What happens if a poisonous spider bites you

Exception: bitten by several spiders or small child is bitten. Note: many are dry bites because the fangs are small. The brown widow spider is related to the black widow. It is found in southern US. Brown widow spider bites are treated the same as black widow bites. A dark violin shaped marking on top of its head. Causes pain at the bite. Blisters form within 4 to 8 hours. The center becomes bluish and depressed crater-like over 2 to 3 days.

Other symptoms such as fever, vomiting, muscle pain can occur. No life-threatening symptoms occur. Brown recluse spiders are hard to identify. If you can, bring the spider along in a jar. Non-dangerous Spider Bites More than 50 spiders in the U. Their bites cause reactions that are not serious. This includes pain or redness at the bite site. Of these, only 3 are black, and only the black widow has the classic reddish-orange "hourglass" shape on its belly. The bite of any of the widow types can cause a fairly severe reaction.

The black widow causes the most frequent and severe poisonings. Black widows are not aggressive spiders unless they are provoked. They generally live in dark, quiet, undisturbed areas in and around a home like closets and basements. Brown recluse. Recluse spiders. There are 12 species of recluse spiders, including the brown recluse, in the United States. Only half of these are responsible for bites that have a major reaction in people.

Besides the brown recluse, the other poisonous spiders in this group can be gray, orange, reddish-brown or pale brown. Like the black widow, the recluse spiders like quiet, dark, undisturbed areas in and around the home. They are nighttime spiders, so they come out mostly at night or when the light is dim. If you are bitten by a black widow spider, the area of the bite may begin to swell and hurt after about a half hour.

The venom of a black widow spider is a neurotoxin. This means it affects the nerves and the brain. These are symptoms of a black widow spider bite:. In severe cases, a person may become unconscious or stop breathing. Death from a black widow bite is extremely rare. If it does happen, it is more likely in children younger than 2 or in adults older than If you are bitten by a brown recluse spider, pain and itching at the site of the bite will begin to increase after 4 to 8 hours.

The venom of a brown recluse spider is a tissue poison. This means it can severely damage the skin around the bite. Show references Dinulos JGH. Infestations and bites. In: Habif's Clinical Dermatology. Elsevier; Accessed March 2, Thompson, DA. Spider bite. American Academy of Pediatrics; Auerbach PS, et al. Arthropod and mosquito bites and stings. In: Field Guide to Wilderness Medicine. Accessed March 3, Venomous spiders.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Brown recluse spider. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Black widow spider. Patterson JW. Arthropod-induced diseases.