My husband got bit by a brown spider and we live in south texas, do you know wha!

My husband got bit by a brown spider and we live in south texas, do you know what kind of spider it was and?

my husband got bit by a brown spider and we live in south texas, do you know what kind of spider it was and
what should we do. It happened maybe 1-2 hours ago when he was at work. He said that a brown spider bit him but he is not sure what kind it was. I think that it was a brown reculeuse, right now the site is a little red and it stings like a bee sting. He kinda thinks that a bee stung him but he didnt see a bee only a spider. I have tried to make him go to the hospital but he said that its ok but I am worried. What should I do and does anyone know anything about brown spider bites because I am clueless about it. Thank you so much

Bites and Bite Symptoms
Brown recluse spiders usually bite only when they become trapped next to the victim's skin. Bites occur either when sleeping humans roll onto the spider or put on clothes into which the spider has crawled (Vetter and Visscher 1998). Typically bites occur under clothing, mostly on the thigh, upper arm, or lateral torso, less often on the neck (Anderson 1998) [Dr. Philip C. Anderson is a physician and medical researcher who has worked on brown recluse bites and venom for 40 years].
Description of the symptoms is from Wingo (1960), Gorham (1968, 1970), Anderson (1982, 1998), and Vetter and Visscher (1998). Reactions to a bite vary from no noteworthy symptoms to severe necrosis or systemic effects. Discomfort may be felt immediately after the bite, or several hours may pass before any local reaction to the bite occurs. In one study, only 57% of the patients realized they had been bitten at the time of the bite. It must be realized that there are at least two significant variables affecting the outcome of a bite. The first is the amount of venom injected by the spider. Like some venomous snakes, spiders are known to sometimes give "dry" bites, with little or no venom injected. The second variable is the sensitivity of the victim. Some people are simply more prone to have a severe reaction in instances where another person might only have a slight reaction.

Typical symptoms are as follows: Symptoms start two to six hours after the bite. Blisters frequently appear at the bite site, accompanied by severe pain and pronounced swelling. A common expression is the formation of a reddish blister, surrounded by a bluish area, with a narrow whitish separation between the red and blue, giving a "bull's-eye" pattern. By 12 to 24 hours, it is usually apparent if a Loxosceles wound is going to become necrotic because it turns purple in color; if necrotic symptoms do not express by 48 to 96 hours, then they will not develop. If the skin turns purple, it will then turn black as cells die. Eventually the necrotic core falls away, leaving a deep pit that gradually fills with scar tissue.

Experimental antivenin (Rees et al. 1981; not commercially available) was very successful when administered within 24 hours, but many times a victim does not seek treatment until after necrosis is well underway (more than 24 hours), after which the antivenin is less effective. Systemic effects usually take two to three days to show symptoms. Bites that become systemic usually do not also become necrotic; it is thought that in necrotic wounds the venom is localized in the tissue whereas in systemic reactions the venom is distributed quickly into the body without necrotic local effects. The wound is usually free of bacterial infection for the first two to three days but may be contaminated by patients due to pruritis (itching) leading to scratching. Recluse venom can exhibit extended necrosis in adipose (fatty) tissue of thighs, buttocks and abdomen of obese patients; there is also a gravitational flow of the venom effects, at times leading to satellite pockets of necrosis. Healing can take weeks to months and may leave an unsightly scar, although scarring is minimal in most cases. Skin grafts may be required to complete healing in the worst cases, but should be considered a last resort.

Medical Analysis
The following technical analysis is condensed from the medical literature. Persons who suspect they have been victimized by a brown recluse spider bite are strongly encouraged to consult with a physician.
In medical terms (Vetter 1998), bites from Loxosceles can be unremarkable (requiring no care), localized (requiring some care but usually healing without intervention), dermonecrotic (a slow- healing, necrotic ulcerated lesion needing supportive care), or systemic (vascular and renal damage, sometimes life-threatening). Within 10 minutes of venom injection, there is a constriction of capillaries around the site of the bite. A major venom component is sphingomyelinase D which causes hemolysis (destruction of red blood cells). Recluse venom has a strong disruptive effect on endothelial tissue. Polymorphonucleocytes (PMN) are activated (by the patient.s immune system) and infiltrate the bite site; in test animals where PMN activity was suppressed, degree of necrosis was lessened. General symptoms are edema (swelling), erythema (redness caused by blood being brought to the surface to counteract the damage), pruritis (itching), pain at the site, and mild fever. A pruritic or painful eruption can occur within a few hours of the bite and persist for a week, ending with scaling and peeling of the hands, and a truncal papular rash, that recalls pictures of scarlet fever rashes; the pruritis may be worse for the patient than the painful focal necrosis. The skin may feel hot and tender to the patient. It may be advisable to treat the rash and pruritis symptoms with Prednisone (Anderson 1998). Treatment with corticosteroids does not appear to affect either the skin necrosis or the hemolysis (Anderson 1998).

Dermatologic expression varies. In mild self-healing wounds, the bite site may not progress past an edematous erythema; these wounds do not become necrotic and non-intrusive care is sufficient. In more serious wounds, a sinking blue-gray macule on the skin contains a "bull's- eye" pattern formation where a central erythematous bleb (blister) is separated from a peripheral cyanotic region by a white zone of induration (red-white-blue). If the bite becomes violaceous within the first few hours, this usually indicates that severe necrosis may occur and more supportive measures are necessary.

The initial bleb gives way to ischemia (localized temporary blood deficiency). A central eschar (hardened scab similar to that made after burns) forms, hardens, and within seven to 14 days the eschar falls out leaving behind an ulcerated depression. The necrosis may continue to spread from the bite site possibly due to an autoimmune response (see above). Normally, the wound limits begin to recede after one week as healing begins. Unnecessary removal of tissue often leads to greater scarring than would result from normal healing. Extirpation of damaged skin is only recommended in severe cases and only after the limits of the wound are strongly demarcated at six to eight weeks. Most wounds self-heal with excellent results.

Systemic conditions that might manifest in severe cases are hematoglobinuria (hemoglobin in the urine), hematoglobinemia (reduction of useful hemoglobin, resulting in anemia-like condition), thrombocytopenia (reduction of clotting platelets in the blood), and/or disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) (precipitation of platelets causing mini-clots all over the body). The presence of sustained coagulopathy with hemolysis indicates severe systemic loxoscelism. Fortunately, less than 1% of cases exhibit these symptoms. Although rare, if death occurs, it is most often from hemolysis, renal failure and DIC; children are most adversely affected due to their small body mass. Anderson (1998) noted, however, that none of the fatalities were proven to have been caused by a brown recluse spider.