Brown recluse spiders are usually between 6-20 mm, but may grow larger. While typically light to medium brown, they range in color from cream-colored to dark brown or blackish gray. The cephalothorax and abdomen may not necessarily be the same color. These spiders usually have markings on the dorsal side of their cephalothorax, with a black line coming from it that looks like a violin with the neck of the violin pointing to the rear of the spider. Continue reading to see what really happens when you get bit by one.

The spider usually bites only when pressed against the skin, such as when tangled within clothes, towels, bedding, inside work gloves, etc. Many human victims report having been bitten after putting on clothes that had not been worn recently, or had been left for many days undisturbed on the floor. However, the fangs of the brown recluse are so tiny they are unable to penetrate most fabric. The bite frequently is not felt initially and may not be immediately painful, but it can be serious. The brown recluse bears a potentially deadly hemotoxic venom.

Most bites are minor with no necrosis. However, a small number of brown recluse bites do produce severe dermonecrotic lesions (i.e. necrosis); an even smaller number produce severe cutaneous (skin) or viscerocutaneous (systemic) symptoms. In one study of clinically diagnosed brown recluse bites, skin necrosis occurred 37% of the time, while systemic illness occurred 14% of the time. In these cases, the bites produced a range of symptoms common to many members of the Loxosceles genus known as loxoscelism, which may be cutaneous and viscerocutaneous. In very rare cases, bites can even cause hemolysis-the bursting of red blood cells.

Forty-nine percent of brown recluse bites do not result in necrosis or systemic effects. When both types of loxoscelism do result, systemic effects may occur before necrosis, as the venom spreads throughout the body in minutes.

Children, the elderly, and the debilitatingly ill may be more susceptible to systemic loxoscelism. The systemic symptoms most commonly experienced include nausea, vomiting, fever, rashes, and muscle and joint pain. Rarely, such bites can result in hemolysis, thrombocytopenia, disseminated intravascular coagulation, organ damage, and even death. Most fatalities are in children under the age of seven or those with a weak immune system.

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