To see a GP for this?

[togoornottogoto]

I’m currently on holiday.

I have been absolutely ravaged by mosquitoes. I don’t know when or where but the little buggers have got me.

One bite went very infected, it’s still red and angry but calming down with an antibiotic lotion. It turned into a huge blister, weeping and redness spreading. I didn’t break the skin, it started weeping without any warning.

I now have at least three bites that have got tiny blisters on them. I’m desperate to treat them with the same antibiotics but this seems a really extreme reaction from my body!

I had one bite do the same last year, in the same area. So I don’t know if it’s an allergy or not. I’m keeping an eye on them for now, if they worsen I’ll obviously go to the pharmacy again but I’m hoping they don’t.

AIBU to see a GP when I’m home though? It’s concerning me that I’m either having some sort of strange allergic reaction, or I am apparently getting infections very easily!

Nurse here. That photo doesn't look particularly concerning (although it's very different from your description) especially as you say the bites are calming down now. They would be healing after 4 days anyway so you have no way to be sure it was the antibiotic lotion.

If they continue to heal you have no reason to see a GP. Maybe speak to a pharmacist before you go away again and they could advise on preventative measures.

If they are not healing or they start to get worse and show signs of infection (swelling, increasing redness, heat, increasing pain, fever, chills etc) then it would be worth speaking to GP.

@togoornottogoto please ignore @RosesAndHellebores as she is being ridiculous! Her "this is not ....." is exactly what the NHS is for! Every person who pays taxes, already pays for the NHS. Just because the NHS is falling apart at the seams, does not mean that anyone who is entitled to use it, shouldn't.

You have a health worry, our GP's are general practitioners, which means that they are there for our general health worries. You have a genuine health worry OP, you are not calling an emergency ambulance to take you to hospital because you have discovered an ingrowing hair, you will just be attempting to get an appointment to see your general practitioner, about your health worry. As it happens, skin infections can become very nasty, so that is an added reason for you to see your GP. 💐

I just found this at 9.12 in the morning, on Friday 4th September! Sorry, but I don't know why it didn't post, maybe I forgot to press 'post'? Hopefully you are all sorted out now, and completely well.

Another person with nothing better to do than make a big drama out of things. Rushing to the GP. Next they will say they were blue lighted to hospital.

As a pp says. All you wanted is for someone to tell you to bother the GP.

Definetly go to the GP - I had an insect bite that I thought was ‘just an allergy’ and ended up needing 4 courses of antibiotics after it was actually infected.

Her bites are healing. She would only need to go to the GP if they were getting worse.

Infected insect bites are covered under the pharmacy first pathway so visit your pharmacy.

Please don’t waste the GP’s time. If it becomes infected you’ll know about it.

It looks like you’re developing an allergy. They typically get worse every year. Mine started out like this a few years ago and now they are the size of an apple. I’ve never had an infection or been to the GP about it and the pharmacists in the UK are never concerned. I think it might be less common in Europe to react like this to bites.

mine always look like that 🤷

Agreed, of course you can see a GP over this.

It always amazes me when people ask if a taxpayer asks other taxpayers if she should use the service she paid taxes for. As if a taxpayer should only use it when close to dying, as if it is dipping into the charity box, this unique and treasured experience. This and allowing a receptionist to triage you. Truly uniquely British experience.

Don’t be daft.

It really is better to avoid bites in the first place. Next time use a proprietary anti mosquito spray on all exposed skin. Keep windows and doors closed at night, use a room spray to kill off any in the room. At dusk cover arms and legs with long sleeves etc. I travel all over the world and rarely get bitten by taking personal responsibility to avoid it.

Why would you pay to see a private gp? If she's got an infected bite she's worried about why wouldnt she seek help on the NHS? I say this as someone who hasn't visited the gp since 2015, so my threahold is pretty high for seeking help! If you are worried about something why on earth wouldn't you submit an ask my gp, you can usually upload pics and they will decide on whether to just offer advise, prescribe you something or if needed get you in to see either a nurse practitioner or the gp for them to take a look.

