Here the necrotic pit appears to be more evident.
Unknowingly I was bitten on Wednesday June 21, 2000. I first felt sharp pain on my ankle while I was grappling at the dojo (place of training for martial arts). I didn't think anything of it at that time. A few hours later, however, I noticed a little "U" shape just above my right ankle bone. I thought it odd but did nothing about it.
Over the next day or so, the site evolved into a red triangular region (about 1 inch x 3/4 inch) with a central sore spot. It appeared as though there was a triangle inscribed within that central circular sore with a small black spot in the middle. I put some Neosporin on it and covered it with a bandaid. As the site did not seem to improve at all over the weekend, my concern grew.
On Monday June 26, I showed the sore to my instructor of martial arts and natural healing. He believed it was a brown recluse spider bite! Though that thought had crossed my mind over the weekend, I had rapidly dismissed it, thinking that I couldn't have been bitten by a brown recluse spider (brs). My instructor gave me ichthammol, a drawing salve (commonly used on horses and cows) to put on the site. Applying the drawing salve and loosely covering the site allows the salve to pull toxins out of the body through the skin.
On Thursday June 29, I visited my general physician. At this time the site still appeared as the red triangular region with the central circular sore. He didn't know what it was and immediately called in another doctor to examine the site. The other doctor allegedly has more experience with this sort of thing. Since I did not have the spider, however, he was unable to say what it was. My physician had never heard of ichthammol (though the other one had heard of it) and recommended that I use neosporin. For my visit, I got a new bandage with neosporin. That evening, I returned to using ichthammol. Intuitively it makes much more sense to use a drawing salve which will remove toxin rather than an antibiotic ointment which can help prevent secondary infection. Furthermore the ichthammol felt much better on the site than did the neosporin.
The pictures follow. Click on the images to enlarge to full size.
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July 1 (late Saturday): The site changed quite remarkably ... so much so that I began photography at this time. In the evening when I changed my bandage, I saw that the bite site now appeared as two overlapping rings of blisters each with a central target or bull's eye. Since I was using ichthammol, the blisters and sore areas absorbed the ichthammol and thus had a darker color, making visualization and photography of the structure quite clear. This formation, however, did not last long. Overnight the blisters dried off and then sloughed off with cleaning. |
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Another photograph from July 1, 2000 late evening Here the necrotic pit appears to be more evident. |
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July 2, 2000 (Sunday midday): The bite then appeared as a circular red region with a central necrotic core after I had cleaned it with tea tree oil. I continued to clean the area with the tea tree oil every 3 hours during the day. At night, I applied a coat of ichthammol. The pain of the bite site had increased, though it wasn't too bad. I felt a general tingling pain and heat at the site. My ankle bone below the bite appeared redenned and felt hot and sore. |
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July 2, 2000 |
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July 3, 2000 (Monday): The site appeared as a dark central pit sourrounded by puffy raised white tissue which in turn was surrounded by redness. Pain was periodic and intermittent. In the afternoon I was advised to make a poultice (counterirritant to stimulate absorption of inflammatory products ... a moist mass ... relieve pain. reference: Taber's medical dictionary ) using a plantain leaf (which I picked from my front yard) and two drops each of plantain, usnea, and comfrey. The poultice stays on for 8-10 hours before changing. I was also advised to keep off my feet, allow my family to wait on me. At this meeting I was also advised to increase my intake of vitamin C and drink as much yellowdock tea as possible (I purchased yellowdock root, sold in bulk at a local natural food store). |
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July 3, 2000 |
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July 4, 2000 (Tuesday): The pain was minimal; I felt an ocassional twang. The site looked much better after using the poultice. The eyelet formation was beginning to close up. I did minimize activity. I felt ocassional waves of nausea though I considered that it could have been due to my emotional response to the spider bite. I also continue to feel need to discuss my spider bite with others. Though I focused on keeping myself calm and quiet, I felt quite a bit of emotional and mental anxiety. |
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July 4, 2000 |
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July 4, 2000 |
