What is the recommended treatment for a patient who has been bitten by a brown recluse spider?

The recommended treatment for a patient bitten by a brown recluse spider focuses primarily on wound care, ensuring that the patient receives appropriate tetanus prophylaxis if needed, and managing pain with analgesics.

Brown recluse spider bites can lead to necrotic lesions, so proper wound care is crucial to prevent infections and promote healing. Tetanus prophylaxis is important if the patient's immunization status is not up to date, as any break in the skin could lead to a tetanus infection. Analgesics are used to manage pain associated with the bite and discomfort from the surrounding reaction.

While antivenom is available for certain snake bites and can be useful for some spider bites in specific cases (not typically the brown recluse), it is not routinely recommended nor available for brown recluse bites. Hospitalization may be needed in severe cases or for monitoring complications, but this is not the first line of treatment for a standard bite. Elevation and ice application can provide symptomatic relief by reducing swelling but are not the primary treatments for the subsequent management of a brown recluse spider bite.