Natural remedies can be used for common spider bites that are harmless.
Occasionally, a spider bite may cause an allergic reaction and require additional care.
After taking a few steps at home, you should contact your healthcare provider.
Illustration by Jessica Olah for Verywell Health
Don’t wait if trouble breathing or serious symptoms occur.
If your symptoms do not improve or start to worsen with home remedies, contact your healthcare provider.
There is a risk of infection with any insect bite, or you may have anallergic reaction.
Treating Venomous Spider Bites
Venomous spiders in the United States include the brown recluse and black widow.
They normally only bite if they feel trapped or have been touched.
To treat a venomous spider bite at home:
Your healthcare provider will start by inspecting the bite mark.
There is no way to test for a spider bite.
Your practitioner may diagnose one based on an examination of the wound.
Treatment for spider bites typically involves addressing the symptoms as they occur.
If you have a heart condition, your healthcare provider may recommend a hospital stay for observation and treatment.
When to Seek Immediate Care
Keep in mind that spider bites often occur without seeing the insect.
It is about 1 inch long.
While most spiders have eight eyes, the brown recluse has six.
Brown recluse spiders are commonly found in the Midwest and the South in the United States.
They usually live in dry, secluded areas like underneath log piles or in rocks and leaves.
Indoors, they may be found in dark areas of the house like closets or the attic.
A brown recluse spider will only bite when it meets with pressure from a human.
Brown recluse spider bites may sting at first, then feel painful.
You may notice a small white blister at the site of the bite.
Symptoms usually last for 2436 hours and include:
The brown recluse bite can cause the skin to deteriorate.
Known as skinnecrosis, this condition needs medical treatment right away.
The syndrome because of a brown recluse bite is calledloxoscelism.
A systemic (full-body) response occurs in 20% of people, affecting the kidneys and blood tissue.
It can prove fatal.
Black Widow
Black widow spiders are black, with a red hourglass pattern on their underside.
They prefer to live in undisturbed areas and may be found under woodpiles.
They can also live near outdoor toilets because of the abundance of flies, which they will eat.
Black widow spiders tend to build their webs between objects.
These spiders usually bite when a human comes into contact with one of their webs.
A black widow spider bite has two puncture marks.
Bites from brown recluse spiders and black widow spiders are dangerous because of the spiders venom.
Stay calm and seek medical care right away if you believe that you were bitten by a poisonous spider.
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2021 Jul 27;13(7):e16663.
doi:10.7759/cureus.16663
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