This is an honest question, for I have a strange red welt on my leg that drains clear fluid and has a whits crusty scab, and its red all the way around it and is swollen and really hurts

Uh...I seem to remember someone having a spider bite before, in my class...I think that it was a red welt, but nothing more. If your really concerned, Stormy, why don't you see a doctor about it? [img]smile.gif[/img]

And why do you automatically think it could be a spider bite and not something else? Do you have pets? Have you been in any woods lately? Have you been outside lately? There are worse things than a spider that can bite you. More information is needed. How long have you been aware of the bite? Do you know when you got it? Any other symptoms? Headache? Fever? Chills?

A spider bite will be a sore red bump with two tiny perforations next to each other in the center (two fangs). Most U.S. species spider bites go away with no problems. It sounds like you have an infected pore, hair follicle, cyst, etc. or infected bug bite. In either case, dress it using an antibiotic ointment and watch closely for signs of necrosis when changing the dressing. Necrosis is dying tissue in or around the infected area. That would mean either a serious infection or Brown Recluse bite. Both are highly unlikely.

Like this

http://www.sharkattacks.com/sharkbites/legsbite4.jpg

But don't worry, those kind of spiders only live in the Netherlands. :D

Stormy that sounds like a Black Widow spider bite Go to the emergency room as soon as possiable and the brown recluse is in the states sometimes called the Fiddle back spider or the violin spider because they have a violin shaped mark on their head area they are very small and yes they are all over the mid west and the south they don't normally kill adults but they can kill childern they are very poisonous and the bite will cause the wound to drain clear fluid and can cause a white crusty scab to form.
Scientific name "Loxosceles Reclusa"

[ 05-13-2003, 08:47 PM: Message edited by: TheCrimsomBlade ]

Hmmm I was just about to say that there are over 30,000 species of spider IIRC and I'm guessing they have different bites - define "spider bite" *shrugs*
If CrimsonButterKnife is right then you'd better get it checked out!

I noticed it yesterday, and had been vomiting yesterday morning, and have been extremly tired the past 3 days, yes i was out side all day sunday, where i was was close to woods, the place is now nomb, my father looked at it when he came over cuz we lost our power and needed candles, said it kinda looked like it might just be a cyst and i only see one huge hole in the center, and yes i have a cat and dog

How big was the spider? I'd guess around 300lbs? [img]smile.gif[/img]

I'm sorry, it wasn't a spider. It was a shark, i always mix those two up.