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Little known facts about me:
I love watching “Extreme Forensics” and “48 Hours: Hard Evidence” on the ID network. I should mention here that I read and watch a lot about serial killers and the way and means in which they’re caught. Well I am. Had I not ventured into the world of broadcasting, I would’ve loved to have be an FBI Criminal Profiler. Had it not been for all pesky psychology, I’d be one today.
I am also fascinated by tornadoes. Always have been; always will be. They scare the hell out of me, but they fascinate me. Someday, the future Mr. Kendrick and I will shell out about 12-thousand of our discretionary income to go on a tornado intercept junket in the midwest smack dab in the middle of twister season. I would like to see one before I die.
For that matter, I’d like to see a future Mr. Kendrick before I die, too!
Another thing that absolutely fascinates me are spiders…specifically Black Widow and Brown Recluse spiders.
Decades ago, when I was a neophyte human being, 
we’d spend weekends and the bulk of a summers at our house in Rockport (not far from Corpus Christi on the Gulf of Mexico). The home was typical of beach construction….built on stilts with a an open kitchen and great room, with bedrooms jutting off of that. On the stairs outside…about the fourth step from the top, there lived a Black Widow spider. She was shiny and dark and that red hour glass symbold on her stomach, meant instant death for small insects and of course, any male that wanted to mate with her. In the darkness under that step, she’d found a mate. He was this ugly brown thing…very much dead..all caught up in the webbing in the corner of arachnidial lair. She was consumming him in pieces. There would always be less of Mr. Widow everytime I’d take a peak.
Spiders fascinate me. Tornadoes fascinate me. Catching elusive criminals fascinates me. Anything with aboslute power (absolute power in the natural world, that is) can grab and keep my attention for extended periods of time.
We all know the damage that tornadoes can infict. Greensburg, Kansas comes to mind, but are you fully aware of the power of spider venom? Especially Brown Recluse spider venom?
We’ll begin with avery brief primer on a Brown Recluse Spider bite.
In a short period of time, the venom from one of these spider bite has the ability to cause major tissue necrosis, which is the death of living cells. The venom comes into contact with the living cells and they simply die. The result is a very painful and gruesome “flesh-rotting” open wound
As soon as two hours after the bite, or as long as a week, 
the area may become painful, itchy, hot, swollen, red and tender. An irregular ulcerous sore, caused by necrosis, will often appear that is from 1/4 inch to 10 inches in diameter. It will give the appearance of a very large skin boil with an obvious, pusy core.
Prompt medical attention is the best defense against preventing the necrosis. The wound is often described as being dark colored in the center, surrounded by a reddish area with a narrow whitish separation in between the red and the blue. This gives it the famous “bull’s eye” pattern.
If the wound is becoming necrotic, it will often begin to turn purple within 24 hours. If the sk
in does turn purple, it is likely that necrosis is on the way and will then turn black as the cells die.
Eventually, the necrotic core will fall off and leave a deep pit. A sinking blue-gray impression in the skin is the result. This is due to the lack of a good blood supply to the center of the wound.
As for Black Widow Spider bites, they’re bad but hardly the as painful or necrotizing as a Brown Recluse bite.
The black widow spider produces a protein venom affects the victim’s nervous system. This neurotoxin protein is one of the most potent venoms secreted by an animal. Some people are slightly affected by the venom, but others may have a severe response. The first symptom is acute pain at the site of the bite, although there may only be a minimal local reaction. Symptoms usually start within 20 minutes to one hour after the bite.
A Black Widow spider bite can result in pain at the bite location, followed by cramps, abdominal pain, weakness and tremor. Large muscle groups (such as shoulder or back) are often affected, resulting in considerable pain. In severe cases, nausea, vomiting, fainting, dizziness, chest pain and respiratory difficulties may follow.
The severity of the reaction depends on the age and physical condition of the person bitten. Children and the elderly are more seriously affected than young adults Local pain may be followed by localized or generalized severe muscle.
Blood pressure and heart rate may be elevated. The elevation of blood pressure can lead to one of the most severe complications.
The Black Widow bite can also create a boil-like bite which often has to be lanced.
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The videos you are about to see are as disgusting and repugnant as it gets. They contain attempts by doctors and drunken buddies to lance and or pop various spider bites.
If you are easily offended by anything you can imagine that could be construyed as spider bite by-product, then stop reading here. It’s really gross, people.
Why people felt the need to film First Aid on their spider bites is beyond me. Then again, why I felt the need to post these videos also means my decision NOT to venture into behavior and psychology based Criminal Profiling was the right decision.
Again, these videos are not for the squeamish. Seriously, don’t watch if easily offended. The last thing your computer screen needs is to be decorated with a sprayed on, pre-eaten texture applied with esophogeal torque.
OK, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Offering #1: A doctor attempts to repack the Brown Recluse bite with packing. This wound appears mild….comaparitively speaking.
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Offering #2: After viewing this, I will NEVER order Dairy Queen Soft Serve Ice Cream again and neither will you.
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Oh my, my, my my my, my, my, my…..
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This video is a prime example of the necrotic nature of the Brown Recluse bite. I have it on good authority that because of the dead and dying cells and skin in the wound, these bites are also pungeantly vile.
Vomit inducing vile.
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And the pièce de résistance my grossed out friends??? This offering from some poor cat who was bitten by a spider on his cheek. This video is parcicularly vile because after watching this seemingly endless font of contagion emitted by the wound, I really couldn’t tell if it was a spider bite or a pus filled clown car!!!!!!!
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Laurie Kendrick 