First Aid Tips: How To React When You Get Bitten By A Recluse Spider
Spiders don't normally look like dangerous insects and so unless you are disturbed by their presence, it is easy to ignore them. And even when they do bite, most spiders rarely harm the human body. This is true except for recluse spiders, which are also known as brown or violin spiders. The bite of a recluse spider is poisonous, and its effect can last for hours if you don't take care of the problem.
How Do You Know You Have Been Bitten By A Recluse Spider?
If you are lucky enough to catch the spider, examine it carefully. A recluse spider is brown in color and it has a pattern that resembles the violin shape on the back of its cephalothorax. The cephalothorax refers to the fused head and thorax of the spider.
The eyes, though, are the most distinctive features of a recluse spider. Unlike most spiders that possess eight eyes, recluse spiders have six (three pairs).
What Effects Can You Expect From The Bite?
Of course, you can also tell the spider is a recluse spider by studying the effects of its bite. Within two to eight hours, your skin will redden around the bite area. This might be accompanied by intense pain. And as time passes without treatment, a red blister will form; the blister is red in the center and has a bluish color around the edges. Eventually, the blister will subside but not without leaving you with a skin ulcer. If left unattended to, the ulcer might catch an infection.
Other effects you may experience include nausea, vomiting, fatigue, body rash, and fever.
How Do You Treat The Bite?
Soothing the pain and treating the bite is not hard at all. Wash the bite area with water and soap. Then wrap an ice pack in a piece of cloth and place it on the bite area for a minimum of ten minutes. This helps to reduce the swelling and pain. Finish off your first aid procedure by applying a paste of baking soda and water on the bite area. The paste helps to prevent itching.
But as the old adage goes, prevention is better than cure. So try to find the source of recluse spiders in your home and get rid of the source. It could be the firewood that you keep in the house or it could be that the spiders have formed webs in your garage or attic. If these are the cases, clear the spider webs and keep your firewood outside.
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