• Spiders not out to bite you; be alert, use common sense

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    There are at least 50,000 spider species. Spiders are defined as having eight jointed legs, no wings, no antennae and only two body sections. Spiders spend their entire lives capturing and eating other insects.
    Seniors, young children and people with high blood pressure are at highest risk of developing symptoms from a black widow spider bite, which looks like a red ring. Symptoms include severe cramps, weakness, headache, anxiety, itching, nausea, vomiting and difficult breathing.
    If muscle cramps develop, take the patient to the nearest hospital. Medications are used to treat the cramps, spasms and pain of a bite. Anti-venom is given for severe poisoning.
    The brown recluse spider, also known as the violin or fiddleback spider, is common in the Midwestern and Southern states. It is brown with a dark violin-shaped marking on its head. This spider is about a half-inch long and is light brown.
    There are other spiders that can produce bite wounds like the bite of the brown recluse. Some of these are the hobo spider, running spider, jumping spider, wolf spider, tarantula, sac spider and orbweaver spider. What looks like a spider bite may have been caused by kissing bugs, fleas, bedbugs, flies, mites, wasps, ants and blister beetles. In addition, what looks like a spider bite might be caused by herpes, bedsores, diabetic ulcers, poison oak or Lyme disease.
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