You are allowed to use the NHS when you are concerned about something health related!

Do you know your blood type IP? I have O negative blood and because that means you can't accept any blood type but your own your body can have a nasty reaction to a mosquito bite where it has previously bitten someone else with a different blood type. That may explain why one bite causes a huge reaction (which may or may not have turned infected) versus the others being fine. I have the same response as you to bites quite often but not always. Mainly when my AB + husband is around 🙄

You might be lucky too…some people do react to the bites much worse than others do.
Taking precautions is a good idea for everyone though.

Was coming on to say exactly this and was also wondering whether its your first time abroad or first time bitten? You sound very anxious about what is a normal, albeit annoying and irritating, part of holidays or travel for millions of people. Its perfectly normal if you have been bitten a few times for some bites to be worse than others. Your initial photo just looks a normal bite that many of us experience every time we're bitten and take antihistamine and use steroid cream. I was in the South of France a few weeks ago and got some awful bites. I was told they have Tiger mosquitos there now which cause a bigger reaction so it may well be that Italy also has them. But yes, look for signs infection is spreading or cellulitis and then go to a Doctor if you have these.
As an aside, if you really cant afford an upfront fee to use your health insurance then you should apply for an EHIC card which give you free medical treatment across Europe.

I’m unsure why OP posted this given every suggestion to her has elicited a rather tetchy response! Better go to the GP if you’re so convinced it’s serious, why post on a public non-medical forum?

The bites can become infected and mine have before now. Take a pen and draw a line around the swelling. I went to pharmacy and was sent to GP because mine were infected and needed antibiotics (flucloxicillin or something ). So yes, if redness spread and you feel unwell I would go

I get this every summer. It's annoying, ugly, and results in sleepless nights but it does go away by itself eventually. It's not something you need a GP for. For future trips look I to getting some heavy duty Deet.

Sometimes different antihistamines work better, there's a few types on the market. A neighbour reacts really badly and was bitten on the foot - she couldn't drive as foot swelled up so I volunteered to find a late night chemist for her. She swore blind only one type worked and it wasn't the type I already had in my cupboard! It's worth trying something different.

But yes, if getting infected then a trip to the GP's not going to hurt imo if persists. Keep them clean, maybe a little bit of cooled boiled salt water too on the worst ones before your cream is applied. Ouch, sorry suffering.

If you put a steroid cream on the bite when you get bitten, it will usually go away really quickly. You can buy the cream at the pharmacist. It is the same stuff that you can use on eczema but sometimes branded differently.

If your bite is infected and gets worse go to the gp. If it gets better before you go back, then don't.

The why is kind of irrelevant. Some people have more severe reactions to bites than others. There are several reasons you may be allergic to the proteins of that particular breed of mozzie, it may be a bite from a breed of insect that has never bitten you before and so the first bites react more strongly in my experience or it may be an insect that triggers a stronger reaction eg harvest mites tend to make me react more than mosquitos.
The things you can to are to take anti histamines before you go away and every day on holiday (rather than just after the bite), the heat device I recommended earlier, and diligent application of steroid cream immediately and continuously.

Agreed. I get much larger reactions. Piriton usually sorts them out but if the redness spreads outside a drawn line or tracks then is the time to get antibiotics.

Are you still in Italy? If so I would speak to travel insurers to arrange an appointment

God I remember when I went to Majorca, twice, and each time was covered in bites that went like that with the orange shit then scabby/oozing. Nice.

I just rode it out even though I was miserable but was alert for cellulitis, I developed that after a spider bite that I left for ages but it had ballooned and my arm was really hot tbf.

If skin not swelling up and warm Id leave it and see how it goes. They can take a while to calm down. Thats why even though Id love to go back to Majorca Id rather eat shit than risk the mozzies there again. Never had it happen anywhere else.