You should have sent her home!(longish)

[Andara Bledin]

I had a friend that was a bit eccentric.

A bit eccentric?

*twitch*shudder*

Ugh. I used to be seriously afraid of spiders, and that story is just making me all sorts of twitchy. I'm not so bad, now. Just so long as they're not black and shiny. I can't stand shiny black spiders. And I don't want any of 'em on me, unless I'm holding a pet tarantula. Those are cool.

^-.-^

[powerboy]

I truly despise spiders. I hate them soooooo much.

[friendofjimmyk]

I got bit by the same spider three times!

I had just moved into a new apartment w/the ex hubby. He had taken off to pick up his son for the weekend. I was left to unpack our entire apartment. Anyway...

I was walking around the apartment and I felt my stomach had an itch...so I scratched... no biggie. A few moments later, a lower spot on my stomach felt itchy...so I itched. Hmmm. Another few moments later a spot across my stomach felt itchy so I scratched then freaked because I felt the itch start to scurry - AHHH!!! Somethings on me. I grabbed my shirt and thought I had whatever it was trapped in my shirt in my hand and tore my shirt off. That's when I saw it hit the floor. A nasty little, furry black spider with a white spot on its backside. Motherf****r!!!! I couldn't catch it to squash it.

I noticed three little bites where I had the "itch" and thought nothing of it. Three days later, each bite was the size of a golf ball and deep red. I felt like I had the flu. I didn't go to the doctor...the spots never got any bigger and I wasn't that sick. I probably should've gone, just to be safe - but when you have no insurance - you don't take that option too often. About a week or so later, the spots finally started to go down and I started to feel better.

[Naaman]

I got bit by the same spider three times!

I had just moved into a new apartment w/the ex hubby. He had taken off to pick up his son for the weekend. I was left to unpack our entire apartment. Anyway...

I was walking around the apartment and I felt my stomach had an itch...so I scratched... no biggie. A few moments later, a lower spot on my stomach felt itchy...so I itched. Hmmm. Another few moments later a spot across my stomach felt itchy so I scratched then freaked because I felt the itch start to scurry - AHHH!!! Somethings on me. I grabbed my shirt and thought I had whatever it was trapped in my shirt in my hand and tore my shirt off. That's when I saw it hit the floor. A nasty little, furry black spider with a white spot on its backside. Motherf****r!!!! I couldn't catch it to squash it.

I noticed three little bites where I had the "itch" and thought nothing of it. Three days later, each bite was the size of a golf ball and deep red. I felt like I had the flu. I didn't go to the doctor...the spots never got any bigger and I wasn't that sick. I probably should've gone, just to be safe - but when you have no insurance - you don't take that option too often. About a week or so later, the spots finally started to go down and I started to feel better.

Wow! There's three reasons I'm glad I'm a UK citizen

1) Nationalised healthcare
2) No poisonous spiders, we have the adder whose poison couldn't kill a wheezy chihuahua and for nasty bites we have horse flies (Golf ball size, pus filled blisters)
3) Government mandated rules about sick days

[BookstoreEscapee]

couldn't kill a wheezy chihuahua

OK, that one made me way more than it should have!


We used to get these huge spiders at the bottom of the stairs in my college apartment. Their bodies (not including legs) were an inch or more across and they were just disgusting. Once I saw one that looked just like a miniature tarantula. I don't know what kind of spider they were (this was in Lancaster County, PA) but I was just glad they didn't come up the stairs. We started keeping a broom at the bottom of the stairs, and we'd stand on the bottom step, open the door, and sweep them out as hard as we could (they were just too big to squish <shudder>).

[cinema guy]

Wow! There's three reasons I'm glad I'm a UK citizen

1) Nationalised healthcare
2) No poisonous spiders,

They have something in common: the brown recluse spider's bite will give you MRSA.

[Naaman]

They have something in common: the brown recluse spider's bite will give you MRSA.

It'll probably treat you better than the NHS as well

[friendofjimmyk]

Wow! There's three reasons I'm glad I'm a UK citizen

1) Nationalised healthcare
2) No poisonous spiders, we have the adder whose poison couldn't kill a wheezy chihuahua and for nasty bites we have horse flies (Golf ball size, pus filled blisters)
3) Government mandated rules about sick days

Yeah, our healthcare over here sucks! I mean, they have it all wrong...it's a big business here. In my opinion, health is not a business opportunity.

[Becks]

Great. Now I have the heebie jeebies.

[AnaKhouri]

Ah, that happened to me. The area on my leg was bright red and hot with a spreading red spot around it.

I had just started my first-ever job (I was 16) and was reluctant to call in sick so I waited until it hurt to stand...and then ended up in the ER. They told me to stay off it for a week though, not a month. It wasn't a recluse though; their venom is necrotic so my leg would have looked MUCH worse after three days.

I certainly didn't expect any of my co-workers to know what was wrong with me. And my mommy didn't call and bitch them out, instead she bitched at me for not taking better care of myself.

[jerkface11]

Health isn't a business opportunity? Would you rather have the government running it? "take a seat sir the doctor will see you in a few months"

[Cyphr]

"take a seat sir the doctor will see you in a few months"

:ies of the one sickness he gets once every decade or so...::

[Primer]

. A nasty little, furry black spider with a white spot on its backside.

In Texas, we have some very pretty black and white fuzzies with emerald eyes that are called "jumping spiders." They are usually rather squat, but I've seen them get bigger than a quarter, and they do have some horrifically strong jaws/fangs on 'em!

We used to get these huge spiders at the bottom of the stairs in my college apartment. Their bodies (not including legs) were an inch or more across and they were just disgusting. Once I saw one that looked just like a miniature tarantula. I don't know what kind of spider they were (this was in Lancaster County, PA) but I was just glad they didn't come up the stairs. We started keeping a broom at the bottom of the stairs, and we'd stand on the bottom step, open the door, and sweep them out as hard as we could (they were just too big to squish <shudder>).

Garden Spiders? Brown with racing stripes? They are fairly benign, eat lots of bugs, but can get bigger than a mouse.

We also have the really pretty yellow argiope (sp?) spiders that make the HUGE webs and love to eat grasshoppers!

In any case, if they stay outside and out of my way, I'll leave 'em alone, but once they get inside the house, they're toast!

[mariamousie1]

Wonderful response.

[TryNotToBeThatOne]

I've one possible spider bite. Well, it was a bite but I didn't see what made it. And the doctor that I went to couldn't id the visible symptoms/rash ('it doesn't match the pictures in any book). At that I only went to the doctor because it wasn't getting better. She just gave me two topicals & told me call back in a week to tell her whether or not they were effective. Yeah. Thaaaat's reassuring.