Monday, May 23, 2011

SWOLE.

.

Okay, so Sunday morning (yesterday) I was at work.  At about 0715 HRS, I felt an itching on my left forearm.  I looked, and there were two little bitty things that looked like skeeter bites swelling up.


The little swole up deals were about 1/2" apart.  This seemed odd to me.  First of all, skeeters do not bite me.  Since I quit eating beef, pork, or fowl at age 28 (23 years ago), I've probably had no more than 4 skeeter bites.  Skeeters don't love me any more.  Which is okay with me.


But I thought to myself, "Well, here are two little bites that are swelling up.  I think I'd have noticed if a little snake had bit me...ya' know...two fangs about half an inch apart."  I'm pretty sure a snake did not bite me at work.


Anyway, we had a wonderful event to attend yesterday afternoon (a College graduation where 4 young people that we know and love were rewarded), and during the event the itching stopped.  But, I noticed that my left forearm began to swell a little bit where the bites were.  This morning I woke up, and saw about a 4" x 2" welt on my left forearm.


I hadn't been awake very long before #3 son (my Army Medic son) stopped by the house to make a vehicle swap.  I said, "Look at this."  He said, "Man, your forearm is really swollen up there," and he took a Sharpie from the pencil can on the kitchen counter and drew an outline of it.  He said, "Watch it close, so you'll know whether it's getting bigger or not."  We decided I should take a Benadryl, and keep tabs on it.  Which I did.


So, it's been bugging me all day...waiting for it to run its course, and for the swelling to subside.  I asked The Mrs. a couple of hours ago to take a look, and she said, "Well, it looks like maybe it's getting bigger.  It's hard to tell what is swelling, and what is muscle."  (Now, this is completely understandable because I have massive, muscular forearms due to the fact that I just do.)  "But, I think it might be getting bigger," she said.


I think she's right.


I'm thinking I might ought to get it looked at.  But, there is a real problem.  Andy does not go to the doctor.  I don't even have a doctor, but I could go to a walk-in clinic I guess.  But, doctors, and clinics are not something that I do.  The last time I went to a doctor was when I was about 29 years old...and that was because I'd been cut with a rusty piece of metal (on my right wrist), and it looked like blood poisoning was setting in (turned out that it wasn't).  The last time before that was when I was 13, and broke a leg at the skating rink (no option there...had to do something about that).


Anyway, I'm gonna keep watching it...but as I type here, it looks like my left forearm is approaching Stage II Popeye.


Spiders don't make two holes about 1/2" apart, do they?

Damned snakes...

15 comments:

  1. I'm trying to come up with a witty yet tasteful "suck the venom out" joke but I'm not getting very far...

    As for seeing the doc, I'm in agreement. I've only had need of them twice since 1984. But I've had to go a couple other times just to keep my CDL valid.

    As for the bites, being 1/2" apart kinda points toward a smallish snake. Are the bites in a part of your arm where a little snake could even reach? I mean, are they near the "edge" of your arm, or are they towards the middle? Doesn't seem to me like a small snake would have enough "mouth span" to get very far into the fleshy part of a guy's arm.

    Anyway, I hope the swelling goes down before you start to look like a Fiddler Crab.

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  2. There ya' go with the Fiddler Crab deal again. Bwahahahahahahaha! I'm still laughing about that comment, Inno.

    Naw...the bite spots were about 5" from my elbow on the top side of my massive, muscular forearm. I guess I could have brushed up against a railing, or a bush somewhere at work, and not noticed getting a little snake bite...maybe thought I'd just dinged it on a branch or something.

    It's weird.

    Inno, I knew we were brothers from other mothers...I run from medical hep. I had to take a physical, and some shots for my job and all, but I really think I'd rather suffer through junk and let the body heal, than to suffer through a doctor visit.

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  3. I'm thinking spider bites. Seems to me if you had been bitten by a snake, you would have had bigger problems than just swelling and itching.

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  4. Umm, Pssst! Andy! You work at a hospital!

    Doctor aversion and "let the body heal itself" aside, I think you should get that tended. Same thing happened to me years ago (I lived in Arkansas, you know). Doc said it could've been a small snake or large wolf spider. Either way, my arm had kinda stopped working, too, and was turning ugly colors. A hundred gaziooiln antibiotics and steroids later, and he said he was happy I hadn't lost the arm. I was happy, too.

    Seriously.

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  5. Lou, I don't know about that. I'm a pretty tough guy, so I could have been bitten by a rattler and not noticed. I'd hate to think that stinkin' spiders could do this at me.

    Just sayin'...

    Moogie, thanks! I forgot that I work at a hospital. I guess the swelling distracted me. I appreciate the advice.

    Seriously. I had not thought about a Wolf Spider (actually, I've never heard of a Wolf Spider, but I'm gonna educate myself).

    Awwww Heck! This thing is expanding...crud...I guess I'd better swallow my pride and go get it looked at.

    Crud...

    Thanks, Moogie.

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  6. I'm thinkin' Old Age will change your attitude about medicos, or at least it SHOULD. We have some small experience in this space and had much the same sorta 'tude about the medical profession in our yoot as you do now, Young Man (I say that because I CAN). But Stuff Happens, yanno?

    Get thee to a doctor. Soonest. Moogie knows from whence she speaks.

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  7. I'm thinkin' you were bit by a fanged snipe...

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  8. Take 2 aspirins and call me in the morning. Dr. Jill :)

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  9. I got bit by a spider about three weeks ago on the danged forehead. It made THREE marks and they are just now going away. If you feel sick to your stomach, it's a spider thang. Otherwise just assume that Mrs. Andy is poisoning you and it will not last much longer.

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  10. Buck, I really don't care to live to old age. I want to croak before I get there, and have to really give a fig about stayin' alive for the sake of whatever. But, I appreshunate the concern. Really, I do.

    Dadman...Nyuk! If it were only so...

    Dr. Jill, I do need to call you, but it's got nothing to do with Snipes, or snake bites, or Benadryl...more like something about missing a party.

    Paul, I remember your misfortune with your danged forehead & a spider. Nyuk! I didn't mention it at the time, but I laughed like a giggly gal at a slumber party. Now, I'm not laughing so much.

    I don't feel sick to my stomach at all, so I'm figuring The Mrs. has a hand in this...and in an odd way I'm glad it won't last much longer.

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  11. You could drop by the ER and get a doc to look at it quick if the swelling continues. Maybe they could tell you if was a spider, snake, wombat or whatever! Watch for fever around the bite area.
    Been there, done that!

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  12. If it's just a spider bite, it'll probably go away, you could pop it tomorrow if you're up for it. You're a man right?

    http://brown-recluse-spiders.net/spider_bite.htm

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  13. Call me anytime Party-Pooper! :)

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  14. When the bite turns black and large amounts of tissue fall out, you will go to the Doctor and he will ask why you didn't come in sooner.

    One day the Lone Ranger got bit on the butt while taking a dump. He and Tonto went to the local Indian village and asked the Medicine Man what to do. The Medicine Man said to suck out the venom. Tonto translated to the Lone Ranger, "He say you gonna die."

    Don't die.

    MUD

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  15. Heh! Good one, MUD. I'm gonna use that one at least once today.

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Don't cuss nobody out, okay?