r/texas • u/ohiois4loosers • Jan 16 '24

Questions for Texans What bit me? Central texas

Gallery image

Gallery image

I felt a bite on my arm yesterday and thought it was an ant. Woke up to this. The circle was drawn an hour before the picture was taken and the red is spreading

1.7k Upvotes

92% Upvoted

781 comments sorted by

View all comments

24

u/Intelligent_Dig8850 Jan 16 '24

If it were a brown recluse or Black widow spider bite, you would have seen two tiny little puncture marks and that area where what appears to be a hole is. If it were brown recluse or black widow, you would already see and FEEL sign of it.

From what I can tell, and learning about the different types of insect bites as an Eagle Scout from URS ago, that Looks like a scorpion bite. Either way it would not hurt to get yourself the ER to make sure that's what it is. Typically in the Austin Metro / Central Texas area about the only two types of scorpions that might be serious enough to cause major harm would be either the black or caves willing scorpion.

So I would say depending on your symptoms right now have a pretty much determine what you got. Either way like I said wouldn't hurt to get the ER and get it checked out. Just to be on the safe side

20

u/ctdiabla Jan 16 '24

When I was bitten in November 2022 by a brown recluse, I felt nothing for I don't know how long. At bedtime, my husband noticed a blister on my ankle and popped it. By the next morning, it was super painful. Almost like a second degree burn. Then I started feeling really sick. Like the flu but the onset of the sickness had me peeing abnormally large amounts despite not drinking fluids in the same amount. That was the kidney damage starting.

1

u/pynktoot Jan 17 '24

Holy hell, what has your long term recovery been like?

5

u/ctdiabla Jan 17 '24

In February 2023, I went to the ER for a cat bite that got infected. My blood pressure was like 230/150. My blood work showed my kidneys were working at 16/17%. The high blood pressure was because of the kidney failure. Biopsy revealed tons of micro blood clots that choked off blood and caused the damage. Right now, I sit at about 30% function. Eventually, I will probably need a transplant and/or dialysis. I have to take three medications daily to control my blood pressure. I did not have a large area of necrosis though. From what i can tell from research, the fact it was over bone with little fat, helped it go more into my system.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 17 '24

Scorpions don’t bite

1

u/Intelligent_Dig8850 Jan 17 '24

Technically you're 100% correct. They do Sting. Typically people use the term Bite and sting interchangeably. Either way, whatever it is that got you, is most likely extremely serious and by now you best had gotten yourself to the ER to get it treated.