How can such a small fly cause such a bloody pain in the a...

[CanIDigIt]

....ankle. My fucking arse it hurts.

Blandford Fly. It's 2mm big for fucks sake.

I got bitten last year too and still have a scar. Anyone else seem to ridiculously over react to these little buggers?

gets off sweary high horse to curl up cause it hurts

I have never been bite by a blandford fly but horse flies love me .
The worst bite I got from one was on the side of my knee , my leg swelled up about 10 inches above and below my knee so much I couldn't bend my knee, the burning and aching was horried, I was on antibiotics for 3 weeks
It took about 2 weeks to go down but 25 years later I still have a hard lump about the size of a 50p.
Bastard flies !

It's not improving.
I got antihistamine prescribed and 5 hours later it hasn't touched the sides

Fat foot and normal foot - same shot and angle of the other one.

So just cause I'm baffled.... I'm asking for your bite knowledge

Am I allergic to this particular critter.... do only some people react to the same insects or if this one had munched the dog or the kids instead of me, would the same thing happen?

Bugs fault
Or my fault ?

If I get bitten by midgies, it would be the same as your photo. I just keep taking antihistamines and also using antihistamine cream on the spot. It takes ages, but it will go down eventually.

Id say you were allergic, and I'm very surprised your gp didn't start drawing pen lines around the swelling because that looks like it's going to tip over into cellulitis at any moment.

If you touch it lightly with the back of your hand, does it feel hot compared to the rest of your leg? My son is allergic to mosquitoes, and we now give him fexofenadine (telfast) 180mgs for the antihistamine, while putting prescription anti bacterial cream on the bite, and cortisone cream on the rest of it... hasn't had cellulitis since.

Good luck!

Meanwhile, I once walked into a bee (yes), which sting the corner of my eye, and it would tear constantly for about a decade.

I still get tears just on that side if I'm very tired.

Insects. Bastards, the lot of them.

@lborgia
I put pen dots around it yesterday
It was an inch red.

That's the antihistamine I got and took but its continued to grow.

It's about 100 degrees hotter than the rest of my skin might be a slight exaggeration but yes it's boiling hot and it's throbbing.

Thank you for pointing out the risks.... I might have to shout a little louder at the GP - to be fair I haven't seen them and they haven't seen a photo

They just rang back and are sending antibiotic prescription to the chemist.
What a kerfuffle

It is good to know you got the meds you need , hopefully they will kick in over night and you will feel better in the morning

Antibiotics should start to knock it on the head but I’d draw round it again.
I’m the same, I react really badly to bites. My daughter reacts a bit, while my husband and son don’t react at all. It’s very annoying!

Thank goodness, I woke up just now and thought - I hope she still has her foot!

Take care, keep it above heart level as much as possible (I know, that means lying down...), and take the antibiotics religiously.

I’m fussing but when my husband’s antibiotics didn’t work fast enough he ended up on an IV version for 2 weeks

ps keep it elevated and cool tonight. Ice pack?

And yes yes to drawing around it every few hours if it’s not stopped. It may continue to grow for another day or so, but you need to find the point at which is stops and starts to shrink. I told you, I fuss!

Bless you all for your caring!
I've finally managed to elevate it tonight AND put ice on it.

I've never even been bitten till last year when it was the same fly so obviously I have an aversion

If it happens again, I will be even more proactive - and I'm glad I posted because @lborgia you made me stop and look at it clearly and seriously! It had swollen almost 3 cm bigger than the other foot but because I watched it 'grow', it wasn't so noticeable.

We used to live near water we never saw it but we got bitten to death all over feet legs.

@CanIDigIt - just checking you're still alive, limbs intact?!

Thank you! All limbs still attached !
Finishing off antibiotics which kicked in pretty quick.

It dawned on me that when you use Dr google for such things, the photos they use are when the cellulitis has got serious hold of you - at which point you actually become in critical danger requiring hospital intervention.... so measuring my swollen leg to those was never a fair comparison......

And the antihistamine prescribed was also never going to touch the sides of it either.
If I had waited three days like NHS says before seeking a doctor... dread to think! As it was I was on antibiotics in around 36 hours.

Situation averted at least till next May on my current trajectory

I’ve been bitten a few times by bastard blandfords, and they always look like yours. Got one on my arm this time (sitting on the grass, bad idea), and spend two days with a wet flannel on it, maxed out on antihistamines. My whole forearm was still burning hot and swollen.

Little fuckers they are.

Good news, and yes, the beginnings of cellulitis are easily overlooked!