The Brown Recluse spider is a member of the "brown" spider family, Loxoscelidae. They are light in colour and about 7mm long; their six eyes are arranged in two rows. They are most common in the western and southern United States. A few species are harmful to man - including the brown recluse, which occurs in the United States and Chile.

The brown recluse spider is a shy species that bites humans when trapped in clothing or rolled onto when people sleep in bed. Persons bitten by the brown recluse usually do not feel pain for 2-3 hours. A sensitive person may feel pain immediately. A blister arises around the area of the bite. The local pain becomes intense with the wound sloughing tissue often down to the bone. Healing take splace slowly and may take 6 to 8 weeks. If the bite of a brown recluse spider is suspected, collect the spider and consult a physician immediately.

The brown recluse, has a leg span of about 2.5cm (1 inch) and a dark violin-shaped design on its lighter back. It is often found under stones or in dark corners inside buildings. The venom of the brown recluse destroys the walls of the blood vessels near the site of the bite, sometimes causing a skin ulcer several inches in diameter. The wound, which may take several months to heal, is occasionally fatal.

A brown recluse bite may go unnoticed for 6-8 hours, before a reddening, swelling and blistering of the wound starts to appear. The occurrence of additional symptoms of a recluse bite will depend upon the amount of venom injected by the spider. A severe bite can produce a necrotic lesion (i.e., an area of dead skin tissue) that may require surgery. Although an antidote has been developed, it is not widely available and it appears to be most effective before the lesion develops. In some cases, antibiotics and the drug Dapsone may be used successfully to treat the bites without surgery, but these decisions are made after careful diagnosis by a physician. Prompt medical attention is critical to successful chemical or surgical treatment of the bite.

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