WTF Has Bitten My Sister

sky101 said:
the doctor told us that he had suspected it to be a Violin Spider, When I got to the hospital today the reddness of her leg has no gone up to her Knee and they have put her on the most "expensive" anti-biotic on the market - But still it isnt working, Im going to talk to the doctors about Tetanus Toxoid tomorrow and see what they say
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Area where she was bitten is key, however you are unable to provide this or just missed it.

Reason I'm asking is that if she was bitten in Natal for instance it could be a handfull of spiders. If in the Highveld area another handfull and so on. I'm leaning towards her being bitten in the highveld area then the one I would put my money on is a Sac Spider. Very small spiders known for having a taste for bitting humans ;) Obviously it's anyone's guess as to which exact spider it is, but the area will help in narrowing it down.

edit:
Found this which is making me even more sure it's a Sac spider. I had a friend bitten by one many years ago and it was on the same spot as with your sister. I googled it now and found this:

http://www.spiderclub.co.za/medical.html
Sac Spiders (Cytotoxic Venom)
Sac spiders, Cheiracanthium sp, are readily recognized by their pale colour (fawn, yellow to yellowish green). A salient feature is the arrangement of the legs, two pairs directed forwards and two pairs backwards with the first pair being much longer than the others. The tips of the legs and the mouthparts are usually darkly coloured.

Sac spiders are commonly found outdoors and only one species C. furculatum is regularly found in houses. There they may spend the day in, for example, folds of curtains, bedding and clothing on a clothesline in a soft silk sac-like retreat.
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Pitbull said:
Area where she was bitten is key, however you are unable to provide this or just missed it.

Reason I'm asking is that if she was bitten in Natal for instance it could be a handfull of spiders. If in the Highveld area another handfull and so on. I'm leaning towards her being bitten in the highveld area then the one I would put my money on is a Sac Spider. Very small spiders known for having a taste for bitting humans ;) Obviously it's anyone's guess as to which exact spider it is, but the area will help in narrowing it down.
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Can Sac Spiders do that amount of damage though?
 
Found this:

http://www.arc.agric.za/home.asp?pid=4142

But none of the pictures seem to be in the development state, all of them are when the flamation has already settled down and the wound is healing already. The problem I have with it being a Violin spider (Not that I would exclude it) is that they are very "shy" spiders. You will hardly ever run into one unless you go looking for it. Where as a Sac Spider finds you instead (by accident ofc)
 
Pitbull said:
Not to such extend, but she obviously had some kind of reaction to the poison. I have never seen such a spider bite of that preportion in my life :o
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I am also sure, if it is a spider bite, she must have had a reaction to it.

From the little I know about spiders, I'd think that yes, it's either a Sac or Violin spider, there just aren't any other contenders, except if she managed to be the first human to get bitten by a six-eyed crab spider somehow.
 
I found this part on the second link:

http://www.arc.agric.za/home.asp?pid=4142

Sac Spider
TREATMENT

The majority of the bites are self-limiting and heals spontaneously. Treatment of the bites should be directed to prevent and treat secondary infection using local antiseptics and systemic antibiotics. Occasionally an infected wound may develop into a rapidly spreading cellulitus, which requires aggressive antibiotic therapy. The patient should receive a tetanus toxoid booster.
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I think we have the offender here.
 
Hope she recovers soon.

Typically clueless docs though, I sympathise with your frustrations
 
has your mom taken your sister to a second doctor? that bite looks very very ugly and if the damage is spreading there is no time to waste. hope she get better soon.
 
Alan said:
Hope she recovers soon.

Typically clueless docs though, I sympathise with your frustrations
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maumau said:
has your mom taken your sister to a second doctor? that bite looks very very ugly and if the damage is spreading there is no time to waste. hope she get better soon.
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It's pretty hard to blame the Doctors for this though. I mean they have no idea what actually got a hold of her, they are just treating the symptoms. Nothing more one can ask for though. What does bother me is the fact that she was bitten 10 days ago, has been in hospital about a week already and they are still clueless. That is a matter of great concern. Obviously if they take this as serious as it should be then they would know and be on top of it. If they play the "House MD" game she could lose her leg. (God forbid) But I mean, a week and the doctor "thinks" it's a Violin spider? :confused:
 
copacetic said:
I'm nitpicking now, to be sure, but surely any spider bite has the potential to become infected?
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Prob, just read it there spicifically. Must have been important if they thought to mention it there and not at the Violin spider :o.

Doesn't really matter in the end, the type of poinson would be the same and I assume the treatment too. Either way, whatever the doctors are doing they need to do a better job if the Cellulitis is spreading then whatever they are doing isn't working. And if it spreads too far it could end up being way more serious than the innitial spider bite.
 
@sky101 Not going to speculate but will rather tell what happened to my mom. In the early 80's she was bitten by a red back spider in Oz by her knee and she survived. For more than a decade she had to go for regular operations to have dead tissue removed. I hope its not that serious for sister but after the initial recovery she may need to do regular follow up treatment for the area.

My mom has fully recovered even though there is a permanent dark spot on her leg. She is now 60 and still very active - jogging and hiking.

Hope your sister recovers soon.
 
 
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img_BRS_thumb_day_10.jpg


Just by the way, the series of pictures that this comes from, the most commonly shown images asserted to show a Loxosceles bite, is not verified as being such, at all.
 
copacetic said:
img_BRS_thumb_day_10.jpg


Just by the way, the series of pictures that this comes from, the most commonly shown images asserted to show a Loxosceles bite, is not verified as being such, at all.
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Apparently the brown recluse (USA) is a genus of the Loxosceles thus that makes the JHB species also part of this genus?

@ sky101. Take note of the information that apparently cured a specific case
http://www.spiderzrule.com/reclusebite.htm

Here's an interesting email with a different sort of treatment for a brown recluse bite:
10/09/09:
Dear Glen, In April, I visited a friend in the mountains of Tennessee. While I was sleeping in the seldom used loft bedroom, I was bitten on the cheek by a brown recluse spider. This was on a Saturday night. By Monday morning my face was very swollen, right eye swollen shut, very red and painful. I was taken to an Instacare type facility and given antibiotics and an injection of cortisone in my hip. The next day, I flew home to Sedona, AZ. My face, the swelling, the pain were much worse. I started calling doctors. Several recommended me to a local Naturpath who specialized in venomous bites. When I called he said to come in asap. When I walked in, my bite area was turning a yucky brownish color, and he said, "Day 5". I said, "yep!". The treatment was painful - 2 injections of ozone into the bite area. He told me it would be painful, but not last for long. Then I was given an IV and went home an hour or so later. The bite area never got worse or went necrotic. It stayed red for some days and slowly, over weeks, faded in color and the ache also grew weaker. The venom had begun to move into my sinus and lymph areas, and this too began to retract. Now it is September and my cheek looks fine, maybe like a have a light blush. Occasionally, I feel a twinge in the area of the bite, and the eye muscles still twitch often, but I feel blessed. I have talked to many people, doctors and nurses who have seen much worse, and even the loss of flesh and feet from these bites. Gael
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Also look at this information from the same site.
http://www.spiderzrule.com/reclusebiteleg.htm
 
MegasXLR said:
Apparently the brown recluse (USA) is a genus of the Loxosceles thus that makes the JHB species also part of this genus?
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Yes, that's exactly my point. It's not been verified as being a Brown recluse bite, so is unrelated to a discussion about Violin spiders.
 
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