RHOBH Star Brandi Glanville's Health Scare Explained

Brandi Glanville, former star of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," posted a photo on Twitter on August 3, 2021, sharing an update with her fans. The photo shows her left hand, and she says that she thinks she got bit by something at night but wasn't sure if she could go to the doctor because she had a lot to do. A response from California begged her to go to the doctor right away, saying that they had a spider bite that could've killed them if they didn't start taking antibiotics immediately. 

Glanville updated her fans with another tweet later that evening. She shared another photo of her left hand, which looked considerably more swollen than before. She explained that she had an infected bite of some kind and that she wanted to leave the hospital. However, the doctor explained that she could lose a limb, so she stayed. According to her following tweet, the swelling finally started to go down, but she didn't post a photo with this one. In her next tweet on August 5, 2021, she said she was feeling much better and planned an escape from the hospital before lunch. In an Instagram post, she said that it was believed to be an infected spider bite. So, what exactly does that mean?

What is an infected spider bite?

According to the Cleveland Clinic, spiders are usually harmless, and most don't have large enough fangs to even bite humans. Less than three people a year die from spider bites. WebMD adds that spiders are often blamed for a skin infection or other bug bite.

However, some spiders are dangerous to humans — black widows, brown recluses, and hobo spiders. Black widows and brown recluse spiders are particularly dangerous if they bite children, the elderly, or anyone with a compromised immune system. If you have a bite, clean the area with soap and water and apply ice. Elevate and take an antihistamine to reduce itchiness. You can also take ibuprofen to help reduce swelling. You should seek medical attention right away if you have trouble breathing, a severe headache, nausea, vomiting, fast heartbeat, heart palpitations, weakness, problems moving, muscle pain, cramps, fever, or pus from the bite.

According to Healthline, infected bug bite symptoms are pus, swelling, chills, fever, swollen lymph nodes, pain that is getting worse, a large area of redness, a warm feeling around the bite, and a red line from the bite. Brandi Glanville had swelling but didn't explain if she had other symptoms. It could have been an infected bite from an insect or a spider.