What kind of spider

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wildside
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Re: What kind of spider

Postby wildside » Tue Jul 14, 2009 9:46 am

Hi Patricia, yes you are right about the dance but I remember reading somewhere that it was actually the brown recluse spider that did the biting and the lycosa tarantula got the blame... The brown recluse is a member of the widow family of spiders and I am not sure but I think there is only one species here in Andalucia.... Not as deadly as the Australian black widows but still quite potent for a quite small spider that hardly ever gets seen... I once got bitten on my butt by one of these and the "swelling" was as big as a ring doughnut and the same shape... It itched like hell for weeks but wasn't really painful...:)

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Re: What kind of spider

Postby Miro » Thu Dec 15, 2016 5:37 pm

WARNING: Graphic images!!

Although nobody knows for sure, i suspect this may have been one of the spiders mentioned on this thread.


A couple of weeks ago, I noticed an itchiness on my calf, which gradually grew worse, then a hard, hot swelling appeared and I started to feel a little nauseous, so I went to the local A&E where I was given an anti-inflammatory and prescribed a course of antibiotics. It looked like this:

Image

After a few days, the infected area's skin broke, and puss issued forth. I went to the clinic, where the nurse cleaned and dressed the wound. Changing the dressing twice daily, the infected area looked like this:

Image

Returning to the nurse after a few more days, she was not happy with the progress, consulted my doctor, and then proceeded to cut away the dead flesh and clean and re-dress it again. Daily visits now for repeat process, plus another course of stronger antibiotics. The open wound looks pretty gruesome now:

Image

Slowly improving, but it's looking like a dry Xmas for me!
Be careful out there - Andalucia's a dangerous place!!

P.S. no comments about my legs please - they're obviously not shown at their best here!!
Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often

"Acquiring a dog may be the only opportunity a human ever has to choose a relative," Mordecai Siegal 1935-2010.

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patricia
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Re: What kind of spider

Postby patricia » Thu Dec 15, 2016 6:16 pm

My goodness that looks awful :thumbdown: . Poor you and also we are all seven years older since this thread started :( At least that shows that not many people get bitten by spiders. I presume you could get some kind of awful flesh bacterial disease with that. Hope you are better soon. Out of interest are you in the campo or on the coast. Just so I know if I have to shake the bed a bit tonight!
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patricia
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Re: What kind of spider

Postby patricia » Thu Dec 15, 2016 6:19 pm

"P.S. no comments about my legs please - they're obviously not shown at their best here!!" The socks are nice though. I have a few pairs like that.
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Miro
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Re: What kind of spider

Postby Miro » Thu Dec 15, 2016 6:26 pm

:lol: :lol: Probably Carrefour's best, don't remember
The bite, if that's what it was, must have occurred in deepest darkest Torremolinos, because I hadn't been anywhere else when I first noticed it. "The horror, the horror!" I never felt anything. Unless it crawled up my leg when I went into the garden (to feed the feral cats, one of which accidentally bit me a month ago, leading to a tetanus jab and antibiotics, which I'd barely finished when I started the next lot), it could only have been lurking in my jeans (or socks!) when i put them on.
Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often

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patricia
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Re: What kind of spider

Postby patricia » Thu Dec 15, 2016 7:42 pm

Well remind me not to buy carrefour´s socks! Is it near to where you got bitten by the cat. You can get very bad infections from the bite of a cat!
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Miro
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Re: What kind of spider

Postby Miro » Thu Dec 15, 2016 7:49 pm

The cat bite was on my hand, but healed fine, no infection. They're very clean cats!
Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often

"Acquiring a dog may be the only opportunity a human ever has to choose a relative," Mordecai Siegal 1935-2010.

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patricia
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Re: What kind of spider

Postby patricia » Thu Dec 15, 2016 8:12 pm

I am sure the cats are very clean, but you can get very bad infections from your own domestic cat. It is because there is bacteria on their teeth which can cause bad infection.

Lovely though that you are feeding the strays and hopefully castrating and neutering!

Well that bite or infections looks awful but hopefully you will recover. It must have been something that creeps about in the night!
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Re: What kind of spider

Postby El Cid » Thu Dec 15, 2016 11:17 pm

The reason cat bites can be more dangerous than dog bites is that they have long very sharp "fangs" which go deep into the flesh. Bites in the hand are particularly dangerous as the infection gets into the bones and tendons very easily.

If untreated, people have died from such bites.

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patricia
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Re: What kind of spider

Postby patricia » Fri Dec 16, 2016 9:41 am

This is what is says from the Mayo clinic "Although cats have no more germs in their mouths than dogs or people, researchers at the Mayo Clinic found that when cats bite, their sharp teeth can inject hard-to-treat bacteria deeply into the skin and joints, increasing the risk for serious infection.

