General Feedback
The way to get rid of the Pain .. Is to press hard in that bite location.. Untill pain stops.. It will stop in a few minutes.. Reason its hurting.. Your Blood proteins are trapped.. By the pressure it releases the blood proteins..
Like when your hitting a nail with a hammer. But you hit your finger.. Just apply pressure on you finger.. Pain will leave soon after. Next day no sign of damage.
Alfred
(Cathedral City, California Usa)
06/11/2011
I agree Alfred, applying direct pressure to the injured area immediately after injuring oneself, is very effective for lessening the pain.
The very best remedy for quickly healing bruises is Arnica salve. If you don't have any, make a salve with 1 part cayenne pepper and 5 parts melted Vaseline, mix and cool, apply once a day.
A homemade ice pack can be made by mixing 2 parts water and 1 part alcohol in a nylon bag and freezing it, the bag will be flexible and can be molded to the body. It will not sweat.
High Voltage, Low Amperage Dc Current
★★★★★
In 1989 I was bitten by a recluse on the calf, and used meat tenderizer and charcoal for the first 5 days. I'd packed the growing hole with one, leave it in for hours, then wash it out and pack it with the other. The thing that had me scared was that it was doing everything the book said it would do, not only a hole 1/4" deep and 3/8" across, but a hot red raised area 3" across with a starlike effect of redder lines within it. I called a fellow who'd worked at Uchi Pines doing alternative medicine, to ask if I really needed to shock it, and he said it sounded that way. We grounded one side of the bite with a screwdriver from the woven wire fence, then ran a wire from the electrified top wire to the other side, using insulated pliers to hold it. I ran the shocks through the bite area, and it wasn't nearly as bad as I'd feared. The shocks ran only in that small area, more like a little bite than having my whole body shocked. 24 hours later the hole had obviously not grown any more, and in another 12 hours the hot red raised area was nearly normal. The whole thing just faded away, leaving me with a small blue scar.
In 1991 I noticed two little red marks on a knuckle and thought the same thing I'd thought the first time, "Those are just far enough apart to be spider fang marks." Six days went by, and I woke up to a little brown oozy hole in the middle of each pink mark. There was a PT working across the street, so I called and asked if she'd run electrostim on them. She said come on over, and told me that she used to use ultrasound and Betadine on such bites, but as I insisted on electrostim, she flipped a switch and did all 3 at once. The wounds closed up that afternoon.
The next time it happened, it was like some people describe the bites, I got a black spot on my ankle that looked just like someone had dropped silver nitrate on it. It was perfectly even with the surrounding skin, and painless till after about 5 days the surface peeled off. Within a few hours it was really hurting so I used the electrodes from a "Beck Box" on either side, for about 10 minutes. The thing didn't bother me for a week, then it started hurting again, I ran the box longer and hotter and it went away after that. The secretary at the office where I'd borrowed the box used it twice when she had brown recluse bites. We have a Hulda Clark Zapper, but I don't think the voltage is high enough on it. It was not like my other bites, but was equally slow and was working it's way down through the layers.
Then my husband got bitten on the arm and he used his electroacupuncture gadget, grounding on one side of the bite and zapping on the other. A friend got bitten, had the classic nasty brown oozy wound on her leg, and as she had a TENS unit we simply put the pads on either side of the bite and turned it on blast for about 15 minutes. I forget how I treated the last two bites I got, they occurred about a week apart and I didn't let them got very far.
I introduced my chiropractor to the notion of treating recluse bites with his electrostim machine. I had a friend who'd been bitten 3X and had learned to use clay poultices morning and evening to heal them, but then she got a bite on her neck and after 6 days of poultices woke up to swollen glands in her neck and was scared. So that was the first one my DC got to use his machine on, and that was the end of the problem for her.
The one horror story I have witnessed was a friend who went to the dr the same day she was bitten, got on the antibiotics but they didn't do a thing. Her arm swelled up double, and when I heard about it 6 days later, I called immediately and told her to rush over to a DC who would use his electrostim on it. It had eaten a strip on her upper arm an inch wide, 5" long and about 1/8" deep. The wound stopped growing and healed up. She has a horrible scar, but it would certainly kept on eating to the bone had it not been stopped. There are 400 people where she works, they all know about what happened to her and believe me, they and all their friends and relatives will be going to a DC instead of an MD for TX.
