You may have been bitten by a spider, but I doubt very much that it was a brown recluse...
The following is from the Illinois Department of Public Health which I would consider reputable. Here's a link to the article,
www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/pcreclusespiders.htm
, which also has a map of the BRS range, which is basically Texas to Tennessee and Iowa to Louisanna...
And I quote (or cut and paste to be exact) "Perhaps no other American spider has fostered so many myths and misrepresentations as the brown recluse. Misunderstanding and misinformation about the distribution and prevalence of the brown recluse is often as exaggerated as the imagined consequences of the brown recluse’s bite. The spider’s reputation has suffered at the hands of uninformed public, media, pest control operators and physicians.
Brown recluse do bite people. And the bites can result in serious medical complications including disfiguring wounds. Yet bites are uncommon – even though brown recluse are common in some parts of the United States. The spider is, after all, reclusive, not aggressive toward people, and prefers to run rather than bite. This explains why people can live in a house with thousands of brown recluse, without being bitten. Bites typically occur when the spider is trapped between the skin and clothing or bedding. Therefore, clothing and bedding, especially those that have not been used for awhile, should be inspected prior to use in infested structures.
The recluse’s largely undeserved reputation often comes to mind when brown-colored spiders are discovered in the home, or when nasty-looking skin lesions appear. It’s estimated that the majority of spider bites diagnosed as “brown recluse bites” are actually attributable to other medical conditions. The frequent misdiagnosis of necrotic injuries is evident in numerous reports of brown recluse bites from areas not inhabited by brown recluse. Brown recluse are extremely rare outside their known range (see illustration), yet “brown recluse spider bite” remains a catch-all diagnosis for necrotic wounds. Diabetes, impetigo, Lyme disease, tularemia, cutaneous anthrax, necrotizing fasciitis, Staphylococcus aureus infection and other maladies can produce necrotic wounds that resemble brown recluse bites, making diagnosis difficult or impossible without witnesses to the bite, collection of the spider, and its identification as a brown recluse by someone familiar with the species.
Note: The brown recluse has been collected in other areas (e.g., in northeastern Illinois) but should be considered rare outside its range as shown above.
Many brown recluse bites result in only redness and swelling around the bite and are no more serious than a bee sting. The severity of the wound may depend on the amount of venom injected. Male brown recluse probably account for most bites because they roam more than females and are often encountered. Males possess about half as much venom as females, and may produce bites that are less severe.
Most brown recluse bites do not result in the large, necrotic wounds often depicted as the typical outcome of brown recluse bites. More severe necrosis probably occurs in less than 10 percent of cases. Horrific tales of rampant necrosis from brown recluse bites causing the amputation of arms, legs and noses are undoubtedly exaggerations or attributable to uncontrolled bacterial infection or other unrelated conditions. Death from brown recluse bites has been reported, but is extremely rare and probably occurs only in very young or infirm individuals.
The brown recluse’s bite is usually painless and not felt by the bitten person. Symptoms of the bite vary but generally include the following: redness, swelling and a burning sensation developing around the bite within one hour. The red area may enlarge over the next eight hours, and the bite may blister to resemble a bad pimple. Within 24 hours the wound becomes a hardened lump up to 2 inches in diameter, and a scab forms. The wound typically heals within eight weeks.
If skin around the bite becomes purplish, necrosis is likely. If necrosis occurs, it usually does so within four days of the bite. Systemic involvement rarely develops but may include fever, nausea and cramps."
