brown recluse spider bite- graphical pictures

[Kathe Kitchens]

Okay, everybody, my remedy is now being put to the test again. My 13 year old daughter has a serious bite on her thigh, with redness & swelling now about 4 inches around. She just showed it to me last night, saying it appeared on Monday and that she just thought it was a pimple. I punctured the small pustule in the middle, doused it with tea tree and have applied cold compresses & tea tree every 4-6 hours for 24 hours. The swelling is down, the redness has decreased, and the pain is diminished. I soaked a cotton ball in tea tree and taped it to the open wound in the middle of the area. I'll keep you abreast of developments. Don't worry, doc, if it gets worse, I'll be at the clinic asap. Otherwise, I'll report our full experience.

[Mr. Clean]

Kathe Kitchens,

After reading your posts regarding the use of essential oils, specifically tea tree oil, I have yet to see where you mention the use of a carrier oil in conjunction with the tea tree oil. From what I have read, it was my understanding that you do not apply essential oils topically without the use of a carrier oil. Could you clarify?

[Kathe Kitchens]

Tea tree and lavender are the only two essential oils that I have ever heard recommended or used myself directly on my skin. From what I understand from those who make them, essential oils generally have some kind of carrier oil in them, as a part of their ingredients. I have been told that they use jojba a good deal as it does not spoil quickly. All other essential oils should be used only with a carrier oil or other liquid and diluted as directions for the oil indicate.

[Billusa99]

Thanks all, for this verrrrry interesting info.

Not only did I not know that BRS bites could get so bad (although I did know they were not to be ignored), I had never even heard of the tree oil and it's efficacy with many people.

Cheers!

[Kathe Kitchens]

Well, the redness around the bite area has continued to diminish and the swelling is completely gone. It's down to about 2" in diameter now and she's running around as if nothing had happened. There isn't any necrotic tissue and I've drained two pustules. I think we're on the road to recovery. Believe me, she got a good talking to reminding her that anything like that should always be treated immediately. That is absolutely the key to preventing its development to even this level, I believe. But again, it worked. I also found out about a salve that is supposed to be great for drawing out poisons as well as cactus tines, etc. It's call ichthammol ointment and it's supposedly been around forever. It looks like tar. A compounding pharmacist who is a friend told me about it. I put some on the wound to see if it would help draw out the toxins and I'll let you all know how it goes. I smoothed it on thick and put a 2 x 2" bandage over it for the night. In the morning, we'll wash it off and reapply the tea tree. How's this for an up-to-the minute report?

[Kathe Kitchens]

Update on the bite. I've been cleaning it and reapplying tea tree with ichthammol over it and a large bandage. It's down to about a nickle size area with a small wound in the middle that oozes but we drain it every few hours with very gentle pressure and it is coming out. I am very impressed with the ichtammol ointment. I'll be keeping that in my cabinet from now on. It's continued to heal and I think we'll be rid of it in a couple more days. It's not swelling anymore and she says the pain is gone. The skin peeled very lightly on top of the remaining wound but I don't think she'll have a scar or lose any tissue. She had a little swelling last night...we treated that with cold compresses. It wasn't painful, just annoying. I also gave her echinacea to boost her immune system against infection. I figured a little extra wouldn't hurt as the infection that comes with these things seems to be as bad or worse than the effects from the bite itself. I'll report again for those who are monitoring (if anyone is) and let you know how it is tomorrow.

[Marlyn]

A friend of ours was bitten by a brown recluse. Her doctor said there was nothing they could do - you know what that means. Months of recovery.

She decided to try an herbal treatment. She taped a slice of onion over the bite and left it on over night. By morning, the only sign of the bite was a small red dot where the bite occurred. The onion had reduced the inflamation entirely and prevented any tissue damage. When I saw it few days later, I could hardly see any evidence of a bite.

Onion is great for insect bites and also for bruising. It worked so great on the spider bite, it almost made me want to have a reason to try it out! (lol).

Marlyn

[Kathe Kitchens]

I'd forgotten about that one. I read that it's the sulfur in the onion that neutralizes the venom. I think I'll add that to my treatment just to see if it helps! We're holding our own for now. I think the bite was left unattended too long for this treatment alone to work, thought, so I ordered the electric shock mechanism today and will keep things going until it gets here. I spent a lot of time on the phone with the maker and I feel confident that it will take care of the remaining wound and stop the venom. I had that on my list of things to buy for a long time, so it' will be money well spent, I believe. I'll let you know. Meanwhile, we are maintaining the status quo with the ichthammol and tea tree. I promise to report it to the end. Bear with us!