The PT who did my 2nd bite told me about a guy who'd been bitten in a very delicate place. The MD's had nothing to offer except to cut out the bite area, which was not in a place where he thought he had anything to spare. The PT, on hearing his story, showed him how to use her machine and had him tow it to the restroom every time he came in for his other tx. She said it saved his marriage. (She also told me about saving her dog which had been snake bitten on a holiday weekend, she applied a TENS unit after he'd suffered for a couple of hours, in 20 minutes he was up dragging it around and wagging his tail. We just use Vit C for animals with snake bite, but we do have a TENS unit just in case. )
I talked with a nurse who works in a wound center, and she was astonished that I know about all these bite cases in which none of their debridement and other medical treatments were necessary. In fact, I was surprised to see that some people do know about the shock treatment. See http://en.allexperts.com/q/General-Surgery-2076/Brown-Recluse-Spider-Bites.htm which also mentions that the venom is "heat labile, calcium dependent, and optimally active at a pH of 7.1." They approved of a home remedy of hot and cold applications.
When I read all the things people have done for what they think are recluse bites, I have several thoughts. First of all, some of them were not recluse bites. I've been bitten my more kinds of bugs than most modern Americans. One thing that will show up in most recluse bites is a stage where there are two small holes, before they grow together and become one large hole. For a day or so after they combine, the hole is often square looking rather than round. Second, some actual recluse bites just got better, because of where the bites were, the person's good circulation and the assistance of salt to draw out toxins, of turmeric to reduce inflammation so the circulation could get in, etc. For example, an old man told me about how his little sister had developed a hole in her leg that ate all the way to the bone. In desperation, their dr had had their mother rip up and old sheet and fill little squares with Epsoms salts. When one was saturated, she pulled it out and stuffed another one in. That healed up the wound, which we can now guess was an early recluse bite. I don't think they were nearly as common before central heating. In my own case, salt and proteoplytic enzymes (in the meat tenderizer) and charcoal did not stop the progression of the bite. The next thing that would have happened to me was the big hot red area would have been undermined and collapsed. Only the electricity stopped it. I talked with a physiology professor about this, and he had two stories, people he knew personally who had stopped snakebite damage with electric shocks. He said that the proteolytic enzymes involved are very large complex molecules, positively charged at one end and negatively charged at the other end. When exposed to high voltage, low amperage current the ends are pulled in opposite directions and the enzymes are torn apart.
One last thing regarding infections being mistaken for spider bites. Anything that will draw out toxins via high osmotic pressure, such as salt or Epsoms salts, will also draw out the toxins from an infection. So those approaches are not contraindicated for MRSA. And if you will dig around a bit, you will find that Bob Beck invented his little box because of an accidental discovery that electrical current stopped bacterial growth in a petri dish. This info has been suppressed, but Bob Beck has put his invention into the public domain and does not sell the boxes so that he can tell people about it. You can find the plans and the boxes and the info online. And for flesh eating bacteria, they are using proteolytic enzymes that are surely similar to those used by recluse spiders and pit vipers, so electroshock may work on those cases too.
EC: Read more feedback about Electric Shock on our Snake Bites remedy page: https://www.earthclinic.com/cures/snake_bites.html#ELECTRICSHOCK
(Charleston, Sc)
09/10/2009
★☆☆☆☆
WARNING!
I think I have been bitten by a recluse, I am trying to determine if it is a spider bite, or MRDA. After reading about the spider bites on this site: http://www.emedicinehealth.com/spider_bite_brown_recluse_spider_bite/page6_em.htm
It says not to: Do not apply electricity to the area. Anecdotal reports of high voltage electrotherapy from common stun guns have never been shown to be effective in any scientific studies. This can also cause secondary burns and deepen tissue destruction.
Just a thought.
