Legs on fire, what’s biting me? Should I be concerned about this?

[WhoreForSoupDumplings]

I’ve been bitten on my leg but my god they are burning like mad I’ve had a icy cold bottle of water on it for over an hour and it’s still burning.

should I be concerned? I get bad health anxiety so this is panicking me a little bit.

Have you any antihistamines?

I might do, I think they might be out of date though? 😩

Antihistamine possibly walk in centre for antibiotics for cellulitis , I get it straight away after a bite

Do you have a large supermarket nearby that you can get to? You can buy antihistamine tablets and cream from there.

Doesn't matter, have all of them.

Is it itchy burning?

Sounds counterproductive but I get REALLY inflamed reactions to bites and the thing that gives instant relief is something hot. Needs to be hot enough so it's almost unbearable to break down the substance causing the itching but not hot enough to burn. A hot spoon is traditional but I find a hairdryer works just as well. You need it to heat up your skin for a good 30 secs. Repeat if the itching comes back.

The itching has subsided with the cold bottle I think, it’s the burning that’s more bothersome

Have you got any sudocrem? Slather that on, more soothing than a cold bottle. Antihistamine too.

I don't think you need to be worrying about cellulitis or walk in centre just yet.

Unfortunately not, I live in the depths of nowhere and have two little ones in bed 😩

Are they definitely bites, not hives? Either way, antihistamine is best.

I’m fairly certain it’s bites, I get button a lot this time of year and we were out in the garden a couple days ago which is when it started.

I hear you. I'm a bite magnet.

Try the hot spoon thing suggested, the sudocrem and ignore.
The trouble is with bites is that the more you irritate them, the more they irritate you. I've had bites that I haven't even been aware of until accidentally touched them... Aargh!!

I would take the antihistamine tablets, how old are they though, a year or so after date I would take but not 3 or 4 years . if you can, get some new ones tomorrow so you have them in and some Anthisan cream. My bites often go like that, it may have been the same insect having several goes.

That’s exactly what happened with these. Wasn’t an issue until I brushed my leg past something and suddenly thought that’s bloody itchy 😂 thanks for the advice, going to try and dig out the antihistamines and hope that take the edge off!

Does it feel hot to the touch? If so, it could be cellulitis for which you will need an assessment from a pharmacist, GP or A&E. If you start to feel unwell (fluey) with it, get help straight away.

Yeah the red areas feel hot to touch. I could really do without it being anything serious I have so many GP trips recently they’re going to start pre-empting my visits 😭

My bites go cellulitis each time , to the point I’ve got a small stash of tablets put by
yes to sudocream it helps

You should check if those red areas are getting bigger. Draw a line around the outer edges and get help if the size increases quickly/significantly (or if you start to feel unwell).

They appear to have stayed the same so far. Except for if I itch it it gets bigger, but then after leaving it alone the initially red patches go down to like the picture.

I've taken out of date antihistamines before now (insects love me too), they don't go off as such just maybe lose their potency, won't do any harm.
For future reference there's a very good cream with tea tree and witchazel in it by Lanes called teangi that works well and only a couple of pounds.🦟