Hi,
I believe I have been bitten.
It started like a nasty zit on my shoulder.
Very soar,
About he size of a quarter or more in redness.
The puss underneath (1/4 inch in the middle)sort of moved under the skin before I burst it by squeezing.
Lots of unusually colored puss (not like a normal zit)and lots of blood and then clear-ish red fluid was almost poring out and then a slow ouus.
It then went on to an instant swelling to enormous size like a volcano.

The previous day before this, I was cutting down some trees by the swamp (I live in Tennessee) and wearing an old Army shirt that had been hanging in the closet for some time. (Maybe there was a spider in the shirt?)

Anyhow, by the time I was done, I was so tired- even lethargic.
I didn't think much of it since I had been working hard. But just sitting there was the only thing I wanted to do.

My brother in law and his friend thought I had been drinking or something because I seemed out of it. I rarely drink.

Then the next day is when I discovered the puss filled soar. I had discounted it as a zit but my wife (an esetician-- she does facials and pops zits for people), she said that it doesn't look like a zit and that it is black in the middle of a deep whole! Yikes.

O.k. So we got out the recluse bite kit and start applying the activated charcoal and herbal drops mixture and covering the site with seran-wrap every two hours. Now my skin from the tape hurts more than the bite! Strong tape.

I am on day 5, and I thought the tired sick feeling should have passed by now, but it still lingers and I don't have medical insurance.

Symptoms are, the first two days: splitting head ache, low energy, desire to sleep and irritable.

Still have tired feeling, sensitivity to sound, and my lungs sort of feel something like sickness. Sometimes I get shooting pains in my limbs.

Do you think I have been bitten and what should I do?
I have photos.
Thanks

Hello,

Brown Recluse bites start out as two fang marks which gradually turn greyish or dark in the center with the skin becoming depressed until it sloughs away.

It's unusual for other symptoms as you describe to persist 5 days so it sounds like you may have some kind of skin condition or infection, but I wouldn't rule out a Brown Recluse bite.

Either way, because of the properties of various ingredients found in the kit, others who have used it on a volcano-like wound have reported that the kit was helpful in treating it (See http://www.brown-recluse.com/testimonies.html ).

Let us know if you have any other questions.

Thanks,

Tom