(Wauchope, Nsw Australia)
03/29/2012
I was recently bitten on the thigh by what I presume to have been a spider (sudden burning ouch - not a boil), and when it started to rapidly gain size and swell on day 3, I checked your site for ideas. I live in Australia, so not a Brown Recluse, but we do have something called a White Tail Spider which I think is somewhat similar. Ironically I live in the bush, but was bitten in a cake shop in town.
I tried the following, in order:-
Potato slices. Felt great, very soothing, but no lasting effect. If I had a child with a non-poisonous wasp sting or ant bite or something similar I think this would cheer them up heaps.
Baking Soda moistened with Cider Vinegar as a poultice. I did this twice and it definitely took the redness out somewhat, but only for a limited time. The area of the swelling was now the size of a bread and butter plate and red with a white outer edge. The centre was the size of a bantam egg, raised again and very red. The two fang holes started to get a squarish, shiny, slightly bruise like sunken area immediately around them and then I started to worry. I planned a trip to the doctor if it were not looking better at the end of day 4.
The electric stimulation thing sounded good, but I wasn't sure how I would go about it. I read Serena's comments (see this page) about the Plantain (Plantago major, also known here as Ribwort), and as I had once cured a horse of Greasy Heel with it decades ago I thought it might be worth a try. On day 4 I happened to be weeding in a paddock with the Plantain growing, so every hour or so I picked a leaf, mashed it up in my fingers and smeared the moist mush across the bite area. At the end I squeezed the last few drops onto the central very red area for good measure. I suppose I had in mind to do the whole thing with the poultice when I came in that evening; I think I was a bit "over" having a spider bite by then and just wanted to get a days work in.
By lunch time it was looking significantly better, much less angry and less painful. Maybe the Plantain, maybe I was just getting over it anyway, I thought. So I stopped putting the Plantain juice on, and to my surprise the bite quite quickly started inflaming again. This effect was dramatic, not just something I maybe felt; my husband could see it too. So I kept on with the Plantain juice.
By day 5 it looked significantly better, but it became obvious that each time I stopped the Plantain treatment the central very red area "leaked" more poison out which then inflamed the larger area again. (You could see it "running" to the inside of my thigh). So I concentrated my juice application on that central area around the bite, and that did the trick. The very centre, which had looked ready to ulcerate, never did, just forming a few tiny scabs. It is now 2 weeks later and I still have a bruise-like mark where the egg sized central area was, but the problem is over. I only had to do the Plantain juice for 3 days, doing it fewer times per day as things improved.
If it had even begun to ulcerate I would have used Hydrogen Peroxide, and probably gone to the doctor too.
I know my plants, so I knew what Plantago major was. (It is a common weed fairly world-wide, although maybe not in the tropics). Make sure you get the right thing; ask someone knowledgeable if you are not sure. It has parallel veining in the leaves - that is, all the veins start together at the base (stem end) of each leaf blade, they all continue parallel along the leaf, (hence "ribwort"), then they all squeeze together again to form the tip of the leaf. The leaves grow in a "bunch" or rosette from a single base, and the "flowers" are fawny brown speckled cream long ovals, one on the top of each thin stem. Do not confuse this with the Banana family Plantain. Again, please ask if you are in any way not sure; you could be putting the juice of something onto yourself that could be FAR worse than the spider bite.
I was willing to experiment with my bite because I was pretty well certain that it was not a poisonous kill-em-stone dead type spider. My husband and I between us have been bitten by Red Backs, Wolf Spiders and Huntsmen, and this was substantially different. Anything as big as a Funnel Web I would have found squashed in my jeans, so that sort of eliminated the two "rush to hospital" jobs. (Obviously also I was still alive at the end of day 1). Use commonsense folks!
By the way: for the horse with the Greasy Heel I used poultices of the mushed up leaf bandaged onto his pasterns. Two days did the trick. Plantain seems like a great herb to me, but I have never read anything much about it. Anyone know any more?
(Australia)
11/22/2016
The studies which suggest that the treatment of snake bite with pulsed high voltage low current DC shock as being dangerous or ineffective, simply put are just bad science.
