Mosquito Bite?

[Trueman]

Just wondering whether anyone know what a mosquito bite looks like? Got a few bites 24hrs ago and this was had inflammed quite a bit. Trying not to get carried away worrying but terrible back ache today as well. I usually get bitten a lot by midgies but not like this! Size of a 50p piece.. and not sure we have mosquitos here in North England! Thanks anyone that knows..

Sorry for the graphic image.. I guess this is my HA kicking in again

[Catherine S]

Hi Trueman...I react quite badly to Mosquito/midge bites and wasp stings. I was bitten 10 days ago on my foot while gardening (in flip-flops silly me) and my foot swelled to double its size with alot of pain around the area of the bite. I couldn't walk for 3 days then hobbled for another few more and its only just about normal again today, and that was just one bite! Even this bad the poison didn't spread much further than my foot, and last year one got me on my hand and the poison spread to about halfway up my forearm. So even with bites this bad it didn't affect me in any other way...no fever or breathlessness because although my body is sensitive enough to react badly to the bites, i'm not allergic to them as that's two different things. The swelling is caused by the histamine we all have in our system. Hydrocortisone cream can be soothing, as can Aloe Vera. Your back pain has no connection so don't worry. We tend to see more of them after a milder wetter winter as cold winters kill more of them off.

ISB x

[Annie0904]

This is a thread that I posted about my mosquito bites last year http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=142715

---------- Post added at 14:07 ---------- Previous post was at 14:04 ----------

I didn't think we had mosquitoes that bad here though so yours could be a horse fly bite. Whatever it is antihistamines and hydro-cortisone ointment will get rid of it.

[Catherine S]

Annie, did you mean me with the horsefly bite or Trueman? Funnily enough somebody else suggested to me too...its just that you can't see who the culprit is in the grass can you!

ISB x

[Annie0904]

Both of you I have never had bad mosquito bites here but get them every time I go to Italy.

[Catherine S]

My hubby doesn't react badly to them, only a small red lump for a few days and then its over whereas I'm in agony! Apparently they zoom in on body heat as well as the carbon dioxide we breathe out. Thanks for the link.

ISB x

[Annie0904]

My mosquito bites turned into huge blisters full of fluid and the lower part of leg was all red and hot :(

[hanshan]

A word to the wise from an Aussie who comes from where the mozzies are so huge they pick up cars and drop them in ditches, just for fun.

If you get bit by a mozzie, get some really hot water (not quite boiling), soak some cloth in it, and wrap it on the bite. Repeat when it cools. The bite will subside and disappear.

It works because the heat destroys the chemical the mosquito injects. I tell this to lots of people, and no-one ever believes me.

[Annie0904]

Thank you for the tip hanshan

[hanshan]

Hi Annie,

The advice is real, but obviously you need to apply the hot water within a short time after the bite to break down the chemical injected by the mosquito. After that time, any blistering or other reaction is something quite separate, and needs to be dealt with separately.