UPDATE: Admitted into the hospital. Getting my 4th IV antibiotic right now. Another one in the morning. Likely getting sliced tomorrow and will be here until the culture comes back.

UPDATE: just got a different hospital.

BLUF: I need to know if this is getting worse or will it just take and stay on the antibiotics.

Background: Monday morning I was driving in my truck and felt a (what I thought at the time was a zit or ingrown hair on the inside of my thigh by my knee. The weather has been changing a lot lately and I’ve been wearing jeans so thought maybe something from being in shorts all summer. But it was a nice day so I had shorts on.

Picked at it and tried to pop it. Didn’t work and forgot about it until Tuesday. Got out of the shower and my wife asked what was on my leg. It was about a quarter size red area with what looked like a black head. I had noticed that I thought my knee was sore for some reason. She mentioned it looked like a spider bite so I drew a circle around it and went to bed.

Woke up Wednesday morning and my leg (knee and thigh area) hurt to the touch and really hurt when I would walk. Also spiked a 101 fever. Decided to go into the ER. They weren’t quite sure so did IV antibiotics and gave me two prescriptions (doxycycline and sulfameth/trimethoprim) and thought about admitting me but didn’t. Said to watch it close and if it gets worse come back in.

Felt better yesterday (Friday) but then I spiked a fever last night (100.7) and again had one when I woke up this morning. The circle is more deep red/purple and now has a puss like head.

Decided to go back to the ER today to get it looked at. Doctor looked at it and said she thinks it’s fine and the fever is prob my body still fighting the infection.

Get home and an hour later (now) and the light red circle just grew 1/2” - 1” from the last line.

So my question: is this normal to fluctuate during the fighting infection part or should it not be getting bigger after IV antibiotics and now on my 4th day of oral.

First circle and I believe Tuesday night.
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Wed morning when I noticed it grew more and prior to going to ER
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At ER (and yes the only room they had was the closet they use for the criminals who are in custody but go to the ER.
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Yesterday when I thought it was feeling a little better.
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Right now. My wife went all Bob Ross with the topography map now on my leg. The red just went from the outside solid line to the outside checkered line in the last hour

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Black widow I’m guessing. Sorry man.

My recluse bite was different than that but not in a fleshy area so regardless go to doctor.

If the red area is growing, I would go back to the ER.

Could get ugly if thats a recluse bite. It effects everyone a little different.

Does kind of look like a recluse bite with the zit/possible beginnings of necrosis.

Very possible could be a brown recluse bite.  If it is you need to take it very serious. I have a friend that’s missing a hand because of a bad reaction he had to a brown recluse bite.

I’ll give you $20 if you let me pop it OP.

All of these.

I think the fact that the redness is growing at a pretty good rate signals the fact that something is seriously wrong..
I'd advise another hospital
I can see some redness and swelling from a bite, but that is excessive

I say get an exacto knife and cut that shit open.

Make sure you have a bug swatter when all of the spiders crawl out of the open wound.

Hope you get better soon!

You need more antibiotics.  I got cellulitis from a simple bug bite on the back of my knee. It took two rounds of intravenous doxycycline and a month of two different oral antibiotics to clear mine up. At the largest, my red area went from mid thigh to mid calf.

ETA: Oh, and that mofo needs lanced too.

When you go back, have them check for a mold infection.
I had a bad case of cutaneous aspergillosis from a spider bite where the skin started to die from the middle out.
Do you have night sweats?




Infection of the skin with Aspergillus species can occur through primary inoculation of fungal spores directly into the skin from the environment
https://dermnetnz.org/topics/aspergillosis

Dibs on guns and ammo. Nice knowing you OP.

Well damn y’all have me scared now. Off to diff hospital I go

Agree with others, find a different ER.

that shouldn't be continuing to get worse.  You have been misdiagnosed.

I am not a doctor or medical professional, but my diagnosis is get the hell to a hospital.

When you pop that thing your leg is going to deflate like balloon.

That doesn't look good.  I don't have any advice other than a different hospital or specialist.

I’d wait a couple more day to see what happens.


