Nova Scotia man believes he was bitten by venomous brown recluse spider

A Mahone Bay, N.S., man says he'll probably spend the rest of his life shaking out his pants and shorts before he puts them on after suffering what was likely a bite from avenomous brown recluse spider.

Stephen McKellar first noticeda bite on his right thigh on Aug. 2, a day before a planned vacation.

It was a small mark that he said looked like an "oversized mosquito bite." The skin was a bit tender, but he thought nothing of it.

"I've been stung by just about everything and don't have any reactions to anything, so when something like this is happening it was like, all right, maybe there's a bit of an infection or something like that," he told CBC Radio's Maritime Noon on Thursday.

The next day, he headed on holiday to Fox Harbour on Nova Scotia's north shore. It wasa painful drive.

"When I got there it was even worse," he said. "By Friday morning it was, 'OK I need to go into the hospital and get this looked at.'"

4 days in hospital

Brown recluse spiders are typically found in the southern and midwestern states. If one was the culprit inthis case, it likely hitched a ride to Nova Scotia on grapes or bananas, McKellar'swife, Megan,said onFacebook.

Nova Scotia zoologist Andrew Hebda said there are actually several species of spiders, occassionally brought in on fruit, that can cause the type of bite McKeller experienced.

Bites from the brown recluse spider cancause large lesions and gangrenouspatches on the skin, andCanadian doctors and residentshave reported caseswhere people have been hospitalized up to five weeks as a result.

McKellarhad similar symptoms, as well as increased heart rate and temperature, though his stay in hospital was only from Friday to Monday.

Megan McKellar wrotethat adoctorat Lillian Fraser Memorial Hospital in Tatamagouchehad twice treated brown recluse bites beforeand said itwas the likely cause in this case.

"The [doctor]said that the redness around the bite wasn't infection spreading, rather it was his skin fighting the venom from the spider," she wrote.

She said the bite is being treated like a burn because the skin breaks down during the healing process. She also urged people to check their fruit for spiders.

"I cannot imagine what would have happened if this spider bit one of our girls, after seeing what it's done to a grown 6 foot, 240 lb man," she wrote.

Stephen McKellar was prescribed three different oral antibiotics but expects to be fine. He saidhe's not worried about brown recluses lurking in the area, though the house will get a second spring cleaning.

"I'm just fortunate enough that it was kind of on the best spot it could be on my body, and that it wasn't any worse," he said.

Hebda says if people spot an unusual-looking spider, they should avoid handling it but you can try to safely capture it in a jar or thick polyethylene bag and contact the Nova Scotia Museum to verify it. He said it makes it easier to treat a spider bite if doctors know what kind of spider is responsible.