Any kind of systemic (body-wide) symptoms following a brown recluse bite should be treated as a medical emergency. This may indicate a progressing infection or loxoscelism.
Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room if you develop any of the following:
- Fever or chills
- Widespread skin rash with many tiny, flat purple and red spots
- Nausea and vomiting
- Joint pain
- Trouble breathing
- Rapid heart rate
- Confusion
- Any other worrisome symptoms
In some cases, what a person thinks is a spider bite is actually another type of necrotic skin infection, such as necrotizing fasciitis. Skin infections like this can be much more dangerous than a spider bite.