Ew. And Why I'm Paranoid.

[Food Lady]

If I say "bug" I mean any kind of creepy crawly. But I tend not to be bothered by spiders or ants. I usually let them live. Beetles, centipedes, roaches, etc, die.

[Seshat]

Any break in the skin can become infected. Bites are more likely to do so than some other breaks, because bites inherently transmit whatever's in the biting creature's saliva.

It's the same reason you get a tetanus shot when you break the skin with a rusty nail - rusty iron or steel often harbours tetanus.

As for spiders being bugs - that depends on your definition of bugs.

Spiders aren't insects, they're arachnids.

But to me, "bugs" includes insects, arachnids, bacteria, virii and a whole bunch of 'etceteras'.

[blas]

Thanks, that's what I was looking for! When the second lady told me, I thought I heard "cellulite", and I thought "Well, I have that all over my thighs!"

[AnaKhouri]

That happened to me once, also a spider bite. It's called cellulitis, and it huts like a motherfracker. The antibiotics are for the infection, not the original bite itself. And blas is right it's nasty; I went to the ER and the doctor walked in, looked at my red, swollen leg, and said, "Oh, gross."

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Yeah, but actually having that in/on my own flesh... ick no. I have low tolerance for strangeness on my body. Yeah, they aren't oozing... but no. Body horror, def.

[blas]

Oh the hell if they aren't the nastiest things I've ever seen.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

ick. Hell, even without the symptoms, I'd've gone if the bites were that nasty-gross looking! I really hope your co-irkers feel better soon. ... And that you can defend yourself from The Bugs. (and yeah spiders aren't bugs, go soak your head! )

[blas]

I'm assuming they got antibioitcs because their bites got so infected and made them so ill that they couldn't leave the house. The first lady went to the ER, so the injection was probably because hers was more severe, versus the second going to Urgent Care.

I never thought we had insects around here whose venom was bad enough to make a person sick. But it could depend on the person's age or immune system. I wouldn't call either of these people "old", but both are over 50. I don't know how healthy they are, so I don't want to make assumptions.

I saw the one's bite area, because I told her it wouldn't bother me to see it. It was like a huge bruise, the coloring around the bite. Her bite was covered in gauze, but there were a good few inches around the bandage that were purple/pink/green like a healing bruise.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

anti-biotics for spider venom? ... or is it that spiders don't all have venom when you get sick from them ?

[blas]

Let's just say I've always been horrified of bugs. No qualms about killing them, and don't need anyone to be my hero, but I always do a little scream and dance and panic before I do the deed. Always horrified that they are hiding in my home and are feasting on me while I sleep.

In the past month, TWO coworkers have been bitten by spiders (well, the second one can't prove it was a spider, it's just always assumed it is) and the bite has been so bad it's gotten infected, enlarged to a big bump, and turned all the skin within a 6 inch radius around it into a big colorful purple and pink circle.

The first one was bit by a spider while hanging laundry outside. Never thought to keep the damn spider because she lives in the country and is used to bugs everywhere. She felt the bite and smacked the spider. She missed two days of work because of flu like symptoms, then went to the ER and got a shit of antibiotics in her rear end.

The second coworker was bitten sometime last week, was sick with flu like symptoms all weekend, and went to Urgent Care Tuesday and got antibiotics in pill form, not injection.

I'm so paranoid now. Moreso than before.