Natural Remedies for a Brown Recluse Spider Bite

Several years ago, I was bitten by a brown recluse spider. I immediately went in to see my doctor about it, but he said not to worry, it wasn't a spider bite and would heal soon. Back then I trusted everything my medical doctor had to say. Now I feel a little more personal responsibility for my health. As I watched the bite grow and evolve, turning my skin black and changing the shape of my leg, I decided to go back to another doctor to get a second opinion. This doctor said that it was definitely a brown recluse spider bite. However, he said it was too late to treat it. He prescribed me an antibiotic and sent me on my way. But not after I asked him, after looking at the state of my leg, if my leg might fall off. His reassuring words? "I don't know."

Apparently I was allergic to the antibiotic, and so I broke out in hives all over my body. It itched like crazy! My doctor then prescribed me a steroid to fight my reaction to the antibiotic. I didn't like where this was going. Needless to say, I got busy. I called a few friends who were interested in herbal remedies and they advised me to make a paste out of charcoal and put it on my bite, as charcoal also extracts poison. I bought some capsules of charcoal at a health food store and, emptying the contents of a capsule or two, made a paste by adding a little bit of water, applying it to my bite, and securing it with a band-aid. In minutes my natural color started returning. My doctor told me I would have a scar for life, but today there is no trace left of my bite! So, if you live in a somewhat rural area where brown recluse spider bites are a real risk, you might get some charcoal capsules to keep in your medicine cabinet. You never know when you might need them!

I then went to a naturopathic doctor who actually hooked me up to an Echinacea IV and then prescribed me large doses of Vitamin C. While the effectiveness of these natural substances are much debated in the western medical community, I can attest that they worked for me! My leg healed completely in a matter of days. I was never so happy to see my leg regain it's shape (it looked like it was "caving in"), and to see the black skin turn flesh-colored again!

Ever since then, I have been a believer in alternative medicine. It's not that I don't regularly see my doctor (though I have since changed doctors!), but I no longer trust my doctor implicitly with my health. I now see that we have to be active participaters in the doctoring process. We have to do research, search for answers, interview doctors, and do what we can to get better, taking our health into our own hands. Though it is vitally important to seek medical treatment as soon as you think you might have a brown recluse bite, if for some reason your situation turns out like mine and your doctor tells you it's "too late" for the medical community to treat your bite, please follow these simple steps and take matters into your own hands! You will be so glad you did!