|
|
|
|
Brown Recluse Spider Bite
By Angela Sannapu MH
Spider bites are never very fun, but most (in fact all but 3) can easily be taken care of with a simple application of Dr. Christopher’s Plantain Ointment, or a plantain poultice if you have the fresh herb. However, as I unfortunately found out, when dealing with one of North America’s three most poisonous spiders, you must go extra miles - yes
plural.
North American’s venomous spiders fall into 1 of 2 categories. The 1st being a neurotoxin which the black widow spider and scorpion stings fall under. Reactions happen within a few hours’ time and can be little more than a typical spider bite/bee sting to blood poisoning, seizures, shock and in extreme cases, death. Category 2 includes the brown recluse
and hobo spiders. These spiders have a necrosis acting venom that eats away at human tissue. It is slower acting and can take weeks if not months to heal under normal circumstances. Results can vary from blistering, scarring, tissue death, amputation, to death. These creatures are not to be taken lightly!
My very educational (and painful) experience began one night before a hike. I was doing some cleaning behind furniture. Going on one knee, I moved some objects that hadn’t been disturbed in some time. I felt nothing of a bite, however, as I much later found out the spider bit me on my bare thigh. A short while later, I noticed “a bug” bit me, with the
classic redness and some itching - however this one was a little unusual with 2 puncture wounds and blotchy redness. Not thinking much about it, I applied the plantain ointment, finished my routine for the night and went to bed. Next day I had a wonderful hike, never thinking about the bite. After the hike, I did something unusual for myself - I had some coffee. On the drive home, a terrible headache, neckache, muscle pains, and a strange overall feeling came over me. Thinking I must have
overdone myself; I got home and took a long hot shower. Upon toweling off, I found the bite had now changed to intense bruising. Alarmed, I applied more plantain ointment, started questioning things, had some large glasses of water, then laid down, I was too tired to do much else, my head was reeling, and I just needed to sleep.
I woke up 4 hours later with unusual pain on the sides of my neck, jaw pain, headache, upper back pain, and the bite site feeling odd, I figured I must act. I did the following:
- Oregano oil applied liberally to the site
- Oregano oil taken internally - 1/3 a dropperful every 20 min
- Lavender essential oil to the site 5 min after the oregano oil
- Plantain ointment to the bite site
- Brown recluse venom goes to the kidneys. I took kidney formula 2x in 2 hours
- Blood Stream formula 2x in 2 hours (4 drops)
- 1 gallon of water in 2 hours to flush my body
- Lower Bowel capsules to clean the bowel of venom
- Heavy Mineral Formula to absorb the venom - 4 capsules every 1-2 hours
- Liver formula to clear toxins out of liver
- Plantain ointment to the site before sleep, covered with plastic wrap and band-aids to secure in place
After a few hours of this protocol, all the body aches stopped, and I felt sleepy again. When I awoke 3 hours later, I checked the site, it looked great, no more bruise. I continued the treatment and stayed on a liquid diet as to not tax my body with digestion and only have it focus on cleansing and healing. I then applied a fomentation covered with plastic wrap, taped it to the site, and changed it every 2 hours. It was
composed of:
- activated charcoal powder
- slippery elm powder
- ground flax seeds (heated very hot first then added to my mixture),
- goldenseal powder,
- a tea of plantain, comfrey, and lobelia
- lavender oil
- tea tree oil
- rosemary oil
I drank plantain, comfrey, and lobelia tea every hour to help my body cleanse further.
In my mind, this should have been enough, but as David Christopher later pointed out, my first choice should have been echinacea to counteract the blood cells being pulled apart by the venom. My echinacea was low at the time, so I didn’t think of it - bad idea. I kept up with my current protocol thinking the worst was behind me. Little did I realize that
the venom was still working inside. After a few days, I did the echinacea fomentation. It worked wonderfully. However, because it had now been considerable time after the bite, I still had to deal with the spreading and symptoms. After 1 week of going through the routine, I did a baking soda fomentation and a bentonite clay fomentation. These seemed to be of much benefit. I later learned that immediately after a brown recluse bite, potato slices can be directly applied. My friend reported good
results and said this also avoids complications.
In the long end of my adventure, it was over 3 weeks of intense work on this bite internally and externally. I didn’t get the blistering or the skin death. I kept the fomentation and Complete Tissue and Bone ointment around the area and had it covered most of the time for if it was uncovered for 20 minutes, the bruising would return. I also continued the
tea and formulas to prevent nausea or other symptoms. I did get the bullseye over the bite as well as spreading to over 8 inches in diameter, along with redness, itchiness, and soreness over the whole area. At one point, the bite was accidentally hit, it was unimaginable pain of a very deep sense. All in all, it was a full 3 months before the deep pain subsided and the skin went back to looking normal again.
Looking back, I know the caffeine in the coffee exhilarated the venom circulation in my body and even brought the toxins up to my head - perhaps a bit of tetanus was acting at this time as well. The hot shower further circulated the poison and spread it around the skin area. These are definitely things to avoid with any poison. I should also point out that
in many literature sources, it is recommended to:
- wash the site gently with soap and water
- apply ice
- keep elevated
- seek immediate medical help. As I’ve pointed out here, the venom is best countered when acted upon fast, don’t wait.
As a Master Herbalist, I’ve learned that as soon as a poisonous bite is suspected, use the echinacea immediately. I would still add in all the other therapies, but would use echinacea much, much earlier. It is also important to dress properly and wear gloves when handling areas that haven’t been disturbed in recent time.
Angela Sannapu is a Master Herbalist, Reflexologist and Aromatherapist from the School of Natural Healing as well as a Diplomat in Holistic Iridology from the Internal Institute of Iridology. She is an Associate Member of the AHG and is continually learning and helping others in their own
journey to Natural Healing.
|
|
|
Dr. John R. Christopher founded The School of Natural Healing in 1953 with the intent to teach people how to cleanse and nourish their bodies in order to heal and prevent disease. His dream was to have an
Herbalist in every home, and a Master Herbalist in every community. Join his legacy at The School of Natural Healing!
|
|
|
|
|
Kitchen Sink Kale, by Angela Sannapu
|
*2 bunches of Red Kale, stem removed (can easily save for juicing)
*½ - 1/3 cup of olive oil
*1 tsp garlic powder
*½ tsp turmeric
*1/8 tsp cayenne
*½ tsp Himalayan salt
*Pinch of lemon juice
*½ cup of Tahini
Set aside kale and mix all the remaining ingredients well with whisk or fork. Toss wet ingredients over kale to coat well. Place in dehydrator 90-99 degrees for 24-30 hours. Chips can be stored in airtight container for a week or more.
|
|
|
Dr. Christopher's Herbal Legacy Newsletter is sponsored by:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
