Brown Recluse Spider Bite
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Natural Remedies for a Brown Recluse Spider Bite

| Modified on Feb 27, 2025
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Brown Recluse Spider Bite Remedies

Brown recluse spiders generally keep to themselves, but when they do happen to strike out their bite can be very dangerous, requiring intensive treatment and sometimes surgery. Natural remedies, when used faithfully, can relieve the pain and suffering that results from the bite of a brown recluse and even spare an individual from surgery and side effects of aggressive medications.

Often a person does not realize he has been bitten by a brown recluse until he has a painful or ulcerating bite. The skin at the site of the bite begins to necrotize and there can be accompanying infection. Fever, malaise, nausea and swelling may accompany the bite. Allopathic treatments can include steroids, pain medications, antibiotics, surgery to remove dead tissue, and even skin grafts in severe cases.

The earlier treatment begins, the better. A doctor should be including the in the care of a significant reaction to the bite and especially when there is fever, red streaks, severe pain, multiple bites, or a person is in a weaker state (very young, elderly, immune compromised.)

Topical treatments and internal remedies are combined to strengthen the immune system, reduce pain and inflammation, draw out infection and heal the skin at the site of the bite.

Epsom Salt Baths

Epsom salt baths can be used 1-4 times daily to relieve pain and draw out infection. For a whole bathtub, use warm water with 2 cups of Epsom Salt. For a more local bath (foot bath, hand soak) use ¼ cup in a gallon of warm water.

A whole body soak is advantageous even if you can only need to soak one small area. Your body absorbs the magnesium, sulfur and oxygen in the Epsom Salt and each of these help your body to heal well and relieve pain.

Poultices

It is very important to use topical poultices at the site of the bite. A poultice will help to draw out infection over the course of several hours. Ideally you will put a fresh poultice every 2-6 hours. You can leave the poultices off for a couple of hours before replacing the poultice to allow the skin some time to breathe, but you may find that the poultices are so helpful to pain that you don’t mind using them all of the time.

One of the best poultices you can use is a combination of clay, activated charcoal and ground flax seed.

1. Mix the poultice ingredients in a plastic cup or bowl with a plastic spoon. (Do not use metal with clay.)

2. Allow the mixture to sit while you prepare cloths for the poultices. Pieces of old clean sheet or sturdy white paper towels will work.

If the poultice mixture is too thick, add more water. (You want the end result to be about the consistency of jelly.)

3. Spread a thick layer (1/8 – ¼ inch thick) of the mixture into the center of each cloth. You want the poultice to cover several inches past the bite, or at least an inch past any swelling or redness, so don’t hesitate to make large poultices.

4. Fold the cloth or towel back over the center. It will be as if you are making a large closed envelope for the poultice mixture. The poultice mixture will not actually touch the skin, but will absorb poison through the piece of towel.

5. Place one poultice over the site of the bite. Cover the poultice with a piece of plastic wrap to keep the moisture in. The poultice will not work if it dries out. Finally, use an ace bandage or cohesive tape to attach the poultice to your skin. It is best to not use adhesive (sticky) tape as they often cause damage to skin at a time when you are trying to keep skin intact. Broken skin even near the bite site can leave you at risk for infection.

The layers will be as follows: skin, cloth, poultice mixture, cloth, plastic wrap, ace bandage.

Vitamin C

Your body needs vitamin C for skin repair and to strengthen your immune system. You will be surprise how much vitamin C your body will need when fighting the infection and necrosis. Use the sodium ascorbate form. For detailed information on proper dosing of vitamin C, see this page.

Turmeric

Turmeric helps to control pain, fights infection, and reduces inflammation. Turmeric will also help to prevent secondary staph infections and cellulitis, which are not uncommon when you are dealing with any health issue in which there is broken skin and an overtaxed immune system.

½ teaspoon of turmeric can be added to 3 ounces of milk or yogurt with a pinch of black pepper and taken 4 times a day. Alternately, take 2 capsules of turmeric 4 times a day.

Benadryl

It is easier to keep inflammation from happening sometimes than to reduce it once it is present. Benadryl, taken according to package directions can help your body not to overreact to the bite and help with swelling. It may also help you sleep if you are uncomfortable from the bite. Do not use Benadryl if you have a long drive or use heavy equipment.

Over the Counter Pain Relief

You can use acetaminophen, aspirin, or ibuprofen if you need additional pain relief for your bite.

