7/29 Earthquake: Welcome to California

[Tragic Rabbit]

Jesus! That's awful. I consider myself a fairly macho guy, but spiders give me the willies. That's one of the reasons I keep my partner around: I make him go in and kill any spider within 50 feet of me. (I use the old Woody Allen line from Annie Hall: "There's a spider in there the size of a Buick!")

You got my sympathies. The desert is beautiful, and the air is great, but there are some nasties out there.

While I am often the one summoned to dispose of 'nasties' (spiders, wasps, bees, hornets and uninvited, belligerent exes or salesmen), in the case of all but the exes, my method is simply to pick them up and deposit them outside where they can recuperate from all the brouhaha and go about their way. Stinging insects do not bite me, except for mosquitoes and some types of biting 'fly', so I'm willing to do this.

What I tell people who actually and purposely kill spiders is... I HATE YOU...no, just kidding, but do you know that (a) 99.9999% of all spiders you will ever SEE are not only harmless but (b) mainly just want the hell out of your sight to continue their own activities - activities that you might not ought to be so quick to dismiss from your home, ? as most not only kill off tiny vermin like flies and such, but (d) some are even able to catch mice and other household undesirables. Additionally, my Irish mum always insisted that (e) killing a spider brings threefold bad luck into a household, so why risk all that?

And yet...felled by a wee desert spider.

I researched the symptoms and emailed my doctor. As luck would have it, we had (sort of) everything on the list that I needed, including my not insubstantial (but unrecognized by any state agency, alas) nursing skills which I then turned upon myself.

24 hours later, I was in the highly disturbing fevered delirium state I mentioned and the fever broke (even in my delirium, I was aware that coma followed by death was an alternative stage three but then I was sure my dead dog was in bed comforting me...and it was a comfort), more of less, within 48 hours. I was again able to actively nurse myself and it is following the predicted pattern.

My leg should be fully functional for walking, or perhaps gentle walking, in a few weeks from initial symptom outset. This is the listed most optimistic outlook. I am taking the meds and other requirements, including keeping the wound elevated above my heart as much as possible.

What I've actually got feels like pureed calf muscle/tendon, layered over with skin lightly laced with acid and looking like a bad keloid outcome. I've resigned myself to some unpleasant scarring, I'm now just praying for use of that lower leg to rerturn. I've had my fill of the 'gimp' role...

Sleeping is nearly impossible between the pain and finding a position that does not 'touch' the back calf 'scalded' zone.

And all this from the tiny bite of one disturbed, grumpy and fairly small brown recluse spider. They are small, have a tiny 'violin' pattern on their backs, two fewer eyes than most spiders, and also weave webs for art and not lunch. The recluse also comes in a 'non-brown' variety. Apparanantly they strongly disapprove of being disturbed while in repose.

Brown Recluse Spider:

For the science minded, here are some stats on brown recluse venom (source: WebMd for brevity):

The brown recluse venom is extremely poisonous, even more potent than that of a rattlesnake. Yet recluse venom causes less disease than a rattlesnake bite because of the small quantities injected into its victims. The venom of the brown recluse is toxic to cells and tissues.

• This venom is a collection of enzymes. One of the specific enzymes, once released into the victim's skin, causes destruction of local cell membranes, which disrupts the integrity of tissues leading to local breakdown of skin, fat, and blood vessels. This process leads to eventual tissue death called necrosis in areas immediately surrounding the bite site.
  
• The venom also induces in its victim an immune response. The victim's immune system releases inflammatory agents-histamines, cytokines, and interleukins-that signal specific disease-fighting white blood cells to the area of injury. In severe cases, however, these same inflammatory agents can themselves cause injury. These secondary effects of the venom, although extremely rare, can produce these more significant side effects of the spider bite:
  • Destruction of red blood cells
    
  • Low platelet count
    
  • Blood clots in capillaries and loss of ability to form clots where needed
    
  • Acute renal failure (kidney damage)
    
  • Coma
    
  • Death
    

Brown Recluse Bite Symptoms

Brown recluse spider bites often go unnoticed initially because they are usually painless bites. Occasionally, some minor burning that feels like a bee is noticed at the time of the bite. Symptoms usually develop 2-8 hours after a bite. Keep in mind that most bites cause little tissue destruction.

• Victims may experience these symptoms:
  • Severe pain at bite site after about 4 hours
    
  • Severe itching
    
  • Nausea
    
  • Vomiting
    
  • Fever
    
  • Myalgias (muscle pain)
    

Initially the bite site is mildly red and upon close inspection may reveal fang marks. Within a few hours, the redness gives way to pallor with a red ring surrounding the area, or a "bull's-eye" appearance. The lesion will often appear to flow downhill over the course of many hours. The center area will then often blister, which over 12-48 hours can sink, turning bluish then black as this area of tissue dies. The wound can appear like the following:

• Bull's-eye appearance (common) (Note: If you live in an area where Lyme disease is common (Northeastern states), then this type of lesion is more likely caused by tick-borne Lyme disease than a brown recluse spider bite.)
  
• Blistering (common)
  

• Necrosis (death) of skin and subcutaneous fat (less common)
  
• Severe destructive necrotic lesions with deep wide borders (rare)
  

And this has been your Daily Land of Spiders and Scorpions Update from...

a semi-lucid

TR

PS Don't ask me for awhile if I still like arachnids....

