[YEA]  09/29/2006: Elizabeth from Woodbury, TN: "We've used activated charcoal many times in our family and friends for the brown recluse spider bite. Even a couple of doctors here were amazed at what it did! We would make up a paste and change the first day about every 2 hours and then the next day just a few times and would keep watching it. Usually the bite was shrunk and just a little scab after a few days. Usually we would also drink some so that we would have any poison from the bite eliminated from our system."

EC: Read more charcoal cures here.

05/11/2010: Heather from Milton, Pa replies: "i would like to get the recipe for the charcoal paste if u wouldnt mind. thanks"

09/30/2011: David T from Greenville, Sc replies: "Charcoal is good to draw out poison but try Echinacea.

I found a book written by an MD published around 1920 on an Herbal web site: Case studies on snake bites, spiker and other insect bites. Echinacea was the cure. I've experiemented on useage and have found it to be the best thing I have ever come across for almost instant relief and CURE for insect bites. On a mosquito bite, for instance, apply topically with five drops. Apply again in five to ten minutes. Itch and irritation gone.

Another anacdotal: My wife and I had friends over to our house for supper and they brought their 12 year old son. He had a large red bite on his neck... Much larger than a mosquito bite. He kept scratching and rubbing it. His mother said she had thought it was just an insect bite but now was believing a spider was most probable.

I asked permission to use echinacea to treat the wound. I held a poultice of twenty drops on the bite for five minutes and then the boy held it for another ten minutes. I gave him a fresh poultice with another twenty drops when they left and watched him with poultice on his neck as they drove away. That was on a Thursday night as I recall. Sunday at Church, I saw him and the bite redness was gone. You could barely tell anything had been wrong with his neck.'

For snake bites the book I mentioned above discussed the method that the author asserts is good for even the most dangerous North American snakes. He kept repeating that he could only comment on the case studies out of North America because that was the only case studies he had access to. He did not know if echinacea would work on bites of snakes outside America. He had a lot of examples from Texas because that is where he practiced. (The writer was an MD.)

For snake bites, apply an echinacea poultice of forty drops directly to bite, replacing every hour. Also once an hour put five drops of echinacea in water and have victim drink. Have victim drink five drops evey hour for ten hours. Apparently too much echinacea over time consumed internally might create problems and that MD was aware of that but in none of his examples did any side effect come about from the echinacea taken in those quanties for a ten hour period. (He is giving case studies of poisionous snakes and poisionous spiders.)

Now obviously I am not recommending treatment of a snake bite in lieu of seeking immediate medical treatment at an emergency room. But I'd sure take echinacea with me on a wilderness trip. Or I'd use it on my way to an emergency room."

08/31/2012: Jeanne from Portland, Or replies: "I found this website and remedy treatments after I was bit on my thigh by a hobo last month. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all the people who posted! We made a paste from activated charcoal, echinacea drops and plantain. I applied that every 4 hours for the first two days and then twice a day for a couple of weeks after. I had 3 boils from the bite and only one popped (naturally) which has left a small hole. Otherwise the other 2 boils healed naturally. I used ice packs (not heat, as advised), kept my leg elevated and avoided strenuous activity for the first week. I feel fortunate because I noticed the bite within a few hours after it happened so caught it early. We have since, caught multiple hobos in our yard using glue traps. Thanks again, everyone, for sharing!"

[YEA]  02/18/2013: Julie from Lakeland, Florida replies: "Thank you for the advice about the activated charcoal! I got bit by a brown recluse and started using it at about 30 hrs in. My bite was starting to turn black and was almost the size of a baseball. After just one patch, it was smaller and turning pink again. A couple days of that and it is almost flesh tone with no wound! It was the only thing that seemed to work and I think it saved me from what would have been a horrible situation!"

02/19/2013: Louwrence from Rustenburg, North West, South Africa replies: "Hi Julie, Did you use it internally or externally as a poultice? Thanks."

[YEA]  10/21/2006: Everett from Kitts Hill, OH: "I HAVE USED AN ASPIRIN SOAKED IN A LITTLE WATER TO MAKE A PASTE AND PUT IT ON A SPIDER BITE. YOU KNOW THEY ITCH PRETTY BAD, AND THE ITCHING STOPPED ALMOST IMMEDIATELY. HALF AN HOUR OR SO. I HAVE NOT TRIED IT ON BROWN RECLUSE AS I HAVE NOT BEEN BITTEN BY ONE OF THEM."

[YEA]  06/16/2009: Grace from Fairview, North Carolina replies: "Yes, we have used aspirin and it really helps with the itching. It also seems to speed up healing, maybe due to its vascodilatory and antiinflamotory effect."

Baking Soda

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Baking Soda Treatment for Spider Bites

Folk Medicine Ingredients:

• Baking Soda
• Water

Make a thick paste out of baking soda and water. Apply this to the spider bite and allow to dry. Once it has brushed off, reapply more of the paste several times throughout the day to reduce the swelling and pain.

