Posted on 10/24/2004 11:14:21 PM PDT by ambrose
Posted on Sun, Oct. 10, 2004
Brown recluse spider bite killed boy
Virus originally blamed for death
The Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. ? A 5-year-old boy?s death was the result of a bite by a poisonous brown recluse spider, the state medical examiner ruled.
Nicholas Robinson was bitten July 29 while playing outside his home about 70 miles south of Nashville.
The child was taken to a doctor, who determined he was suffering from a virus rather than a bite. That night, however, the child was rushed to a hospital, where his symptoms included hypersalivation, sweating and neurological problems, according to the medical examiner?s report, which was completed late last week.
?In about the last 30 or 40 years, I was only able to find about six deaths related to bites proving to be from a brown recluse spider,? said Dr. Bruce Levy, the medical examiner.
The brown recluse is one of two common spiders in the United States ? the other is the black widow ? that are considered poisonous, the National Institutes of Health said.
The bite can cause a rash, swelling and flu-like symptoms and, in rare cases, kidney failure, seizures and coma.
The spider is most common in the South and central United States.
The Brown Recluse is nasty
"I don't like spiders."
You left out snakes!
I don't like spiders and snakes
And that ain't what it takes
To love me
If you want to be loved by me
Question: how badly did I mangle those lyrics?
That's what my right pinkie looked like, except a darker purple.
Three days on IV antibiotics and a warm water circulating wrap, and I was good to go.
The red streaks running up my arm were the clue that the pills weren't working!
Not badly enough to keep them from getting trapped in my head. GRRRR.
"Not badly enough to keep them from getting trapped in my head."
Sorry about that Slim!
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