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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask you WTF bit me?!

110 replies

HighDudgeonAtBerks · 31/08/2021 21:59

I shall set the scene; ‘twas a bank holiday Sunday and I (innocent mother of three) was wandering around the nearby woods with gay abandon. The sun was shining its dappled light as we made our way along the path that we’d walked many times before.

Then I felt a sharp pain on my right ankle. I waved a hand at it but saw nothing and assumed it was a bramble - as I had been daintily —scoffing— partaking of the forest fruits. It didn’t hurt much and I pretty much forgot about it.

Then yesterday - exhibit A - two red patches about the size of a 5p piece each, one of which is a weird bubbly mess of fluid-filled grossness and both of which itch like hell. I haven’t had anything like this before despite having been bitten and stung by most things.

Which brings us to today and exhibit B. I thought it seemed to be healing (mainly because I’ve been distracted by work all day) but just took a look and now it’s one blister and the skin around it looks bruised.

The things I did see and things I do know:-
-There are grass snakes and adders in the area but I’m pretty sure I would have seen that
-there were wasps, red ants, horse flies, mosquitos (all the good stuff), but I’ve never reacted to any of these like this before

Am I doomed? Will I have to amputate? Should I just bite down on a stick and get it over with?

What bit me?!

OP posts:
chasingmytail4 · 31/08/2021 22:48

Watching with interest @HighDudgeonAtBerks because I had a reaction like that a few weeks ago. I've been bitten by horse flies before and never had a blister from them. This time I got bitten by something in bed (not DH Grin) and thought it was more likely to be a spider. The blister burst and stayed very yellow for a week or so before healing. Hope yours is better soon.

Elpatso80 · 31/08/2021 22:52

Make yourself a cup of tea, wrap a tea towel around it and hold the hot mug on the bite for as long as you can bear. Stops the itch for about 4 hours. I have never tried on a horse fly bite, but works amazingly well on mosquito bites. I get a terrible reaction and they could ruin holidays before I discovered this trick.

Lupinhere37 · 31/08/2021 22:55

My horsefly bites come up looking exactly like that.
Get a decent dressing on it; non-stick. I’ve had a few deteriorate enough to require antibiotics and am very careful to cover them now.

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 31/08/2021 22:58

Horse fly.

Antihistamine and hydrocortisone and Piriton. Make sure it's Piriton not just the one a day hay fever stuff ,you need to be taking it throughout the day. I've helps too.

LozzaChops101 · 31/08/2021 23:07

The horse flies seem to be vicious at the moment, a guy I work with ended up on a drip (on his birthday!!!) a few weeks back cos his got so gruesome. Keep an eye on it!

UndertheCedartree · 31/08/2021 23:09

Horse fly or possible spider because of the 2 incisions.

nonotmenotI · 31/08/2021 23:16

Cleg bites are itchy and blister like yours op. Hydrocortisone will stop the itching along with some allergy tablets.

Having been bitten by a spider and clegs, this looks like a cleg bite to me.

notthemum · 31/08/2021 23:23

@waspsarearseholes.
I must be getting tired, I read your comment as "I am going for a beer" (brilliant user name by the way)
OP.
Sorry, I've never seen anything like it. Personally I'd get the stick and a needle and some cream or surgical spirit for after. To be fair I would probably get a beer too. 🍺🍹

billy1966 · 31/08/2021 23:23

False widow spiders have a very nasty bite and can require an antibiotic.

Be very careful of infection through scratching.

Keep a close eye on it.

It looks very sore.

justasking111 · 31/08/2021 23:25

Keep an eye on it as others said friend wound up in surgery because she delayed getting treatment. Was in hospital for a few days horse fly

CurlyhairedAssassin · 31/08/2021 23:33

@UndertheCedartree

Horse fly or possible spider because of the 2 incisions.
2 incisions?! I mean, it’s hard to tell as it’s a close up but if you think that both those red marks are from one fang each then I can only assume that OP was walking in the Forbidden Forest with Harry Potter.
MumW · 31/08/2021 23:40

Looks,like the horse fly bites I had last month.
I ended up on penicillin as one got infected so please keep a close eye on it.
Bitten at lunchtime, high temperature and shivers overnight and by the next afternoon my whole ankle swelled up. I felt quite ill until the penicillin kicked in.

sachaf08 · 31/08/2021 23:43

I had something very like this on holiday in France two years ago (except I had dozens of them) and the locals told me it was harvest mites. Horrible scratchy bites that turned into big blisters, never had anything like it before

UndertheCedartree · 31/08/2021 23:48

@CurlyhairedAssassin - it is hard to tell the exact size so maybe I've got that wrong but it does look similar to when I was bitten by a spider! Can your confirm if you were indeed in the Forbidden Forest, OP?

Nat6999 · 01/09/2021 00:48

My exh was bitten by a horsefly when we were fishing, by next morning his eyes had swollen up so much they were like slits, I had to take him to A & E where he was given steroids & antihistamines, it took 5 days before he looked anything like normal. Our caravan site was next to a sugarbeet processing factory & the horseflies were massive after feeding on the sugarbeet waste that was dumped in lakes next to the factory.

milkyaqua · 01/09/2021 00:52

Horse fly. They like dark clothing, I've found, and will bite through it.

Nat6999 · 01/09/2021 00:53

Best thing to keep them at bay is citronella candles & insect repellent spray, we used Jungle formula, had the repellent plugins in the caravan & the blue light lamps that zapped them in the awning.

BoopBoopBastian · 01/09/2021 00:54

I'm going to go against the grain here and say a Blanford fly. They're evil little blighters but loads of people don't know about them!

Zombiemum1946 · 01/09/2021 00:58

I'm going with you strayed off the path and got caught by the big bad spider. On a slightly more serious note, mark round the edge of the red patch with a pen of it goes past rather than recede contact the gp. These things are bad buggers for becoming infected.

LoveFall · 01/09/2021 01:12

That looks like a bite my sister got walking along a path down to a beach. In Canada, Pacific Northwest. It took literally months and several antibiotics to heal.

It was a brown recluse spider. I goggled it and it appears you may have them in the UK also.

Keep a good eye on that and get medical attention if it starts spreading or ulcerating.

Poolhater · 01/09/2021 06:57

Snake. (Shudder.)

Original poster
HighDudgeonAtBerks · 01/09/2021 07:08

Right I’m going to treat you all to another photo taken on daylight so that you can see the two marks better. There was only one “sting” feeling and whatever it was was gone after I’d swiped at it.

I was bitten by a blandFord fly about five years ago and that was much more painful than this.

I should also add that it was not as painful as a horsefly bite usually is - but then I’m getting old and I’m not as delicate a flower as I once I was.

To ask you WTF bit me?!
OP posts:
TheDivineOddity · 01/09/2021 07:08

That's exactly how I react to mosquito bites.

Original poster
HighDudgeonAtBerks · 01/09/2021 07:11

Oh and the forest was only slightly Forbidden. More the GetOrfMyLand Forest - and I don’t know how big the spiders get there.

OP posts:
IWasBornInAThunderstorm · 01/09/2021 07:12

@tillytoodles1

Horse flying.
Sorry but I needed that giggle. Imagining a tiny little flying horse.