Essential Oils

Between poultices you can apply essential oils to help fight infection.

Lavender essential oil can be used straight to help with pain.

Oregano oil, diluted in coconut oil can also be used to fight infection. The coconut oil also has infection fighting properties.

Honey

Honey is a wonderful wound healer. If you have a crater at the site of the bite you can use honey in the crater to promote healing and fight infection. This can also be used in conjunction with a poultice.

Dietary Considerations

  1. Give your body plenty of high quality nutrients to fight infection, support the immune system, and repair the damaged tissue.
  2. Use whole foods and not processed foods. Drink plenty of water to help the body flush out toxins. You can add a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to a tall glass of water twice daily to support healing.
  3. Avoid sugar. Sugar depresses the immune system.
  4. Probiotic foods like yogurt, kefir, kombucha, and sauerkraut can facilitate healing.
  5. Bone broths contains nutrients that promote skin repair.

It can take many days or even weeks for a brown recluse bite to completely heal.

If you are being faithful to the protocol and find you are getting worse and not better, you likely need additional medical treatment.

As your bite begins to heal you can reduce the frequency of your poultice applications, baths and internal remedies, as long as doing so does not slow your healing process. Continue the natural remedies as long as any symptoms are present and until the skin is completely healed. During the healing process, the bite may drain puss and infection depending on how long the bite festered before treatment began.

Have you used natural remedies to heal a brown recluse bite? Please send us some feedback!

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
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Activated Charcoal, Baking Soda

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Posted by Aga (Chicago) on 09/22/2014
 ★★★★★

Got a brown recluse bite on my eyebrow after sleeping in a rarely used top bunk bed at my friends apartment. By the second day my eye was swollen shut and that side of my face was swollen as well. I was nauseated, sweating and had chills. Red bulls eye rash developed and area had strange grayish color. I did not want to go to a hospital because I did not have insurance and was worried that they would try to cut out the area surrounding the bite and it was right above my eye. I hit the internet and decided to try charcoal and baking soda as a last resort before finally going to the ER. It worked beautifully. I took activated charcoal solid tablets and crushed them into powder and added baking soda about 1:1 (slightly more baking soda) I added enough water to make a paste and placed it on a sterile gauze. The first day I would change the dressing about every two hours making sure it remained moist. Changed it couple of times at night. Also took charcoal by mouth to alleviate systemic reaction to the bite. Noticed improvement within a couple hours. Within 2 days the swelling was gone, the rash disappeared no more nausea or chills. Continued for one more day just in case. Did not have any scarring. Since then I always make sure to have activated charcoal around.

Replied by Raven
(Illinois)
09/04/2023
★★★★★

First, I used peroxide to clean the outside of the wound. I applied iodine and liquid magnesium- which created itching for my so . I added Manuka honey to the charcoal and baking soda mix, and applied. The swelling, itching and redness reduced to 1/3 of the size within an hour.

Activated Charcoal, Turmeric, Sea Salt Paste

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Posted by Freaking Out (Dothan, Alabama ) on 05/25/2018
 ★★★★★

Editor's Choice

I was bitten 3 times by a brown recluse spider 2 days ago. I didn't realize what it was until the next day. One bite between my fingers was the worst bite and I was woken up several times throughout the first night with intense itching and swelling. Scratching in my sleep created a small opening to that bite. Swelling and pain continued. Everything that I read stated get medical treatment. I was at the 24 hour mark and from what I was reading, medical treatment at that point was treating the symptoms. Horrified at the pictures from this spider bite, I started looking at home remedies.

I am a soap maker and know that other treatments do in fact work with other issues. I came across several articles with plenty of remedies. By my experience and items on hand, I chose to make a paste to include activated charcoal.

I mixed 1/8 cup water, 1 tablespoon activated charcoal, 1 tablespoon of dead sea salt, and a little less than 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric.

I used a gauze pad and inserted about a tablespoon of the mixture in the middle and folded the gauze. Applied the gauze directly to the bites. It burned a little from the salt, but more bearable than the pain from the bite. I changed out the dressing after about 4 hours. The second dressing stayed on over night. The bite with the small opening responded best, of course that's the one that I also applied some of the paste directly on my skin. In between the dressings, I noticed that particular bite was forming a hard knot under the skin (which is why I added more paste).

