Doctor pulls the brown recluse from the ear of a woman

(Newser)
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This shrill sound in Susie Torres' ear looked like water. Maybe this was caused by a recent allergy injection, she thought. The slight pain did not falter and she decided to have her ear examined after work. A medical assistant peeked and went for help, reports KSHB. Leaving the room, she said, People"I think you have an insect in it." Two nurses, three medical students and one doctor arrived by CNN. It took several tests to the doctor, but the insect was removed from the ear of Torres, and it was not any insect: it was a brown spider recluse, whose bites carried a venomous liquid. "The nurses said it was dead," said the Kansas City woman later, "but they might just have said that so I would not panic."

The spider came out in one piece and she had not bitten it. According to the CDC, the brown recluse usually stays outdoors, but can also be found in dark closets, shoes and attics. A bite usually only occurs if it is stuck against a person's skin. A bite can cause a serious injury requiring medical attention. Torres was calm during the episode, but conceded: "I am rather terrified by spiders." She does not take any risk now, especially at bedtime. "I went to put cotton balls in my ear last night," said Torres. (A Tennessee woman has been bitten several times.)