Yes you can cause a burn if you use a stun gun with too much power or leave it in contact with the wound for too long. Using a cheaper lower voltage stun gun / cattle prod / or weed eater spark lead, is perfectly safe when administered in single zap doses. If the current is too high it will cause burns, but low current is supposed to be used and works very well.
An Italian research team was able to show both in vitro and in vivo that the use of low current DC treatment will deactivate the proteins in the snake venom making it permanently inactive.
Do a google scholar search for "Inactivation of Crotalus atrox Venom Hemorrhagic Activity by Direct Current Exposure using Hens' Egg Assay" They did a whole batch of papers on the subject and this is the only really good research out there. It does work and it is safe, just don't be stupid and use too much power for too long or you will get a burn.... in addition to the deactivation of the venom.
(Virudhunagar, Tn, India)
11/25/2016
(Nv)
11/26/2016
Most of the DC energy kills the bad bacteria in the blood stream or wherever you are doing a spot treatments. DC energy does not penetrate into the GI tract very well so will not kill the "good" bacteria in the gut. Blood cells absorb and use this energy for self healing.There are also many benefits to raising the body's energy level using microcurrent. It is said that people who have a cellular microcurrent of .7-.9 microvolts are healthy. Sickness and diseases begin when the microcurrent falls below .5mv DC. Tumors measure about .15 microvolts. There is much research that confirms microcurrent can kill tumors and heal many different types of diseases and pathogens.
The Chinese have known this for thousands of years and call it chi energy. In fact almost every culture on the planet has some type of healing system that raises life force energy. Acupuncture can raise chi levels as well as exercise, good organic fresh food, sunlight, magnetic energy, various forms of energy healing, and of course DC microcurrent. Google will tell you more than you would ever want to know about all of this.
(Cookeville, Tn)
01/10/2018
★★★★★
Tens Unit for Recluse or Snake bites
I have had many friends with the same experience. The Tens unit works.
The betadine and ultra sound also have good results. There are studies where people used tasers, electric fence chargers or spark plug wires. OUCH! http://venomshock.wikidot.com/
Welcome to the new old world.
Donna Rocks!
Hydrogen Peroxide
★★★★★
Hydrogen Peroxide, Honey, Witch Hazel
★★★★★
EC: Everyone should also look at images of MRSA boils to make sure they don't confuse spider bites for these boils!
Here's the google link : http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=MRSA+boils&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2&aq=f&oq=
Iodine
★★★★★
MMS
★★★★★
EC: Read more about MMS here: https://www.earthclinic.com/supplements/MMS.html
Multiple Remedies
Multiple Remedies
★★★★★
I chose not to go to the same doctor...but went back to a doctor whom had previously treated a bite from the brown recluse years earlier. He said not to lance the blister..and said he would not be giving me the steroid shot he gave me previously. I had been bitten years earlier on the back by a brown recluse which took 5 months to heal.
Well this time I decided to take the matter into my own hands and found this website. I have been using a mixture of antibacterial salve and baking soda... also used activated chacoal. I have switched between the two and mixed the olive leaf extract with the baking soda. I can say I am almost to the point of no longer having dead tissue..and starting the complete healing process. It has still been a painful process however...I truly believe with out the information the wound would've been deeper and taken months longer to heal...and it was in very soft tissue..the belt line.
(Salina, KS)
06/24/2009
Jim Humble, who developed MMS (Miracle Mineral Supplement), says that for brown recluse bites, apply desitin and a band-aid. It de-activates the poison. I have never been bitten by a brown recluse, but I would absolutely love to know if someone has tried this and if it works. I have family who has been bitten (before I knew about the desitin cure) and it's very horrible.
