Brown Recluse Spiders. Tiny, but vicious.

Yeah. They're nasty little devils. Pound for pound, if we could train ém, beef ém up, and send them to any hot spot in the world, we could neutralize (that's a CIA word for kill) our worst enemies. In about a week.

They're not very big. About a half inch long. The juveniles are even smaller, and are less identifiable. But, like the children of some of terrorists, they're just as deadly. You can usually identify them, if your vision is pretty good, by the violin-shape on their head/mid-section. They don't look all that menacing. Nothing like a big old snake or a black widow spider. But, they can lay a hurtin'on you. Been there. Got the tee-shirt.

These vicious monsters lie in wait, often in attics, under rocks, in wood piles. Dark areas are their favorites. Seems the southeastern part of the United States is their stomping ground. Some Southerners think that General Sherman left them here during his raid back in the 1860's. Wouldn't put it past him. (Come on, have a sense of humor)

All joking aside, their bites will lead to serious infections. The venom contains a protein-eating enzyme that destroys skin tissue. It is more poisonous than the venom from a rattlesnake.

The symptoms include:

• Reddened skin that may be followed by a blister that forms at the bite site.
• Mild to intense pain and itching for 2 to 8 hours following the bite.
• An open sore (ulcers) with a breakdown of tissue (necrosis) that develops a week or more following the bite. This may take months to heal.
• Some people have a severe, systemic (whole-body) reaction to brown recluse spider bites, including the rapid destruction of red blood cells and anemia (hemolytic anemia). Signs and symptoms include:
  • Fever and chills.
  • Skin rash all over the body with many tiny, flat purple and red spots.
  • Nausea or vomiting.
  • Joint pain.Fever and chills.
• Skin rash all over the body with many tiny, flat purple and red spots.
• Nausea or vomiting.
• Joint pain.

It's important to know, too, that the bite doesn't necessarily hurt. Nothing like a bee sting. No pain. At first. But, when the symptoms begin, you'll be fully aware that something ain't right.

Ok, so you thnk you've been nailed. Now what. Here are some suggestions:

Remain calm. Too much excitement or movement will increase the flow of venom into the blood.

Apply a cool, wet cloth to the bite or cover the bite with a cloth and apply an ice bag to the bite.

Do not apply a tourniquet. It may cause more harm than benefit.

Try to positively identify the spider or catch it to confirm its type.

A brown recluse bite can be serious and may require immediate medical care. Call a health professional if:

• You have severe symptoms throughout your body.
• An open sore and necrosis develop. Necrosis is black, dead tissue.

Black, dead tissue. That's what I ended up with. I had a small area that was irritating, a little sore. I used good old neosporin, having no clue what I was doing. Thank goodness I was going in for a regular doc-checkup. He saw it, and knew immediately what I had. Got it in time, after a little digging around, along with a couple stitches, followed up by anti-biotics.

Other victims have not been so lucky. Warning. Some of the pictures that follow should not be viewed before eating, or by little children. Unless you want to scare the stuffing out of them. Gross is the polite-est way I can think of to describe them . Don't say I didn't warn ya.

After a couple days. Nothing overly concerning. Just some mild irritation, itching, burning, slight pain.

Fifth Day. Notice the streaking. NOW, you should be very concerned.

Ok. Enough is enough. This is serious. Do you need that thumb? What are you waiting for? And, this is Day 6. The poison did a lot of damage overnight.

Notice the medical environment. It's about time. Recovery is going to take a while.

I told you not to look at these before dinner.

                          Just so you'll remember what one looks like. Consider yourself warned.