# Horse fly bite help! Pictures so be warned!



## georgiaziggy (8 July 2014)

I've reacted badly to horsefly bites for the past 2 years, but this is getting ridiculous now! its like they are attracted to me. I work with horses and have my own horses so a bite here and there is inevitable but this is my 2nd 'bad' bite in a week, I actually have 4 on me and the moment but not as severe as this one. 







Its very hot and painfully/itchy! Ive been taking disolvable asprin, 2 diffrent types of antihistamine and apply the hydrocortisone cream. Going to my docs again tomorrow as feel I need some antibiotics for this one. Its starting to blister and they make me feel like crap when I get one this big. Makes my very tired and almost delirious at times and impossible to function! Any advice or tips would be much appreciated! Not very nice for a 20 year old who just wants to get my legs out in the sunshine without feeling embarrassed


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## MochaDun (8 July 2014)

Looks dreadful, poor you.  Funnily enough driving home from supper at a friend's house tonight this Radio 4 programme had a section on insect bites - bit general but may be something helpful - it was on towards the end of the programme so probably about 22 mins or something.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b048l0sm


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## Ladyinred (8 July 2014)

MochaDun said:



			Looks dreadful, poor you.  Funnily enough driving home from supper at a friend's house tonight this Radio 4 programme had a section on insect bites - bit general but may be something helpful - it was on towards the end of the programme so probably about 22 mins or something.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b048l0sm

Click to expand...

I caught a bit of that on way back from yard where someone was saying even the Army use Skin So Soft as an insect repellant. I have visions of all the fragrant soldiers trying to look manly in battledress but smelling gorgeous lol.

Anyway, it might be worth a try.. for bites that bad anything has to be worth a try. Hope it gets better soon.


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## Louby (8 July 2014)

Ouch, looks like ABs are needed.  Ive always reacted to them too, needing ABs regular and was told by a doctor to draw a line round them and if the redness goes past that line or trails then ABS it is.  I got bit today, on my finger??,first one this year thank god, mind you I look like a nutter avoiding them and touch wood although sore red swollen and itchy Im thinking I might have got away with it.  Last year was the first year I didnt have ABs for them but I read that they go for Eostogen (sp) and mines been tested as low now (my age lol) so Im hoping this may be the beguinning of the end of the horrid reactions   Also read wearing light clothes helps.  Hope its ok and good luck.


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## maccachic (8 July 2014)

I reacted a bit to them and pretty sure antihistamines helped me.


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## Pinkvboots (8 July 2014)

I have had them like that its horrible, I have two on my leg at the moment but they are not too bad, I found a cold flannel press really helps, and just apply the cream as much as you need it, I hate the things and luckily i feel them land on me and always feel them bite so I manage to knock them off before they get really nasty.


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## Feival (9 July 2014)

Please see a doctor, i was stung by something last year and reacted like you have, the swelling spread from thumb to shoulder and developed cellulitis, i was admitted to hospital for 3 days and put on an IV of some serious antibiotcs.


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## Illusion100 (9 July 2014)

OH MY GOODNESS!!! Poor you! Yes, ABs might well be needed, get yourself to Docs asap! 

*Wearing Chainmail to yard until Winter*


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## Sophstar (9 July 2014)

I react exactly the same way and have ended up in A & E before with one after it tracked its way from my big toe up to my knee! I keep a bag of frozen peas that get refrozen every time they get melted from the searing heat that comes off the bites. Ice it and the itching will subside to a bearable level. If it doesn't get better I would go to doctors asap especially as the swelling is approaching a joint, I usually get given flucloxacillin and that kicks in pretty quick.


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## Blurr (9 July 2014)

I react similarly, it's miserable.  Agree with others that if it's infected you'll need antibiotics so best to get it checked out.  Blood poisoning is no fun.  To take the swelling down I've found the best thing is ice (or frozen peas).  Antihistamines don't work for me but ice really helps.  It does take a few hours and repeat applications.

