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Brown Recluse Spider Bite  
INFORMATIVE 

Tags: Brown Recluse, Spiders, venomouse, fiddle back, violin-shaped dark spot, necrosis, Spider bite

Facts about the brown recluse and its bite:

	The Spider
	The brown recluse is also known as the "fiddle back" because of a violin-shaped dark spot on the body above the legs.
	The recluse is a small spider. At its largest, the legs span an area about the size of a quarter, but many are much smaller.
	The color of the brown recluse varies from a light yellow brown to a dark, reddish or chocolate brown, but most are light to medium brown.
	It has three sets of eyes in a semicircle, rather than a group of eight eyes like most spiders. This is often how the spider is identified.
	The bite
	About 90 percent of people don't react to a brown recluse bite. Others may have terrible necrotic wounds — the venom spreads from the bite and kills the surrounding flesh.
	The spider's bite is often painless, initially. Sometimes, however, it is mistaken for a bee sting or allergic reaction.
	The brown recluse bite typically has a red or black center with irregular rings of red and blue around it. The flesh in the middle may turn white or yellow.
	The back of the knee, the face, breasts and buttocks are particularly bad places to get bitten because of the abundance of blood vessels close to the skin's surface and thick padding of fat.
	Put ice or a cold compress on a suspected bite immediately. It will slow the spread of venom.
	Doctors usually prescribe antibiotics to prevent infection in the wound.
	Surgery to remove the flesh around the bite area is not recommended. It may only leave a deep scar without stopping the spread of venom beyond the area.

Lister: DVE
Source: University of Tennessee Extension; Dr. Lloyd King Jr., dermatologist, Vanderbilt University Medical

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