May 7, 2008

• Misery and Spiders (Warning, Gross pics)

  The past few days have been rough for me. We have finally concluded that I was bitten by a spider. Most likely a Brown Recluse or Black Widow. Brown Recluse is more likely considering our geographical location but my symptoms match a Black Widows bite better.

  I honestly do not remember being this miserable ever before in my life. In case anyone reading this is not familiar with what a spider bite can do to you allow me to elaborate.

  I personally experienced all of the following symptoms from my bite(s):
  - Continual low grade fever that would occasionally spike resulting in violent shivering
  - Shooting pains in the major muscle groups
  -Nausea
  -Severe headache
  - Tachycardia (rapid heart beat)
  - Numbness in hands and feet
  - Difficulty Breathing
  - Anxiety and some mental confusion (although who knows. Maybe this was just me being me. )

  Because it took us so long to figure out what the bite was, much less what probable kind of spider it inflicted this upon me we decided against seeking medical care. According to several resources all an ER could do without having a positive ID on what sort of spider inflicted the bit is to pump you full of high powered anti biotics to fight any secondary infection, give you pain relief/fever reducers while having you on an IV to help flush the toxin/venom out faster. We have been treating it with a variety of natural things with varying degrees of success. At least now I know what DOES work naturally and what does NOT. Here is what I would do from the beginning if I had it to do over again, and what I plan on doing if something like this happens in the future.

  - If you have an arsenal of Essential Oils at your disposal skip over things like tea tree oil (was recommended on one site…Didn’t do a THING for me) and go straight to Clove Oil. Not only will it relieve the pain of the actual bite but it will kill any bacteria that might cause a secondary infection to build up in the deteriorating flesh in the middle of the bite.
  - The Four Thieves Essential Oil from Young Living will also help with any possible infections when taken internally and rubbed on key points of the body externally. If you slather Aloe on with the Essential Oil it acts as a carrier and aids in it being absorbed into the blood stream faster/more efficiently.
  - Raw Garlic: I had been putting off starting this but as soon as I did it made a big difference almost immediately. A couple of cloves every two hours is what is working really well for me. I chop it and then try to hide it in something.
  - Bentonite Clay: Using this at the beginning can make a HUGE difference. I two other bites after the initial one. Knowing what was going on this time I put a plaster of Bentonite Clay on it overnight and it almost completely did away with them. With followup treatment of Clove Oil they have both disappeared without leaving any scarring at all.

  This is what it looked like before I started the Bentonite Clay Poultices and the Clove Essential Oil. You can see how it is starting to look infected in the middle
  

  This is what it looks like today. The infection has cleared up and the redness stopped advancing. Going to continue to treat it aggressively topically.

  

  I am feeling SO much better today and so grateful to God. Hoping the remaining symptoms totally clear up over the next day or so.

  • 8:30 pm
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