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My brown recluse spider bite looked exactly like that. Sucked but I'm still alive. Probably should had gotten medical treatment but I was out of state at the time.  Took a couple weeks to heal.

I have been bitten twice by brown recluse spiders and still have the scars. Go back to the emergency room. Why are you wasting time asking the folks in GD?

Looks identical to one I had. My doctor was an absolute retard and told me "no, that's not a bug bite. You've got shingles." This was after I told them I was in the woods, got bit, and saw the spider that did the biting. They completely disregarded my account. After insisting, they finally took a culture. 2 weeks later, after it finally turned the corner and started to look better, they called and told me I was positive for 3 types of bacteria and I needed to start antibiotics immediately. I pressed them more just to hear them say it, and they finally admitted it was a bug bite and not shingles, lol

Fresh socks should fix that right up.

Why are spiders covered in bacteria?

I wonder that every time there is one of these threads.

Because they are sucking the guts out of bugs that tend to eat stuff with bacteria on it.

onto a Ritz cracker..

Mine looked an awful lot like that, and I’d also gone in just 24 hours out.  I also ran fever and the area was hot to the touch.

Go back.  It took me forever to get into a dermatologist (bite was on my face), and I had to have the skin debrided twice and then have a series of treatments to blur the scar.

Brown recluse bite can be treated with a hyperbaric chamber. Go now.

Was it a nurse practitioner who saw you in the emergency room ?

I went to the ER Wednesday and back this morning so questioning things is pretty normal after a doc tells you it’s fine. My gut was telling me otherwise which is why I posted on here to get a quick opinion. And thank y’all for that opinion bc now I’m back at the ER at a different hospital (and better one)

@Alnen123

I’m not a shingles expert, but it must be exceedingly rare to have a *single* herpes-zoster vesicle from shingles.  Typically, it’s a whole string of them!

One of the things you learn in medicine is to, [gasp], listen to the patient.  I know, sounds crazy.

Get pics/video of the excision/extraction/exorcism.

If something pops out singing ''hello my baby, hello my darling, hello my ragtime gal,'' kill it.

This right here.

No way that's a widow bite. I got tagged like 3x one time and they looked nothing like that.

Epic thread

Is that Staph? What does that mean if it is MSRA infection?

I'll tell you this and I've posted it before.

At basic training we had a guy get bit in the back by a brown recluse while taking a shit in the portapotty.

It started with a small, red bump and two weeks later he had a softball size chunk cut out of his back by the docs because of all the rotting tissue.

He was recycled and I don't know what happened to him.

That bite on your leg looks bad dude

As others said the infection is spreading rapidly. ER now and insist on antibiotics. You may need to stay a few days and IV antibiotics.

Don’t fuck around with a spider bite. They can cause very serious infections. I got cellulitis from one that if not treated can lead to amputation.

More than likely. It happens, get it treated and move on.

Also, why didn't the doc drain it?

Rule number 1 is where is picture of the future widow.

Is that a leg you walk on very much?

What is the combination to your safe?

dusky brown recluse. I have been bitten 3 times and it left a .75 round dead area about .30 deep hole that took forever to heal

I got three spider bites in my taint..  Yes, the area between my anus and the base of my penis.  There were three separate pairs of puncture marks. I got bitten while staying overnight at a very posh hotel near Vancouver, BC, Canada after attending a relatives wedding on Saturday.

On Monday I went to my primary care doctor and by then it was really red, swollen and nasty.  The doctor gave me prescriptions for antibiotics and pain pills, and gave me a giant shot of antibiotics in my hip.  Doc said the antibiotic load he put in my hip would kill any syphillis, clap, infections he could think of.  

When he first saw the bites his reaction was an unprofessional "GEEZUS!!"   Then he apologized for the unprofessional reaction, but we had had a laugh about it...I could see how if it was the other guy it would be more "interesting".

I ended up with necrotic flesh about the size of a silver dollar before it started to clear up.  Sitting hurt until it healed.

I hate spiders.

That looks like a skin and soft tissue abscess - go to a different hospital and have them I&D that. You have failed oral antibiotics.

Looks painful. Get better, OP.

Incise and drain?  I&D?

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