Possible Spider Bite??

My daughter had a couple of these on her legs a while back. They did not seem to improve and looked similar to what you decribed, so I took her to the doctor. They ended up being a skin infection, following some type of bite. The doctor prescribed an antibiotic and said to place a warm wet washcloth on the area I think 3-4 times daily until it really came to a head. She said at that point we could pop it...yuck. They never really did this, so we did not pop them, but they did go away fairly quickly thereafter.

ALOT OF PEOPLE HAVE POSTED AFTER ME ABOUT STAPH AS MY POST WAS ABOUT STAPH AS WELL SO PLEASE READ THIS IS IMPORTANT. Staph is a virus that everyone now has in their skin similar to the chicken pox virus that under the right circumstances can be "activated" and people get shingles. Staph remains alive for 30 days after someone with active virus touches something. So you can get it from anybody and it needs the right opportunity to grow. My children came very, very close to having no mother.

Original Response:

I don't want to alarm you but often a small bite becomes infected with staph but acts like a brown recluse bite. My daughter wound up with this and we didn't take her to the doctor immediately because there is no real treatment for brown recluse.

We later discovered she had staph at which time her pediatrician should have referred us to an infectious disease specialist because staph is highly contagious. We are very lucky my two boys never got it. I wound up with it and we thought after us both getting it several times over a two month period that things were resolved.

Well about two months after that I start getting what I think are normal allergy-related upper respiratory symptoms and wound up with a form of pneumonia that is only caused by staph. It came very close to killing me. While I wouldn't be alarmed by your current symptoms, go to the doctor tomorrow and make sure it is not a bite that has become infected with staph just to make sure.

My daughter had the same thing and I took her to the Dr and it was MRSA (Staph infection). Definitely at least get it checked out.

It could also be a staph infection. Be careful, as this is contagious to others when it is draining. You should have it seen by a doctor. If it is staph, they can culture it to see what strain of staph it is.

Go to www.webmd.com They show what bites look like and what it is from. I hope you feel better and it goes away without any major issues.

That sounds like a Recluse bite to me - you need to go to a doctor and let him look at it...look up brown recluse bites on the web and see if it looks like the pictures you see there.

Hi C., Is it perfectly round and almost looks like a bullseye? Most spider bites look that way but it could also be MSRA. If it's still really painful I'd have a doctor check it out. My mom has weird reactions to insect and spider bites and ends up with major scarring if she doesn't see a doctor.

Are you sure it was a spider? It sounds alot like a bite from a fire ant. I would try benedryl cream on it and keep an eye on it, if it gets worse then talk to your doctor.

It could be a spider or ant, but it also could be a MRSA (antibiotic resistant staph) infection. I would keep a close eye on it and see a Dr. if it is not getting better soon. hd

This sounds strange, but it works...mix baking soda and water into a thick paste and put in on it. You have to mix and reapply often but some how it draws the poison out...takes several days...it will finally go away and you won't scar. This is one of those great grandmother tricks. :)

If it is a small bite then it sounds like an ant bit. You could have been bit several times in the same area that caused it to get even bigger. My son got bit by something not sure what it was the spot was big, swollen, red and hard. When we took him in they said he was just allegric to whatever bit him. You should worry about staph infection if is hot, red, swollen, the redness is getting bigger each day, and if you are running a fever. That is what they told me to look for, but better call your doctor just in case.

I'm going through this right now with my 2 kids. I thought they had spider bites too. They took a blood test last week and it's the MRSA staph infection. Have it checked out right away just in case.

Unless you know for sure that a spider did bite you, if the redness and soreness isn't gone in 24-48 hours, I would check with the doctor. That is exactly what I thought when my son had a very bad staph infection. Only a doctor can tell you for sure when they do lab work. It doesn't hurt to call them and ask what to do. Red, puffy, hot and sore isn't good.

I had what I thought was a spider bite on my chest last winter. I displayed the same symptoms as you. Over the next 24-48 hours the redness and puffiness increased so I went to the doctor and it was staph. I have no idea where I got it from, it was after shopping the day after Thanksgiving so I am sure I picked it up from somewhere. I had never had it before so I was clueless. The good thing is that it wasn't MRSA. I would have it checked out just to make sure.

I'm going to chime in and tell you to contact your doctor. I was watching Dr. G Medical Examiner on TV the other day and she said most people mistakenly think MRSA infections are spider bites.