Not all spider bites are created equal, according to Nicholas Dragolea, M.B.B.S., Noble Medical, who has a unique perspective on dealing with venomous bites after spending some time in Australia. since 1983,” says Marc Potzler, a board-certified entomologist and technical services manager with Ehrlich Pest Control. “There are approximately 2,200 bites reported each year, but there has not been a death related to a widow spider in the U.S. If you head to the emergency room immediately, you should be okay. Unlike other spider bites, the black widow’s bite injects neurotoxic venom, which can cause muscle spasms, nausea, vomiting, sweating, tremors, and weakness. If you’re bitten by a black widow, you’ll notice two distinct puncture marks and might feel burning, redness, and swelling at the bite site-and this can eventually spread to other parts of your body, the CDC says. Black widows tend to build webs where there are lots of corners, edges, or tall grass-and accidentally stumbling through one of these is when a bite is most likely.īlack widow bites are also rare “but can be extremely dangerous, even deadly,” Troyano says. You can typically find them in garages or workplaces with lots of debris. Unfortunately, black widow spiders do like to hang out in homes, particularly in the southern and western parts of the U.S. Identifying a black widow is easy: It has a shiny, jet black exterior with a bright-red, hourglass-shaped marking on the underside of its abdomen. For an elderly or diabetic person who may be immunocompromised, healing from a bite may be more difficult than for someone with a healthier immune system Black widow spider bitesĬREDIT: David~O / Flickr David~O / Flickr Creative Commons Reactions to a brown recluse spider bite can also vary based on the health and age of the person who is bitten, Troyano says. “If the spider’s bite includes a large enough dose of hemotoxic venom, it can cause necrotic wounds or lesions that can take months to heal or require surgical repair.” This can appear as a white blister or discolored ulcer and cause other system-wide symptoms like muscle aches and a fever. “In the case of 90% of brown recluse bites, reactions are not severe, but they can be,” Troyano says. However, its bite can be extremely painful should you happen to get one. The brown recluse cannot bite a human without “some form of counter pressure,” per the CDC-say, you slip your foot into a shoe and trap it. It likes to hide in homes-preferably in dark, undisturbed areas like closets, shoes, or basements-and sheds, most commonly in the Midwest and southern states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It’s also identified by its six eyes instead of the typical eight. The brown recluse-also known as the fiddleback or violin spider-has a distinct violin-shaped marking that starts at the top of its head and goes down its back. Brown recluse spider bitesĬREDIT: K2sleddogs / Flickr K2sleddogs / Flickr Creative Commons In the U.S., there are two types of spiders that can cause more severe reactions: the brown recluse and black widow. ✔️ Possible itching: This symptom depends on how you personally react to an insect bite, but some spider bites can cause the release of the compound histamine in your body, and that can cause itching, says Nick Kman, M.D., an emergency medicine physician at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. ✔️ Mild pain: As for what it feels like, Troyano says most people compare it to how you’d feel when you’re stung by a bee-so, not fun. You might have swelling, redness, or irritation around the bite site. That can cause a localized reaction that’s similar to what might happen with if you got a mosquito bite or bee sting. ✔️ Redness and swelling: When a spider bites, foreign proteins from its saliva are injected into your skin, Troyano explains. ✔️ Two tiny holes: Spiders have two fangs, so you might see two tiny holes in the center of the bite, says Howard Russell, M.S., an entomologist at Michigan State University. However, there are a few signs that it could be from a spider: And this fact is true for many insect bites. “With a few exceptions, it is very hard, even for medical professionals, to positively identify a bite or skin irritation as a spider bite,” explains Nancy Troyano, Ph.D., a board-certified medical entomologist with Ehrlich Pest Control. If you didn’t witness any critters, the source might be trickier to pin down. If you’re bitten and see a spider scurrying away, the odds are pretty high that it was the offender. CREDIT: mia! / Flickr Flickr Creative Commons / mia!
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