Researchers have found around 3,500 types of spiders from all over the United States alone. One of the species is the brown recluse spider, and they usually choose a warm environment to live in. However, there is a huge number of residents who experience brown recluse spider bite every year.
By the way, we were talking about their living places. Mostly they have been found in the central as well as the southern US. Brown recluse would like to live usually in the dark and sheltered places. For example, they prefer to live underwood, leaves, or it can be a rock.
Besides, they can live in some dangerous places too, which may be harmful to humans. Such as they can live at your home, even in your shoes and clothes if you do not use them quite often.
Sometimes, it is tricky to recognize the brown recluse as it looks the same as other non-harmful brown spiders.
However, we will talk about every detail of the brown recluse spider bite. And what to do before and after biting. So, let’s get rid of brown recluse together.
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Things You Need To Know About Brown Recluse Spider
We know brown spiders as violin or fiddle-back spiders in most cases. We gave this name based on its appearances. For example, this spider’s color is brown. And contains a dark and violin-shaped sign on the backside.
In addition, Brown recluse is different from other types of spiders. For instance, it has six eyes of three pairs, and each pair has two eyes. On the other hand, other spiders usually have eight eyes, which is more than two brown spider eyes.
Moreover, the brown recluse has skinny, long legs that are usually covered by small hairs. The scientific terms of brown spiders come from Greek, and that is Loxosceles Reclusa. The meaning of this scientific term is “with slanted legs.”
Brown spiders usually rest in the day time and explore at the night time. They prefer to hide in dark and dry places. You will see them under the chair, in the shoes and clothes, and other darkest places in your house.
Why They Bite
Brown recluse does not intend to bite a human being if it does not disturb him. They usually prefer to run away when they see anything unexpected. In addition, they are not aggressive as well.
So, as long as you do not harm them, they will not attack or bite you because biting things happen when you hurt them unintentionally. Besides, they stuck between bed sheets, clothes, or shoes often. And when you try to use them, they get feared.
However, I suggest you clean your home or room often. Because if you tend your house sometimes, a brown spider does not have to chase to make their home.
Secondly, you should always check your clothes and shoes before wearing them because these are familiar places for spider recluses.
Steps And Symptoms Of A Brown Recluse Spider Bite
There are some approximate stages of symptoms and healing after being bitten by a brown recluse. Here I will talk about symptoms, and after that, I will give you the steps of healing duration.
Symptoms
The exciting thing is that we do not even realize that a brown recluse spider has already bitten us. So what does that mean we should not worry? We should worry about it.
But the main thing is that we do not even notice within a few hours. After a few hours, it starts burning or itching in the place where the brown spider bit.
After that, the place will become red, and tiny blisters can appear in that area.
However, there are some common symptoms we should look into. Such as,
- Nausea.
- Severe burning and itching in the place of the bite.
- Rash.
- Fever.
- Chills.
- Sweating.
- General Uneasy.
- Vomiting.
- Muscle Pain.
These are symptoms of a brown spider bite. However, there are some stages to showing these symptoms. So, let’s look at them.
Stages
A brown spider is able to kill your blood vessels as well as your nerve systems. As a result, you may feel ischemia and short of oxygens. And finally, your skins start to die from time to time.
However, there are a total of 5 stages from biting to healing. Such as,
Initial Bite
You usually do not feel the pain if a brown recluse bites you. Because it has very tiny fangs, by the way, you may initially seem that the place will become red after 4 to 8 hours. After that, you will start to disturb you from time to time.
Some of you may encounter a necrotic lesion because of the bites of the spider. The initial symptoms might look like this.
- The area will become dry and damaged.
- The infected area will look red and pale.
- Prominent blisters will occur.
After 2 to 5 days
If your immune system is good enough and healthy, your affected will not spread that much. By the way, you will have some discomfort for 1 or 2 days. After that, it will disappear within 2 to 5 days if you are healthy enough.
However, it may stay for a few days longer and spread the venoms gradually.
After 6 to 14 days
The infection is now in the middle point as it is spreading. I think you got an intense bite from that brown recluse spider. So, in this stage, the infected areas start growing inches. However, if it continues to 14 days, it may suffer you extra days.
After 3 weeks
Naturally, brown recluse spider bite does not take that much time to cure. However, if it takes up to 3 weeks, it affects the place to create dead tissues. By the way, the name of the situation is eschar.
Usually, it appears like a large, dark, and thick cover of the injured area.
