What got me?

Hi John,

You approach a good point.  My doctor knows me well.  He is aware I am more inclined to tough things out.  My goal in seeing him was too be sure I was not looking at anything too dangerous.

Up date on day 3 of steroids.

Ooh, ow, youch!  Sorry you're dealing with this.  Seems pretty miserable and scary.  
(I've not encountered anything like that, so I have no clue what it might be.)

Shingles has been seen in people who took the c@v!d shots, so something to keep in mind if that applies to you.

When I have unknown bites/stings/cuts etc. that I catch quickly, I chew up a leaf of plantain, slap the mash on, and put a bandage or something to keep it there, replacing if necessary.  Aka "plantain spit poultice."  Takes pain away really well.

If I get something that looks like it might be getting infected, I use Betadine (topical iodine) on it.  I haven't had it not work yet (although I've only needed to use it a handful of times.)

Other stuff in my arsenal:  
--hydrogen peroxide, poured on the wound (it may sting)
--raw honey or sugar on the wound, to assist in healing
--hot compress (towel with hot water, wrung out so it's just damp--as hot as you can stand it--repeat as it cools off)
--Jethro Kloss (book--Back to Eden) cayenne liniment--cayenne pepper (and powdered goldenseal and myrrh, if you have it) tinctured in vodka or apple cider vinegar.  Burns a little, but will draw blood to the area, helping to heal.  It can be gargled to help remove a sore throat, and I've used it to heal a life-threatening machete slice in the jungle, and a crotch burn from spilled coffee, that would not respond to medical treatment.

Basically, I think about what it is the body is trying to do, and how can I assist it to do that?  It's trying to counteract any venom or bacteria, bring blood to the area, and heat it up, to kill unwanted stuff, plus bringing white blood cells and other nutrients, allowing for healing...plus painkilling chemicals, if it's painful.  So how can I increase blood flow, reduce infection, draw the poison, etc. with other natural things?  (thus the drawing salve mentioned earlier)

(Just some options, in case things don't work...or aren't available, etc.  Some people think more of those kinds of times are a'coming!)

Hi Alina,

It looks much worse that it feels.  Actually, there is no pain . The only time pain was involved was in the 1st 24 hours or so.  Even then there was deep stabbing pain only when I pressed on a couple of spots in the hair line.


There is good news though. I have found that a few bug bites increase the swelling and results in decreased facial wrinkles.I suppose it is kinda like Botox.

John F Dean wrote:There is good news though. I have found that a few bug bites increase the swelling and results in decreased facial wrinkles.I suppose it is kinda like Botox.

You call those wrinkles? I call them life lines. Nice, defined lines indicates character. Either that or the inability to express myself without making faces.

The swelling is down to zero tonight.  I feel the slightest degree of discomfort if I apply pressure to my forehead or scalp.  When no pressure is applied there is a very low level tingling feeling.   Now, I am still on antibiotics and steroids.  Let’s see what happens when I am off of them in a couple of days.

I am off the steroids and antibiotic.  No problems other than I feel really tired.  

I reread my earlier posts. To be clear I draw a distinction between discomfort and pain.

John F Dean wrote:I am off the steroids and antibiotic.  No problems other than I feel really tired.  

I reread my earlier posts. To be clear I draw a distinction between discomfort and pain.

I also see a very distinct difference, between them.

About noon I set  up a fly trap near where I thought I was attacked.  At 4:30 it had hundreds of house flies in it.  Yes, house flies … not deer flies.

John F Dean wrote:About noon I set  up a fly trap near where I thought I was attacked.  At 4:30 it had hundreds of house flies in it.  Yes, house flies … not deer flies.

How interesting! I remember reading an article that said that the US Army did some research, when they made sure that the camp washrooms were a certain distance or further from the mess tent, the incidence of gastrointestinal bugs was significantly reduced. So flies definitely carry nasty, infectious microbes. However, I thought they were "suckers" rather than "biters".

Your problem happened at dusk near dark. I wonder what would happen if you reset the trap around that time?

That's a *lot* of flies. Clearly I need to loan you Venus Fly Trap. She is a fantastic fly trapper and works for chicken feed. She's very sweet, but alas, she's never travelled and would miss me. (She's a Muscovy and was named for her fly catching prowess!)

