Insect Bites
- Insect Bites Overview
- Insect Bites Causes
- Insect Bites Symptoms
- When to Seek Medical Care
- Exams and Tests
- Insect Bites Treatment
- Self-Care at Home
- Medications
- Next Steps
- Follow-up
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Insect Bites Overview
Stings and bites from insects are common. They often result in redness and swelling in the injured area. Sometimes a sting can cause a life-threatening allergic reaction.
Arthropods are insects that live primarily on land and have 6 legs. They dominate the present-day land fauna. They represent about three-fourths of known animal life. In fact, the actual number of living species could range from 5-10 million.
The orders that contain the greatest numbers of species are Coleoptera (beetles), Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), Hymenoptera (ants, bees, wasps), and Diptera (true flies).
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Insect Bites
Brown Recluse Spider Bite Overview
Most spiders are absolutely harmless to humans. In fact, of the 20,000 different species of spiders that inhabit the Americas, only 60 are capable of biting humans. Within that small group, only four are known to be dangerous to humans: the brown recluse, the black widow, the hobo or aggressive house spider, and the yellow sac spider. Within this select group, only the brown recluse and the black widow spider have ever been associated with significant disease and very rare reports of death.
- Deaths from brown recluse spiders have been reported only in children younger than seven years. Brown recluse spiders are native to the Midwestern and Southeastern states. Documented populations of brown recluse spiders outside these areas are extremely rare. In recent years controversy has arisen over the appearance of brown recluse spiders in California and Florida. At this time most experts agree that the brown recluse is not...
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Bites, Insect »
Insects comprise the most diverse and numerous class of the animal kingdom, Insecta.
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