Necrotic arachnidism is a condition that can potentially occur when a person is bit by a spider that has venom that causes tissue to die.
When that spider is a brown recluse spider, the condition is referred to as loxoscelism. This is because the brown recluse belongs to a genus of spiders known as Loxosceles.
Loxoscelism only occurs in a minority of brown recluse spider bites. When it does, the effects are most often limited to the skin around the bite (local).
Local symptoms of loxoscelism due to a brown recluse spider bite include:
- Reddened skin around the bite
- A blister that forms at the bite site
- Mild to intense pain and itching for two to eight hours after the bite
- An open sore (ulcer) and tissue death that develops a week or more after the bite. The sore may take months to heal.