After 3 months
Most of the brown recluse bites get the cure before 3 months. But if your infection still takes longer than 3 months, it might not be from brown spiders. And obviously, you will see a doctor before that time.
Cautions after brown recluse spider bite: 100
How To Get Rid Of A Brown Recluse Spider Bite
I already told you the living places of brown recluse spiders. You may understand what to do next. However, I will again remind you here what to do as a precaution.
However, as I said, they live in the darkest and covered places. So, it will be challenging to find them. Moreover, when you go to bread their homes, they can bite you at that time. So, it is best to hand over this to the professionals.
By the way, here are some possible ways you can prevent them from spreading their homes. Such as,
- You should clean and remove all the unnecessary things that make your home a mess. For example, you can throw away old newspapers and cardboards.
- It would be good idea if you always tried to put your shoes in a place where enough light reaches.
- Shake the shoes and clothes before putting them on.
- Keep things in an airtight jar so that the spider is not able to get into it.
- If you take decision to clean your home by yourself, you must wear long sleeves and gloves. Because when the species get hurt, they will intent to bite you.
- Check your home, whether it has holes or any other cracks, because a spider can choose that place as its sweet home.
If you keep in mind these things, you may get rid of brown recluse spider bite most of the time. By the way, if you don’t live in such a place where these species do not live, I think you should not worry that much.
Home Remedies for Brown Recluse Spider Bite
Most of the spider bites are not harmful that much. But if you have some common diseases like diabetes and skin issues, it may disturb you for some days.
By the way, maximum of the time, you unintentionally misdiagnosed. The results do not bring well.
However, we can take soap washing as first aid because it will remove all the bacterias and harmful elements from the injured area. But the main problem is we can’t even notice that a spider has bitten us.
Secondly, if you feel uneasy, you can use an ice pack to decrease the itching pain.
Some doctors prescribe acetaminophen as a pain healer for uneasiness. Moreover, you can also try Benadryl if you feel itching.
However, I am going to share the secrets with bullet points here so that you may feel comfortable to read.
- First of all, you can try an ice pack and turn on and off the system for 15 minutes.
- Uplift the place to decrease swelling of the infection.
- Go to the doctor for consultation and try an antihistamine.
- You can try Benadryl as it helps to reduce the itching.
- And the essential thing is that you should wash the infected area with soap water.
- Applying antibiotic ointment to the places if you encounter blisters.
By the way, consulting a doctor is the best precaution because only an expert can give you the best suggestions.
Correct Time To See A Doctor After Brown Recluse Spider Bite
When something is a matter of your health, you should never neglect it. As human beings, our skin is sensitive and soft. In addition, our skin can be infected very quickly as it’s the outer layer of our body.
However, only a doctor can suggest the best solution for a brown spider bite. When a doctor sees you as a patient like this, he will offer tetanus if he did not take it within 4 years.
Perhaps, the doctor wants to see after every 2-3 days for close observations.
By the way, we also need to notice that the infection either comes from brown recluse or not. And if you do not live in an area where brown recluse does not live, you should not make that spider guilty.
Moreover, you must not neglect to see a doctor if you identify that any of these species bite you I mentioned below.
- Brown Recluse.
- Hobo Spider.
- Brazilian wandering spider.
- Balck widow.
- Tarantula.
Are Most Of The Spiders Poisonous?
The number of venomous spiders is very low. So, you even do not need to worry about them. The maximum spiders living in the US are not harmful. There are 3000 types of spiders we have found in the United States alone.
By the way, even if you got a bite from one of them, then you do not need to worry. Because their fangs are too small to get into your skin, however, you may feel itchy sometimes, but the duration will be negligible.
However, spider-like brown recluse can harm you often as it has the ability to get into your skin.
To Conclude,
I hope you have already understood that brown recluse spider bite is not that scary. Perhaps, we saw a movie or film on brown recluse spiders. After that, we always like it that way.
So, the harmfulness is not that much we usually think. If you take some easy precautions, we can prevent you from getting bitten. As you know that it is dangerous that much, so as first prevention we can wash our hands with soap.
This is the first step to get rid of the infections. After that, if you notice any symptoms that I mentioned, such as fever, vomiting, rash, etc., you should see the doctor.
By the way, the majority of doctors will suggest a method called RICE. The RICE means that rest, ice, compression, and finally elevation as first aid.
Therefore, I encourage you not to ignore it when you see that your skin is changing Because it can lead you to the other illness if you have some allergies.
