That is all. He will be on here shortly posting nasty pictures.

^^^Can't trust this guy with nuthin.


Let me start out by saying I had a wonderful time camping at The Cove- except for the weather. It was too hot. High 80's by day, mid 50's at night.

Too many bugs.

Stinkbugs.

Brown Recluse Spiders.

Flies.

Wait....what about that spider?

Yeah. Most likely that is what bit me on my right elbow. Dr's can't be certain, but the specifics match up.

The day after I arrived home I set about cleaning out the 'Runner. It looked like a mud pit inside and out. Later that night I noticed that my elbow was a little red and had a bump, kinda like an ingrown hair looks. This was Tuesday.

Wednesday I went to work and left after 6 hrs to go to the urgent care center because my elbow basically felt like I had been in a UFC fight and then took a torch to the top layers of skin. It was very hot to the touch and I felt like I was getting sick to boot. Dr said it was definitely an insect bite and put me on antibiotics. "If it gets worse in any way seek medical treatment again."

OKEY DOKEY.

When I got home, I started putting the camping equipment in the garage away. When I moved the vacuum, that I had used on the truck, along came a spider completely different looking than any I had seen before.

I smushed him a little and put him in a baggie (which my wife promptly threw away ). After some research, it appears to be a Brown Recluse(?) I never got a chance to look at the eyes with a magnifying glass- they have 3 sets unlike a "normal" spider's 4 sets. Maybe that's what bit me?
Remember, I stepped on him that's why his legs are all crinkly...








Thursday/Friday no change. Hot to the touch, very red, not quite as swollen.

Today- Saturday (my girl's Birthday party). My elbow hurt noticeably more and developed a small puss sack around the bite mark- gross, eh? This thing was literally getting bigger every hour.
I bumped my elbow on a doorframe and filled the room with expletives much to the chagrin of the family...Time to go to the ER.









The infection had spread beyond the bite and was moving along rapidly.

I.V. antibiotics and then they did wonderful things.

First they stuck 6 needles into the infected area. That was fun. Then they cut out the infection, which wasn't too bad. Then he basically scraped the area clean ( I forget the terminology he used). That pretty much felt like a spike going through my infected arm. I laughed it off for the pretty nurse but I'm fairly certain she didn't miss the tears that formed in my left eye.

Great fun. Here's what it looks like now.







6 hours later I'm home. No work tomorrow and in quite a bit of pain- which is why I'm up typing this waiting for the meds to kick in.

Hopefully the infection will clear up in a week or 2 and all will be good.


Now- back to that camping thing.

No way in friggin' hell will I EVER organize another camping trip when it's still warm out. Late October, early November next year.

No more bugs for me man.



I'll keep this updated!

Your green shirt really strikes a nice contrast with the red in your elbow...

Even smooshed it does look like one and I didn't think they were in your area yet. Next time, let it bite someone else.

Ew... Brown Recluses are horrible in MO. My sister was trying to bake something for my parents, and in the mix... you guessed it! a brown recluse. It doesn't help that I have extreme arachnophobia, either. We've got, where I live specifically, Brown recluses/reclusi/(WTF is the plural?), Black Widows, MO Tarantulas, Wolf Spiders, and those scary spiders that walk on water. Talking about this makes me feel the need to move out... now.

Christmas isn't for another 2 months!

The recluse has a necrotic bite, your arm was quite literally rotting away like a three day old steak. He "debrided" it, which basically means scraping away all that dead and rotting goop that used to be your elbow and getting down to the parts of you that weren't zombifying.

I didn't know the recluse was found in your parts either. Any chance it was a hobo? How to Identify a Hobo Spider: 5 Steps - wikiHow

who mentioned wolf spiders? Keep those bad boys around! They keep the brown recluse, widows, etc out! But they are no harm to humans. My ex got pissed at me cuz she wouldn't sleep upstairs if a spider was there. I leave all wolf spiders as is and only remove the others. I kill the widows and brown recluse. She HATED me for it

That's what you get for smashing his mom and dad around the firepit the last night......the orphan followed back to your tent and bit your ass...

I like to start at the bottom of the threads in the 5th Gen section and work my way up. When I read the title to this one, I felt the need to skip straight to it. This thread didn't disappoint!

Sorry about your elbow, hope you get to feeling better ASAP! Please keep us apprised of any super powers you develop as a result of this spider bite.

Regards,

David

Wow, sorry to hear Spi..... er Antman.

Seriously close call Jeff, I'm sure Pat et al won't rag on you much.

Reminds me of the old cowboy/rattlesnake joke, slightly modified herein just for you.

Jeff and Pat are stargazing a couple miles outside of town on a trail they used for offroad adventuring. While taking a shit behind a bush, Jeff gets bitten on the wee-wee by a spider. He alerts Pat, who jumps in his 4R and races toward town seeking a cure. He reaches the doctors office and runs inside. The doc explains to him that the only way to save his friend is to suck the poison out. Pat jumps back in his truck and races back to his ailing friend. When he reaches his camp, the frantic Jeff cries out "What did the doctor say?"

To which Pat replies "He said you're gonna die!

Jesus, it's part of camping, man up. it's not like you died. don't blame the beautiful weather and punish others.

Geeez, that looks nasty. Glad you're alright! We have had a record number of black widows this year due to the weather , it seems most of the spider world has done well in the breeding department this year. Bad luck on that one.

holy shít, A/M. that's messed up. glad you're (gonna be) ok.

i'll second the remarks above about the wolf spiders—can't lump them in with the nasties like the one that bit our friend here. Lycosidae hunt, not trap, and they have those big eyes that shine in the light. walking my dog along some trails at night in western Texas years ago, the whole path was ringed by those little shining eyes. a little creepy but very cool.

not to dim the enthusiasm for any superpowers you may have gained, but here's hoping your arm—and other appendages—stay firmly attached...

Thanks for the well wishes (well, most of you) LOL.

@philsey - That's pretty funny, but you just KNOW Pat would have loved saving me under those circumstances.

@Jesse1983 - YOU man up and pack some cold weather gear pal. Your (HA!) gonna need it next year bud.

@KidVermicious - You are correct with that terminology about the scraping. Regarding the spider- I know it's unlikely it was a B/R, but sure the hell looks like one!

Next year.....

Jeff




The rest of us



Or a happy compromise