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Can anyone please tell me how long after a spider has bitten you does it become nasty? Inflamed? Very sore? What does one do about a spider bite? How does one know which spider has bitten you or even if it is a spider?
Does anyone ever see the "spider" that has meant to have bitten them?

Depends on the spider? I would not like to be bitten by a funnelweb spider (Like a male Atrax robustus). Very deadly if there is no help around...

Dont think this is a "deadly" spider bite, but certainly quite nasty, will post some pics tomorrow of the area of the bite.... (dont have the pics now as they are on my sons camera........the bite is actually on his 'behind' ) We are all foxed by it, including the doctor

Jazil, its not easy to say, depends on many factors actually. I was in std.7 when I got nailed by a violin spider, extremely bad one to get the do from.

I did not even know that I was bitten. On the toe it was. I first thought that it was a mozzie bite as it itched like hell and started getting infected fairly soon after that. I got gangrene in my toe but the worst was when the poison went upwards into my leg and started eating away flesh in my shin and knee. I was as sick as anything. And I have very nice macho scars to brag about.

The good thing is that after talks that I would lose my foot, it miraculously recovered in such an extend that the definite chance of losing the toe did not even realize. One of my good luck days then. Phew.

WTM sounds very nasty to me, just glad that you did not loose your toe let alone your leg.......
Now how did you know that it was a "violin" spider?
My son has been on antibiotics, and it is a bit better, but still very red, inflamed and pussy

Tests revealed that the venom was of that category of spiders and we just happened to find not 1 but several(Believe it or not) violin spiders in our house at that time. Scary stuff!

Put it in the Bum Shot thread, Jazil.

LMGA@F.E.W.

Jazil, don't rule tick bite out. I got a lekka one on my right chop the year before the musical spider got me. It was quite a lekka mark he left there with his business end. It is still there, I don't think I'll ever get rid of it.

Dont think its a tick bite as having googled spider bites it looks very similar to one of the pics I found.

You are extremley lucky WTM. Violin spiders are very nasty, I have a friend that was bitten by one and it took +- 6 weeks for him to start feeling only slighty better. He was in bed for 2 weeks. Another nasty one in Gauteng is the sack spider. Because of the fact that they build sacks in sheets/curtains etc they cannont easily move away and therefore tend to rather bite than run.

An interesting point is that an average person who lives to seventy swallows aprox 150 spiders in his/hers sleep in a life time. Many spiders are smaller than pin heads.

I was out for 6 weeks too. Looked like Long John Silver on a morning walk from Shingwedzi.

BTW, no i have no spiderman powers, just wish someone told me that before i tossed the half brick into the air and tried to "web shoot" it from my wrists before it landed on my head and send me packing to ER for 12 stitches.

Heard the same thing
Thats why we sleep with windows tight shut during summer

Ok, having missed a bit of what was said further, I do now have some photo's, but as I said, which has gone missing, they are a bit yukkie if one is squeamish. However I would like some one to tell me if they recognise the look, so will post them and just put the link up...... LL's suggestion, so that those who want to look can, its your choice.

Is that ok?

Yep!

This pic is on about day 3
http://static.flickr.com/40/98330199_f8443a7114.jpg

This one is on day 7
http://static.flickr.com/29/98330273_2be6a438dd.jpg

Is it even a spider bite?

A course of two different antibiotics has helped a lot, its still there, with quite a hole, but healing, but still very red, but not too painfull anymore