Dad left with 'rotten black hole' on his leg after spider bite
The dad-of-two said he feared he may lose his leg as the wound deteriorated.
WARNING - GRAPHIC CONTENT: A dad has revealed the terrifying injuries he sustained when he was bit by a false widow spider when taking a break on a run.
Kevin Tomlinson had returned from a five-kilometre run near his house in England's South Yorkshire when he noticed a 10 cents-sized bite on his upper right thigh last month.
The 57-year-old said he had sat down halfway through his run on a log in a clearing and felt the critter bite him but thought it was just a mosquito and continued his jog.
But when he woke up the next morning and found the bite had grown to the diameter of a baked bean tin and started to feel feverish, he knew something wasn't right.
Kevin rushed to emergency where he a doctor confirmed he had been bitten by a false widow spider.
The dad-of-two said the doctor was 'shocked' to see the painful wound on his thigh and was told he had suffered a bad reaction to the spider bite and it had become infected.
Kevin was then given a dose of antibiotics by the doctor and sent home.
Stomach-churning snaps show the infected wet sore on his upper right thigh, leaving a 'rotten black hole' on his leg that smelled like 'gone-off meat'.
"I was struggling to walk because I was in a lot of pain," he recalled.
Dad feared he would lose leg from bite
Kevin said he took the prescribed medication for five days but when he felt like the oozing hole was getting worse and the antibiotics didn't seem to be working, he visited his local GP fearing it could lead to him losing his leg.
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He said he was given a stronger dose of antibiotics and was told by the doctor they might have to 'carve out' the bite if these pills didn't work.
But luckily after four rounds of antibiotics, Kevin's leg finally began to heal and scab over. He has now been left with a two-inch red scar on his upper thigh.
He urged people to seek immediate medical attention if they experience an unidentified bite.
- Kennedy News and Media
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