Bites from brown recluse spiders can cause an autoimmune form of hemolytic anemia, in which red blood cells are destroyed by the immune system.
Two people who were bitten by brown recluse spiders developed a rare condition in which their immune systems destroyed their red blood cells, a new case report shows.
In both cases, doctors noticed that the whites of the patients’ eyes were yellowish. The condition, called scleral icterus, is caused by a buildup of a pigment called bilirubin in the blood, which is made when red blood cells break down. Though brown recluse bites can be painless, the bite can become itchy, red, and inflamed shortly after the bite occurs, according to the National Capital Poison Center . It may eventually become more painful, darker, and form a blister. A bite can also cause necrosis, or tissue death, surrounding it, and can eventually form a black, scab-like area called an eschar.
The treatment course went well for these patients: some people who develop autoimmune hemolytic anemia must take a blood cancer drug with potentially severe side effects if corticosteroids don't work, and some may even need to have the spleen removed, according to the study.
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