Warning! People (and doctors) often mistake MRSA-related boils for spider bites. If you are not 100% sure that you were bitten by a spider, please make sure to take a look at our entry on Boils.

10/24/2011: Lisa from Phoenix, Az replies: "Hi, I was wondering if the baking soda healed your spider bite. Thanks!

Lisa"

11/20/2011: Jessica from Oakland, Ca replies: "I used the baking soda paste method on my spider bite and it helped to ease the swelling and it helped cool it down a little. I also iced it in between using the baking soda, which eased the discomfort. An over the counter pain killer also helped ease the pain."

[YEA]  01/29/2008: Wooly from Joshua Tree, CA: "Use Baking Soda/butter as a Poultice/remedy for Brown Spider Bite. I was a teenager riding my horse and a spider got in my long hair, when i went to take a shower, I was bit by a brown recluse spider. For two weeks my father put this poultice (size of a large patch) on me and it was the only relief I had. Who knows what would have happened without the baking soda. I hope this saves someone else's life. God Bless"

EC: We emailed Wooly for more details

01/31/2008: Wooly from Joshua Tree, CA replies: "I BELIEVE MY DAD USED HALF BAKING SODA AND HALF BUTTER 50/50. SO IT WAS A THIN LAYER IS WHAT I REMEMBER AND YES IT WAS MIXED TO COVER THE ENTIRE AREA OF THE BITE ABOUT 3 INCHES BY 3 INCHES, DEPENDS ON PERSONS SIZE OF WOUND AND HOW IT AFFECTS THERE BODY. THE MIXTURE WAS THE SIZE OF A PATCH THAT THEY USE FOR BACK PAIN FOR EXAMPLE. HOPE THIS HELPS. WOOLY"

[YEA]  10/19/2008: Nosakhere from Chicago, IL: "I really hate getting sick which goes without saying. However my agonizing desire to beat the bite fueled me to seek out advice for a spider bite.One night when I was sleeping a nocturnal hunting brown recluse spider must have decided to crawl under my neck for warmth. In that moment I was sleeping on the floor mattress to escape the snoring from a dear friend of mine. Anyway I must have rolled over & crushed it unknowingly in my sleep and caused the little fellow to release a nasty amount of venom with his bite. I felt very itchy and felt what only seemed like a pin prick the very next morning in the back of my neck. After placing black soap on the skin, (not the commercial kind but the real kind) this usually comes in plastic or a ball of thick paste to stop the itchy break outs on my arm. The slight rashes on my arm went away with the soap. However I noticed that the bite on my neck was in fact more affected as the source. I began poking at them to release the fluid & swelling. This was very painful, So I took an alieve gelcap prior to this procedure as it would slightly ease the process. However I wanted to find natural ways to make it go away. I am a musician & voice over artist/T.V. host. I'm no doctor, but I appreciate the gifts of nature for cooking & all it's healing properties as well. So I found this website. (Earth Clinic). After reading some of the articles, I began trying the garlic clove taped directly to the back of my neck. There was a strong tingle that gave me much satisfaction knowing that it was working to cure the problem. I later tried the baking soda and it reduced the swelling greatly & the puss from the damaged tissue began to run out from the lava lesion caused by the bite. I had to repeat these once or twice a day often throwing in a peroxide rinse occasionally while squeezing out the remaining puss. Right before my eyes I could see the wound quickly healing. My glands had become swollen from the bite & about 2 or 3 days later they returned to normal as well. I threw back a couple of doses of a prescription antibiotic just for good measure. And all I had left was a scab which I applied Hibiclens which was terrific causing rapid skin reformation.

All that was left was to exfoliate the damaged skin with black soap & a gentle scrubber and then apply coca butter after drying. These natural cures are wonderful. God really knew what He was doing when He placed them here for us. If it had not been for these cures. This accident would have gotten much worse & would have been dragged out to at least 8 to 10 weeks instead of the 2 weeks I endured.

My thanks goes out to Earth Clinic (folk remedies) for this wonderful & valuable information.

the Artist "Nosakhere" (Papa Soul)

www.nosakhere.com"

10/23/2010: Scott from Spokane, Washington replies: "Don't ever "take prescription antibiotics for good measure"! People who do stuff like that are the cause of resistant bacteria like MRSA."

07/03/2012: Rylee from Asheville, North Carolina replies: "Scott from Spokane; Amen to that!!!"

[YEA]  10/11/2008: Kevin Coombs from Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin: "Bread cured my daughters spider bite. Went to doctor who put her on anti-biotics. It did nothing for her. My wifes grandma told her to put a piece of bread on it. She did and it drew all of the puss out and cured it in one night."