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July 4, 2000 |
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July 4, 2000 |
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July 5, 2000 (Wednesday): I made phone calls to Cooper Pest Control to have our house treated (something we do every 3 months and it was about time for the next treatment). I called my dermatologist. The nurse reacted saying it couldn't be a brs bite as I'd be in the hospital by now. Nonetheless, I immediately got the dermatologist on the phone who reported that her only experience with brs bites was having seen one case in the ER. I called Carolina Poison Control Center to learn that brs bites are not so uncommon and that the main concern is wound care. |
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July 6, 2000 (Thursday): I soaked the bite in 1:1 solution of apple cider vinegar (the unpasturized type found in health food stores) with boiled tap water. I soaked my ankle for 40 minutes and then put drawing salve on it. The purpose of this was to get lots of circulation in the area without circulation to the heart and upper body. On this day, the bite site was healing well and it was recommended that I keep the wound open to air for a while. A scab was beginning to form. |
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July 7, 2000 (Friday): The scab was getting loose around the edges. I continued using the poultice. |
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July 8, 2000 (Saturday): The scab was almost off at 11am in the morning, and it came off (with some help from me) at 1:00pm. By this time, it was ok for me to start to return to greater activity level. No need to drink yellowdock tea any longer. No need for drawing salve. Bag balm was recommended for the site to keep it moist and protected since it is antiseptic. That evening I did another apple cider vinegar soak; however, it stung a lot so I discontinued. |
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July 8, 2000 |
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July 8, 2000 |
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July 9, 2000 (Sunday): Discontinued yellowdock tea and extra vitamin C. Need to add protein to diet for wound healing and building of new cells. I used drawing salve during the day and the poultice at night. Increased motion ok but still minimize activity with right leg. |
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July 10, 2000 (Monday): Cancelled out-of-state travel plans (which had already been delayed one day). Still feeling tense and in pain from lack of normal motion and activities. After removing poultice and cleaning with tea tree oil, I put drawing salve on site and loosely covered wound. Today the wound appeared as it would have appeared 3 days from the bite had I known to take immediate action (such as bleeding myself, icing, and drawing salve). Now there was no more need for drawing salve or apple cider vinegar soaks. I used the poultice continuously through the day, changing it every 8 hours or so. When sitting for periods or sleeping, I keep my torso and left leg elevated so to minimize blood flow from wound site. |
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July 11, 2000 morning: Feeling a little better today; slightly increased activity. Anxiety lessening. Bite site was extremely itchy (healing). Cleaned bite site with tea tree oil and between changing of poultices. |
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July 11, 2000 (Tuesday) |
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July 12, 2000 (Wednesday AM) |
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July 12, 2000 (Wednesday PM) |
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July 13, 2000 (Thursday) |
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July 14, 2000 (Friday) |
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July 15, 2000 (Saturday AM) |
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July 15, 2000 (Saturday PM) |
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July 16, 2000 (Sunday) |
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July 17, 2000 (Monday) |
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July 18, 2000 (Tuesday AM) |
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July 19, 2000 (Wednesday AM) |
Wednesday July 12: Feel ok; still pain from lack of normal motion; hollow hurting sensation, then incredible itchiness which did subside eventually.
The site continues to heal - it looks better; I feel better. My activity level continues to increase, and I am mostly back to normal activity level (by this time of editing, July 16, 2000). I am confident/hopeful that the toxin has been effectively removed from my body; thus, I will not go through painful recurrences of the bite wound. It appears as though I will lose another scab again, perhaps in a few days. Overall the spider bite did not cause me much pain. It was senstive to touch of course. I did have a burning sensation frequently. Fortunately I never did experience severe pain with the bite. My emotional and mental anxiety was great during this period. Gradually as healing continues, my anxiety has lessened.