Beware the Brown Recluse
Here in the South we've our share of venomous creatures to deal with. A wide variety of snakes and bugs that can do serious damage if they are rudely interrupted from their daily goings-on. Personally, all my run-ins have been with wasps (or wasts as some folks say). In the past few days a family member took on a Brown Recluse spider and came out on the bad end of the stick.
Unfortunately I don't have a picture from days one to four, but I have days five and six.
Day 5. You can see the dying tissue around the wound, sloughing off and of course the oozing center where the bite happened. Also notice the large circular redness surrounding the bite. This is the reaction to the spreading venom leeching into the tissue.
Day 6. You can see the apparent bite site is still dying away. It appears to be drying up, but the darkened and shiny tissue is, unfortunately, likely slough off within days or weeks, leaving a large ulcer.
The doctor intends to excise the tissue tomorrow. I've read several articles that suggest against this treatment because it can slow healing and cause excessive scarring. The most interesting procedure that I saw was at Stan Abrams, M.D. I would definitely try his method prior to more permanent treatments. Of course the victim in this case thinks I would enjoy the opportunity to poke them with a stun gun. While there may be some validity to that, I'm sure it would be much more sporting to use a Tazer since that involves shooting skill and the exhilaration of accomplishment.
Hopefully I'll get more pictures and will post the outcome of the situation...Tazed or not.
Unfortunately I don't have a picture from days one to four, but I have days five and six.
Day 5. You can see the dying tissue around the wound, sloughing off and of course the oozing center where the bite happened. Also notice the large circular redness surrounding the bite. This is the reaction to the spreading venom leeching into the tissue.
Day 6. You can see the apparent bite site is still dying away. It appears to be drying up, but the darkened and shiny tissue is, unfortunately, likely slough off within days or weeks, leaving a large ulcer.
The doctor intends to excise the tissue tomorrow. I've read several articles that suggest against this treatment because it can slow healing and cause excessive scarring. The most interesting procedure that I saw was at Stan Abrams, M.D. I would definitely try his method prior to more permanent treatments. Of course the victim in this case thinks I would enjoy the opportunity to poke them with a stun gun. While there may be some validity to that, I'm sure it would be much more sporting to use a Tazer since that involves shooting skill and the exhilaration of accomplishment.
Hopefully I'll get more pictures and will post the outcome of the situation...Tazed or not.
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