• Kansas City woman thought she had water in ear, but doctors find brown recluse spider

    By: Bob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. -

    A Missouri woman went to see a doctor Tuesday because she believed she had water in her left ear. What a medical assistant and doctors found made her cringe.

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    Susie Torres was horrified to learn that a brown recluse spider had crawled into her ear.

    "Gross. Why, where, what and how," Torres told WDAF-TV.

    Torres, who does not like spiders, said she felt some discomfort when she woke up.

    "I woke up Tuesday hearing a bunch of swooshing and water in my left ear. It was like when you went swimming and you have all of that water in your ear," Torres told WDAF.

    When Torres visited her doctor, her condition was much more serious.

    "(The medical assistant) ran out and said 'I'm going to get a couple more people,'" Torres told KSHB. "She then said, 'I think you have an insect in there.'"

    Then Torres learned the insect was a recluse spider, but fortunately, the arachnid had not bitten her.

    "They had a few tools and worked their magic and got it out," Torres told KSHB

    A bite from a recluse spider can cause fever, nausea, chills and discolored skin after an initial bite. according to Healthline.

    Having escaped one spider bite, Torres said she is taking no chances from now on.

    "I went and put some cotton balls in my ears last night," Torres told WDAF. "I`m shaking off my clothes, and I don`t put my purse on the floor. I`m a little more cautious."

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