[Kathe Kitchens]

Final post...whew! I haven't gotten the shock mechanism yet but have continued the treatment with tea tree and icthammol, turning to straight tea tree yesterday. The wound is healed except for a tiny area right where the bite occured now. It is no longer swollen or has any hard area in the center. It sloughed off a thin layer of skin about the size of a 50 cent piece but that's all and has new pink skin growing back. I don't know what kind of spider bit her but you can bet she'll let me know the SECOND she sees anything like that again. By the way, I got a bite on my own leg yesterday and began the tea tree treatment immediately; it was red and sore but quickly began to diminish and it is already almost gone after 24 hours. I also sprayed my entire house with orange oil & water to get rid of any remaining arachnids who might take a nip. Score for our side! :D

[drchelo]

Kathe - i sent you a "wordy" answer to your post - privately. I think that what you are doing is just right, though. I had a friend who used a taser on her spider bite - and it seems to have just knocked HER out...and she still went to the doctor! If the site is doing as well as it seems to, I think you are doing just fine!

[Enzyme11]

(I apologize if this repeats what someone else already posted.) Obviously, not all brown recluse bites produce the effects in the pictures -- individuals react differently and not all bites are equal. A family member clearly was bitten by a good-sized brown recluse, and the effect over the full course of the untreated bite was less than I get from an average fire ant bite. I suppose the only way to tell how one is going to react to the average BR bite is to suffer through one entriely untreated, which I don't recommend. Apparently, many BR bites cause only a little red mark that heals without event.

As for using a true stun gun/Taser to treat bites, I think that would be nuts unless it is a very life threatening event. I stand by my post in the Venom-X thread about using a cattle prod on a bite. If electricity works, the prod should work for those that can't get/don't have the VX Maybe a prod is as hard for some people to find...

[Kathe Kitchens]

Thanks Doc and Enzyme11. I agree the reactions can probably vary greatly. So there's a happy end to my story. After I get the electric shock mechanism, if I have to use it, we can start another series! :D :shock: :lol: Let's hope to heck it ain't on a snake bite! :shock: :shock: :shock:

[northwesterner]

I'll try to keep this within the realm of bite management, since that's how the thread started. Bites of all sorts can be bad, because of the bacteria introduced. I accidentally trod on my cat a couple of years ago, and received a bad bite to the ankle. While tea tree oil probably wouldn't have been much help there (it was a messy bite, and required several antibiotics and I was close to being hospitalized before it began to recede.

The key to getting over that bite was finding someone who could handle wound care. For a while it looked like the only option was to go to one of the places that treats feet of diabetics. :( Out of curiosity, I emailed a plastic surgeon friend of mine. He was able to help, and the things he used as treatment were not drug company medications, they were a mix of Old World salves and high-tech bandaging materials. I would offer a recommendation for Dr. Mike Bumagin in Fort Worth--I know he has also treated spider bites like the one described above. (Is it okay to post recommendations like this? If not, please leave the post and suggest that anyone interested can send me a personal message).

[kelly]

Kathe Kitchens wrote: For those who would like to know, melaleuca is the type of Australian tree that tea tree oil comes from. It's a pungent oil so be prepared. As far as quality, the brand Wyndmere that I found in Whole Foods Market is very good. The Herb Market in Carrollton also carries a high quality oil but I can't remember the brand. Asking the proprietor or some one who REALLY knows herbs at a health food store is your next best alternative. By the way, this is off the spider bite subject but this stuff also knocks out warts and gets rid of ringworm and athlete's foot. It's also good on toenail fungus but you want to use it in addition to the cornmeal soak. I am telling you all this because I have used it for these purposes myself, on my own skin and that of my family. No scars, no residual problems. Tea tree oil is a true gift from God. And yes, it is very expensive to buy the highly concentrated essential oil but it also takes very little to work and is well worth the cost, in my (never to be humble :) ) opinion. If you decided to try this method, be sure to rub it in to the affected skin well, not just dab it on.

Am I ever so happy to see this post. I have just delvoped my second case of ringworm in a year. Got my first one every last year about this time and was not able to kill it until January. YES I said January over six months of battling the little beast. I did topical treatments, I did oral funacid at $10 a pill and 40 pills...about broke the bank. What finaly killed it was fresh garlic, but I am going to try the Melaluca first this time. I am almost sure I have some at home and if I do not I have friend that is a distrubuter for the company Melaluca and she may have some at home.

Plus my husband has devloped warts so I am going to douse him as well.

[Kathe Kitchens]

How nice to see that old information has found a new use! Since you indicated the intended uses, I decided to offer some tips:

Apply daily and cover with a band-aid or a cotton swab soaked in tea tree to keep the oil on the site as much as possible. As the wart begins to die, cut off the dead parts and reapply tea tree.

I know you'll find this solution something that MUST be in your cabinet at all times once you have learned of its many uses!

Kathe :D