For future bites there's some stuff called afterbite, you can get it from boots.  Stinks of ammonia and stings exquisitely if you've scratched a bite but it's the best stuff I've found to stop bites from escalating to dinner plate proportions.


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## georgiaziggy (9 July 2014)

Thanks guys, going to go to docs today as its started to blister bad. Eww its so gross  I have pcos so maybe thats why they love me if its to do with hormone levels in your blood


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## DW Team (9 July 2014)

I am glad to read you are popping into the Dr&#8217;s I would be drawing a line around it and this will show the Dr if it is continuing to spread.  I would as much as possible to get your foot elevated above the hight of your bottom.  

This was the advice I was given by NHS direct when I had a similar reaction to bee string.  OH took me to A&E when he got back and I had to have antibiotics for a week. Now have to make sure I have antihistamines with me at all times in the summer. They were also taking about  EpiPen I did not know that you can build up intolerance to bee stings.

Hope you recover quickly.


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## Nettle123 (9 July 2014)

Definitely carry After Bite with you all the time at the moment, several applications immediately after the bite and the horrible swelling starts to go down very quickly. I am sure they are worst this year than ever. My poor Husband had one bite his cheek in two places while he was driving yesterday!


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## holeymoley (9 July 2014)

I get them like that too. They're horrible just warm and itchy and usually the place that's been bitten goes rock solid for me. So far this year I've not had any bad ones, I got a few yesterday and find they're more itchy the day after. I have been putting witch hazel on them straight away so I'm not sure if this is helping them!


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## exracehorse (9 July 2014)

My young son had a bite. Redness started to track up leg. Ended up on ward on drip for anti biotic. Think it's cellulitis?  Blood poisoning.  Go to GP for anti biotic


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## Suechoccy (9 July 2014)

That could easily turn into cellulitis and you'd end up on IV ABs in hospital for a few days like someone I know who reacted badly to a spiderbite .  He had a bite on his elbow and it deteriorated over 2 days into whole hand/arm/shoulder/side of neck grossly swollen, heart palpitations and breathing problems as his airways started closing and semi-consciousness.  When he came out of hospital he was on strong ABs for a while. Every time he's bitten by an insect now, he gets flu-like symptoms for a few days and feels dreadful.

Get your doctor to give you an epipen to keep for emergency use too.
Forget the sun and tanned legs - keep your arms and legs covered up as your body clearly can't afford to be bitten.

I hope you feel better very soon.


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## _GG_ (9 July 2014)

Go to the GP for this to sort it. 

Use Skin so soft....it is genuinely amazing. 

Always have afterbite on you just in case you do get bitten so that you can apply straight away. 

You poor thing


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## serenityjane (9 July 2014)

I too react like you to horse-fly and insect bites bites;
My approach- spray myself everyday with boots insect repellant (with DEET), if bitten use afterbite as soon as possible, this does seem to work- more so if it really stings when you put it on!!!
This year I have managed to avoid swelling up but I always apply the repellant even if it is raining/windy/cloudy etc.
Thing is that horseflies do not actually sting, they really do bite....a small triangular hole in your skin so that they can drink your blood, it is the females that do this as they need the blood for egg production. They also cleverly apply a small amount of local anaesthetic in their saliva as they do this, so you do not actually feel them until it is too late! Of course anything else that is in their saliva depends very much on where they were eating before you came along.....so it is a really good way of introducing nasties to your body and scratching when it itches just spreads it further! - Antibiotics- definately required!


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## Coblover63 (9 July 2014)

I'm another sufferer and only discovered After Bite last year and it has been like a miracle "cure" for me.  It doesn't stop them biting me but I know that I can manage the itch, heat and swelling so I'm not so fearful any more.  I read recently that horseflies have no sense of smell (and are attracted by movement) so won't be deterred by fly repellent, however I do find that Superdrug's own brand seems to keep everything away from me so the jury is out on that one......


