I few weeks ago (luckily AFTER my brother's wedding), my ankle looked like this all doctored up with calamine lotion.
Then they healed up. Then this weekend I got eaten alive again. Or maybe I have poison ivy too?
Symptoms: My bug bites sometimes just get your average red raised bite that is itchy for a couple of days. Other times I end up with a pretty serious site reaction that gets raised, red, hot, and as it heals looks bruised. This concerns me a bit because it is almost like I get some tissue necrosis at the bite site. My third option for a reaction is dermatitis (I think), just tiny blisters and super itchy. Now that I look online, these worse reactions may be varying degrees of cellulitis.
Treatment: Two things can happen with a bug bite - an immune response and an infection. I have tried various combinations of treatments with this in mind. Usually I put some antibiotic cream on it right away. I started doing this per the recommendation of a doctor friend after her dad was reacting to a 2-day old sting, and she made the point that you never know what bacteria bugs are carrying. I have discovered that the ointments with pain relief seem to reduce the itching too! Then there is calamine, which I think is most helpful at drying them out. I do prefer the clear anti-itch cream over pink calamine for going out in public or to work. This clear lotion is less drying, but does protect the skin and reduce itching. A friend recommended applying Tiger Balm right after showering. This also seemed to work, but my skin reacted to the Tiger Balm so I figured that might not be good. Last time my bites got bad (see above picture) and hot, I kept them clean, used antibiotic ointment, and iced them. I HIGHLY recommend the ice! There is also the classic AfterBite (ammonia), but really this seems to do nothing for me. Spray Benedryl works sometimes if I spray it on RIGHT after getting bitten.
CF swears by spit. Right after he gets a bite, he puts a big ol' finger full of spit on it and does not react. He may also be less allergic to the bites, but whatever. I keep meaning to get some aloe with lidocaine. I figure that should work too.
Here is the biggest problem of all. I sprayed Off DeepWoods with DEET all over myself last night and still felt the mosquitoes biting! But CF and I went to a botanical garden where they display (with a RED sign) a huge poison ivy plant in the 'Injurious Plants' section, and today I went for a walk along a paved river trail where surely there was poison ivy too. I have some "bites" on my ankle that have suspiciously large blisters and are not really itchy, but rather more sensitive. So I either get big ol' blisters in response to mosquito bites or have poison ivy in addition to bites right now. Tonight, I stopped drinking sangria, took an antihistamine, cleaned the areas twice with rubbing alcohol, and put calamine all over. We will see how that goes...
Maybe at some point I should go to a doctor when I have a bad reaction?
7 comments:
You must be extra tasty to them thar skeeters!! A doctor visit might not be a bad idea, they may give you some better drugs for when this happens.
I'm going to ask my seestor to read your post and see if she has some suggestions, because she has a really high sensitivity to bites and other skin allergies. If I'm remembering correctly, she takes a Zyrtec (allergy pill) every day (and maybe a claritin too?). I know my dermatologist had recommended ranitidine (generic for zantac and usually used for acid-reflux), because it is a histamine H2-receptor antagonist. Interestingly, there are a really large percentage of histamine receptors in skin; so taking ranitidine can help with skin reactions. (We both can't take benadryl, so have to go down other roads of treatment). Have you tried oral benadryl?
Yeah, I think I should start taking oral medication. Sunday I cleaned them all, put on calamine lotion, and took a generic anti-histimine before bed and they never got super itchy. They are still there and red, but not itchy. A step in the right direction!
Egad! That is some reaction. At least you have some coping methods. Interesting about the spit cure. I'm guessing that the enzymes in saliva break down the active ingredients in bite venom. Good to know! I've used spit to get out bloodstains in the past, because it dissolves protein.
Not itchy is much better!
I don't want to come across as the science-snob (like a grammar snob) who corrects statements people make. BUT since I'm a scientist who teaches Anatomy and Physiology I feel compelled to clarify about the enzymes in saliva, because saliva doesn't have any enzymes in it that break down (dissolve) proteins. This is a good thing! If saliva digested proteins, we'd digest away the cells that line the inside of our mouth, not to mention our tongue...
... life without a tongue would be very...
... different. ;-)
Anyway, saliva DOES have lysozyme in it which breaks down the peptidoglycan walls of bacteria; so it IS a great antibacterial agent. As an aside, it has the enzyme amylase in it, which can begin to break down carbohydrates (polysaccharides) into smaller carbohydrates (oligosaccharides of 2-8 glucose molecules).
Digestion of proteins doesn't happen until the proteins reach the stomach where they are exposed to HCl (acid) and pepsin (proteases).
:-)
Danielle's sister here. I take Zyrtec and Zantac (Ranitidine) generic every day for dermatographism (basically hives which occur due to any sort of pressure), but these do help when I get bit by something. I take those in the AM and if I am still itching at night I take the generic version of Claritin. For poison ivy one thing that has worked for me is Burt's Bees Poison Ivy soap. To prevent poison ivy the best thing I have found is Technu. I used this for years especially when I was mountain biking and it really seemed to help. One final note, when I have bad reactions to fire ants or poison ivy I head for the doctor and usually end up with a steroid treatment.
Thanks, Texas Seestor! When I took an oral antihistamine last time it was MUCH better. Sounds like I should make that a habit.
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