For most spider bites, the best thing to put on the wound is a simple combination: mild soap and water first, then an over-the-counter antibiotic ointment to prevent infection. A cool compress applied for 15 minutes each hour handles the pain and swelling. Most spider bites are minor and heal on their own within a few weeks with this basic care.
Clean the Bite First
Before putting anything on a spider bite, wash it gently with mild soap and water. This is the single most important step because it removes bacteria that could cause a secondary infection, which is often a bigger problem than the bite itself. Pat the area dry with a clean cloth.
If the bite is on your arm or leg, elevate the limb to reduce swelling. This works alongside everything else you apply and makes a noticeable difference in how quickly the area calms down.
Antibiotic Ointment for Infection Prevention
After cleaning, apply an over-the-counter antibiotic ointment (like the kind you’d use on a scrape or minor cut) directly to the bite. The Mayo Clinic recommends reapplying it three times a day. This doesn’t treat the venom or speed up healing of the bite itself, but it creates a barrier against bacteria entering the wound. Spider bites break the skin, and broken skin is an open door for infection.
Cover the ointment with a clean bandage and change it each time you reapply. If the area around the bite starts getting increasingly red, warm, or streaky in the days after, that suggests a bacterial infection is developing on top of the bite, which needs medical attention.
Cold Compresses for Pain and Swelling
A cool compress is one of the most effective things you can use on a spider bite. Dampen a clean cloth with cold water or wrap ice in a towel and hold it on the bite for 15 minutes each hour. Don’t put ice directly on your skin. The cold constricts blood vessels in the area, which limits swelling and numbs the pain.
Over-the-counter pain relievers like ibuprofen or acetaminophen can help if the bite is particularly sore. Ibuprofen has the added benefit of reducing inflammation.
What About Hydrocortisone and Anti-Itch Creams?
This is where it gets counterintuitive. While hydrocortisone cream is a go-to for most insect bites, steroid creams are not recommended for spider bites. Safety guidance from medical sources specifically warns against applying steroid creams like hydrocortisone to spider bite wounds, particularly if a brown recluse could be involved. Steroid creams can interfere with the skin’s local immune response and potentially worsen tissue damage.
If itching is your main complaint, an oral antihistamine (like diphenhydramine) is a safer choice than a topical steroid. A baking soda paste, made from one tablespoon of baking soda mixed with just enough water to form a thick consistency, can also help with itching. Apply it to the bite, leave it on for about 10 minutes, then wash it off. The CDC recommends this approach for insect bites generally, though the evidence is more anecdotal than clinical.
What Not to Put on a Spider Bite
Resist the urge to do more. Some common mistakes can make things worse:
- Heat or warm compresses. Heat increases blood flow to the area, which can spread venom and worsen swelling. Stick to cold.
- Steroid creams. As noted above, these can impair healing, especially with tissue-damaging bites.
- Hydrogen peroxide or rubbing alcohol. Both can damage healthy tissue around the wound and slow healing. Mild soap and water is sufficient.
- Tourniquet or suction. Neither helps with spider venom and both can cause additional tissue damage.
If the bite develops a blister, leave it intact. Popping or cutting into a spider bite wound disrupts the healing process. Clinical evidence strongly advises against any kind of cutting, draining, or debriding spider bite wounds at home.
Brown Recluse Bites Need Different Care
Most spider bites look like a red, slightly swollen bump and resolve in one to three weeks with the basic care described above. Brown recluse bites follow a different timeline. In the first day or two, the bite may look unremarkable. Over the next several days, a blister forms and the center turns a blue or violet color with a hard, sunken center. The surrounding skin may begin to slough off, and the wound heals slowly from the inside out.
Brown recluse wounds typically don’t ulcerate until 7 to 14 days after the bite, so an early bite that looks mild can still become serious. Most brown recluse bites heal within three months, but they often require medical management including prescription antibiotics and oral steroids, not just topical care at home. If you suspect a brown recluse bite, especially if the center of the wound is darkening, get to a doctor rather than trying to manage it with ointments alone.
Black Widow Bites Are a Whole-Body Problem
Black widow venom works differently. Instead of damaging local tissue, it attacks the nervous system and causes bodywide symptoms: severe muscle pain and cramping, high blood pressure, breathing difficulty, and sometimes heart problems. The bite site itself may not look dramatic.
Topical treatments won’t address black widow venom. What you put on the bite matters far less than getting medical care quickly. Clean the bite and apply a cold compress while you head to the emergency room. Children under 16 and adults over 60 are at the highest risk for serious complications and may need hospitalization.
Signs the Bite Needs More Than Home Care
Most spider bites are manageable at home with soap, antibiotic ointment, and cold compresses. But certain signs mean you should stop treating it yourself:
- Spreading redness or red streaks moving away from the bite, which suggests infection spreading through the skin.
- A darkening center or growing area of discoloration around the wound.
- Fever, chills, or body aches developing in the hours or days after the bite.
- Muscle cramps or spasms in areas away from the bite site.
- Difficulty breathing or a rapid heartbeat.
If you haven’t had a tetanus shot in the past five years, a spider bite qualifies as the type of wound where the CDC recommends getting a booster, since bites can introduce bacteria from the skin’s surface or the spider’s mouthparts into deeper tissue.