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## LittleMonster (9 July 2014)

Looks a bit like the bite on my foot!, it is very inflamed i would say it was infected and antibiotics are a must!


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## georgiaziggy (9 July 2014)

Doctor said cellulitus and given me two different courses of anti biotics! She also drew a line around it and told me to come back if it gets bigger. Bit worried now though as just checked it, and there is blood in the blister and under the skin and I know its very easy to get into the bloodstream. Will keep and eye on it anyway. Thanks! Will definitely be buying some afterbite! And I'm always covered in 2 diffrent fly repellents and have me thick jods on or jeans and in this case I had be long leather boots on so god knows how it still managed to bite me there!


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## Suelin (9 July 2014)

AB's without a doubt.  I react like this and AH's and AB's are the only way sadly.


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## Nessa4 (9 July 2014)

Try rubbing it with the inside of a banana skin - it takes the heat and itch out and reduces swelling.


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## Feival (9 July 2014)

If they offer you an epi pen please please, take it and make sure to carry it. We that react badly to bites/stings build intolerance the more we get bitten/stung so it could well save our lives one day. I will try to find pics of my arm so u don't feel alone in the icky ness xx


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## Louby (9 July 2014)

Well the bite on my finger finally got the better of me, really swollen with a huge blister and the dreaded redness starting to trail, so a trip to the walk in centre and ABs for me too   Hope your feeling better


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## Pinkvboots (9 July 2014)

Glad you went back to the doctor op, my worst bites were always on the lower leg like yours which is why i prefer to wear long boots when riding, and i find the invisble sun spray helps keep them away as it has an oil feel on the skin which they dont like.


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## Peregrine Falcon (10 July 2014)

Yuck and ouch.  Glad you've got sorted now though.  I used to react really badly, just like you have to horsefly bites.  Now I have advanced in years I seem to have built up an immunity (although I get bitten by the barstewards on a daily basis numerous times) and don't react like I did.


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## CBS1 (10 July 2014)

Oh wow that's looks terrible!! 

Years ago I got bit in pretty much the same place, just a tiny bit higher and a bit further back. I couldn't bend my leg for a week but still had to wear my jobs for work. It was so painful I wanted to punch someone.

2 weeks later I got bit on the side of my neck and then couldn't turn my head!! It looked like my head grew right out of my shoulder, my neck and jaw were so swollen.

I honestly didn't realise that horse fly bites were so serious until reading this thread, just thought I was unlucky. If it's even a little bit worse by morning you should go back to the doctor I think. I hope the AB's do the job quickly but don't take any chances with it.


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## georgiaziggy (10 July 2014)

Well guys! I took a leaf out of how to treat mudfever and caked my leg in sudocrem last night! Seems to have done the trick the whole things gone down by about 75%! God I love sudocreme! Is there not end to its uses!


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## happyclappy (10 July 2014)

ouch. i hope that is getting better fast. more and more people are reacting very badly and a big burly bloke died here recently


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## smokey (10 July 2014)

Get to the docs, that's nasty! Have had similar on my arm, and i was quite ill, cellulitis, and high temp.
i went up to get mine in for the farrier today, got four bites in an hour (none causing problems so far!) and a broken nail. Farrier didn't turn up, so at least I came home with something!


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## Crabby (10 July 2014)

Oh that looks really uncomfortable ..an AB job I think. I had a similar reaction to a mozzie bite recently and luckily ab+steroid cream from the pharmacy worked ??got a 2nd one just before I returned home and caused a panic on the flight as my ankle swelled up really badly and as they had no antihistamines on board I was given a bag of ice and spent the whole flight with my foot elevated and a bag of ice cubes balanced on it.


