Cellulitis and spider bites

Must be the season. I'm currently battling a cellulitis myself from a bug bite, presumably spider. I'm trying to avoid in-patient care however. Another coworker had it in the leg.

well from the euoropean point of view.. I got cellulitus from a spider bite in portugal, And cellulitus from MOSSIES in Turkey! That was worse!

We had a rash of cellulitus and I asked one of the docs are they due to spider bites? I didn't tell her that I was bit by a spider last year and developed cellulitus shortly after. Her answer is that it happens inately in some people and there was no real reason why they get it. Thank you for confirming what I thought was the underlying cause of mine, and so many others, who seem to be afflicted during spider bite season. You would think the doc would be curious enough to find an answer on her own-thought that was what practicing medicine was all about (re: the scientific inquiring mind).

The poor spiders get blamed all the time. I'm not saying that some cellulitis isn't caused by spider bites because of course it is. It's funny how the majority of people assume the cellulitis was caused by a spider. Cellulitis can be the result of any insect bite, mosquito, ant, whatever, or any break in the skin. We do see alot more cellulitis in the summer time. Probably because people are outside more and are being bit by everything.

the poor spiders get blamed all the time. i'm not saying that some cellulitis isn't caused by spider bites because of course it is. it's funny how the majority of people assume the cellulitis was caused by a spider. cellulitis can be the result of any insect bite, mosquito, ant, whatever, or any break in the skin. we do see alot more cellulitis in the summer time. probably because people are outside more and are being bit by everything.

well, i hate spiders anyway:rolleyes:, but that's just what the patients come in saying. i don't know how they can tell what bit them or when, because sometimes the bites don't even hurt! i just didn't know if anyone had heard of such a thing......it's all pretty gross if you ask me:idea:

My last semester of nursing school I saw a rash of very young (20s) patients with cellulitis from strange things - namely piercings, "popping zits" and other undetermined causes. So yeah, pretty much anything that breaks the skin can result in cellulitis, eh?

And people wonder why I get so annoyed when they're popping their zits or using burned needles to remove glass splinters or what-have-you.

It seems I have cellulitis on our floor all the time. But, yes, during the summer it has increased.

Caution: what appears as cellulitis from 'spider bites' can often be MRSA, especially in younger adults with questionable hygiene and a drug habit (e.g. meth use). I've seen too many cases where people claim they got bitten by spiders, when the real cause was skin-popping. Obviously spider bites CAN cause cellulitis---I've had one on an arm and the other on a leg that caused nasty cases of it---but MRSA cellulitis from other causes can resemble spider bites, and further investigation may be warranted.

Excellent point you make. I realize that anything that breaks the skin has the potential to cause cellulitis. Where I am, cases just seem to be in proportion to the growth/decline of the insect/arachnid population. Hearing an MD basically say that there is no identifiable cause for most cellulitus cases is what I find most troubling. I tend to blame it on the spiders because they (and their webs) always have given me the creeps :chair:.

I think spiders get a bad rap (BTW I hate spiders). Sure spider bites cause cellulitis but so do a million other things. Spiders seem to be the easiest to blame. The easier dx for doctors to use and insurance companies to believe.

I REALLY DO HATE SPIDERS !!!

Knowing that the animated digital spider is completely fake...it still has the power to freak me out too!