GF recommends taking benadryl and see how it reacts before calling the doc.

I've had what I thought were spider bites but nothing that looked like that. Is the skin darkening just a shadow? Do you have any symptoms? Discomfort? The only thing I ever had was itching.

It might be MRSA. If it keeps getting larger and is warm to the touch call your doctor. ( He May prescribe an antibiotic over the phone, after seeing the photo.)

I'd be worried that it was a tick - you aren't ever supposed to scratch them off for that exact reason...the body comes off the head that remains in your body (at least that's what the vet said about the ticks that got on my cats) to either use a hot match or a chemical to make them pull out their heads. I'd probably see if you can get a virtual appt with doc and show her the wound.

I would have a Doctor look at it. I call it the "peace of mind" visit. I've never been one to rush to a Doctor, but after arguing with friends one time over "it's just a bug bite for heavens sake" when they were very insistent on my going to a Doctor now and winding up with cellulitis, I take bug bites more serious now.

I think at least sending the doc your photo is a good idea.

I also would suggest a doctor as it does look like a spider bite. However from what I was told when my husband had one on the back of his leg that white stuff is tissue that contains the poison. As long as the white stuff remains there will be poison. However it is better that the doctor's office remove it as there may now be a cavity under the skin where you can not access.

I react badly to spider bites....even the tiny ones you can't see in the garden. Takes a day for the reaction to show up and days to clear up.

I'd take the benadryl for sure, and then send a pic off to the Dr. if you don't see improvement soon.

Bug bite chart

I agree with 'call your doctor'! And check out this site if you haven't already.

Rusty

It's a thorn or a bit of a splinter imbedded in your leg. I would cover it with a large telfa pad well covered with an antibiotic ointment....and see if it improves in 24 hours. A spider bite has an area of necrosing tissue, but not that black spot. If it were on your hand I would say soak it in warm epsom salts solution.
I had a similar thing on my hand, went to the Dr to have it dug out.....and he looked at it and essentially told me to go "soak your hand"....and I did and it eventually came out.

It is not a splinter or a tick. I have a lot of familiarity with both. DH took a close look with a magnifier and he said he could see like two tiny puncture marks there, so most likely a spider bite. I guess what's really troubling me is, if I left it alone, most likely it would've eventually grown out by itself without issue. But because I picked the "scab", I must've injected more venom into the area and aggravated the whole thing. If only our bodies had an "undo" button!

The skin is not darkening...just red like a rash or an irritation.

I'm going to hit the benadryl and if it's not improved by tomorrow, I'll call the doc for a follow up. Thanks everyone for your advice. I really appreciate it.

I'd call your doctor and either see them or go to an urgent care facility. It doesn't look very good and seems potentially infected. Not something for a "wait and see" approach.

Go see your doctor!

Even if you decide to wait take a marker and draw a circle around it. If the discoloration moves beyond the circle go to Urgent Care. Having seen how fast these things can spread waiting is not a good idea. The tissue that turns red can be damaged and take months to heal.

See a health professional now. Do not wait. If you have this reaction, next time could be worse. You may need to carry an allergy pen.

Yes draw a circle at the outer edge of the swelling. I think you should go to the Dr or urgent care. No matter what caused it now it appears to be infected. If you have benadryl Ointment put it on the area. Taking a benadryl will probably help a little.

I'd ask for antibiotics just in case. I doubt your MD will be able to tell if this is a bite or something else, so just get a script.

A spider bite leaves jaw marks like this: ( )

My experience with a spider bite.... it went from bad/bitten ....to better. It's been three days......GO TO THE DOCTOR....it shouldn't be getting worse.

Oh, glad I saw this post. I have first hand experience. Twice in 20 years. Both in a remote location....a small fishing village. Once on my shin and the other on my forearm. Itchy but not like a mosquito that shows a puffy white welt then goes away in a few hours. Three days is about right. Itchy then gets worse. The smallest scab tends to heal over pretty quickly.

I woke 2-3 am maybe day 3-4 with a fever and an unbearable ache in my shin where it was swollen very tight skinned and a bit green. (exactly like your pic)I desperately needed urgent care but sterilized a single edge razor blade and lanced it. Ready to wake DH to take me to the emergency room. It is incredibly toxic to your system. Think gangrene.

Fortunately I felt relief in just a few minutes.

The second time on my arm I knew the symptoms and use a hospital draw-out salve we keep in our first-aid arsenal.

Seek help asap.

We strip our entire bedroom every visit and vacuum. Spiders only bite if felt trapped in sheets/bedding. We take the mattress off and pull the frame out from the wall. I have never located a web ever but do know this is a spider bite. Enough pictures and research to back that up via an expert. At one point in time I knew the spider variety but that has slipped my mind at the moment.

WARNING, GROSS PICTURE COMING

I had a series of bites on my leg a month ago that looked similar to yours. I had sat on a patio with friends a couple days before in the evening, and assumed the bites happened then, because that was the only time my ankles were exposed. But the reaction to the bites didn't develop immediately. It was about a day and a half before they just exploded with redness and itching. I kept applying anti-itch creams and sprays. You can see the divots in this photo. It took a couple weeks for them to fade away. At the time I assumed mosquito bites, but have had several since, and they were not as severe as these things.