"Dogs' teeth are blunter, so they don't tend to penetrate as deeply and they tend to leave a larger wound after they bite," study senior author Dr. Brian Carlsen, a Mayo Clinic plastic surgeon and orthopedic hand surgeon, said in a clinic news release. "Cats' teeth are sharp and can penetrate very deeply. They can seed bacteria in the joint and tendon sheaths."
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Miro
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Re: What kind of spider

Postby Miro » Fri Dec 16, 2016 12:53 pm

Well, I guess you can get an infection from any kind of bite if it's deep enough. I know a few people around here who I wouldn't want to get bitten by! Our (house) cat bites me all the time, playing rough, but she knows that if she even gets close to breaking skin, she gets a bop on the nose. The "garden" cats (all three of which we have had sterilised, so are less likely to come into contact with other ferals and pick up infections themselves) know me well and are normally very affectionate. The bite was not aggressive, it was out of fear: I picked up one by the scruff when rescuing her from being trapped in a neighbouring building's garage for over a week, and she just lashed out with claws and teeth in panic - but nothing serious. I took the precaution anyway of a tetanus booster & antibiotics.

The black widow bite, if that is in fact what it is, is improving quickly now with daily visits to curas to change the dressings - down to every couple of days next week. The strong antibiotics are obviously helping too. (May yet be a chance of a beer on Xmas day!) I think if I hadn't got it seen to promptly & professionally, I might well have ended up as another internet horror story (limbs turning black, dropping off etc.)
Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often

"Acquiring a dog may be the only opportunity a human ever has to choose a relative," Mordecai Siegal 1935-2010.

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patricia
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Re: What kind of spider

Postby patricia » Fri Dec 16, 2016 1:15 pm

Well I am glad it is improving. I normally do not kill spiders, but it were a black widow I might. I shall have to start checking the house! Well done for sterilizing and feeding the stray puss cats.
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Miro
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Re: What kind of spider

Postby Miro » Wed Sep 13, 2017 12:36 pm

Since the "spider bite" that I reported here last December, I've had several similar infected "bites" that became abscess-like, on my legs and my neck. I also have had strange, unexplained outbreaks of pus-filled spots on my chin every two or three months. I've taken loads of antibiotics, but every so often, another "bite" becomes infected. I had another one a week or so ago. Now back in the UK, any Andalucian nasties have to be ruled out! I explained the history to my GP, and he ordered blood tests (including everything, such as Hepatitis, even HIV) but they showed nothing untoward. My immune system appears intact. But a swab from this latest wound has revealed that I have MRSA. (A swab was taken from one wound in Spain, but they found nothing. Perhaps they don't test for MRSA in Spain?)
A quick Google of spider bites v MRSA reveals that it's such a common mis-diagnosis, that I'm more than a little pi**ed off that this wasn't picked up in Spain. MRSA is so widespread now, too, that I'm really surprised nobody thought of it before. The strange thing is, that NHS "protocol" is to do nothing. However, I kicked off after hearing the result of this swab, and I've now been prescribed antibacterial nasal cream & body wash - apparently, MRSA lives in the nose and on the skin.
It's is contagious, but fortunately not through the internet, so you should all be safe despite knowing me here - but I thought I should update this thread in case somebody else gets an infected "spider bite" and and is prescribed antibiotics that won't help.
Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often

"Acquiring a dog may be the only opportunity a human ever has to choose a relative," Mordecai Siegal 1935-2010.

wildside
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Re: What kind of spider

Postby wildside » Wed Sep 13, 2017 2:23 pm

Thanks for the update..... Fascinating case history though uncomfortable for the subject (you! :) )

Flashman
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Re: What kind of spider

Postby Flashman » Tue Sep 26, 2017 1:44 pm

sadly MRSA is endemic in the community so 'treating' it is likely to be a short term solution only, chances are you'll get re-infected pretty soon by a family member of work colleague. The MRSA wont have caused the original infection but will have made it resistant to the cure ie regular antibiotics meaning whatever got you in the first place really got a hold. hope you're on the mend soon :thumbup:

Miro
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Re: What kind of spider

Postby Miro » Tue Sep 26, 2017 2:33 pm

This is what I'm hoping to find out. I'm booked in to see a dermatologist next week. Not sure if that's going to get us any nearer to an answer. Whatever it is, it's not making me "ill" as such, so I'm grateful for that, but I really would like to know what's causing these strange infections.
Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often

"Acquiring a dog may be the only opportunity a human ever has to choose a relative," Mordecai Siegal 1935-2010.

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Re: What kind of spider

Postby Gasman » Tue Sep 26, 2017 7:12 pm

Miro - can I suggest that since this is such a long and complicated set of circumstances, that you type out a history that you can present to the Dermatologist - as it will be so difficult to recount it all, chronologically, with attention to detail, and remembering what happened when and with what treatments and results, etc etc. So much more precise if you can write it out at your leisure, with time to correct and add, before you turn up at the hospital faced with a new person, new clinic, new situation.
Even if your GP has sent a note to the Dermatologist explaining the case, I am sure he/she wont have given a full description.
Hope all goes well for you

Miro
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Re: What kind of spider

Postby Miro » Tue Sep 26, 2017 7:19 pm

Thanks, that's good advice. I've already jotted down a chronological list of all the various problems, and I've got accompanying photos too :sick:
Unfortunately I don't have a list of the exact antibiotics that I took in Spain - I only know that they all ended in -cillin!
Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often

"Acquiring a dog may be the only opportunity a human ever has to choose a relative," Mordecai Siegal 1935-2010.

Lyric
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Re: What kind of spider

Postby Lyric » Tue Sep 26, 2017 11:28 pm

I only know that they all ended in -cillin
With my limited allergy related knowledge anything ending in cillin is part of the penicillin family and therefore much the same thing. I know I can't take them :D


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