The best news is . . I can walk again! My foot is very sore and I can’t put much weight on it and I can’t wear a shoe (except my slippers) so there’s not much outside work getting done. The muscle (or is that a lump of fat?) in the back of my leg is very sore and that didn’t start til yesterday but the severe pain in my foot seems to be gone. Mostly I’m sitting in the recliner with my foot propped up. Our doctor is watching the red spot but he’s fairly confident there isn’t going to be a problem. It will be a few days before we’re sure.
To clear up a few things . . I’m not a doctor so I’m not giving medical advice but for me, going to the ER or to the doctor immediately was NOT necessary! For a brown recluse bite, it’s the tissue damage that follows a bite that’s the real problem, not the immediate bite itself, and the tissue damage takes a few days before it shows up. I did call the doctor on Saturday morning and he told me he wanted to see me on Tuesday if there was any sign of necrosis. So far, there isn’t.
Also, there is no antivenom for brown recluse bites. Our hospital doesn’t even keep it for black widow bites . . I went to the ER when I got bit by a black widow because I had always heard if you got bit by a black widow, it was certain death. Obviously . . it wasn’t true in my case.
Had I gone to the ER, they would probably have given me antibiotics as a precaution and I was already taking those. They may have given me a tetanus booster and I had that in January. They may have given me pain meds, which I had from when I had kidney stones.
We’ve lived with brown recluse spiders for almost 20 years. They were as bad or worse in KY and we had our share of them in MO so we researched and knew what to do in the event any of us did get a bite.
I appreciate your concern but you’ll find that I am not one to run to the ER unless I know I have no other options . . a kidney stone and I’m in the car with the first pain, but for anything not totally necessary, I’m not going there. But, don’t worry . . I will use my head and make the right choice when faced with that decision.
The second thing is . . I did not have on flip flops when I got bit. It was probably worse but I had on Vince’s Crocs that have holes in the sides. What’s funny is I always shake them out before putting them on but this spider was in the grass.
I went out with one of the dogs. We take them out on a long leash and most of the time, I never get off the porch but on Friday, I decided to walk probably 25′ out to the closest pear tree to see if it was going to bloom. It was in that grass around the pear tree that the spider got me. I saw him as he crawled into the hole in the shoe but I couldn’t get my foot out in time.
You know what else is funny . . not one time when I’ve been bit did I have on flip flops. Yes, the Crocs were not very safe. The black widow was in my muck boots. As I always do, I shook them out and beat them on the concrete before sticking my foot in there and there was still a spider in there that got me. The scorpion bit me in my living room when I was sitting in the recliner. It had apparently crawled up Speck’s quilt that was hanging over the edge of the chair and touching the floor. You can bet nothing touches the floor now and I shake the heck out of every quilt, towel, shirt . . eveything! I examine the bed with a black light before crawling in at night.
I’m amazed that people raise kids in this part of the world. I can take it but if I had small children, I don’t think I could stay here. It scares me for Addie to even come and visit here. I can see us checking the bed for “monsters” every night with a black light. I’m thinking I’d better buy an extra black light for her to take home because she’s probably going to love it.
Vince did tell the neighbor . . one more bite and we’re probably outta here! I’m weighing my options . . do I get bit again so we can move back to MO or do I try to avoid spiders and scorpions for the rest of my life? I figure that since we haven’t been here three years and I’ve been bit by two spiders and a scorpion . . chances are slim I’ll make it very long before something else gets me so I think I’ll start packing! 🙂
Joyce says
My father got bit by a black widow spider when he was in his teens. That would have been in the 1940’s. It was back in the day when Doctors made house calls, so he called the doctor (my Dad was at a BBQ) and just stopped by the doctor’s house on his way home… He obviously didn’t die from it, and while I know the doctor gave him some kind of treatment, he didn’t seem horribly concerned about it! When I was little, my Dad killed a black widow spider in our basement. He did warn me about going back in the old coal bin barefoot (where he stored some of his tools/wood and where he killed the spider), but we never saw another one. I was always a bit cautious down there–but still usually barefoot!
Vickie VanDyken says
Roflol 🙂 seems like for some reason poisonous critters are attracted to you! Must be all the good veggies you eat? I know living out there can be hazardous to your health but I think you do have an ulterior motive for moving back to MO ( Addie?) perhaps. Can’t say I blame you. My Grandsons in California are the only reason I would even consider California. The state is so messed up (imho) and overpopulated I just couldn’t do it. The pull of those Grandkids is strong. I didn’t know how big my heart was, or how consuming love could be, til I had Grandsons. 🙂 It changes everything! Grandchildren are Gods Gift for having to deal with old age, IMHO.
I know you take precautions and your still a target for those little mean insects. I sure do hope your luck with them improves 🙂
Get better fast!
Theresa says
Glad to see you’re feeling better. I took a look at google; most of the natural things you can do to control spiders, you are doing. You’re attracting birds, for instance. Lizards would be even better, though I have no idea how to go about attracting those.
Penny in S CA says
Oh dear! Take care Judy ~ sit with foot propped up & knit! Then I hope you feel better soon! Sending lots of hugs & get well wishes! Penny in S CA
Mary Lines says
Judy, I don’t know if you have heard of it but there is a product called Home Defense that you can spray inside and outside your home to keep critters like spiders out. It is safe for use with pets. I use it twice a year and it has kept spiders and ants and the like out of my home. I buy it at Home Depot.
Angie says
Thanks Mary, I’m going to try Home Defense. We live out in the country and I’m constantly sweeping down spider webs from under the eves of our ranch style house. It’s those long leggy spiders that are the worst. Even in the house. Sounds like a good solution.
Rosalie says
Judy, hate to tell you but I have had a scorpion drop onto the bed from the ceiling….so check out the ceiling before you climb in bed!!!
Rebecca in SoCal says
Geesh, it might have been better if you HAD been wearing flip-flops! Then the spider wouldn’t have seen a hole to hide in, and you wouldn’t be stuck in the footwear.
Humans may survive black widow bites, but it sure made me nervous when I saw my little kitty playing with what looked like one! A small animal just doesn’t have the bulk to survive.
Jackie says
I used to live in the Middle East and we used to camp out in the desert frequently. I was always afraid of scorpions and when we would seat around the fire or eat you could be guaranteed I’d be sitting with my legs straight out in the air (all night no matter what). I figured they couldn’t climb up the metal chair legs so I was safe. Good thing I didn’t know about them falling from the ceiling. I was worse for snakes, I laugh now when I think about some of the things I did.
Diana In R.R says
Jackie I had to laugh at that. When we lived in Taiwan we had big black spiders. We also had wall 2 cycle units-heat and air. Ours in our bedroom was close to my side of the bed. It was not fun to look up and see a big black spider sitting on it ready to drop on the bed. I have no clue if they were poisonous, but they were ugly! They were a good 1.5 to 2 inches.
Lee says
Ewww, I could not live with all that poisonous spider fear….I’d be packing in a hurry and praying I didn’t accidentally pack any of them in the boxes!! Hope your foot/leg heal quickly!
Kate says
Well I guess everything is a trade off, you couldn’t pay me enough to live where there are so many bugs and spiders etc. Here in CO in the suburbs we have very few, and no outdoor biting bugs until you head into the mountains. But we also don’t have much of a growing season, so you win some and loose some. But really your stories of scorpions gives me the chills! Do they nest in your batting? Only thing we get is miller moths in the spring and that’s just entertainment for the cats!
Ranch Wife says
I’m glad you’re better and I hope you’ve gotten well enough that you can get shoes on. If you’re packing, its to get closer to that sweet Addie and I wouldn’t blame you one bit!