What kind of spider is this?
August 31, 2013 8:48 AM Subscribe
This spider bit my son this morning, and while he seems okay, it really would be nice to know....
Response by poster: It was red and puffy at first, but the redness and puffiness is mostly gone now. It has been about 2 hours.
posted by daisystomper at 8:57 AM on August 31, 2013
posted by daisystomper at 8:57 AM on August 31, 2013
Just FYI, expecting your average doctor to be able to ID a spider is like expecting an entomologist to be able to diagnose pancreatic cancer. There are lots and lots of very similar looking species of spiders and even experts can't tell them all apart.
posted by tylerkaraszewski at 8:57 AM on August 31, 2013 [6 favorites]
posted by tylerkaraszewski at 8:57 AM on August 31, 2013 [6 favorites]
It would be very helpful to know where you live.
posted by workerant at 9:04 AM on August 31, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by workerant at 9:04 AM on August 31, 2013 [2 favorites]
Keep a close eye on the bite. There was a kid on the news here with a very nasty spider bite, he was taken to the hospital 48 hours after, so I'll spare you the details of what happened (he's alive), but his family says they sort of ignored the symptoms at first. So... just make sure there are no symptoms you're ignoring.
posted by CrazyLemonade at 9:04 AM on August 31, 2013
posted by CrazyLemonade at 9:04 AM on August 31, 2013
OP lives in Illinois, if her metafilter profile is still accurate.
Can't help ID the spider, but I'm assuming you disinfected the bite site, and put on something like Polysporin? I was once bitten by a totally non poisonous spider, but the bite got infected. That is always a possibility with any insect bite, or really anything that breaks the skin, so please take the usual precautions and keep an eye on it.
posted by gudrun at 9:10 AM on August 31, 2013
Can't help ID the spider, but I'm assuming you disinfected the bite site, and put on something like Polysporin? I was once bitten by a totally non poisonous spider, but the bite got infected. That is always a possibility with any insect bite, or really anything that breaks the skin, so please take the usual precautions and keep an eye on it.
posted by gudrun at 9:10 AM on August 31, 2013
Even if it's not a poisonous spider, bites can be dangerous. Their fangs push bacteria from the skin surface down into the body and can cause secondary infections that spread rapidly. I had this happen, and the red circle on my upper arm measured 4.5" x 3.5" by the time I saw the doctor and got antibiotics. The bite itself was only an inch wide.
posted by DoubleLune at 9:12 AM on August 31, 2013
posted by DoubleLune at 9:12 AM on August 31, 2013
Seconding that spider bite infections can get very nasty, make sure you disinfect and keep an eye on it.
posted by mazienh at 9:13 AM on August 31, 2013
posted by mazienh at 9:13 AM on August 31, 2013
I would call the Poison Control hotline and see if they have any useful information. If you call 800-222-1222 I believe they connect you to a local center but it may just be a nationwide thing? Either way I think they will know better than we will.
posted by elizardbits at 9:13 AM on August 31, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by elizardbits at 9:13 AM on August 31, 2013 [1 favorite]
Coming back to add a link for the Illinois Department of Public Health page on spiders, which has photos of commonly found spiders.
posted by gudrun at 9:19 AM on August 31, 2013
posted by gudrun at 9:19 AM on August 31, 2013
Response by poster: I called the Poison Control hotline (thanks elizardbits) and they suggested to keep the site disinfected and keep an eye on him; we already washed and disinfected it a couple times, and probably will keep obsessively washing it all day -- last year he had a nasty infected cat bite, so we've been down the infected bite road and it's no fun. He seems okay otherwise.
We live in Illinois, if that helps.
posted by daisystomper at 9:31 AM on August 31, 2013
We live in Illinois, if that helps.
posted by daisystomper at 9:31 AM on August 31, 2013
When I lived in Australia,, my mother got bitten by a spider, the main thing the doctor was concerned about was infection from the bite. Spider fangs carry huge amounts of bacteria. Symptoms she got included red lines running up her arm within 15 minutes or so of the bite and pain and her whole hand swelling up, all these signs happened easily within the first half hour and were easily noticeable as something to worry about.
