In 2014, only 1,330 brown recluse spider bites were recorded in the United States. Of these, 481 people required medical care.
Most brown recluse bites either don’t have any symptoms at all or there is a little swelling with a red bump. Some bites will develop a boil or a pimple that resembles an ingrown hair.
The bump might also be mistaken for a skin infection due to Staphylococcus or Streptococcus. At the same time, these bacteria can infect the spider bite wound.
When symptoms become severe enough to require medical care, it’s because the bite has become infected or caused what’s known as loxoscelism.