Bite, red/purple blister and swelling/nurses

[Fingerscrossed11]

Hi,

I wondered if anyone could help with this. Yesterday I put my hand in my strawberry plant and saw a green/white looking big, unsure if it’s related but since had a red blister which has got worse over the last day and redness and swelling of my hand. I’ll add images to show, if anyone could advise that would be great, thank you. Images at different times from first blister to most recent.

initial blister

Earlier on today

Just now

Comparison two hands

That looks like a really nasty infection. I'd be taking a trip to a&e since the redness is spreading. The last thing you want is sepsis.

I'd say that needs medical treatment

Your thumb has turned black.

Yep, I agree you need medical treatment!
Hope it resolves quickly OP - looks painful!!

Thank you @ImInACage i was worried about that myself but after a trip to the pharmacy was told to use hydrocortisone cream and antihistamine but not doing anything. Thank you for replying.

Yeah I think you need antibiotics, either a walk in centre or a&e.

Thank you @LilacLemur I’m always a “it’s fine” person but needed some advice on this, thank you.

Thank you @Popcorn640 I always hope things go away on their own but this worried me so I posted here. Thank you for your reply

@Girliefriendlikespuppies tried
a walk in today but was closed 😫went to pharmacy and was told to use hydrocortisone cream and antihistamine but haven’t helped.

I think a&e for that op, your thumb has changed colour !!

Thumb looks okay out with the photos albeit a bit redder than the one on the other hand

Concerned about the redness coming from blister and the fact the swelling hasn’t come down but thank you all for your replies. Makes me realise it is something I should get seen rather than a general bite situation

That looks like a spider bite to me. I have had a few, one in almost exactly the same location as yours. I did not know what it was at first. Antihistamines made no difference. My hand also swelled, but, as I did not feel ill in myself, I made a GP appointment rather than go to urgent care. By the time of the appointment a few days later, the swelling was gone and just the blister remained. The GP did not know what it was, but was not concerned as I clearly did not have any infection.

When the blister burst it left a deep crater with a pillar of flesh in the middle. The wound wept for many days, and the flesh inside kept sloughing off. It did not hurt or smell. I kept it covered, using alginate dressings as long as it was weeping and sloughing, then switching to hydrocolloid dressings. It took a few weeks to heal, leaving a flat, flexible scar that faded away completely after several years. The area was also slightly numb for several years.

A couple of South African friends recognised it as a spider bite and advised me in caring for it. While all spiders have venomous
bites, very few spiders in the UK are capable of biting humans, and none are dangerously venomous to us. The venom acts by killing tissue in the direct vicinity of the bite. (That's why my wound was sloughing so much.) The danger to us is if the wound gets infected.

I am not a HCP. This is just my experience. It would probably be a good idea for you to see a doctor.

@Dilbertian
thank you for your reply and with lots of useful information. much appreciated

Just a quick update incase anyone experiences anything similar.

went to pharmacy today and was given a course of antibiotics. Was told if swelling gets worse, if I develop a fever to call NHS 24.

The blister has got bigger and the swelling has also moved over to pinky finger but directly under the blister the swelling has gone down a little.

will see how it is in the morning.

thank you all again for your replies

Most recent

That's a total cracker eh. I would def have to pop that blister though, not advising doing that but I wouldn't be able to resist it.
Antibiotics should work quickly hopefully.

@FannyFifer
thank you, fingers crossed.
I couldn’t pop it, I’d be sick 😂

My DP recently had swelling on his knee. Got oral AB's but was sent to A&E by UCC. Went to A&E had bloods etc done was given some IV AB's and sent home only to be called back the next afternoon (discharged early hours of the morning) to be admitted for IV AB's. They said they could see 'bugs' when looking at his blood sample.
He spent a week in hospital but if the redness is spreading which DP's did then you need to get seen properly not by a pharmacist. They said they caught DP's really early.

@PinkButtercups

Thank you for your reply.

That sounds awful. Did the antibiotics work at all before having to go to A&E? What made them send your partner to A&E? Did they say what it was?

Thank you

No the oral AB's didn't really take much effect.

They sent him to A&E because his redness was tracking.