Spider Man or Spider Bite?

 

On Friday, Ryan was itching his leg, when we took big brother to the bus stop. I looked at his mosquito bite, and told him we would put calamine lotion on it when we got home. We got home, and I really looked at what he was itching at...his leg was red and swollen. I cleaned the sight and used peroxide and it bubbled way more than I expected. I let him select a band aid, and we headed to the freezer to get his monkey ice pack. As he walked to the refrigerator, I noticed just how swollen he really looked. We used ice, off  and on all afternoon, and the swelling seemed to go down.

 

When my husband got home from work he was surprised to see how much Ryan was itching on his leg, and suggested we call the doctors exchange. While we waited to hear back from the doctors office, my husband grabbed a magnifying glass, and a flash light and really looked at the bug bite site. We were shocked to see two very small puncture wounds...and my husband said, "I think it is a spider bite."

 

It was time to head to Urgent Care, and see what we were dealing with! The great news is that Ryan was himself, happy and acting normal. Zero breathing issues, no elevated blood pressure, or fever; so the nursing staff said it wasn't an emergency! The doctor took one look at Ryan's leg, and said he was having a major reaction to something. She drew a circle around the red part of his leg, pressed on the swelling, and used the biggest lighted magnifying glass I have ever seen. She then asked if I had captured or seen the spider that bit my son? I told her I wasn't even aware that he had been bitten, and I thought it was a mosquito bite. She was very concerned, and then told me that there was a chance of flesh dying, and that he could get worse as the night went on! (OMG, why would you ever say something like that?) After an application of a topical cream, she sent us home with a heavy antibiotic, and more cream, and orders to go to the ER if he showed any signs of change.

 

The doctor looked at Ryan and said "Spiderman, let mom and dad know if you feel like you need to save the world, can shoot spider webs, or can climb the walls!" Ryan thought that was the funniest thing he had ever heard! On the way home we stopped for ice cream, since he did so well at the Urgent Care office. (Ryan swore up and down he was going to get a shot, and was very reluctant to see the doctor.) Thank goodness for ice cream, and all of its miraculous healing abilities, as Ryan forgot all about his spider bite once he had ice cream! He selected a raspberry blue ice, and it turned his tongue blue...double bonus.

 

The good news is, that Ryan appears to be just fine! The bad news, he hates taking medicine, and gags every time he is given any. Thank goodness it seems that the spider bite was by a nonvenomous spider, otherwise Ryan could have really been hurt and been in a world of pain. We are still watching him, but he has shown little change at the wound site, and has played all day!