INSECT BITES: I find it interesting that no-one seems t...

Over the decades I can name the incidences  wasps, mosquitoes , bed bugs & have come to realise the homeopathic option often the best sometimes piriton. Fortunately my incidences have been  not as bad as some but the sooner the treatment the better .As a child had a wasp' s sting that inflamed nearly whole leg .I have even had something covering  my face.As for mosquitoes they can ruin a holiday .At 68 I have just had lymphoedema diagnozed by GP & lipoedema by a Nurse ??!I think I need a second opinion as could be chronic cellulitus.

Strangely I had my first experience of this after working in my garden in Kent, but most of the subsequent instances have been after insect bites on holiday.

The doctor in the UK treated with steroid cream and antibiotic pills, then a higher dose of a different antibiotic when the first attempt didn't work.  I went back to the doctor after a subsequent infection and got more of the same and it does work OK eventually.

However, I've now found that if I go to the pharmacist in Italy I get a cheap and very effective cream - Betamethasone + Gentamicin (from Mylan Generics).  Applied rapidly, this quickly gets the infection under control.  As others have said, the speed of action is key and it is a lot quicker/easier to see a pharmacist than the doctor, especially on holiday!

 

I've had three bouts of cellulitis from a bug bite three times in less than one year. I am not one hundred percent sure of what bug bit me becuase there were no visible breaks to the skin but after research my guess has been gnats or biting flies. 

My advice is if you get an unusually itchy bug bite and it starts to swell, watch that swelling like a hawk. The minute it starts to spread, get it taken care of immediately. I went to Urgent Care twice and the ER once for my cellulitis as it was rapidly spreading (anytime you see red line streaks, watch that streak incase it starts to get longer). You don't want to wait on cellulitis because the infection can spread to your bloodstream.

As for prevention, I may be a little overdoing it and paranoid, but I use bug spray everyday and I haven't been bitten since March. Also, as soon as I get a bite and find myself itching, I rinse it with soap and apply anti-biotic cream. If I can't get to a sink I use handsanitizer. I also do not scratch it at all. I believe that is how I got my infections. I scratched them at night and cause it to spread.

Good luck!

Thanks for the info on the insect bite induced cellulitis. I have suffered cellulitis as a result of lymphedema. Initially it started in the right leg and in 2013, I had the most miserable attack to the left leg that was originally an atrophied leg with loss of muscle. I figure I have had about a half dozen cellulitis events to the right leg before the left leg got into the picture. At no time was there an insect bit evident. The onset was a very high fever followed by the leg turning bright orange/red. The event in March of 2013 landed me in the hospital for 2 days after 875 mgs twice daily of amoxi-clav was not helping. I spent over a month out of work and bed ridden for most of the time. The leg was so painful, especially taking the first step out of bed. I was also diagnosed with a slight venous insufficency while in the hospital. 

I think the key is to get the earliest care possible and always keep an emergency supply of amoxi -clav on hand. In the summer I always wear long pants despite how hot the summers can be and always wear garments on both legs. Again, during my last event, not even a scratch could be detected anywhere on the leg or between the toes. 

Thanks for the info on the bug bites. I am forever vigilant of anything interfering with both legs. I am hoping I never have to go through another bout of cellulitis in this lifetime.

Hi  I can name the incidents going back in decades but have put it down to allergy till last year when lipoedema diagnosed?

I suspect have had this type of cellulitus related from birth as one of first to be given penicillin & feel pain acutely abnormally .

Just had abdomnoplasty [ tummy tucck] in Brussels to access tumescent liposuction treatment for lipoedema they block from having here.

Also antibiotics are treatment for cellulitus which often collide with other conditions involving chronic infection and we know the NHS policy here.....As this could involve sepsis possible gangrene , this is not very intelligent .

Let me start out by saying that I am a patient as well as an RN. In the hospital that I work for since the physician usually doesn't know initially if the cause of cellulitis is bacterial, viral or fungal, they usually prescribe both antibiotics and antifungals IV. Blood cultures are taken in the ER or first thing upon arriving to the floor for admission.

My symptoms started yesterday morning right before I got off work. It felt like I had been bitten by something and I couldn't wait to get in the car to scratch my ankle. Then the burning started. After my 45 min drive home I showered and went to bed. The itching was so bad that I scratched my ankle in my sleep. My ankle is swollen and red...in fact has red trailing marks. I'm taking Benadryl for the itch and ibuprofen for the swelling. I'm on call tonight...if I get called in tonight I'll go to the ER in the am or head to my doctor's office. I can sympathize with my patients more as I have only experienced hives from my neck to my ankles; I wanted to die then...steroids and topical creme. I have no fever or body aches so it is not an immediate need to run to th ER yet!

Thanks for the info Terry -

Sorry to hear about your dilemma. Sounds familiar. My last bout with cellulitis was the worst by far. I was basically out of commission for 1 month and the healing process was so slow. I was on amoxi clav 875mgs and ended up in the hospital for several days. I was then given amoxi clav in an IV drip. My leg was so painful and a bright orange/red. Oddly enough, I had no insect bites, no cracks in the skin or any indication of an instrustion through the skin. I wear garments on both of my legs to help with the lyphedema. They are miserable to get on and off but well worth it. I also went to a physical therapist that specialized in lymphedema and she helped me immensely. 

I hope your situation cures in a hurry. Similar to me, in your line of work, you're on your feet for extended periods. The lymphedema prefers the legs elevated   

I also bought a solaris tribute to wear to bed. It's a boot like garment that helps with keeping the leg drained. The tribute is very expensive however and I only have one for the right leg.

Keep us posted and feel better real soon.

Don't scratch the insect bite - it's bloody hard but that's when the infection " gets in" you must NOT break the skin ... Believe me I know... Whenever I resist the scratch all is good - as soon as I scratch the infection starts almost immediately as the skin integrity is lost. I'm not sure why it's insect bites.. I don't get the cellulitis with cat scratches or any other skin injury - but it works believe me . 

When I first contracted cellulitis it was as a result of an insect bite in Belize whilst I was serving in HM Armed Forces in November 2005. The result of the bite was that my temperature was so high that the army doctor feared that I had contracted malaria & admitted me to the hospital in Belize City where I remained until in a semi-conscious state being administered anti-biotics intravenously until a flight was available to return me to Scotland whereupon I commenced oral antibiotics. Once home a biopsy was taken with the result "No suspicious cultures". The area that the biopsy was taken from (the original site of the insect bite) did not heal despite being cleaned & dressed repeatedly for 6 months. Eventually the specialist, a Doctor Aldridge head of darmatology at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, decided that the only solution was to close the wound with silver nitrate in July 2006.

Thhat was the last I even thought about cellulitis until I was admitted to the Victoria hospital in Kirkcaldy earlier this month. Although this time I am at a loss to what was the trigger