Can anyone advise on an infected insect bite please?

[PureNewWoolWithPerfectStitches]

DH has got an insect bite on his calf that he has had for a couple of days. It has a surrounding red area (imagine bite is the centre of a circle whose diameter is approx 4 inches). He says his leg feels 'tight' but isn't in terrible pain. The bite has been oozing a clearish liquid today (quite a bit) today. He has taken antihistamine and put antihistamine cream on it. Should he be doing anything else?

He needs to seek medical advice asap as this could be a tick bite and he may now need antibiotics to counter any infection.

I second Attila. Please take him to A&E as soon as you can.

He needs antibiotics today not tomorrow. Ring NHS Direct or the out of hours doctor. OH is very allergic to insect bites and reacts like your OH has done. Infected bites on the leg are particularly nasty and must be seen to. Don't wait until Tuesday.

Walk in centre as he may need antibiotics

He probably needs antibiotics. Bites on the legs can lead to cellulitis and that is really nasty. The doc will draw a line around the red area with a pen and if the redness starts to spread beyond that line he may even need iv anti-bs in hospital.

sorry, thought it was ds! He can take himsself then

I think a&e a bit dramatic, I get bit every year and every year I react to them. They become really big, tight, red and hot. I just use antihistamine and itchy cream. Nothing dramatic has ever come of me!

If he is really worried though phone nhs direct or go to out of hrs as it isnt an emergency to warrent a&e. Hope he feeling better soon

LOL Ingrid! Yes he is big enough and ugly enough to take himself
I've already drawn a line around it with pen, just in case.
I think he's off for a fun trip to minor injuries then. He'll be thrilled. Not.
Thanks all.

It depends on the services available but our OOH is based at A&E, so it kind of merges into one thing iyswim.

Hope he gets it sorted anyway.

needtogetalife - yy definitely minor injuries rather than A&E otherwise we might not seem him until after easter with the queues of morons people and their bank holiday mishaps. He does seem to have these sort of reactions every now and then. When we were in Africa (pre-dc) he got bitten and his ankle swelled up to twice the size and a doctor in a tin hut (literally) gave him a tablet the size of a horse tranquiliser. Dh chokes on paracetamol so that was fun. I'm very sympathetic, can't you tell

"I think a&e a bit dramatic, I get bit every year and every year I react to them. They become really big, tight, red and hot. I just use antihistamine and itchy cream. Nothing dramatic has ever come of me!"

Lucky you. OH ended up in hospital in Switzerland with an infected bite. If there is a four inch radius around the bite and the skin feels tight I would definitely seek medical advice today. bibbitybobbityhat is correct about infected leg bites leading to cellulitis, and these things can get bad quite quickly.

We're lucky, we have a walk in minor injuries clinic on a separate site to the A & E. Phew. I've never waited longer than 15 mins there but it is a 25 min drive from us (as opposed to 10 mins to A & E) which is a pain.

needs some flucloxacillin