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Spider Bite, Brown Recluse Updated 12/2010

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BASICS

  • Description
  • Etiology

DIAGNOSIS

  • Signs and Symptoms
  • Essential Workup
  • Tests
  • Differential Diagnosis

TREATMENT

  • Pre-hospital
  • Initial Stabilization
  • ED Treatment
  • Medication (Drugs)
  • In-patient Considerations

Ongoing Care

  • Follow-Up Recommendations
The following is an excerpt....
BASICS
Description

Local or systemic illness caused by brown recluse spider bite envenomation

Etiology
  • Brown recluse spider (also known as fiddleback spiders) features:
    • Appearance:
      • Delicate body and legs spanning 10–25 mm
      • Tan- to dark-brown with darker violin-shaped marking visible on the upper aspect of the head
      • 3 pairs of eyes
    • Found widely throughout the south-central part of the U.S.
    • Habitat: Typically warm and dry locations indoors or outdoors such as wood piles, bundles of rags, cellars, under rocks, or in attics
    • Bites are typically defensive
  • Mechanism of toxicity:
    • Venom is a complex cocktail of enzymes and peptides that:
      • Binds to RBC and causes hemolysis
      • Causes prostaglandin release and activates complement cascade
      • Causes lipolysis and tissue ...

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See Also
Images >
20.1 Angioedema caused by a bee sting. This patient developed an immediate hypersensitivity reaction after being bitten on the lip. From Goodheart HP. Goodheart's Photoguide to Common Skin Disorders: Diagnosis and Management, 3rd Edition. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2009.
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