Hi Jay,

The trap is still out there. The last time I looked there was a herd of flies waiting to get into it.

I just have basic knowledge of flies:  fruit flies, house flies, deer flies, and horse flies.   For me, they fit into one of those categories.


I did some internet reading. It appears my area has Stable Flies and Black Flies .   Both I could have mistaken for a house fly and both bite.  I will take a closer look tomorrow.

John F Dean wrote:....It appears my area has Stable Flies and Black Flies .   Both I could have mistaken for a house fly and both bite.  I will take a closer look tomorrow.

If it was either, then I would wager you had a bad reaction to them.  Wife and I are subjected to easily 10s to 100s of black fly and stable fly bites per year.  I will say that for my wife, the black flies produce some pretty noticeable welts, but nothing near as large as what you exhibited and which were gone within 2-3 days.  For both of us, stable flies produce a nasty bite, but with little to no symptoms.  Black flies are very temporary,....not lasting more than a week or two in late May and early June whereas stable flies are "the gift that keeps on giving"      [   :-(   ]  ....staying to pester the entire summer.  Although our deer/horse flies seem to be more abundant this year, their loud buzzing usually gives them away before they decide to land.  Good to hear you are continuing to mend, John!

Mostly healed.  All discomfort gone.  It is quite visible where chunks of flesh came out of my face.    11 fly traps in place.

Definite improvement! So glad to see you're on the mend!!

I am living in Thailand but the sign is quite clear:

Since most stings and bites have one or two skin damages and a red circle around they look all the same, from Bee stings to almost all blood suckers.
It has the same picture, just the swelling and circle varies in size and colour.

This one is pretty clearly an insect that was oviously defending or fighting and biting again and again.
Hence a spider or centipede which will strike randomly as it's position allows..

Taking into consideration that a centipede would give you a hell of a sting, we can almost blame a Spider...

The last option could also be a Rove Beetle, which has been squeezed and whilst still tried to escape it was "bleeding" its poison all over your head..

Since I have "headbutted" a Tarantula in Thailand as I fell asleep in my hammock after a few pints, I still tend to spider bite..

Plantain is definitely a humble plant worth mentioning in any DIY first-aid situation.

Simply chewing a leaf for a moment and applying it to bites and stings while gardening has been a great relief to me. Hold the poultice in place with an elastic, a piece of cloth or another leaf and tape.

Dr Patrick Jones, vet, has a lot of good things to say about this plant. Narrow and broad leaf.

99% I tend not to flies of any kind as they bite, sting and will lift off.
Lets close it in:

This poor critter was likely caught without chance to escape and or even defended its nest but couldn't fly.

Two punch holes in the first pictures = spider fangs

getting red and spreads = spider poison and some flies but it can't be told is it poison or an allergic reaction.
- but here flies have red round or oval reaction spots.
A spider will just bite and bite again and depends how much she could refill her fangs, the reaction will be seen in unequal areas. She tried to run and bite, run again and bite, until you swiped her unknowingly from your forehead because of the sensation you felt.

slowly dissolving flesh and skin tissue = spider and this kind of poison uses the brown recluse. If you haven't them around your area sure there is a spider that gives necrosis.

The symptoms:
a few hrs you will feel a mild pain followed by itching, you might not remember that you wiped the "sweat" out of your face..
a week and longer it followed with tissue breakdown
it took many month till the necrosis went from spreading slowly futher to reverse and the skin started to heal = Thats a 100% Spider poison like the Brown Recluse uses.

Beside me is my colleague a Phillippino and he says 100% spider bite.

Now it would be interesting which Spider you got in your area:

Since you have only 2 that are to be taken serious in Illinois we can almost say who was the culpit.

The Brown Recluse, aggressive and will bite. Its venom will exaclty react as seen in your pictures

The Black Widow uses neurotoxin, it will affect your nervous system and a bite is like a hot pin pushed into the skin.
Beside Black Widows like build their nests in hidden areas and is most likely to escape than attack..  

Here we go. Brown Recluse to 99%

What a wild thread!

I'm glad to see that you have recovered, no more reoccurrences I would assume sense?