What the heck is biting me?

Ps, I am now itching all over. Lol

My dgd is plagued by insect bites. Every year during the summer months she gets huge swollen bites which are red but with a harder lump in the centre which pulses from red to white. She can't sleep because of the itching, and sometimes the swollen areas can be larger than a teaplate. She gets them mostly on her legs arms and back, fortunately so far not on her face. She has tried everything on the market, either to stop being bitten, or to reduce the itching, but nothing seems to work. She has even tried wearing thick tights to prevent being bitten, but that hasn't worked either, she still gets them. I have never heard of tiger balm, so I will try to find it and get some for her. Can anyone say where I will be able to find it?

ive got bites that sound like yours, it is these little mosquito things yes they are very itchy , i use anthiisan cream

I have searched in vain for a guide to 'holiday areas where there are few mosquitos', well you get the idea) but failed miserably!

If anyone can suggest holiday areas in Europe where a similarly afflicted 'juicy' person has had a relatively trouble-free (i.e. bite-free) holiday, I would be immensely grateful.

I understand about standing water/long grass/dusk/dawn/pale v dark clothing etc., but despite taking all precautions and covering myself in DEET (which, incidentally tastes revolting, wards off my husband and ruins costume jewellery and plastic specs!) am still bitten to bu**ery!

Any suggestions, please? Many thanks.

Oh Jalima have just read your link and this post and now feel itchy all over. A really useful link. I think the picture of the early symptom of Lyme's disease as it is so distinctive could be very helpful if the occasion were to arise.
I used to be the one bitten in our family but recently it has been DH. He seems to be first choice for a meal.

Jalima 1108 I am also absolutely delicious and extremely attractive - to anything that sucks blood and has a proboscis, so I sympathise.

My life can be dictated as to what is around to bite me: I live in the south east and have now resorted to buying a 'mozzie-killer' light. This attracts biting insects and they are killed by electricity. It can be interesting to examine what it has caught and I can categorically say that there are mozzies and biting gnats in the south east of the UK.

I realise I am now officially a 'killer' but as you have experienced, having an insect bite is far worse than it sounds (to those who are not as juicy).

I can only open a window if I ensure that my window netting is firmly in place and despite all f the above, I am still bitten as the blighters come in through open doors (why can't men close doors/anti-mozzie netting?!).

I have no animals, a clean home and I am the only person in it to be bitten - my husband is immune. I can;t express the misery of an insect bite - being woken at night as it begins, having to deal with it for perhaps a week and sometimes the semi-permanent (they fade in about fifteen years), 1/3"bumps left in the skin.

The best solution after one is bitten that I have found is to as soon as one can, put witch hazel on to the bite with a Q-tip. When that has dried, add a tiny amount of hydro-cortisone cream. This can, if applied quickly enough, be of immense help but sometimes even this is not enough and the suffering begins!

I read that toothpaste helps ease the itching when used on bites.
Fleas will happily hide between boards of laminated / wood flooring.
Animal fleas can live off human blood for a limited time, so long as they get a bite of their preferred host once in a while. Any grass you walk through may have fleas from hedgehogs, squirrels, badgers, foxes etc as well as domestic pets e.g. cats and dogs.

I was bitten by a spider -- it got away but I saw that it was like a smallish black spot. What was it? It's bite was like a sharp dart. Not nice.

Well, I have been indoors more than outdoors this week and have no fresh bites.
New carpets and suite fairly recently too.

It only happens in the summer - every summer. I have to smother myself in insect repellent if I go overseas too.

I've recently been bitten by mosquitoes and I'm in Hertfordshire, pharmacist said mozzy bites are common in U.K. now.

I read the posts with great interest as I've been bitten too - and I've recently discovered my DD has as well. I also thought it was mozzies, fleas or bedbugs but they didn't fit with the pictures I'd seen [nor any in the link either] and one of them was half an inch across and came up in a huge blister;I'm still left with the aftermath of a brownish circle the size of a 5p piece. They only itched in the beginning and didn't hurt and all bar this bigger one have now disappeared. Weird!

It does sound like fleas, they are often in carpets when people have pets so they get the ankles. They can also be in soft furniture which could be why they are on your arms. Worth treating your carpets and sofas and chairs and wearing insect repellent for a bit. They like me too and I am convinced that they communicate in some way with each other if they find someone they like the taste off and invite all their buddies to the party. Hopefully I'm wrong and it is something like midges that have a shorter lifespan.

link, sorry

www.mosi-guard.com/articles/insect-bites-in-the-uk-identify-what-has-bitten-you-with-this-ultimate-guide

other insect repellents are available

However, they appeared after I sat outside on balmy evenings which is when they usually get me.
Looking at the link, they are more likely to be midge bites.

It sound to me like fleas, and as it is mainly your ankles that are bitten, animal fleas not the ones that breed on humans.

You can pick them up anywhere, as if there is no dog or cat nearby, or whatever animal they prefer, the hop onto the nearest human or animal.

It is no reflection on how clean you keep your house. However, if it is fleas, you will need to wash all wooden floors carefully and vacuum carpets etc. The chemist can help you with what to use, and as you don't have pets, you don't have to worry about whether they will be affected by the flea powder or whatever you use.

Alidoll yes, this one was weeping.
I have had sandfly bites too and they do that

Hope you're feeling better now tanith

Ah! Tiger balm, I will have to 'borrow' DH's as I don't like using a steroid cream (although that worked).
And the anti-histamine did help, I got a night's sleep.

No dogs or cats here either, just mozzies or gnats whichever they are.

There are spiders that bite, leaving an inflamed itchy patch with a hard lump in the middle. Anti-histamines and Zambuk, if you can get it, if not, Tiger Balm on the bites - stings a bit but really clears them up and repels other hungry bugs to boot.

I'm in the UK so any of your suggestions is possible it's been a couple of days now with no new bites but it's been raining so I've not spent much time outside. Thanks for all the suggestions.

We have a house cat and we give him a flea jab every 6 months. In this hot weather where we have windows open day and night you can get them fly in they are so tiny you never see the little devils.
Take some antihistamine they do help.

Don't know where in the country u live but mosquitos? You could have skeeter syndrome (allergy to the saliva they inject). Brings up REALLY itchy sores that weep yellow fluid. Just back from Croatia and they bit my legs something terrible. If there's pooled water / then there may be mosquitoes

We have a 4 year old house cat who has never gone out at all (except vets) . Recently we noticed that she was loosing fur and was constantly biting herself in a certain place, closer inspection showed thinking hair,spots etc. A trip to the vets confirmed fleas ! We explained she was a house cat and was told it's not unusual for people to pick up a flea and carry it back home. I wonder if that might have happened to you ? Obviously one flea does not remain a singleton so you might have house guests ! Buy a flea spray and go over all your nooks and crannys ( the house ? lol !) and take an antihistamine yourself.

Now is the "flea season" in gardens and long grass, as callgirl1 says. I was reading an article in the paper yesterday about bird fleas coming down the chimney - would that be a possibility?

Flea bites are usually in groups of 3 or 4. And fleas like ankles.
Then there's tick bites
I've had all those here (sw France) . Even bedbugs from a hotel we once stayed in but those were all below the waist.

You could be picking up fleas from outside, especially if you`ve been near long grass. I always know if Mia has fleas, I`m the only human in the house who gets bitten! Try spraying your whole house with Indorex spray.