Does A Spider Bite Look Like

There are many myths about spider bites, but do you know whether a spider bite look like? Many people have been afraid of spiders because of their bites, but without a true understanding of what the bites look like. Most of the time, these spiders bite people while they are asleep in their bed. Spider bites aren’t usually very big, but they can still be painful and annoying. It’s best to watch out for spiders and prevent getting bit in the first place—but if you do get bit, here’s what a spider bite looks like and what to do about it. There are identification signs that can assist you in making a determination as to what type of spider has bitten you. It is important to be able to identify the main characteristics of spider bites so that you can treat the bite immediately and know how to prevent from getting bit again by another spider. Most spider bites are harmless, and many species live quite happily with humans. In some cases, however, a spider will bite a human as a result of either being threatened or to defend its eggs. While usually not lethal, a spider bite can cause health problems in humans, including swelling and irritation. When I started thinking about writing this blog post I knew one thing, it needed a dramatic title to grab your attention. So, I decided to go with one of the most dangerous and feared spiders in the world which is….the Sydney Funnel-web spider! The problem with this idea was that as my kids were cuddling up with me on the couch yesterday I noticed a funnel web spider crawling behind them on the wall so I had to kill it silently and quickly or my kids might end up in hospital. Funnel-web spiders are one of the top 10 most venomous spiders in the world (along with Red back, Black House, Hobo Spiders, Yellow Sac, White Tail Spiders). These spiders produce a large amount of potent venom which makes their bite more dangerous than that of a common house spider (brown recluse, redback).

Does A Spider Bite Look Like

If you’re bitten and see a spider scurrying away, the odds are pretty high that it was the offender. If you didn’t witness any critters, the source might be trickier to pin down. “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. And the fact is true for many insect bites. However, there are a few signs that it could be from a spider:

✔️ 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.

✔️ Redness and swelling: When a spider bites, foreign proteins from its saliva are injected into your skin, Troyano explains. That can cause a localized reaction that’s similar to what might happen with if you got a mosquito bite or bee sting. You might have swelling, redness, or irritation around the bite site.

✔️ 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.

✔️ 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.

In the U.S., there are two types of spiders that can cause more severe reactions: the brown recluse and black widow.

Brown recluse spider bites

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. It’s also identified by its six eyes instead of the typical eight. 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).

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. However, its bite can be extremely painful should you happen to get one. “In the case of 90% of brown recluse bites, reactions are not severe, but they can be,” 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.

Reactions to a brown recluse spider bite can also vary based on the health and age of the person who is bitten, Troyano says. 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 bites

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. Unfortunately, black widow spiders do like to hang out in homes, particularly in the southern and western parts of the U.S.

You can typically find them in garages or workplaces with lots of debris. 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.

Black widow bites are also rare “but can be extremely dangerous, even deadly,” Troyano says. 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. 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 head to the emergency room immediately, you should be okay. “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. since 1983,” says Marc Potzler, a board-certified entomologist and technical services manager with Ehrlich Pest Control.

Does A Spider Bite Look Like

A spider bite is not an uncommon occurrence. It is a problem which is encountered by many people, and it is important for them to know its symptoms so that they can treat it appropriately. Some people may have a very mild reaction to the bite, while others may have a severe one.

The most common symptom of a spider bite is pain at the site of the bite. This can last for several days or weeks depending on how severe the bite was. The skin around the bite may also become red and swollen due to the venom injected into it by the spider’s fangs.

Another symptom of a spider bite is itching around the area where you were bitten. In some cases, there may be swelling which appears on any part of your body but most commonly your face or hands (due to their proximity to where you were bitten). You may also experience vomiting or nausea in some cases as well as dizziness or loss of consciousness if you are allergic to certain types of venomous spiders such as black widows or brown recluses (depending on where you live).

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