Bites and stings, night detecting

[Greenhornet_au]

Hot nights here in SA, Kato wanted (needed) to go for a hunt.

So out we went and swung around a local park buried in the 'burbs'.

Kneeling down to dig a target for her, I felt a sting or bite on the leg just below my knee, lifting it Kato saw a bee
and checking it she thought there was a stinger on the skin, which wiped off..

Now being hot, I was wearing shorts and had the bare knee on the ground, I now suspect a spider bite as it has become inflamed
and feels a lot worse than 2 days ago. Drawing a circle around the inflamed area last night, it had doubled in size from the size of a 50c to a palm.
Saw the Vet this morning and she put me on antibiotics, along with the 'Tetanus' shot.

Not happy as it seems to be getting worse (in my head anyway).

NEW RULE :

ALWAYS cover the legs detecting anywhere !

Nights haul - $2.00 in coin
Medicals - $25 so far....

 

[Moneybox]

Not good Greenhornet. It does sound like a spider bite and some of those turn out very nasty.

I too got the urge to go out last night. I sat around all day poking my nose out every so often but it was too hot. Right on dark I said the Mrs M "I'm off up to the lease to get a bit sand and while I'm at it I'm going to get nugget". Well I got the sand ok but it took me another half hour to get a nugget and it was a tiny one. It was dark by then so I just turned the detector off and headed in the general direction of the van.

My tally - 0.044g - I'm not sure you can put a $ value to it

 

[Greenhornet_au]

Well at least you got.... the sand.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Good to see ya got a wee baby nugget, named it yet ?
layful:

Spider bites I am always concerned about, this has not worked out like a bee sting (saw a few of those in the grass too)
I will be keeping a very close eye on it for bad changes.

Kato would pee herself in excitement if she could walk down the road and look for potential nuggets.
She does alright with historical stuff around here, and that excites her... just imagine if.... :lol:

Maybe I got a double whammy of bee and bite - lesson learned right there.

OH, I forgot to add,
We saw some Christmas beetles too, not many but enough to take note of.
Next few days is meant to be cooler, so maybe they might pop out soon, I think they need some water to come out,
and this area she detected is watered.

 

[Ded Driver]

some spiders can carry nasty bacteria
the White Tail supposedly can carry the flesh eating bug (a controversial subject I know)
Huntsman & Wolf spiders can carry gangrene bacteria (this is 'can' carry, obviously not all do)
I have had a couple of nasty bites over my life that became infected.
Anytime now when I even think a spider has bitten me, I put Betadine over the whole area, not just the bite. Betadine is very good at penetrating the skin & is a very effective antiseptic. I keep putting it on morning & night for a couple of days.

 

[Jaros]

Don't overuse it as it kills bad as well as good bacteria.

 

[BigWave]

Maybe a scorpion?
I see plenty of those in the GT - particularly at night with a UV torch.
Hope it clears soon Gh_au :Y:

 

[lordo.1]

some spiders can carry nasty bacteria
the White Tail supposedly can carry the flesh eating bug (a controversial subject I know)
Huntsman & Wolf spiders can carry gangrene bacteria (this is 'can' carry, obviously not all do)
I have had a couple of nasty bites over my life that became infected.
Anytime now when I even think a spider has bitten me, I put Betadine over the whole area, not just the bite. Betadine is very good at penetrating the skin & is a very effective antiseptic. I keep putting it on morning & night for a couple of days.

I maybe wrong but i think the white tail eats other spiders and takes on their toxins . I believe each person/victim can have a varied reaction .Have seen some terrible reactions including flesh eat type stuff .

 

[madtuna]

When we were kids my eldest brother used to think it was funny chasing us around with a dirty big and supposedly harmless huntsman....until one day one bit him on the arm.

Over 12 months of visits to specialist, hospital stays and multiples skin grafts that wouldn't take. He looks like a shark attack victim.

 

[nucopia]

Thats concerning that the bite has swollen up that quickly
Still have scars on my legs from insect bites that developed into tropic ulcers
Destroyed the dermos and took for ever to heal ..nasty stuff
I hope yours heal quickly GH

 

[Greenhornet_au]

Thanks for the concerns guys, and the well wishes.

I am aware that some toxins actually have a method of dissolving the tissue of the prey, spiders dont chew as much as suck.
Not good for us with bites.
Produce ulcers that dont want to heal.

Others carry bacteria that are part of the family that can cause Gangrene, that is a serious concern to me.
I have had a close relationship with Gangrene in past years.
Bacteria kill off the skin cells and prefer a no oxygen environment, move quick and can be almost impossible to stop.
Infection can cause blood poisoning and may require amputation etc.
A common treatment is 'debridement', cutting away the dead tissue and some live tissue to stop the spread - seen that.

Let's see what a course of antibiotics do

Before I panic. :8

I will keep a close eye in case it gets worse, hospital would be my next trip, not the GP like today.



I theorise that a high oxygen content wound flush (oxygen kills bacteria) and maybe a Colloidal silver treatment would help if things go south.
Colloidal silver gels are being used more and more for bacterial control in infected wounds and surface infections.
Strangely it was the choice in the past for wound care. Hydrogen Peroxides to sterilise injuries too.

Betadine is known to slow healing of injuries as it damages skin cells at the wound site where it is applied, but is good for preventing infection by bacteria
around the wound site too
Use of Betadine is more likely to create scar tissue. Dont use it if you have issues with Iodine allergies.

