Severe Allergic Reaction to Insect Bite... Help Please

[Browny]

I've had two bad reactions to insect bites over the last few months resulting in anti-biotics being prescribed and in both cases I recovered with a day or two.

But, on Friday evening after taking out dog for a walk I saw two bites on my forehead, I didn't feel them biting me at the time. Late on Friday the bite had caused my forehead to swell and it looked like a huge blister, but on Saturday morning the swelling had spread to my eyelids, eyes, sides of my nose and under my eyes. Anti-histamine tablets and hydrocortisone cream did nothing to help.

Yesterday I went to my local hospital, he prescribed a strong dose of anti-histamines (180g) and the swelling did reduce during the day, I think this was just gravity to be honest. This morning, it is just as bad and has spread down to my cheeks, the itching is driving me mad and the swelling feels horrible.

Has anyone else been bitten and had a bad reaction lately? The hospital said that quite a few people have been requesting treatment this last week, I wonder what the horrible insects are that are causing so much misery?

I'm waiting for my own g.p. to ring me now.

Hi - I did react a couple of times but only to wasp stings (swelling mostly and terrible itching). Could it be celulitis? A colleague at work has had this a couple of times after insect bites, and it can only be treated with antibiotics.

Hope your GP can help

That sounds awful! I had an insect bite last summer on my ankle which blistered and caused my entire calf to swell. It was also raging red and extremely itchy. There was also a single red line making its way up my leg - underneath the skin. Went to pharmacist for antihistamines but he told me it was clearly infected and needed antibiotics. When I went to my GP he said that the line was a sign of bloodpoising! If antihistamines haven't helped you so far I suspect you might need something else too - in my opinion antihistamines work pretty quickly and if the ones you are taking are super strenght they should certainly have kicked in by now. Hopefully your g.p will be able to shed some light.

I have terrible reactions like you describe to mosquito bites...really feel for you as it's juut hideous.

Hope your GP can help

thehairybabysmum, it's horrible isn't it , what treatment were you given?

Plus30, I had a bite on my ankle two weeks ago that was extremely painful, I couldn't even walk, my gp gave me double dose anti-biotics that I'm still taking. I was told by my chemist to look out for a red line which meant blood poisioning too, I was lucky as I had anti-biotics straight away. I can't believe how bad I've reacted this time, my face is so swollen and it's uncomfortable to keep my eyes open. My gp has just phoned and I'm going to see her at 2pm. Thanks everyone for replying .

I react very badly and have needed turbo antibiotics to shift them, this stuff works out at just under £9 a bottle.

And when I am wearing it, I never get bitten. Hope this helps.

Browny, I called NHS direct a few days ago and their recorded message has a special advice section aboutinsect bites. I dont remember hearing this last summer so maybe the wet humind weather is growing bigger badder bugs. I have only had one bad bite a few years ago and it was so painful, hope you get some relief.

BreeVanDerCampLGJ, thank you for the link, I'll definately buy some, hope it works just as good for me.

KezzaG, I didn't phone NHS Direct, I just looked on their website so I didn't know about the recorded message. I'm scared to even go into my garden now, incase I'm bitten again .

I went to see my gp, she said that she's never seen a reaction as bad as mine, by the time I saw her this afternoon the swelling had spread to my neck. She gave me 30 steriod tablets, 6 to be taken all at once, for 5 days. I feel very tired and miserable, hope they work soon.

The good thing about it is, you only have to roll a strip (deodorant style) on exposed areas.

No extra advice Browny...but it sounds really horrid ..and i hope you get better soon.

How are you now?

I react badly to horsefly bites, - which we seem to get a lot of here, and my local herbalist lady said that B-vitamins can make you less 'attractive' to insects - can't remember what she said the reason was tho.
Anyway - I started taking brewers yeast tablets - about 6 a day, during the latter part of last summer, and didn't get bitten, and so far so good this year.

There seems to be a lot of it about at the moment.

DH got bitten on the elbow (no idea what) His elbow had been huge, red, hot and painful.
Doctor put him on abs which seemed to help but got worse again when they stopped. Now on twice as strong ab's and now seems to be on the mend (fingers crossed)

BIL has had 2 bites one on hand and one on ankle requiring antibiotics in the last few weeks.

do u know im SO glad i seen this thread,(akthough not glad u are in pain browny) i have been suffering from very painful bites aswell, although not bad enough to need antibiotics, even my husband has been suffering and he never normally gets bitten, its actually quite scary the sight i have been seeing in my bathroom recentlly, theres these really weird looking gna tthings that look like they are off some sci fi show, theya re discusting and look really evil, ive taken to wearing insect repellent before bed because the pain these bites are causing, i keep getting bit on my fingers and the bites have what look like little black things in them, like someone said before it must be something to do with the weather because these things im finding in my bathroom (for some reason) look really weird, i was actually reading up on this the other day and i found a thread on the net that said if u catch a gnat in the act of biting u, u tense the muscle near where it is biting u and that causes a suction which hoilds the gnats body to u and fills it with blood and then it explodes or something...EWW lol.

DP suffers very badly. Once he fell asleep during a BBQ when I was away. He woke up and felt funny. He rang and told me he'd had some problems with a bite. When I went home the next day he was sat with the left of his face to me and looked fine, but when he turned round I nearly screamed. The whole right side of his face had swelled up ike a beach ball. I've never seen anything like it.

Hi, thanks for asking about me , I'm almost back to normal now, although the steroids are giving me painful cramps in my legs and I feel shattered. The swelling has almost gone in my face now, my poor dh has just admitted that he was scared that I was going to get seriously ill. The swelling looked awful, I got a terrible shock when I looked in the mirror.... poor kids were scared too and the dog!

My gp usually prescribes me Mizollen for hay fever, but she has replaced that now with a much stronger 180m a day preventative anti-histamine. I saw on the camping thread that a few m.netters recommended Avon Skin So Soft (Green Bottle) body wash, body lotion and dry oil spray, so I ordered that the other day and it came today. I will report back with my findings.

I haven't actually seen any sinister looking insects around, which makes me really apprehensive about going in the garden or park .