Bites

[ladyofastolat]

Is anyone wise in the ways of insect bites? I know I could Google this, but reputable health sites tend to say "if in doubt, see your doctor," and other sort of sites tend to say, "OMG! You're DYING!" so I prefer to start with the wisdom of the real, sensible people who live in my LJ.



I picked up half a dozen insect bites in Capri. They did nothing out of the ordinary - i.e. they turned into small swollen white lumps which itched like crazy for 2 or 3 days, then slowly faded to pink. However, nearly 2 weeks later, two of them suddenly decided to come back for a second round, this time as battalions. First the site of the initial bite was surrounded by a perfect circle of what looked almost like new bites, although they had no puncture mark. Then the gaps filled in, so now I've got swollen, pinky-yellow lumps over two inches across. Now the other original bites are starting to do the same.

Is this normal? Should I just be patient, and continue to treat with antihistamine, and trust that they will go away in time? Or are they likely to spread even more, unless I take action?

Comments

[bunn.livejournal.com]

2 inches and two weeks afterwards does sound quite big and late. If it were me, I'd get it looked at - particularly after my ridiculous infected eczema thing last year, which was entirely down to assuming that a 2-inch itchy patch couldn't possibly be anything major...

You feel such a wally being threatened with hospital for something like that! And the thousand giant orange pills full of Science are not much fun, although admittedly much preferable to swelling up and turning manky.

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

I'll try the pharmacist tomorrow. I have to say, though, that if doctors said such things as "I am giving you a thousand orange pills full of Science!" I'd be much more likely to go to them. :-D

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I bet doctors would *like* to say things like that more often. Telling people to lose weight, stop smoking and eat more vegetables must get very tedious.

Incidentally, this is a perfect opportunity for my Wonderous Radish icon, which gets few outings.