Major gangrene is treated with potent antibiotics in volume which can actually damage organs, and Oxygen saturated high pressure atmosphere in Hyperbaric chambers,
the technique was developed here in the Royal Adelaide Hospital a number of years ago and is now in use all over the world.
I think it was discovered with severe burns victims when trying to improve skin healing by super saturating the body and fine tissue capillaries with Oxygen to help cell growth
and kill bacteria.

Like I said, close brush with a very serious gangrene infection in the past. :/

And on a cheerier note,
How do I start an auction to sell off my lower leg to the highest bidder ? layful:
It is hairy, ugly feet and toes, a few scars, but should be useful propping up the A-frame of a trailer, or table edge, maybe a chair...
or for swift kicks in the bum of badly behaved children......

I'll start the bidding at 2 Florins...

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Greenhornet_au]

Boys and girls,

My deepest apologies to those with unstable tables, chairs and trailers.
You will just have to wait a little longer for 'prop', looks like the course of antibiotics is doing its job. :clap:

Swelling is going down and pain decreasing, it is on the mend, I am happy with that.
but my gut is gurgling, strong antibiotics and high dose. :argh:

However it did worry me when I woke up this morning with 4 kids lined up around the bed all holding saws, and a tray on the floor !
:8

We might get another night hunt in before going camping. layful:

Thank you everyone for the well wishes.

 

[dam it]

Bugga :|
Was going to put in a :money: Bid .
Depending on what leg , left or right ? .
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[LONEWOLF]

Guess its back to the broom handle for my Trailer prop.... Bummer.. :/

Spiders don't have teeth, they inject an enzyme into their Victim which turns the inside into goo and they suck it up... :lol:

LW...

 

[Greenhornet_au]

Sorry guys, now its about the size of 10c, so the auction is definitely off.

Need it to hobble around after the kids, chasing them with a nerf gun.

That bite/sting feels good now, but the antibiotic are reeking havoc on my gut.

 

[Harbourmaster]

Good to hear your on the mend GH. Honey is an effective agent to tread many bites and stings, Ulcers,burns and the list goes on there is plenty of research done and being done on the use of honey & bee products world wide. I have heard Dr Shona Blair speak at beekeeping conferences about the use of honey for medicinal use. She is at the Sydney university. Quote "doctors use honey as a last resort instead of a first resort". A tube of Medi honey is about $6.00 from chemist or at least it used to be. NZ manuka is rated on the activity scale, highest I've heard of is 31, heard a rumour we have a tree in this country which has hit 50-55 not related to leptospermum scoparium (Manuka) these honey's will kill Staphloccoci and I believe there is only one antibiotic left to treat it with. unfortunately much will have been lost in the fires. I may have retired a bit early from beekeeping Some reading available at Oz Honey Project.
Cheers Mate

 

[MrImpact]

Hi, new member here. Saw the post about bites and thought I could help.
Ive been bitten by a white tip recently, a red back a couple of years ago(unconfirmed visual bite) and many other things when I was working the prawn fields of the QLD East coast for years. CRC or WD40 is the only sting remedy I have ever used and it has never failed me. Im not sure whether its the fish oil, the odd solvent, the dispersant or all of the above, but it works every time. My skipper many years ago was stung by a Goulie(soft stone fish looking critter), and he was knocked out for 40 hours. I too was stung, but generously sprayed CRC to the bite twice, ten minutes or so apart, and had no pain after 15 minutes and I was able to keep the boat on track and the products sorted and frozen while my skipper caught up on some nap time. I know its not a perfect guide, but Ive used both products very successfully on land and sea, and not just to stop the bed squeaking.
We carry a can in each vehicle wherever we go and even on bee stings, its a blessing to stop the whining kids when they get a love tap from some unknown friendly.

Cheers, happy new Year.
Scotty

 

[Greenhornet_au]

Harbourmaster - yeah honey is being more and more recognised for it properties, even for eye treatments.

Mrimpact - I WILL be happy to give that a go, carry small cans of WD40 in our cars for squeaks, another thing to use it for now.

Cheers guys.

 

[LONEWOLF]

WD40 has over 100 different uses, But this is a first for me... Google wd40 and its uses.. Amazing..

LW...

 

[Manpa]

The wifes orthopaedic surgeon recommended Aldis Manuka honey for her to treat an infected toe. (Not caused by him) Worked.

 

[Matt80]

Different types of honey(dependant on the flower) have different properties, but most of the stuff you buy in a supermarket is heat treated so looses most of the antibacterial properties. Even time if year it's collected can make a big difference, but yes it can be very effective.

An even better treatment, though not easy for us to access here yet is phage therapy. It's not new age crap, it's the use of viruses that specifically attack a single type of bacteria while having no impact on anything else. It's like a smart bomb or cruise missile instead of regular antibiotics which are like carpet bombing.

Phage therapy was used by western medicine prior to the discovery of antibiotics and was and still is used by the Soviets/Russian parts of the world. Now that antibiotics are starting to fail us there has been a big push to bring back phage therapy in western medicine, but it does require more work from lab technicians to match the right strain to your particular infection and its going to need the approval process for drugs to be changed as phages would be near impossible to get approved given they are a live organism that needs to be able to mutate and each strain would require a seperate approval.

Anyway not much use to you now, but if it did look like you might have needed to amputate then l would have suggested a nice trip to Georgia instead to get some treatment and see an interesting part of the world.