What is biting me?! With pics

[melissasummerfield]

Hi, can anyone help please?

i am getting bitten by something and the bites are unbelievably painful, like a burning sensation for about 3 days after they appear, keeping me awake at night its that bad!

I have stopped going in the garden as i thought it was some kind of insect but 5 more bites have come up over my legs and feet over the past few days.

I have tried all the repellants and nothing is working.

Could it be horsefly bites? I’ve heard they’re very painful.

Horse fly bites are incredibly painful straight after they bite you
you’ll definitely know when you’ve been bitten

I get big welts after a horsefly bite , so I don’t think that’s what you’ve got

put some antihistamine cream on anyway

( have you got or had a pet ? Maybe it’s fleas in the carpet )

said in a whisper

Thanks, I don’t think it is fleas as this was my first horrified thought and i googled as we have a cat ( fully flea treated obvs ) and the bites look quite different.

I have never known anything like it!

They could be hives, an allergic reaction to something. I get them, they start itchy and small like a mosquito bite then get bigger, hard and sore and sometimes blister in the middle. Take ages to go away too.

Could be horseflies - if I get bitten then it feels like a needle jab but it takes 25 hours to come up. I then get a big hot red lump and the bite itself often blisters.

Hydrocortisone cream and antihistamines help.

I have exactly the same one of my stomach and one on the bottom of my bum 😳 I didn’t even notice them till I touched them and they itch and sting soooo much. Feel like ripping my skin of. Here’s a pic of the one on the stomach . Ones a lump and one is flat but to touch instantly itches . Rubbish picture sorry

i googled it aswell and nothing really comes up. Wonder if they are fly bites or maybe mosquito bites 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Unless you have sensitive skin, you could try a tube of Deep Relief, an OTC gel mixture of levomenthol and ibuprofen. The menthol cools the area and the ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory so reduces the redness and swelling on and around the bite.
You only need a finger-tip sized dab directly onto the bite, gently smoothed over it. (Not rubbed in)
I use it for mosquito bites as the anti-histamines don't work for me.

I have tried all the relief creams and things and nothing works, I am having to take a bag of ice cubes to bed to put the back of my leg on it so that i can try to get some sleep!

might sound stupid @Lmf685 but do flies bite? I didn't know that if they do! Do your bites have a horrible burning sensation, worse at night?

i will try your recommendation @SiobhanSharpe thank you!

I have a very similar one on my leg and it was a mosquito. You don’t notice the actual bite but it hurts afterwards

Seem to be worst when I’m warm and yes can be worst at night. I literally sat on an ice pack hoping it would help but just made my bum cold lol 😂

yeah flies can bite, some anyway. Sand flies and midges which do cause a itchy swelling . I seem to have been bitten at night but I have been sleeping with the window open as well

Take an antihistamine tablet every day if you aren't already

The thing that makes me wonder about fleas is the fact you're saying feet and legs - my understanding is that that is one of the distinctive features of their bites because they can't jump any further up you and struggle to stay attached because you don't have a fur coat like a dog or a cat.

It's hard to tell what is biting you - maybe mosquitos.
Whatever it is, I can recommend this

smile.amazon.co.uk/bite-away-6008497-electronic-sensations/dp/B003CMKQTS/ref=sr_1_3?crid=30GGRQ8M61SAH&keywords=bite+away&qid=1660320936&sprefix=bite+away%2Caps%2C143&sr=8-3

I bought myself one a few weeks ago after getting half a dozen really sore itchy mosquito bites. I've had a few bites since but they don't keep me awake or bother me at all now because this really works. I usually use it morning and evening and that's all that's needed, and it doesn't matter what's biting you, it works for all those type of critters.

It might be fleas OP. And you might be allergic to their bite. I have a cat who has flea protection, but if he gets a nip it flares up like that. Other cat - no such probs.

Also I know you say your cat is protected, but if a flea got on your cat, didn't bite it (and therefore didn't get poisoned by the cat's flea treatment) but jumped off somewhere in the house where your cat doesn't go, then it will jump on you for a nibble when you pass by.

Animal fleas can't thrive or breed on human blood alone. But might nip you a few times before it's demise.

Make sure your cat visits all rooms in the house for a day or so. It will attract the flea, the flea will bite, and the cat's flea protection will kill it.

Thank you all, i will give all of the recommendations a go, im desperate!

Look like mossie bites, have you been in the garden in the evening as that is when they usually get you or could be flea bites that you have had a bad reaction to

Take oral antihistamines nor cream piriton is a good starting point - take a decent dose.

Not bed bugs is it? Bites appear in 3’s? #reallyhopeitsnot

I have them too. I say outside late into the evening 2 nights ago. I didn't feel myself being bitten but my legs are a mess. Intensely itchy at times but also burning and painful.
I'm using Anthisan cream and piriton with not a lot of success.

I get these too, especially when I've been in the garden. I've narrowed it down to a small black beastie with wings. They must crawl as I'm nearly always bitten in (ahem) hidden neuks and crannies!

I had flea bites and it took me ages to realise what they were.
Really, really itchy and enough to keep me awake at night. More intense than mosquito bites, and with a smaller red mark. The marks took ages to go away, like weeks.
And the bites were on legs and feet.

(Was looking after a cat that turned out to be resistant to flea treatments.)

Like these maybe en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neotrombicula_autumnalis

With horsefly bites you can usually see the injury where they tear the flesh as they inelegantly bite, and I'd expect more swelling too.

Flea bites are often smaller and mostly ankles and lower legs.

Someone mentioned hives, it's not hives.

I keep getting bitten every few weeks by some sodding thing , its not a flea ( I have a indoor cat) as they affect me differently.

My bites dont sting but get very hot and about 2 or 3 inches around the bite are swollen and very red , if its near a joint the join aches like buggery for the first few days .

Its not a horse fly , them bastards have got me in the past and they hurt !