Multiple Remedies
★★★★★
I immediately put rubbing alchohol on it and that burned the site. Then I forgot about it for a couple days while busy at work. It continued to weep and itch with a sticky substance at the site. That is when I started to research "spider bites" on the web and found this awesome site. I immediately went to a health food store and purchased some activated charcoal capsules. I made a paste with water and applied it to the site and bandaged it as the charcoal stains. I did this 3 times for 3 days. I also took a couple of capsules of the charcoal by mouth for several days as I felt nauseous and it helped calm my stomach. Then I read where someone mentioned getting a permanent "tatoo" impression from the charcoal so I switched to baking soda. I could feel it working immediately into the site. I used the baking soda covered with a bandage for another 3 days and saw the redness start to disappaint for the 1st time. The size of the bite never got any bigger but the redness would not subside for about 10 days or so. Then I started to use an organic "witch hazel" from the health food store that was labeled as a "medicated superhazel". It was a "topical pain reliever" that included aloe vera, Calendula, Clove, Grapefruit seed, Peppermint oil and witch hazel. It felt so right and good. I saw dramatic results within hours. The redness started to tone down and the next day the "bull's eye" circle was smaller. It has continued to improve each day dramatically and after 3 days of using this super witch hazel it is almost disappeared. The center has formed a dark scab that is tiny and the surrounding bite site has almost disappeared entirely. I used the witch hazel with a cotton ball and applied it approx. 3-4 times, daily. I will continue to use this until it is gone. If I had to do it over again I think I would eliminate the charcoal poltice as it is very messy and stains everything. I think the baking soda does the same trick of pulling out the poison. I would take the charcoal, orally, though as I do believe it soaks up the venom in your system. I waited too long before starting the process and think if I used the baking soda in combination with the medicated witch hazel it would have improved the 1st week. I am going into week 3 and feel really good that I found this web site. Thanks everyone who has added comments.
Oregano Oil
★★★★★
I was able to use oil of oregano again when I was bitten. My husband said the bite was infected with red area around the bite about 4 in. wide. Again we used the oil of oregano and a large bandaid. It took 4 days to clear but I had no itching, infection, or scaring to deal with.
(Usa)
05/15/2016
Oregano oil has many broad antibiotic capabilities. Get a medical or therapeutic grade for body use.
However, straight oregano oil can "burn" the skin - especially for sensitive areas, sensitive people, young and senior people. You can prepare the skin for the oregano oil by putting some pure vegetable oil on first. Olive oil from the kitchen is good - or any other available oil from your kitchen. Most massage oils are also good.
THEN apply the oregano oil. Go slow - start with a drop or two to be sure your skin won't react to the oil.
Alternatively, you can mix some oregano oil with the olive or other carrier oil. Then apply it to the site.
Avoid eyes and mucus area of the bodies.
IF you do develop a sensitive or burning skin reaction to the oregano oil, use the olive (or similar) oil on the site to dilute the oregano oil. Essential oils cannot be washed off with water. They must be diluted onsite with a carrier/vegetable oil.
Medical/therapeutic grade lavender oil can be used about anywhere on the body without causing any discomfort - for most people.
If you are new to essential oils, best to test a small area first.
Most people can also comfortably and safely apply essential oils to the BOTTOM of the feet.
Differing schools of aromatherapy have different ideas and teachings on where and how to apply essential oils. Know they are strong plant/spirit medicine and do work. Test which approach works on your body by starting slowly and observing your own reactions.
What works on your biology may or may not work on someone else.
Oregano Oil, Turmeric, Chili Peppers
★★★★★
Peppermint Oil
★★★★★
Using the Peppermint oil straight on the bite worked amazingly well for me with decreasing (almost completely) the itch and with swelling also.
Potatoes
★★★★★
(Windsor, Canada)
06/30/2008
Hi again. My 4 spider bites are much improved. Did try salt on potato slices on 2 bites and plain potato slices on the other two. No difference in results. Have since cleaned bite wounds and redid all sites of blisters for overnight. It is amazing...great results. This is day 9 since getting biten and the bites are now healing and show no sign of still having venom. I'm sure the Dr's antibiotic has warded off any other type of infection also. I am so relieved! After 2 1/2 days of doing the potato slices (first for a few hours and then 2 nights of leaving them on) to see amazing results and healing I am thrilled. Hope this helps someone else.
Potatoes
★★★★★
EC: Glad to hear the remedy worked. However, we still have to warn folks to be careful that a spider bite isn't, in fact, Staph or MRSA. We know two people here in Atlanta in the past month who misdiagnosed staph infections for spider bites!!
Poultice
★★★★★