By morning, most of the swelling is gone and the knot has also gone away. The other two bites are still sore and a little swollen so I will continue the process. They still have no direct opening, which is great due to the fact that normally they should be showing signs of infection coming out. The pain is definitely tolerable. I'm not sure if the small opening or me putting the paste directly on the bite with the worst symptoms made the difference in the healing. I would not recommend opening a bite for healing. I can live with the extra time and less complications to just keep applying the paste. I have definitely been amazed by some of the natural remedies that I have tried. This one possibly saved my hand from what could have happened. Two bites on my hand and one on my foot.

Cabbage

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Posted by Renata (Cape Town, South Africa) on 03/11/2009
 ★★★★★

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.

Cayenne

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Posted by Ellen C. (United States) on 04/12/2020
 ★★★★★

Approximately eight hours after being bitten, I learned it was a brown recluse bite. I started using Cayenne Pepper poultices and had an immediate reduction in pain, and redness and swelling. I have been replacing the poultice 2x a day for about 3 weeks. It looks almost fully healed.

I've now started applying poultice once a day and adding lavender oil to help heal the area and the reaction my skin has had to the bandaids I've used to keep the poultice in place.

Cortisone, Iodine

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Posted by Bridget (Oklahoma) on 08/28/2013
 ★★★★★

We had been home treating 2 Brown Recluse bites my husband got on his shins for 10 days or so. One had become very purple/red and his leg/foot was swelling and about a 2 inch square of flesh around the 'crater' of the bite looked like raw hamburger/open wound that continued to leak clear/yellow fluid. I found a website about spider bites that mentioned a man's story who had been bitten numerous times over the years by recluses, he had finally ran into a vet that gave him 3 small injections with a tiny needle around the 'crater' of the bite with cortisone. He said it started healing immediately. I printed this out and took it with us to the hospital. The ER doc said there was not much he could do for it, that it would get worse looking before it got better, that the swelling/inflammation was not allowing the blood to flow to the wound, so the flesh was dying. He prescribed antibiotics. After he had finished with his diagnosis, I pulled out the pages I printed and asked him about giving my husband the cortisone (Dexamethasone) shots that the article spoke of, since there was nothing else he knew to do. He flatly refused and wouldn't even look over the article. VERY frustrating! We left and came home to sleep til the pharmacy opened next am. Before bed as I was dressing the wound again, my husband recalled that our Dr. had a while back prescribed some cortisone cream for a rash he had on his hand. Figuring it couldn't hurt, I cleaned the wound as usual with apple cider vinegar (it helps keep the skin alkaline, preventing the acidic environment needed for infection to proliferate) then applied the cortisone cream around the open wound, but NOT on it, and bandaged lightly as the wound was still oozing. We woke up several hours later to find most all the swelling was gone from his lower leg/ankle and the surrounding area that had been so purple/red had faded considerably. The Dr. told us the flesh around the wound was dying, and would fall off, due to the inflammation not allowing the blood to flow and regenerate the wound to heal. BUT, after applying the cream for the last 4 days, the swelling has gone down, and the wound formed a scab that fell off naturally to reveal new, pink skin underneath. The original "crater" of the bite is filling in and closing up quickly. I thought that perhaps if someone else runs into a stubborn Dr that refuses to give the cortisone shots, our experience might help them as well. The name of the cream we used was Betamethasone Dipropionate 0.05%. It was prescription, but I would think that any cortisone cream would have some healing effects to allow the swelling to go down and the blood to flow to the would to facilitate healing. This is the 4th time he has been bitten here in Oklahoma, if there is a next time we will be sure to take a Benadryl and apply cortisone cream ASAP! We never did get the antibiotics Rx filled (he gave us 2 kinds- one was Clindamycin, no way was he taking that! ), I applied iodine to the open part of the wound twice a day, I read on Earthclinic that it was used for infections before antibiotics were discovered, and it has healed much quicker than before I was applying it. I hope perhaps this will help someone else who has a bad spider bite.

Garlic

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Posted by Nosakhere (Chicago, IL) on 10/19/2008
 ★★★★★

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)

Goldenseal Poultices

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Posted by Adele B. (Salt Lake City) on 07/29/2019
 ★★★★☆

The bite of the brown recluse became purple in a short time. I had no idea what it was until about 12 hours later when a friend told me there were fang marks and little pustules.