09/07/2010: Scott from Hanston, Kansas replies: "Look for Bread Poultice on the following link for directions. Works best with warm water.

Http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/skin_infections.html"

[YEA]  10/17/2011: Thankful Mom! from Atlanta, Ga replies: "I tried this for my daughter who was bitten and I found out about it a day later when the site was swollen, huge and warm to the touch. I applied the bread, wrapped to her in an ace bandage and this morning when I removed the bandage/bread all had come to the head and drained out. She said it no longer hurt or irratated her."

01/17/2012: Scott from Hanton, Ks replies: "It really works, glad it helped your daughter. I would like to see earth clinic give it its own page as it's useful in so many things."

[YEA]  03/11/2009: Renata from Cape Town, South Africa: "Raw cabbage was an extremely powerful remedy in curing me of two infected Violin Spider bites on my legs (one on the thigh, one on the knee). Just grating a small portion of raw cabbage onto a bandage and leaving it overnight helped to draw out the poisin and heal the infection where other herbal remedies had failed, and my only recommended recourse otherwise would have been antibiotics, which I was loathe to take."

[YEA]  05/06/2011: Geri from Dothan, Alabama: "I had excellent results treating my spider bite with tea tree oil and castor oil! As soon as I knew I had it, I began applying tea tree oil with a Q-tip, being real sure to soak the center of the bite well, letting it dry, then applying castor oil. For three days I also applied one of those "spot" bandaids on which I put another drop of tea tree oil. I have done this twice a day for four days. Today I left the bandaid off, because the pain is all gone, and the center of the bite is dried and healing well. I'm sure it helped that I take several grams of vitamin C daily along with liquid vitamins, minerals, and other supplements every day, but the tea tree oil and castor oil relieved the bite pain and swelling, as well as helping with the healing."

05/07/2011: Catpleasant from Reno, Nv Usa replies: "I was bitten by a "wolf" spider. My hand was was swollen twice it's normal size. A friend suggested a wet tea bag. The tea bag, when place over the bite, pulled the poison out of my hand within a couple of hours. No bad effects from the bite.

It seems regular tea bags will pull the poison out of spider bites, an abscessed tooth or any place where poison is causing swelling."

[YEA]  09/05/2011: Sarah from Dallas, Tx replies: "Thank you Catpleasant!! I am so grateful to you for posting about tea bags for spider bites. I got some bites on my hands and feet from walking and sitting in dead grass at night and I live in Texas. From the internet descriptions, I think my bites are also from wolf spiders. Awesome little creatures, but they cannot tell us from the bugs they are hunting. The mother spiders carry their babies on their backs for awhile, like opossums and scorpions do, and also, they hunt nocturnally. Anyway, they are worse than mosquito bites, because half of the top of my foot was swollen and itching so bad I could hardly study. So I put a green tea bag (only kind I have right now) in boiling water for a minute, then put it, still hot, on my foot. It felt SO good! And the itching stopped right away. Tea leaves are pretty amazing."

[YEA]  12/30/2012: Debbiesmiller from Geneva, Il, USA: "Once again EC saved the day. Thursday night my son called and he had been bitten by a spider on his earlobe. I told him to come on over. I quickly looked on EC for rememdies. When he walked in the door my first reaction was head to the ER. His ear, the lobe and his neck behind his ear were bright bright red, with the earlobe quadrupled in size. I calmed down, made a paste of baking soda and activated charcoal. Put on his ear and let sit for 10 minutes. (this whole time my husband is calling me the voodoo queen and asking me if I am chanting while doing the "home" cures. ) Well, I had my son go wash off the mixture and sterilized a needle to put a small puncture where I could see the bite. He came back into the kitchen, and with a paper towel ready I took his earlobe gently into my and hand and OH MY GOODNESS, the green and yellow pus came pouring out of his earlobe. And I mean it was running down his beard, all over my hands and all over his shirt. The relief he felt was instant. Once this stopped, I placed the mixture on his ear again. But no more pus would come out. However, the top of his ear to the swollen lobe and the back of his neck lost all the redness. But, the earlobe was still HUGE. We decided to stop trying to get anymore gunk out and I gave him the bs and charcoal mixture to take home. But just for kicks I placed honey on the front of the lobe and sent him on his way. (Husband is laughing really hard at the honey remedy. ) Next morning, son called. Sometime in the middle of the night he thought the honey had gotten gooey and was running down his neck. Went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. The backside of the earlobe was draining profusely. Still had big ear, but the relief was great!!! Went and visited him last evening. Put more baking soda and charcoal on ear. Nothing more would come out. He just called me this morning, again in the middle of the night, ear opened up, spewed all the gunk and now his earlobe is normal size with very little redness. THANK YOU ALL WHO HELPED US WITH YOUR POSTS!!!! Probably saved hundreds of dollars in ER bills and medicines that would take days to work!!!"