Maybe a radioactive spider?
November 2, 2011 8:30 PM Subscribe
Mystery bug bite filter: woke up with a bite on the back of my right knee two days ago. Can you help me ID it?
Was itchy and I did some mild scratching. Now it is quite large, it hurts, it is itchy on the perimeter, and the middle has a raised place with pus in it (almost like a pimple). It's the only bite on me.
Other info:
1. I have indoor animals, but all are treated with flea protection and I haven't seen any fleas at all.
2. It was there when I woke up one morning.
3. I'm not allergic to mosquito bites, tick bites or other bites. In fact, mosquito bites generally go away for me within a few minutes.
4. We do have spiders (midwest), but I've never seen them anywhere but outside or the basement.
5. I don't have a photo because I can't bend the right way to take one. I can't see it very well either, even with a mirror.
Was itchy and I did some mild scratching. Now it is quite large, it hurts, it is itchy on the perimeter, and the middle has a raised place with pus in it (almost like a pimple). It's the only bite on me.
Other info:
1. I have indoor animals, but all are treated with flea protection and I haven't seen any fleas at all.
2. It was there when I woke up one morning.
3. I'm not allergic to mosquito bites, tick bites or other bites. In fact, mosquito bites generally go away for me within a few minutes.
4. We do have spiders (midwest), but I've never seen them anywhere but outside or the basement.
5. I don't have a photo because I can't bend the right way to take one. I can't see it very well either, even with a mirror.
Pain with pus makes it sound like it's infected now. I'd wash it really well and then treat it with hydrogen peroxide and some antibiotic cream. If the pain and pus situation doesn't improve over the next several days or gets significantly worse, I'd visit my friendly neighborhood doctor because I'm super-paranoid about persistent infections in this day and age of MRSA and what-have-you.
posted by empyrean at 9:12 PM on November 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by empyrean at 9:12 PM on November 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
Nobody is going to be able to definitively identify it on here, and the best advice is going to tell you to go to a doctor. Particularly if it looks like it has pus in it; it could be a brown recluse bite.
posted by emyd at 9:16 PM on November 2, 2011
posted by emyd at 9:16 PM on November 2, 2011
I'm thinking most likely you had a rash in the fold behind your knee (trapped moisture + heat irritating the skin) or perhaps a mosquito bite there as others mentioned, and the first bits of scratching brought bacteria into the more vulnerable lower dermal layers and caused an infection.
I did consider chemical irritants, fleas, and spider bite, and I doubt it's any of those. The back of the knee is kind of an odd spot for both fleas and spider bites to nab, and any straggler fleas in the house would have probably been getting your calves and ankles. But of course I may be wrong, you'll be wanting to see a doctor if it gets worse so that you can get on a course of antibiotics if it's anything serious. Good luck.
posted by crapmatic at 9:30 PM on November 2, 2011
I did consider chemical irritants, fleas, and spider bite, and I doubt it's any of those. The back of the knee is kind of an odd spot for both fleas and spider bites to nab, and any straggler fleas in the house would have probably been getting your calves and ankles. But of course I may be wrong, you'll be wanting to see a doctor if it gets worse so that you can get on a course of antibiotics if it's anything serious. Good luck.
posted by crapmatic at 9:30 PM on November 2, 2011
You probably would have done this already if your camera is thusly capable, but for a better view...
Set the camera to fire after a several second delay and then to automatically take several shots in sequence. Position yourself and camera so that you can wave the back of the knee around in the field of vision of the camera as it fires. It may take a few attempts to get it right. Digital camera of course. I've done this a few times to get a better view of hard to see body areas and hard to see parts of machinery etc.
posted by Kevin S at 4:27 AM on November 3, 2011
Set the camera to fire after a several second delay and then to automatically take several shots in sequence. Position yourself and camera so that you can wave the back of the knee around in the field of vision of the camera as it fires. It may take a few attempts to get it right. Digital camera of course. I've done this a few times to get a better view of hard to see body areas and hard to see parts of machinery etc.
posted by Kevin S at 4:27 AM on November 3, 2011
Two things: my mom lives in the midwest and got a spider bite that had to be treated by a doctor. I had MRSA which was misdiagnosed (the first time) as a spider bite. Both were itchy and got bigger and fluid filled. I needed specific antibiotics to get better. Given my past experience with bug-bite-like skin issues that were actually something more serious, I would go to the doctor. MRSA is pretty rare but nothing to mess around with.
posted by rachums at 4:35 AM on November 3, 2011
posted by rachums at 4:35 AM on November 3, 2011
It could be a pimple, or a spider, mosquito or flea bite. Treat it as a slightly infected pimple or bite.
posted by theora55 at 7:32 AM on November 3, 2011
posted by theora55 at 7:32 AM on November 3, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks everyone. Turns out it was a brown recluse bite. So, here's to steroids and seeing what happens.
posted by mrfuga0 at 5:14 PM on November 3, 2011
posted by mrfuga0 at 5:14 PM on November 3, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by two lights above the sea at 9:08 PM on November 2, 2011