spider bite reaction

[mariaperia]

I have a spider bite which I received in February in Mexico.  I don't know what type of spider it was.  The immediate reaction was a dime sized area of whitening of the skin at the bite site with a central red spot.  Outside the dime sized area appeared a circular area of pink skin which has faded over time.  It was very inflamed the day of the bite.  (I had some systemic symptoms the day of the bite which I associated with being out in the sun - severe headache and stomach cramps.  Now I wonder.)  The dime sized area is pretty sharply demarcated, and even after four months the skin is still blanched, smooth, and shiny. It seems thickened as well.  It isn't hot or painful or itchy.   I was put on systemic antibiotics and got some blood work just to be sure no systemic infection was present.  I guess my question is, is this normal for a venomous spider bite??  Will that patch of skin return to normal?  The bite wasn't painful and was just a little itchy.  I have tried to get help identifying the spider just for my own curiosity - the spider oriented folks I spoke with seemed to think it was a Black Widow. Just wondering if anyone could shed some light on this. thanks. Maria

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

You can get a pretty long-lasting local reaction to a bite, spider or otherwise.  You may indeed have had some systemic symptoms at the time, as you suggest, but they don't sound severe enough to be from a black widow.

Since the skin hasn't developed an ulcer or necrosis (skin death), I assume that the changes you still see and feel will probably go away or at least fade over time.

As to which spider, without the spider itself, I think it would be hard.  It doesn't matter very much at this point.

You may want to check out the following website http://medent.usyd.edu.au/index.htm
for more information about spides and other beasties.

Take care.

Dr. Rockoff

[mahalia]

Hi, june 24 2002 ,I live in upstate new york 100 miles from new york city.
I was bitten bye a spider( im 100% sure) cause it happened in my sleep, well I woke up after I got out of the shower i noticed a red pimple(looking) the size of an eraser on a pencil so i left it . next morning i wake up and have pain blister size of a quarter and red around it, well as the days passed as i found out had ulcers for about almost 2 weeks as the bite was with the redness as big as a soft ball , well went to the doctor he told me put antibiotic ointment on it , well im not sure from the ocean and my pool the 50 cents size ulcer closed up ( well by then it was just a sore) well 1 month later the scar is there with this rash around it the size of a paper plate keeps geting bigger and itchy, along with pain in the area so go back to the doctors i was put on some antibiotics for 7 days 4 times a day. well took them started to almost clear up and bang its back again bigger all over my upper back spreading like crazy. what do i do ( i do have  doctors appointment but i think this is gonna be a crazy thing to heal) and , i need some medical advice , cause the doctor i see is new.  the scar area is a dark red like purple looking well not that red . and the rash is a raised red area.
help

Amanda