I immediately put a GOLDENSEAL poultice on the area which was my cheek on the right side of my face. After that dried possibly 2 hours later I washed that off and made a poultice of salt with jojoba oil.

Added clay poultices, but now am doing mostly ACTIVATED CHARCOAL, GOLDENSEAL AND IN BETWEEN CBD OIL TO CALM THE HEAT AND FEED NUTRIENTS TO THE SKIN FOR HEALING, BUT THEN GOLDENSEAL DOES THIS ALSO. It continues to be hot and red is spreading after 9 days.

The bite site has gone from a golf ball size to a large pea. There is a tiny seepage pin holes from the bite area, but no breakage of the skin. My friends tell me it looks good and not to worry. I've been doing the poultices 24/7 and will continue until the red and bite site are completely gone. I never had any physical problems. Not even chills, but then I'm in good shape, my immune system is really strong, I'm not eating any sugar, white flour or fast food. Lots of fruit and veggies. No dairy or meat. I drink organic Ashwagandha and green tea.

Honey, Coconut Oil, Cayenne + Poultice

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Posted by healer Larry (central point oregon) on 11/26/2023
 ★★★★★

i had a neighbor come over and ask if I could help her neighbor who had been bitten by a brown recluse spider. I went over and asked if she actually wanted my help, she was bipolar. she said yes. as she had already been to the emergency room twice, and they did nothing. She had black streaks going up her almost to her elbow, she was bit on the web by the thumb.

I went home and mixed up my wound healing cream of equal parts honey and coconut oil probably two tablespoons each. I broke open three capsules of cayenne added 5 grams of msm powder and mixed it all together.

This by itself is an absolutely incredible pain reliever and healer for cuts, scrapes, open sores etc. but I knew she needed a drawing actor so I broke open five capsules of activated charcoal and mixed it in. went over and applied it.

The pain immediately subsided and she said within thirty minutes the black streaks started coming back down her arm. She healed up in a couple of weeks, and crazy enough, another man bought her house and was bitten by a brown recluse five years later, I saw him limping and he had a necrocious patch three inches across his calf I made the same formula and he also healed quickly. Also works on scorpion bites and other spider bites.

Manuka Honey

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Posted by Strobelight (Colorado Springs) on 08/28/2023
 ★★★★★

Brown Recluse Spider Bites:

The article lists several things for the bite including HONEY but it does not say what kind of honey. The honey every household should have on hand is the New Zealand raw Manuka honey. No other honey has what the New Zealand honey has in it, it has been known to kill even the flesh eating bacteria MRSA. Have one jar for the actual bite and one jar to eat while you are healing from the bite so it is in your bloodstream. If you can add 16 oz of fresh celery juice you make yourself with a juicer, it will kill all bacteria and viruses, has mineral salts in it that are miracle products but only survive for 24 hours. Everyone has some wonderful remedies, do as many as you can stand!

MMS, Zinc Oxide

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Posted by Lee S. (IL) on 08/24/2023
 ★★★★☆

Hello, I was bitten by a brown recluse spider in late mid July. Quite scary at first with all the symptoms but made a nice recovery using oral MMS (sodium Chlorite solution) for a couple of weeks and topical 40% zinc oxide at bite site (base of my 2 middle toes on right foot) for 1st day. Energy back, gaining back lost weight and bite site fully healed and mostly normal skin color now. I am 66.

My question is now that I'm becoming more active I am still experiencing some swelling including those 2 toes and areas when active, especially when sitting or standing too long which causes some discomfort. When foot is elevated, things pretty much return to normal. What would you suggest topical product wise or something I could add when soaking my foot. I have been using a restrictive medical sock which does help. No fever or signs of infection. As I said bite sight has long healed over nicely. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

Replied by Gary
(Kitchener On)
08/26/2023

Hi Lee S.

You can make a paste out of Baking Soda and Hydrogen peroxide. Put a bandaid on it. 2 days should be back to normal.

God Bless

Gary

Replied by Laura
(Washington)
08/28/2023

Bentonite clay will help draw the poison and heal.

Replied by Pete
(Tucson Arizona)
08/28/2023
5 posts

Use your mms to soak your foot. 5cc sodium chlorite activated with 5cc hydrochloric acid 4 percent. Add enough water (plastic shoe box) to soak your toes for 15 minutes. Warm water.

