Damn horsefly bite!

Might be a Drs job as that happened to my daughter in Scotland mind you and it was a special type of fly that needed antibiotics!!!! Her hand came up like a balloon

Not much help to you now, but I find that anti-histamine cream has to be applied immediately to do a good job. I therefore have small tubes of Anthisan in house, car, handbag, bumbag and rucksack. I put some on a wasp sting last year as soon as it happened, and I never felt a thing!
I hope your bite soon gets better, don't leave it too long before seeing a doctor as it might be infected. For instant relief from itching I find hand sanitizing gel is soothing in the short term.

See the doc.

I'd be inclined to see the doc, or at least ask the pharmacist whether it needs seeing by a doc who could prescribe something effective.
Are you sure it was a horse fly? They are certainly out in force, drawing blood. I keep antihistamine tabs in my dog walking kit, in case one of the dogs is bitten.
Don't want to be alarmist but, it's the tick season. I was bitten by a tick years ago, I had a blister type lump on my leg and some kind of horrible virus type illness for several medical baths - aches, exhaustion etc.
See the pharmacist who will probably advise a docs appointment.
Those lesbian sandals are my fave Phoenix x

Definitely see either your GP or pharmacist. I got bitten on two different holidays (Spain and Portugal) and ended up at A & E because my arm (Spain) and my hand (Portugal) swelled. Nothing too serious, but needed yellow stuff (iodine based, I presume) to dab on. The doctors both did the sharp intake of breath thing when I presented with the symptoms! I was instructed to go back if it hadn't subsided by the next day. Good luck!

My daughter had to have antibiotics after she was bitten by a horsefly in local woods last summer. I would go to GP if it's no better in a couple of days. Keep going with the antihistamine cream, it can't do any harm.

You and me too, phoenix, though goodness knows how at the weekend while cutting bushes in a London garden!? Yesterday my nasty leg bite had a red halo as big as a tea cup round it, so today I got an appointment with the doctor who checked my temperature and my pulse. The advice was to take piriton 3 times a day to stop the hot itching. He also gave me a prescription for a skin antibiotic and said to start them if I felt unwell. It is starting to turn more purple now, looks unsightly, hurts if anything brushes against it and is accompanied by two smaller bites on my calf. The GC spend half their day in my bushes and never get anything.

This may help. I have been plagued by a bee sting for days, always flashes up when I try and sleep. Anthisan helps a bit but today I had a flash of inspiration and took a bog standard Sainsbury anti allergy pill, the sort for hay fever etc. Works a treat, hope it lasts through the night. Horse fly bites are horrid, hope yours eases soon.

I like Anthisan but find it spreads the bite outwards when I apply it. ?

Always carry a can of Wasp-eze with you just in case you are bitten because it needs to be sprayed on the bite immediately.

Fortunately we don't have them round here because we're not a livestock area but when we lived in Norfolk I even kept a can in the laundry basket because the washing line was next to the calf sheds.

A visit to the pharmacist is probably a good idea.

Actually, I think Wasp-eze has been discontinued.

As you were.....

I had to have antibiotics my leg was really swollen and painful to walk on

I would ring 111 for some advice. Better safe than sorry.

Many thanks for the responses, appreciated as always.

Not a tick, quite funny really, a student came up to my office a few weeks ago asking if I possibly had a tick removing gadget. She and another one had found ticks on their lower legs after a walk.

She couldn't believe it when I reached into my drawer and produced one! (Think she may have thought I was some sort of mega able person, it was only there because George, the workshop cat had a tick a few weeks ago, and I had forgotten to take the tick remover home!)

I got bitten by a horse fly once, my calf swelled right up. I keep anti-histamine tablets in just in case I react badly to any bites, but do be careful as you could need anti-biotics, so see the GP if it doesn't get better soon.

Just to digressphoenix I always wear bird's, but I have a pair of Josrf Seibel lace up shoes. All the family call them my lesbian walkers
To return to the thread. I got a very nasty bite from something the other day. It was on my cheek. Very red and boozy. DH is a great fan of Germolene ? so he applied that liberally. It didn't work and the bite itched for several days Nearly gone now, but no idea what bit me.

I wear Berks. !!!!

"Boozy", BBevan ??

Do you, know, having had a think, I'm very tempted to put some good old fashioned Germolene (thanks BBbevan! ) on it, even though it is no longer the pink cream in a tin! (The one I have is in a tube, and not very pink, doesn't quite smell the same either))

I think it does, however have some sort of analgesic ingredient, so will give it a go.

DIL got bitten by a horsefly when we were on Islay and she had to have a course of antibiotics, she was really very ill. The bite was on her forehead and it made her face swell.

The thick pink germolene is prescription only now ? Always used it liberally, wonder what it contains that makes it restricted

Many years ago in the Western Highlands, my Mum had a cleg (Scottish horse-fly) bite which made her arm swell up from elbow to shoulder and Dad had to take her all the way to Fort William (about 30 miles) for treatment which in those days was an antibiotic injection. Yes, Phoenix, do get advice and don't leave it too long.

How's your bite today, phoenix? Mine is so much better, thanks to piriton. I can almost see the entry points of the bite now.
I feel a bit silly having gone to the doctor's, but at least I have the antibiotics in the cupboard on standby in case another time I get a worse one!

I get dozens of bites every year: ticks, midges, clegs (horse-flies). Chlorphenamine tablets, paracetamol if painful, and Germolene have always dealt satisfactorily with the horse-fly bites. Tiger Balm is good on midge bites. Tick remover and a dab of gin deal with tick bites.

My GP says most minor infections (including horrid ones like ear infections) clear up by themselves within 72 hours. This certainly seems to be true as far as my family is concerned.

Hope it doesn't remain a problem.