UK Spider Bite - anyone had one?

Ditto from me.

So was it definitely the spider bite that caused the cellulitis?

I'm rather fond of spiders. Bet you aren't now! 

How's it going?

Remember attention to detail on the costume!

Thanks for all the support!

Swellings down - red area is bigger!   Excellent service from the NHS though - nurses are fast, efficient & friendly.  Apparently they are only dealing with cellutitis at the moment although their duties are due to be expanded.   NHS have obviously identified a quick-win for keeping certain cases out of hospital.

@Sam - I reckon it was.  Happened about midnight & I was awake with discomfort at around 2am & had to get up at 5am.   Hadn't done anything to my elbow prior to that.  I have some cracked skin on that elbow so I guess that made it more susceptible to infection.  First GP & the docs at hospital reckon it's feasible but one of the GP's I saw later on the first day when it was getting worse reckoned it was coincidence.  He's not well known for being right though!

Just wondering, would it be to late to get a sample checked to see if you had poison injected by spider?

Then would know for certian.

 GWS, Ross.

I don't think the venom is the issue - more the spiders lack of personal hygiene!  Talking to the nurses the slightest bit of muck in the smallest of cuts can cause some serious problems.

I did have blood samples taken - should get results on Saturday.

Cathyjc - they are arachnids

Don't think they are regarded as spiders

I've been bitten twice by the following type...

Easily recognisable because of their size and ninja-like ability to suddenly appear in the middle of your living room. 

On the first occasion I blindly rolled my finger over the top of one whilst trying to service an extractor fan. I felt a sharp prick not too disimilar to a hypodermic inserted by an amateur. The finger felt slightly fizzy for the rest of the day but was generally okay by morning with just a couple of small marks remaining.

The next time was slightly different. I awoke in the early hours needing the bathroom. Being slightly chilly I grabbed a t-shirt that had been thrown in the corner of the room and chucked it on. Whilst peeing in my sleepy state I kept feeling an itchy, scratchy-type sensation (no Simpson jokes please) just behind the left sleeve. I shrugged a few times but it continued and as I flushed I put my hand up inside the garment to give it a proper scratch which is when I was bitten. The spider fell to the floor and, grabbing the nearest cup, I captured it without coaxing, the spider resigned to its fate like a guilty mutt. The same fizzy feeling started-up again but this time with more intensity. The next day the entire index finger was numb and unusable and took the best part of three days to effectively recover.

Also no super powers, which is very disappointing considering the discomfort I endured...

cathyjc, you sure it was a "Camel Spider"?

Of the types of Camel Spiders I know of, they don't "rattle". They either hide in the sand and 'ambush' prey as it passes close, or burrow through sand looking for it.

 Some Skorpions, do "rattle" and are quite large, not all have the distintive 'tail' some can have a small tail. Unless disturbed most won't sting.

 IIRC. The Tourags talked about a creature they called a "Sand Spider", it wasn't a Camel Spider, but sort of a cross between one and a skorpion with out a tail.

 It came out at night, hunted on the surface and was very aggressive, 'rattled' as a warning but prone to strike also.

 Never saw one so can't say it is true. 

cathjc,

IIRC, there's a creature called something like a 'false scorpion', might be that.

Maybe worth a search.

After Quaystone's experiences, I'm now wondering if I should revert to the practice I used when living in rural Italy on excavation of shaking clothes and knocking out footwear before putting it on, just in case there was a scorpion hiding in them!

Mind you, you could hear the scorpions coming on the lino floor, even though they were only small Italian ones.

I really, really wish I hadn't started reading this thread

Get well soon, Rosswm.

How is it now? Any better? Hope it's beginning to improve now.

Don't think I've ever been bitten by a spider though have had my share of wasp stings. One thing though, you'll be dining out on this story for years

Thanks again!

I had the cannula out this morning & I'm back on the oral anti-biotics for a week.   The only part of my arm that's noticibly red & swollen now is the elbow itself.  My arm still feels tender but the redness has all but gone.  I forgot to ask about the blood test results but I guess they weren't out of the ordinary.  

My partners had me going around the house vac'ing all the webs out of the corners of the rooms!  

What's bizzarre is that this was an infection rather than any venom issue.  I'm regularly cutting my hands or fingers in my workshop & when down the allotment get cut by brambles & hawthorne all the time & often get cuts go a bit septic or pussie & never got infected anything like this!