Annie, you have a nice clear picture ready to go....I think I'd call my doctor and ask if I could send it for her to look at, evaluate. It does look infected. The only spider bite I know I've had turned into a mess, inner upper arm. And infected. By the time I'd quit fooling with hot compresses, OTC stuff and went to the doctor, it took a somewhat strong antibiotic to clear up which in return upset my stomach. I should have gone sooner.

I find with my mothers Kaiser, they seem to pass the photos around among specialists. She had a wound on her heel that was treated online with a photo, another time what I was just about convinced was a skin cancer and it turned out to be a keratosis she had mindlessly scratched at, diagnosed by their dermatologist after being photographed by her PCs nurse.

Thank you all for your input. I put a ring around the bite in ink and I'm letting the benadryl do what it can with it. The redness seems to have shrunk a bit. I'd already used a drawing ointment on it. If it's not better in the a.m. then I'll contact my doc. I have no other symptoms....no fever, stomach upset or anything else. I'll keep a close eye on it. It's doing fine so far, but it's just a pain...or rather an itch. I have a feeling this is going to be a slow fix no matter what I do. I'm just so mad that I didn't leave well enough alone. Grrr!

I have no medical expertise to offer you but I'm glad you'll contact your doctor if it doesn't improve. And I hope in the morning it looks much better and the itching stops.

Get checked for Lyme's disease.

I was bitten by a brown recluse spider. Doc prescribed Silvadene cream. At least this type of spider bite is treated like a burn & w/ the same meds. I didn't have a severe reaction; the size of the ulceration was only about the size of a silver dollar. Healed quickly.

Thanks jem but it's not a tick bite and not sure getting tested would help as I've had Lyme disease in the past. This is definitely not lyme disease.

I live in South Florida. I had a bite on my ankle which had two puncture wounds. Looked it up and it said two puncture holes are spider bites. I soaked my ankle in Epson salt with hot water and took Benedryl. Next day it was more swollen and very sore. I couldn't bend my ankle. Waited another day and it was bad, the swelling going up my leg. I had soaked it every few hours but decided I needed it looked at.

Went to Urgent Care near me and the doc said it could be spider but the puncture wounds were far apart and if a spider, it had to be a big one.

Prescribed a prednisone cream to put on it and put me on Doxycycline. Told me to stop soaking it.

It responded quickly and by day 3, I could get a shoe on.

Jane

Gray wings, your bites are huge!! I have had bites like that from New England mosquitoes. They are a different breed than PA mosquitoes. Mine would be slight swollen and hot to the touch.

Annie, hope you talk to the doctor. Let us know what he/she thinks.

Thanks guys. Woke up this a.m. and took a look. The redness is within the circle I marked, the swelling, itch and pain upon pressing have gone down quite a bit. So the benadryl is working. Yay! I'm going to keep watching it closely, and if there are any changes for the worse I'll call the doc. But so far, so good.

Good news! Hope it heals rapidly.

That's great to hear. When I get bit by anything I get red mark and then I bruise....which takes weeks to go away.

Good to hear, Annie! I was curious.

Great to hear it’s better, Annie. I didn’t comment earlier because I hate to speculate on something I know nothing about. However, I do know that different spiders can cause different reactions. Now that yours is much better, I would show your photo to your doctor or dermatologist next time you visit to see if he/she can confirm anything from the photo if you still want some sort of answer.

I'm afraid my bite is looking worse...there's a rash that's spreading from the core redness, so I'll contact the doc this afternoon to see what she says.

Oh my. Let us know.

Yes, please let us know what the doctor says. Sounds like you may need an antibiotic.

Just had video visit with doc...how easy is that!

She took a look and said it looks like it's infected and she's Rx'ing me an antibio and said call her back if I get a fever or if it doesn't start to improve in a couple of days.

Redo that marker so that you can see it clearly but draw an new one to outline the now enflamed area. That way you will know if it is spreading without guessing.

Just checking in to see if the antibiotic helped? Any improvement?

Maire

I was about to ask as well.

You OK?

Seems to me you didn't pick a scab. You picked a tick. The black spot may well be the head. I'd insist that it be seen in person.

Thanks all for checking in.

The "volcano" has reduced a lot and the swelling in the leg has gone down and the redness has faded quite a bit so the antibios seem to be doing their job.

However, it seems I have a rash on top of it...looks to be poison ivy or poison sumac as I was weeding out both at the time. I also have some on my arms. The itch can be annoying, but cold compresses and benadryl cream seem to help.

But by the looks of it, this is going to take some time to heal.

clearwaters, I've had a *lot* of experience ticks of various kinds and sizes and this was not a tick...no legs.

Glad your bite looks better, Annie. Did the doctor give you Prednisone as well?

No just antibios....I called and got it extended by 3 days to get a full 10 day dosage. It's a lot better but not completely.

Thanks for the update. Keep getting better!

I had what I think was a spider bite just recently. First, it itched like a mosquito bite. But, then it began to itch in a way that a mosquito bite doesn't. It was on my wrist and my wrist swelled up. After about a week, it cleared up.

I had what I think was a spider bite another time and it sent red streaks up my leg. We were so darned poor at that time and had no insurance and I had no access to care. I was young and healthy and strong and it cured itself. That was a long time ago.

My BIL got bitten by a recluse spider and he lost a big chunk out of his forearm to it.

Wow, Dallasannie, were you ever lucky. Red streaks up your leg??