If your son has been running around fine since then and any swelling has gone down I'd just keep an eye on it for infection, wash the area well with antibacterial soap etc standard wound care stuff. At the slightest sign of infection, or reaction get to a doctors and get on antibiotics.
If your child starts showing signs of nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, joint or muscle stiffness or cramping get to a doctor, at least these were the signs of spider bites I was taught to look out for in first aid class in Australia, US spider I suppose could cause different reactions.
I am not a doctor, and if you have any concerns what so ever ring your doctor.
posted by wwax at 9:34 AM on August 31, 2013
If your son has been running around fine since then and any swelling has gone down I'd just keep an eye on it for infection, wash the area well with antibacterial soap etc standard wound care stuff. At the slightest sign of infection, or reaction get to a doctors and get on antibiotics.
If your child starts showing signs of nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, joint or muscle stiffness or cramping get to a doctor, at least these were the signs of spider bites I was taught to look out for in first aid class in Australia, US spider I suppose could cause different reactions.
I am not a doctor, and if you have any concerns what so ever ring your doctor.
posted by wwax at 9:34 AM on August 31, 2013
Draw a circle with a sharpie around the site of the bite. If any redness or swelling (re)occurs and start to spread outside the sharpie circle, doctor ASAP.
posted by rtha at 9:59 AM on August 31, 2013 [12 favorites]
posted by rtha at 9:59 AM on August 31, 2013 [12 favorites]
It would help if you put a penny by the spider so we could judge size.
It would also help to take a picture of the bite.
Although the best answer is call poison control - but still we are trying to learn here so more and better pictures would help in future posts like this. (Directed at future posters.)
You really should buy those sticky traps for spiders - they really work great!
posted by cda at 12:20 PM on August 31, 2013
It would also help to take a picture of the bite.
Although the best answer is call poison control - but still we are trying to learn here so more and better pictures would help in future posts like this. (Directed at future posters.)
You really should buy those sticky traps for spiders - they really work great!
posted by cda at 12:20 PM on August 31, 2013
Response by poster: So to answer my own question (sorry), I finally found what I'm 90% sure this spider is...a broad-faced sac spider. It's not poisonous, but the site linked suggests that severe infection from bites is more likely because the sac spider scavenges dead bugs and other spiders (and, I assume, carries more bacteria for that reason).
So we've washed and disinfected and washed and disinfected and will keep on for the rest of the day at least. Right now it's just a little colorless bump on his toe (spider was hiding in his shoe) but if it changes at all we'll be heading out to urgent care.
Thanks everyone!
posted by daisystomper at 2:03 PM on August 31, 2013
So we've washed and disinfected and washed and disinfected and will keep on for the rest of the day at least. Right now it's just a little colorless bump on his toe (spider was hiding in his shoe) but if it changes at all we'll be heading out to urgent care.
Thanks everyone!
posted by daisystomper at 2:03 PM on August 31, 2013
I learned from painful personal experience this summer: if you get a bite and there is any redness or swelling, TAKE PHOTOS, especially if you can have them on your phone or other device with you to show medical staff.
I had to go to the dr, and while they looked at the infected area and made concerned faces, they weren't sure how bad it was until I showed them the progression of swelling over the past 24 hours. Then when I was in the hospital, I could show the doctors how the bite had changed over the previous week.
posted by dubold at 2:35 AM on September 1, 2013
I had to go to the dr, and while they looked at the infected area and made concerned faces, they weren't sure how bad it was until I showed them the progression of swelling over the past 24 hours. Then when I was in the hospital, I could show the doctors how the bite had changed over the previous week.
posted by dubold at 2:35 AM on September 1, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by DWRoelands at 8:50 AM on August 31, 2013