Replied by Susan C. L.
(Greenville SC)
08/28/2023

Hi Lee, I think a blood/body cleanse would be helpful. I like the Vital Planet body cleanse is great. It does liver, lungs, skin, blood and bowel.

You need to buy 2. Each one is 2 weeks. After the cleanse on the next full moon, start a parasite cleanse. I am sure you will feel 100% better. Nebulizing hydrogen peroxide will help quite a bit since it circulates throughout the body. Blessings

Susan 😎🐾🙏

Replied by Jeanne
(Colorado)
08/29/2023

Sorry to hear about the spider bite experience. What helped me with swelling like that was Bromelain enzymes on empty stomach - first in the morning and then before sleep. And after that Ichtyol black creme. Our vet's assistant recommended it, and sold it to me, bless her, as it it much more reasonably priced, and same exact product from vet.

Had to wipe it with damp paper towel, and it left skin smooth and happy. I used that creme for a week, same as the Bromelain, that gets rid of various dead tissues when taken on empty stomach.

Replied by Lisa
(idaho)
08/29/2023

Since the bite has already healed on the skin, (with your great treatments) It seems more likely the deeper damage may have some scaring or toxins giving you pain. I would try: increasing circulation, ( the nutmeg cure mentioned would do this) hot packs, DMSO or MSM, and mustard packs or anything that increases circulation to bring blood to area. I would also use caster oil packs to dissolve the scar tissue ( my guess is there is some there). Iodine also helps with scaring, both topically and be sure to take enough orally to help out also.

Replied by Suzy
(Texas)
08/29/2023

Received this remedy from my Naturopath who healed a brown recluse bite. I use it for all bites.

I put 6 drops each in a carrier oil.

  • White Camphor
  • Lemon
  • Lavender
  • Teatree
  • Frankincense

Hope this helps❤️

Multiple Remedies

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Posted by Nancy (New Mexico) on 07/23/2015
 ★★★★★

My husband has been bitten twice by a brown. His first bite was between two toes and as the "SPECIALIST" was not available here for a week, he went to our house and hospital in Denver. Again, the ONLY specialist was not available for a week (all must have been at a convention to learn what to do!!! ). Well, as he was driving to Denver, I hit the Google button and developed a protocol, which by the way relied heavily on my Rife therapy. When he arrived a day &1/2 later, the venom reddened his leg up to the knee. To the newly opened hospital and after 3 hours, everyone had never seen this, several took pictures and gave him an antibiotic, then said he would need to see the out of town specialist. In disgust, we left and I went to work.

Here is the long of it: Slathered the entire leg and foot with straight lavender oil (read it neutralizes the gangrene affect of the venom);

Applied straight basil oil to the wound;

Applied an activated charcoal poultice over the wound and bandaged it (local clinic did give him the kit, which can and should be ordered online);

Then, I made him lie on the couch with the leg elevated, put headsets on the leg attached to my computer download and ran the rife program for brown recluse bite, one frequency at a time.

Well, the next morning the infection had gone down to his ankle. We continued this until he saw the specialist, WHO WAS STUNNED AND WANTED TO KNOW WHAT HE DID! At his follow-up appointment, a new nurse wanted to know how he healed it (it now was a localizes blister and was cut out). THE SPECIALIST SAID TO MY HUSBAND "TELL HER WHAT YOU DID. TELL HER WHAT YOU DID!!

Replied by Charles
(Austin Tx)
08/26/2021

what rife frequencies were you using?? I have a rife machine.

Nutmeg

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Posted by Elaine (Oklahoma) on 02/19/2022
 ★★★★★

I work in a school cafeteria. We have had the same gentleman exterminate our kitchen for years. One day he, another co-worker and I were chatting. He mentioned he had been bitten by a brown recluse a few years back. He was at a clients house when she noticed the bite. She asked him if she could try an old home remedy that was good for spider and insect bites. He agreed and she went to her kitchen and made a paste of flour and milk. She then proceeded to mix in nutmeg till it made a "tan" color. She applied the paste to the area and he went along his way. By the next morning he said all that was left was a pimple. No pain, swelling, redness, fever, nothing but the pimple.

Onion

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Posted by Betty (Neosho, Mo.) on 05/15/2012
 ★★★★★

I had a recluse spider bite. My daghter had used thinnly sliced onion as a poultice for bruises so I thought it might pull the poison out of bite. Tried it, only had red onion but used it overnight and next morning was almost gone. Healed real nice. no Dr bill, no antiboitics.

