August 02, 2023, 09:29 AM
Jim ShugartIdentifying Bugs and their Bites.
In case you've run out things to worry about, check
this out.
August 02, 2023, 11:19 AM
rduckworBeen there, done that with the puss catepillar. Ugly!
RMD
August 02, 2023, 11:40 AM
JupiterI was bitten on my upper back by a Black Widow spider a couple of months ago. I was outside when I first noticed symptoms. I started having pain on the right side of my body and a burning sensation in my lungs. Within 2 hours, it was very painful to fully inhale or exhale. The more severe pain lasted a couple of days and made sleep nearly impossible. A large swollen area on my back lasted for more than a month.
August 02, 2023, 12:00 PM
trapper189Another thing about bug bites is getting an infection from bacteria pushed under the skin from the puncture.
Last summer, my son had two tiny puncture marks near his wrist. Then, he had a red line going from those marks up his arm. The line looked like a scratch from our dog’s nails except that it kept getting longer throughout the day. The ER Dr. said it was cellulitis. Antibiotics cleared it up. My mom had cellulitis a month earlier, went into septic shock and died.
August 02, 2023, 12:57 PM
tatortoddGot bit on the side of my hand last spring between my thumb and wrist. Long story short, didn't see what bit me but turned out to be a brown recluse spider. I got lucky and never needed debridement or surgery, and just have a minor scar. It happened on a Sunday and I got in the doc on Monday. I took it very seriously as the only person I knew at the time who had been bitten by a brown recluse ended up being the Corporate brown recluse spider bite safety moment for a decade. He didn't start getting treatment for 3 days and wound up in the hospital for 7 days and had 3 operations. Managed to keep his finger and hand, but it was touch and go for a while.
When I was in Africa about 20 years ago, our 3 hour drive through the mountains turned into an 11 or 12 hour drive thanks to flat tires, washouts, and drivers only having day time permit to drive across a border. Ended up having a take a bathroom break and no bathrooms so watered a tree. I felt something land on my neck, crawl, and bite my neck. I zipped up and showed the bite to the driver who laughed and said, "that's going to itch like a demon tomorrow." It was some damn crawly thing with a bazillion legs, and boy was he right about the itching. Glad it landed on my neck not my junk.