Spider Bite...

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That's why I said it looks like a bite. Had something similar about two weeks ago. I could see the bite marks also. Stayed red for about a week. 95 to 99% of the time if it looks like a spider bite to you it probably is.

No, it most likely isn't.

This link from the AMA puts the rate of misdiagnosis at 80%, but the study I mentioned earlier was from the department of arachnology at a state university (can't find the link):
http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2002/08/05/hlsa0805.htm

A lot of hype and myths revolve around the Brown Recluse, but you may want to look up the facts.
 
Hype and myths may be true in Oregon where they don't exist but when several people I know have been nailed by a brown recluse in the state of Illinois and had to deal with the damage this spider can cause throw your statistics out the window.
Also did you know that according to several sources 76-78% of statistics are made up.:what:
 
Your opinion doesn't count, and you know it.
:duh: I do know that.
Current self-help project is: Stop reading all experienced MFKer posts & Start posting Least Likely scenarios. WTH.
THATS how I discovered that this is a pleco bite. Hole+ hickey similarity+MFKer=pleco bite.
Don't argue with possibilities. they happen & cannot be ruled out.
There's plenty of guys who get off on lingering in their tanks during non-essential water changes.
I know this.
Spiders don't even have nuthin ta do with it.
They're misunderstood and under-friended.
 
Here in Oregon, 100% of spider bites attributed to Brown Recluse are misdiagnosed, the 80% rate that the AMA site referred to is nationwide. Here is another link that goes into detail as to what the misdiagnosed necrotic lesions are actually caused by:
http://spiders.ucr.edu/necrotic.html

Here is information from the Illinois Department of Public Health that states that Brown Recluse bites rarely occur and even when they do occur seldom (less than 10% of the time) result in necrosis:
http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/pcspiders.htm

I really don't mean to personally offend the O.P. or others as to the cause of their maladies, only to inform. As an elementary school science teacher I feel obligated to help dispel the misinformation about spider bites. Arachnophobia is pervasive in our society and, like all phobias, is very difficult to counter because it is not based on facts and rationality, but rather emotions and ingrained beliefs.

For those that choose to believe that spiders do cause the majority of necrotic lesions, please read the linked articles. You can choose to believe peer-reviewed research published by experts in the field, or you can choose to believe what you already "know"...
 
ps- my last post was strictly humorous banter btwn me & CarvinSigX ;-) had nothing to do with anyone in this thread. or posts- OOPS!
we/or I probably should've made that clear.

and pps; it's all Carvin's fault. he poked fun at me here, bcuz of a different thread.
somebody should ban him. I'm always civil.
 
It has 2 puncture marks at the center, and I've been seeing quite a few spiders lately.
On a serious note: I would start capturing the spiders you're seeing & put them in jars, for proper identification.

Can't hurt, & you don't want to ignore possible in-home presence of brown recluse spiders.
 
On a serious note: I would start capturing the spiders you're seeing & put them in jars, for proper identification.

Can't hurt, & you don't want to ignore possible in-home presence of brown recluse spiders.

When one finds a habitat that is conducive to recluse spider survival, no matter what the species, one does not find single specimens; one finds dozens of them. For example, a family of 4 in Lenexa, Kansas collected 2,055 brown recluse spiders in their house in 6 months. About 450 of these were large enough to cause envenomations, they saw brown recluses crawling all over the house, the walls, the carpet, in the sinks and bathtub, yet in 8 years of occupancy of that house (as of Sept 2004), no person or their multitude of pets has ever shown evidence of a bite (Vetter and Barger, Journal of Medical Entomology, volume 39, pages 948-951, 2002).
 
When one finds a habitat that is conducive to recluse spider survival, no matter what the species, one does not find single specimens; one finds dozens of them. For example, a family of 4 in Lenexa, Kansas collected 2,055 brown recluse spiders in their house in 6 months. About 450 of these were large enough to cause envenomations, they saw brown recluses crawling all over the house, the walls, the carpet, in the sinks and bathtub, yet in 8 years of occupancy of that house (as of Sept 2004), no person or their multitude of pets has ever shown evidence of a bite (Vetter and Barger, Journal of Medical Entomology, volume 39, pages 948-951, 2002).

Oh.
That info really helped my arachnophobia a whole lot. biters or not, now I'm on the edge of hallucinating. my skin is crawling & eyes are stuck in roll-up mode.. I'm typing by braille.
Other than that, all's well.
I had allergic response to sneaky little harmless spider bite as a teenager. So there's no comforting me with stories about thousands of them crawling gently over & around people.
Can't wait to try falling asleep tonight. THANKS DAN!

Carvin could still capture whatever he's been seeing in house.
AND SEND THEM TO YOU for recreational fun and scientific ID's.

OMGosh I'm so creeped out.
 
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