AboutDr. Tara Kompare, Pharm.D. Expertise I am a Doctor of Pharmacy and I am available to answer a variety of questions related to children's health and medicine ranging from the treatment of colic and cradle cap to allergies and acne. I am also the creator of the website "The Medicine Mom" at www.themedicinemom.com. Parents can e-mail me questions, read my monthly articles, and enjoy a laugh at "The Funny Farm."
Experience I am a Doctor of Pharmacy and mother of two wonderful girls. I work in a busy outpatient pharmacy clinic where I have the unique opportunity to counsel every patient that comes to my window.
Publications:
1)Drug Topics, Feb. 2006: "Why a Kiddie Corner Makes Sense"
2)Pharmacy Times,Date TBA, "How to Help Parents Cope with Colic
Education:
Bachelor of Science, Old Dominion University 1997
Doctor of Pharmacy, Virginia Commonwealth University 2002
Question Hello,
Some type of insect bit my 4-year-old son about 5 days ago. I suspect it was a spider since the bite has fang punctures about 1/4" apart. It has spread out about the size of silver dollar with a red ring. He has no other symptoms (headache, fever, etc.) but it scare us to look at it. We called our pediatrician this morning and the nurse said to wait until the skin breaks and something drains before we take him in. I took pictures of it and can post them if you want to see them.
Answer Hi John,
It sounds like a possible spider bite. As long as he is not showing any other symptoms, he should be fine. You can apply some calamine or 1% hydrocortisone lotion as needed for irritation. If it gets worse over the next couple days, you should probably bring him in to make sure there is no accompanying infection.