[Tanuki Racoon]

My friend's wife nearly died from a Brown Recluse bite. They ended up removing half of her calf. Scary stuff, TR.

[Cole Parker]

That is a truly venomous spider, considerably worse than the black widow. I think you were lucky to come through it. Many don't.

I hope you have a full recovery.

C

[DesDownunder]

I don't care what you say TR, I will continue to sub-machine the bed covers before I get into bed each night.

(I only do my side of the bed. The BF thinks I am paranoid about the arachnids.)

[The Pecman]

Not to fear, TR. My partner scoops up the spiders and tosses them on the back patio. He's very much aware that spiders help eat up bad insects.

Regardless, we're getting Orkin on to spray in my new "apartment" inside my house. (This is my ongoing illness where my house is killing me with some as-yet-undetermined allergen.) I have to live in a tiny 12x14 room, inside my 4000 square foot house, which is pretty much the only place I can survive. Everywhere else, I start to itch, my eyes sting and water, and I start getting allergic symptoms.

But this little bedroom has a few nasty bugs that are starting to be noticeably annoying. Probably no worse than a lot of places, but at least there's no Brown Spiders yet...

[Tragic Rabbit]

I have to live in a tiny 12x14 room, inside my 4000 square foot house, which is pretty much the only place I can survive. Everywhere else, I start to itch, my eyes sting and water, and I start getting allergic symptoms.

But this little bedroom has a few nasty bugs that are starting to be noticeably annoying. Probably no worse than a lot of places, but at least there's no Brown Spiders yet...

Have you tried a top-to-bottom massive dust mite cleaning and coating with warding products and then protecting all fabric furniture, drapes and carpets against dust mites with dust-mite proof covers and other protectants? Just a thought, apparently they do create an unlivable environment for some/many people.

Love, TR

[DesDownunder]

I am absolutely no help. If I had been bitten, looked like I was bitten, even thought I had been bitten I would have been at ground zero in the emergency room at the hospital so fast I would have set a land speed record.

Of course I am a practising hypochondriac.

Personally I wouldn't risk the outcome of not getting professional medical care.

I just hope you are okay.

[Cole Parker]

The thought that you may suffer permanent damage because of cost is horrible.

I checked Free Clinics in Palm Springs in the phone book and came up with:

Desert Regional Medical Center

(760) 416-4800

1180 N Indian Canyon Dr, Ste E205, Palm Springs, CA 92262 Map it | Get directions

Cross Streets: Between E Tachevah Dr and E Mel Ave

I have no idea what is free with them and what isn't, but a phone call to them might elicit that info.

I really, really think you should get good medical help for this. It's nothing to fuck around with and hope for the best.

C

[The Pecman]

Have you tried a top-to-bottom massive dust mite cleaning and coating with warding products and then protecting all fabric furniture, drapes and carpets against dust mites with dust-mite proof covers and other protectants?

Yeah, yeah, we've done all that stuff. This has been going on for 16 months. All the doctor's tests indicate my sensitivity to dust mites is very low. The big thing I'm allergic to is grass (!), yet I'm fine in the backyard. We're talking totally Twilight Zone here.

[colinian]

We have tried to get a program much like Neighborhood Watch going here, where each person in a small neighborhood helps out, but in 3 months I haven't been able to get more than 2 houses to sign up. Nobody believes or cares. Sigh.

We have a program here called CERT, Community Emergency Response Team. In our area CERT volunteer members are trained by specialists from the county fire department. They accept kids who are 16 years old for the training, so I and several others from my high school went through the training in early 2006. We learned first-responder skills, including how to put out small, simple fires, how to search for victims, how to rescue people, things like that. I'm now a certified CERT first responder for our neighborhood. I keep trying to get others to go through the 6-week 2 nights/week training course, but while our neighbors are "interested" they never follow through. "Too busy" is what I hear mostly. One thing I learned was how to prepare emergency kits for our home, cars, and each person, and keep them updated.

Trab, you might want to do a Google search on CERT to see what sort of information might help you organize something where you live in BC.

Colin

[Drewbie]

We have a program here called CERT, Community Emergency Response Team. In our area CERT volunteer members are trained by specialists from the county fire department. They accept kids who are 16 years old for the training, so I and several others from my high school went through the training in early 2006. We learned first-responder skills, including how to put out small, simple fires, how to search for victims, how to rescue people, things like that. I'm now a certified CERT first responder for our neighborhood. I keep trying to get others to go through the 6-week 2 nights/week training course, but while our neighbors are "interested" they never follow through. "Too busy" is what I hear mostly. One thing I learned was how to prepare emergency kits for our home, cars, and each person, and keep them updated.

Trab, you might want to do a Google search on CERT to see what sort of information might help you organize something where you live in BC.

Colin

Good skill to have Colin.

[Trab]

Thanks, Colin. I think the biggest issue for me is that I'm an aspie, and I couldn't convince anyone to reach out for a stick if they were drowning. We really need someone personable, or at least, glib. I don't have search but I do have 'basic' 1st aid, which is a 2 day course here, and rapid building assessment, so I can identify and officially condemn suspect buildings. I'm also on the communications team, with amateur radio station and battery backup, and I've done a lot of packing stuff as per the official 'kit'. It's not lack of information, it's lack to interest by others.