This is an update a year after the original spider bite; it shows a sequence of photos of a recluse type spider bite from August 16, 2010. Fortunately for me it wasn’t the very dangerous Brown Recluse, found in the lower Mississippi river valley, or the photographs below would look even worse.

I found this Recluse-Spider in my house but not a Brown-Recluse - no violin on its thorax

Spider bite. It's the first photo of my lower leg about four days after the bite. 8/20/2010

Spider bite six days after the bite. - 8/22/2010

Spider bite seven days after the bite has developed long extensions 8/23/2010

Spider bite eight at days has developed long tendrils and isolated patches. 8-24-2010

Spider bite 15 days after the bite. 2010/09/01

Spider bite 26 days after the bite. 2110/09/12

Spider bite 28 days after the bite 2010/09/14

The spider bite 65 days after the bite. 2010/10/18 it still has soft dented tissue.

My spider bite one year later is just barely visible at the center.

This photo was made an hour ago, and a year after the spider bite. It shows that there is still a visible patch, but it would not be noticeable if one didn’t look for it. It no longer has a soft-dented feel when I stroke my finger firmly across it. The red area in the lower left  corner was caused when I scuffed my shin on a very heavy couch during some house moving operations last week.

Wikipedia has a good article on Spider Bites.

Although this bite looked bad, it appears that the best treatment was to clean the wound as early as possible with soap and water, which I did, and then an application of iodine or some similar disinfectant, which I didn’t, and then as the ugliness develops just keep it as clean as possible, which I did, and then to avoid spiders in the future, which I will most certainly do.

The bite never hurt or itched, which was why I didn’t notice it for a day or two. The first symptom was when the spot, which later had the ulcer, developed a liquid filled blister over a scarlet area. The first photograph in this series was taken soon after the blister burst. It looked ugly and I saw a doctor immediately, but since there wasn’t any infection he suggested that I just keep it very clean – which I did.

Two months later there was still an obvious discoloration around the ulcerated spot and that ulcer still had a slight indentation and felt spongy to the touch. The progress on healing was slowing at that time and it will only be necessary to photograph it occasionally, such as on the monthly anniversary of the bite. (A year later this spongy feel is gone.)

This post includes the updated photograph promised a year ago at my old site Probaway Life Hacks