiders tend to creep my out, even behind glass!!

JUL

OMG - I had no idea that a spider could do that much damage. The later pictues, look like something out of a horror movie.

Myrl Jeffcoat
http://www.myrljeffcoat.com

We see a good many of these spiders around my area. Thanks for sharing this valuable information.

JUL

Myrl I didn't know they could do so much damage either. I see these spiders all the time and never though they were so poisonous.

Laura I actually killed one of these the other night on my garage wall! Ew!!!

SEP

It is best to wear shoes, socks, long pants (preferably tucked into your socks or boots), long-sleeve shirt with the buttons buttoned, and gloves when working outside.

I thought that I had seen those pictures several years ago, and indeed I had. The pictures and a better explanation is now over at Snopes.com, the Urban Legends king: http://www.snopes.com/photos/bugs/brownrecluse.asp

In your first paragraph, Sandy, you said, "If bitten don't delay, seek treatment right away." but then you contradicted yourself by offering various testimonials about Redmond Clay. Generally, when it comes to needing medical attention, home remedies are not the way to go.

Russell thanks for commenting. I figured thepics had been around awhile and stated that I received them in an email from my mother-in-law and felt they were important enough to share. Rather then a contradiction, I provided both western and eastern medical philosophies because many people will not seek the treatment/advice of a medical doctor, so I believe it's better to provide the info then to insist they seek medical treatment. I did highlight in yellow that those remedies are best only if one feels comfortable with homeopathic remedies, otherwise seek medical attention immediately. Thanks for the snopes link, it does a good job to explain the pics. And thanks too for the clothing tips for working in the yard.

NOV

im terrified of this spider because i have 3 small children!!!!!

NOV

Tink they can be scary, but if you suspect a bite and get you or your child to a doctor right away, the outcome is usually good. One of my commenter's above said his daughter was bitten 3 times, but they got her to the doctor and all was well. Knowledge is the best way to prevent tragedy and why I did the post. Thanks for commenting!