Back in June, we were at a lovely castle in Wales and my little boy was playing outside in the grounds wearing socks and a new pair of Vans trainers. We stayed in a hotel, and the day after, Sunday morning he was complaining that his foot was itchy, and started to rub it against the bed sheet. I could see a couple of bite marks i think, but I really didn't think anything of it as they were tiny, and we came back home. On the Monday he was complaining again that it was itchy and by mid afternoon it was very red and looked like it was getting infected. I took him to the Dr's and we got some cream. By 8pm it was a mess - he had a high temperature, very delirious and his foot was very swollen. We went straight to A+E and he was given oral antibiotics. Brought him home. At 3am he was a mess again, foot was so much worse, temperature high and he was hallucinating. I gave him another AB dose and we tried to sleep. By morning I could see the infection tracking and it was almost at his knee. I went back to the GP who sent us straight to the hospital where we were then admitted. He stayed in for almost a week on an IV AB drip - 2 different ABs, piriton and pain relief. The hospital were great, but I found the whole experience so so traumatic. The doctors were concerned it had gone into his bone, and when i googled i realised how serious this condition could have gotten. He was diagnosed with cellulitis. I was 39 weeks pregnant at the time and terrified that I'd give birth and wouldn't be able to stay with him, and haven't really gotten over it. I'm terrified of him getting bitten again, terrified of him playing outside.
We saw so many doctors but the issue I'm having is they all had a different opinion. One asked if we were around any snakes, another thought it might be a spider or ant or horse fly, another said it wasn't a bite but was cellulitis that can just appear if there's a small cut. Another asked about poisonous plants? But he has socks and shoes on. My gut tells me insect bite, but we just aren't sure.
Anyway, as I'm reading about allergies etc I'm reading that they can get worse on a subsequent bite (if that's what it was) and its terrifying me as I don't want anything serious to happen.
I just need some help! Am I being ridiculous, or can I take him for further tests? Does he need an epi pen or anything or is that extreme? Does anybody have and advice? Or do i just need to chill out? Thank you