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## jojox (20 July 2015)

i have been bitten 3 times in the last two weeks ,, the first bite my armed swelled up about 3 times its size .. it was extremely painful and id applied after bite on it within minutes of the bite .. it did not help .. the second time was on back of my leg the horse fly had bitten right through my leggings and again i was in alot of pain and it swelled up like a balloon .. i was then told to apply citronella before i went to the areas with said horseflys  ( you can get it at the chemist  bout 2 quid )  .. just mix afew drops with oil .. baby oil / almond oil and spray it on yourself  ..  Yesterday i got bit again .. i had been doing my research  .. firstly apply saliva till you can treat it at home .. when i got in i made a mixture in a little tea cup of bicarbonate of soda and vinegar .. waited afew minutes then applied mixture to arm where i was bitten again .. i also took an antihistamine tablet straight away .. at least a 10 ml tablet ..  success horse fly bite didnt blow u into a full blown allergic reaction ...  and today instead of having an arm 3 times its size i just have a red lump   i hope this helps x x


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## 3OldPonies (20 July 2015)

OP, glad you got yourself to the Drs.  Hope it all starts to get better soon.

I've always reacted to anything that bites - wasps and ants in particular and have looked like you did more times than I care to remember  

I've not tried after bite yet, but after all the recommendations I think I'll be making a visit to a pharmacy to get some.  I have discovered though in the course of trialling all sorts of lotions and potions, that Anthisan is the worst thing I can put on a bite - although an antihistamine it just makes the reaction 10 times worse and lass 10 times longer.  There have been times when I've ended up wishing I could ride side saddle!


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## tallyho! (20 July 2015)

OP, that is now cellulitis. You need ABs quick.


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## ROMANY 1959 (20 July 2015)

Well I do hope OP recovered..as it was posted over a year ago! 
There are reported to be super size horse flies this year..


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## Beausmate (20 July 2015)

Super size like this - 

This is the dark giant horsefly, hideous thing.  The fly in the picture is a smidge under an inch long; it was trying to eat the Anticob (and he would take a lot of eating!) when I killed it.







A couple of years ago, not far from me, a man died after a reaction to a horsefly bite.  I wonder if it was one of these that caused it.


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## ILuvCowparsely (20 July 2015)

Beausmate said:



			Super size like this - 

This is the dark giant horsefly, hideous thing.  The fly in the picture is a smidge under an inch long; it was trying to eat the Anticob (and he would take a lot of eating!) when I killed it.







A couple of years ago, not far from me, a man died after a reaction to a horsefly bite.  I wonder if it was one of these that caused it.
		
Click to expand...

ahhhhhh we had two in the house I thought were wasps so I use the electric bug bat on them.  Gave me a sadistic  buzz ( scuse the pun ) watching it go Z Z Z Z ZZ  ZzzzZZzzz on the electric bat


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## ILuvCowparsely (20 July 2015)

I find this helps too 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb...04?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=zap+it


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## MungoMadness (20 July 2015)

Oh you poor thing. Hope you recover quickly! I react to an insect bites, one particular occasion they spread all around my entire body and then proceeded to blister. I was in absolute agony, they were so itchy I couldn't sleep and I ended up on steroids, steroid cream and the strongest antihistamines I could get.


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## hackneylass2 (21 July 2015)

As The Tank says, if they offer you an Epipen, grab it with both hands!  After a reaction like that I would be seriously considering asking for one anyway.  Weird thing with bites and stings is that you can either build up a resistance, or your resistance will be reduced.  DEET containing preps don't seem as effective for horseflies as it is for Mozzies. Hope you have a speedy recovery!


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## fatpiggy (21 July 2015)

I swell up just like that. One bit me on the back of my hand, that ended up looking like a water-filled surgical glove and the arm was swollen to the armpit.  Apis Mel tablets 30c, at least 4 times a day for at least 5 days as soon as you get bitten.  Antihistamine does nothing for me whatsoever but the Apis Mel will keep it to a small localised swelling with little itching.  I carry a tube in my car, and one in my handbag.  It has NEVER failed me yet.


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## tallyho! (21 July 2015)

ROMANY 1959 said:



			Well I do hope OP recovered..as it was posted over a year ago! 
There are reported to be super size horse flies this year..
		
Click to expand...

Oh. Hahaha!!!


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