[PLUG-TALK] Brown recluse spider bites

[Russell Senior]

>>>>> "John" == John Jason Jordan <johnxj at comcast.net> writes:

Russell> I can tell you that an expert in Brown Recluse toxin has a lab
Russell> here in Portland at Lewis & Clark College.  If you were bitten
Russell> by one, she might be interested in where they live.

Russell> Greta Binford.  She is awesome.

Russell> How did you get it to bite you?

John> Beats me. I'm way to big for it to eat.

John> If I had the spider the diagnosis would be conclusive. I'm pretty
John> sure it happened while I was asleep in bed, but the welt first
John> appeared several days ago, and the sheets have been changed and
John> laundered since.  I also put out the shirts and pants that I am
John> going to wear the next day at night so I can get dressed while
John> sitting on the edge of the bed in the morning. Maybe it was in the
John> shirt (the bite is just to the right of my navel). Or who knows.

John> Thanks for the lead on Greta Binford. Good to know there is an
John> expert within reach.

John> Sadly these things can take many months to heal; symptoms a year
John> later are not unheard of. So if it goes away fairly quickly, then
John> it probably wasn't a brown recluse. At the moment we are in a wait
John> and see mode.

She collects these things, and milks their venom to study its
chemistry.  She would likely be interested if you have a colony at your
house.  She was featured in a New Yorker article.

  http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/03/05/spider-woman


-- 
Russell Senior, President
russell at personaltelco.net