Spider Bites...
About a two weeks ago I was bitten by a spider on the outer thigh and then I was bitten again about a week ago on my hand.
Well the bite on my thigh made a section about the size of my hand turn black and blue, swell up, and I lost a lot of sensation. The color finally faded, along with the swelling... but the sensation is slow to return. It's not numb anymore... but it still doesn't feel "quite right."
The other bite is on my left hand between the knuckles of my last and second to last finger. It turned black, made my entire hand swell up and the joints ache. I doctored it everyday removing what appeared to be dead tissue, cleaning it to keep it from becoming infected and keeping it chilled as heat seemed to actually make it worse (oddly enough). As far as I can tell no more tissue is dying, but the wound went from a couple of tiny punture marks to about the size of a nickle before the swelling finally subsided. Now it seems to be knitting itself back together... but it will leave quite a nasty scar.
I live in Texas... so we have a wide range of spiders here with varying degrees of nasty bites. If I had to guess I would think this was a Brown Recluse bite (at least on my hand)... but it's difficult to tell since mostly the 'worst-case scenarios' are mentioned. Rarely are the minor reactions discussed.
Curious as to what anyone else's thoughts might be.
"The weakest soul, knowing its own weakness, and believing this truth that strength can only be developed by effort and practice, will, thus believing, at once begin to exert itself, and, adding effort to effort, patience to patience, and strength to strength, will never cease to develop, and will at last grow divinely strong."
- James Allen