I had a big bug scare. I noticed a spider bite developing quickly into a blister. I didn’t see the spider but I knew we were in an area with some pretty nasty spiders. My left hand went completely numb as the swelling and blister grew. We put cold packs on it and although it was very sensitive to the touch it looked as though the worst was behind us. I woke up the next day to a numb hand and a swollen wrist. The bite itself was large and you could easily see the fang marks of the spider. I had done quite a bit of research and knew there were Brown Recluse spiders in the area so we knew what to watch for in the next 3 days to determine if it was a brown recluse bite but we still weren’t in the clear with the symptoms I was having. I went to a local Spider expert and he said “it’s either a wolf spider or a brown recluse, either way it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better.” (he’s been bitten by both). He was right about getting worse before getting better… When I showered that evening the warm water softened up the bite, which was not good because the first time something rubbed up against it it burst and caused A LOT of pain!!! I would consider myself pretty tough but WOW that was painful. It was a wide open hole for a few days but then ended up healing over. The worst part is I was in Santa Cruz and couldn’t surf haha!