Spider bites

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Black widow spider

The black widow spider is known for the red hourglass marking on its belly.

Brown recluse spider

The brown recluse spider is known for the violin-shaped marking on its top.

Spider bites are usually harmless. Many bites attributed to spiders turn out to have been inflicted by other bugs. Skin infections also have been mistaken for spider bites.

Only a few types of spiders have fangs long enough to penetrate human skin and venom strong enough to severely affect a human being. In the United States, these include the black widow spider and the brown recluse spider.

Black widow spider bites can cause severe abdominal pain or cramping. Brown recluse spider bites can cause a sting or sharp pain, like a bee sting. With severe bites, surrounding skin may die within a few hours. Both types of spiders generally live in undisturbed areas, such as attics or sheds. And they don’t bite unless threatened.

Typically, a spider bite looks like any other bug bite — a red, inflamed, sometimes itchy or painful bump on your skin — and may even go unnoticed. Harmless spider bites usually don’t produce any other symptoms.

Signs and symptoms of a black widow spider bite may include:

The pain associated with a brown recluse spider bite typically increases during the first eight hours after the bite. You may also have fever, chills and body aches. The bite usually heals on its own in about a week. In a minority of cases, the skin at the center of the bite can become dark blue or purple and then evolve into a deep open sore (ulcer) that enlarges as the surrounding skin dies. The ulcer usually stops growing within 10 days after the bite, but full healing can take months.

Seek prompt medical care in the following situations:

Your doctor may recommend a tetanus booster shot if you haven’t had one in the last five years.

Severe spider bite symptoms occur as a result of injected spider venom. The severity of symptoms depends on the type of spider, the amount of venom injected and how sensitive your body is to the venom.

Although dangerous spider bites are rare, your risk of being bitten increases if you live in the same areas that the spiders do and you happen to disturb their habitat. Both black widow and brown recluse spiders prefer warm climates and dark, dry places.

Black widow spiders can be found throughout the U.S. but more so in the southwestern states. They prefer to live in:

Brown recluse spiders are found most commonly in the southern Midwest and in limited areas of the South. Recluses are so named because they like to hide away in undisturbed areas. They mostly prefer to live indoors, in places such as:

Outside, they seek out dark, quiet spots, such as under rocks or in tree stumps.

Very rarely, a bite from a black widow or brown recluse spider may be deadly, particularly in children.

Spiders in general, including the black widow and brown recluse, bite only in defense, when being trapped between your skin and another object.

To prevent spider bites:

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Spider bites

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