Pinon Pitch

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Posted by Flower's Mom (Pueblo of Acoma, NM) on 07/31/2019
 ★★★★★

Pinon Pitch

For brown recluse spider bites, we have had success using pinon pitch applied directly to the site as well. Cover lightly with a bandage so the sticky sap does not get all over everything. It will draw the venom and toxins out and then you can continue with the other items you mention until it is fully healed.

Plantain

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Posted by Vlaurie (Tallahassee, FL) on 04/28/2023
 ★★★★★

Years ago my husband got 2 brown recluse spider bites on his legs. I researched remedies, knowing drs. don't have an antidote and only treat for secondary infection. I read about plantain and found some at a local health food store. The largest had grown to about 3 inches diameter by the time I started applying the salve. Within a couple of days, the bites were healed.

Replied by Cindy
(Illinois, USA)
02/23/2025
543 posts

Have a string of bites on my calf but, I was using Dr Christopher's salve on everything at the time so they haven't grown or spread much - only about a half inch across, at this point - but noticed some discomfort today and saw how much they'd "grown" - haven't really been paying attention to them.

Plantain's the only anti-venomous herb I have on hand so I'll powder some and make up a batch of "burn paste" using plantain instead of comfrey - it's just 1 part wheat germ oil and 1 part honey with enough powder to make a paste, applied as a thick patch and just added to it as it is consumed by the body which are the instructions for bad burns, you just keep applying over itself as the body consumes it. It's been a couple of months so I'll use that method and then clear it off and check them in a couple of days.

I thought it looked a little bit short-legged to be a brown recluse but I suppose that's because it was on its feet and walking away with its legs bent when I saw it. But I think I know where he lives! BWAAHAHA!! I was wondering if the soapy water hornet-killer trick would work on spiders so maybe I'll have a chance to find out!! Still a bit too cold to be running into spiders on the front porch, which they just seem to love for some reason...of course, the BRs don't run around in the open - being all reclusive and whatnot - but I have plenty of others that do!!

Cindy
(Illinois, USA)
02/26/2025
543 posts

Yikes!! What a MESS! Some improvement after a day but there are much less messy ways to address the issue so won't be continuing with this mess. I'm just going to slap a big ol' homemade plantain teabag on it for tonight, followed by a plain old charcoal poultice and a couple of charcoal shots tomorrow - see what happens. No more external use of honey "mixtures"...GRRRRoss!

Cindy
(Illinois, USA)
02/27/2025
543 posts

Change of plan...

I'm making a regular plantain salve for the bites because something new has come up...and I'm going to address that for a bit...

I had my very first earache as an adult, in my 30s or 40s - I forget which - but at that point, my brother became my superhero because he often had earaches as a kid - SOOO - right now? In my 60s? With the significant amount of discomfort I'm experiencing around the tooth bed? I swear - if I'm cutting a new set of teeth? Babies - and my own daughter - will OFFICIALLY take top billing on my list of favorite superheroes!

I remember my daughter teething - with the slobbering and biting right through those hard-as-bricks teething biscuits and what not - but I don't recall her ever crying about it. That said, I will never forget the tremendous, rottweiler-like amount of force with which she once bit my finger as we were trying to get her to sit still to have her picture taken. It certainly brought tears to MY eyes - Holy MOLY! THAT hurt!

To be clear - I have an extremely high pain threshold but, CRIKEYS!!! If that's what this is, I'm going to focus on trying to help speed up the process for a bit to get it over with!!

SOOO - plain plantain salve for the bites and regular tea with the hot used teabags to bite on is the new plan. With some dulse thrown in for good measure.

The GOOD news is - I'll soon find out if dulse really DOES "taste like bacon"!! Never used it before...I was saving it to see if I could detect any difference with an inorganic/organic calcium flush and boost to help the bone and cartilage regeneration process along...as I'm about a week into work being done on my LEFT hip which seems far more extensive than the work done on the right one - with the bone work on the left seeming to extend all the way up the back of the hip joint and about halfway down the thigh. In addition to a little simultaneous work being done on the calves of both legs - though not in the bone but, rather, something around them. Not sure if it's working on the lower leg muscles, fascia or what, but I'm pretty sure it's not the bones...at least, not at this point...


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