Michigan woman treated for brown recluse spider bite
When Jessica Greenwald woke up with a tiny red splotch on her arm, she never imagined it would turn into a quarter-sized, blistering wound caused by a venomous household pest.
Throughout the day, the small red bump started to itch, becoming irritating and painful. Two days later, blisters began to appear and soon the pain was unbearable.
"The pain was similar to a burn on the stove at first," Greenwald told CBS News. "As the blistering became worse, the pain became a stinging sensation and my whole arm was sore. The muscle under the wound was very tender and harder than usual."
The 24-year-old from Saginaw, Michigan, made an appointment with her doctor right away.
After examining the growing, bubbling spot, her doctor concluded it was a spider bite, which came as a surprise to Greenwald. She had never spotted the spider that supposedly bit her.
She was prescribed two antibiotics and sent home to recover.
The next few days, her symptoms worsened.
"The blistering and infection got worse," Greenwald said. "I was having flu-like symptoms such as nausea, fever, loss of appetite."
Greenwald then decided to go to the emergency room at St Mary's of Michigan, where she was mis-diagnosed with poison ivy and sent home with hydrocortisone cream.
Again, Greenwald's symptoms worsened. And again, the 24-year-old headed to the ER.
This time, doctors confirmed the wound was in fact caused by a spider and diagnosed Greenwald with lymphangitis, or inflammation of the lymphatic system which occurs when viruses or bacteria get into the bloodstream. Due to the severity of the infection, doctors treated Greenwald for a brown recluse spider bite, though they weren't able to confirm whether that exact type of spider was the culprit.
Most brown recluse spider bites are minor, but occasionally, skin around a brown recluse bite will become necrotic, turning a dark color and becoming a deep, open sore as it dies.
Brown recluses are rarely found in Michigan, making her case something of a mystery.
Howard Russell, an entomologist at Michigan State University Diagnostic Services who has been studying them for more than 30 years, told CBS News last month brown recluse spiders are usually found in more southern states with warmer climates, such as Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri or Kentucky.
"I've had eight brown recluse out of thousands of spiders submitted, so they're rare," Russell said.
Regardless, Greenwald doesn't want to take any chances.
"Since this has happened, I set off foggers in my apartment that I purchased," Greenwald said. "They're more commonly known as 'bug bombs.' I also purchased a spray for all of my windows and doors to create a perimeter that is supposed to repel insects such as spiders and ants."
On Tuesday, Greenwald said the wound has drained and the stronger antibiotics seem to be working.
"I'm doing much better. No more flu-like symptoms and my appetite has returned," Greenwald said. "The area on my arm is healing nicely, but will most likely scar, unfortunately."
