Cellulitis and spider bites

Specialties Med-Surg

Published

Specializes in Med-Surg/Oncology/Telemetry/ICU.

I don't know about any of you, but my med-surg floor is overrun with pts who got bit by a spider and developed cellulitis (sometimes, really bad cases) and since I'm new, is that something that's seasonal or is it just a fluke?

I don't know if there are "seasons" for spiders! :lol2:

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

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.

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Specializes in midwifery, NICU.

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!

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Specializes in ED, ICU, PACU.

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).

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Specializes in Peds ER.

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.

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Oncology/Telemetry/ICU.
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:

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Tele, ER.

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.

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

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

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.

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Specializes in ED, ICU, PACU.
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:.

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Specializes in OB, M/S, HH, Medical Imaging RN.

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. :uhoh3:

spider2dp.gif

I REALLY DO HATE SPIDERS !!!

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

Me too, Dutch............I mean I really, really, REALLY hate spiders!! I can hardly bear to watch that one crawling across the screen!!!!!!!! I'm not phobic about many things---enclosed spaces and heights are my only other bugaboos---but spiders just completely freak me out. It's not just that I've had a couple of bad experiences with 'em; I have been known to watch the movie "Arachnophobia" with my eyes shut. I also have been known to consider borrowing the neighbor's shotgun to kill a spider that was hanging on my front door, taunting me. It's embarrassing---how childish can an almost-50-year-old be??---but I can't help it!

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