Got these after a woodland ride on my bike a few days ago.
Tick bites? Don't think I've ever had them before! Left is on my torso, right in on left calf.
Attachment 8511
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Got these after a woodland ride on my bike a few days ago.
Tick bites? Don't think I've ever had them before! Left is on my torso, right in on left calf.
Attachment 8511
Presumably you never saw or removed any ticks? Could be horsefly bites.
Never saw any ticks. I normally brush myself down post run or ride. Got bitten by a horsefly last year. Hurts like a bugger. Didn't feel a thing this time if that's what it was.Quote:
Originally Posted by Murt
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vegan Runner
Horsefly or even midge bites, I've had some pretty nasty infected bites from midges, I reckon worth getting a Doc to check these over, my missus had Cellulitus from a Horsefly bite once and ended up on an antibiotic drip for a week in hospital, worth ruling out ticks as well although as you say you haven't seen any so perhaps unlikely, the midge bites I've had tend to be hot to touch and ache like hell, although I think this could be due to an allergic reaction on my part perhaps.
oh and just thought, presumably you've had a tick or two before now, but my first tick bites were worse than any subsequent ones, perhaps some sort of immunity type thing kicks in after the first one, my first was a pain for about six months.Quote:
Originally Posted by Daletownrunner
Just back from seeing a doc. He doesn't think that the rash indicates Lyme disease. Definitely been bitten though. Have to keep an eye on it and go back if it gets worse, doesn't clear or if I get any of the other Lyme symptoms. On antihistamines for now.
Daletownrunner, I've been bitten by ticks twice before but noticed them within minutes and just had a little bite mark/rash. Cleared up after a week.
Funny I've been the same, notice them pretty much as soon as they're on, whether it's a sixth sense or the fact that generally I check more on tick type days :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Vegan Runner
Looks like Horse flies bites, I had 6 bites and the wife 3 the other Sunday from the bast**ds, one of mine turned funny, red rash getting bigger from it and my leg started to swell up, went to the doc's he said sepsis, and put me on a course of antibiotics. 5 years ago I got bitten on the hand and left it a bit longer before I acted, I ended up in A+E and went into septic shock, the doc's got me round but I was on loads of antibiotics and my running was not right for a month. Two years ago the wife was bitten on the hand and her arm swelled up, again a trip to A+E. If it starts to spread or you get flu like symptoms swollen lymph nodes then back to the Doctors, in 6 out of 10 cases septic shock is fatal.
ATB
Tahr
Keep skin covered - I know it is unfashionable - but tights/long sleeves/gloves are good protection against insects, and falls for that matter. Even on hot days it is amazing how acceptable 2XU tights are - they are not designed to retain heat, in fact the exact opposite. I don't expect any converts! An alternative or additional measure is copious amounts of suntan cream - insects don't seem to like it and don't land, or drown when it is mixed with sweat.
Definitely agree with Mike on the sun cream...I've used Avon's (other brands available) "skin so soft" before and that keeps the midge's off so I'm guessing it might work on other annoying insects, haha
Pis it only Horse flies which cause the issue with you Tahr? A Horse fly bite is the only that has hospitalised my missus, but things like bee/wasp stings, ant bites etc all cause massive swelling around the area of the bite/ sting, ironically she seems to attract bee, wasps ants etc, problem is it can be restrictive as she's always very wary of running off-road in summer in case she gets stung..Quote:
Originally Posted by Tahr
Is it only Horse flies which cause the issue with you Tahr? A Horse fly bite is the only that has hospitalised my missus, but things like bee/wasp stings, ant bites etc all cause massive swelling around the area of the bite/ sting, ironically she seems to attract bee, wasps ants etc, problem is it can be restrictive as she's always very wary of running off-road in summer in case she gets stung..Quote:
Originally Posted by Tahr
Yes only horse flies, as said I had 6 bites but only one turned funny, Oh and Adders, my foot swelled up on the OMM last year when one of them bit me, not having much luck am I. I have had swelling from wasp stings but a few antihistamines settled that down.
Could well be a flower bug bites, ive had them before, very itchy - skin goes a bit firm, pus exudes from bite. Take a while to heal up too.
I hope your rash has cleared with the antihistamines, the Lyme rash will apparently not clear without antibiotics, so if it has, it was not Lyme.
If it has not cleared, I'd not delay in chasing this up with the GP, and don't get fobbed off. There has been lot of talk of ticks in the media recently, but public awareness is only a part of the issue, the equally important part is Lyme awareness among medical professionals, since prompt treatment has to be based on a clinical diagnosis alone. On the one occasion I suspected I might have been bitten by a Lyme infected tick (bulls eye rash), the Nurse Practitioner in charge of the minor injuries did not know what Lyme disease was and the junior consultant on call told her no symptoms develop for 40 days anyway, which is BS. It is a few years back, so hopefully things have improved since.
I used to get lot of tick bites, in typical summer in double digits -- ticks are like midges, they like some people more than others. Until I discovered that Skin so Soft very liberally applied helps -- same as with midges, it is not a repellent but a barrier protection, the enzymes in it that keep your skin 'soft' by digesting dead skin cells happen to happily digest the finer parts of insect anatomy, including the mouth organs. It's not 100% reliable, but I reduced my tick bite count by an order of magnitude in the last couple of years. (Though perhaps that's a complete coincidence ...)
As for covering up, I am not convinced that's a very helpful advice at all. A tick will happily crawl under your clothes, it usually does not get past a tight elastic band, but that's about it, I have had a tick bite well inside a tight running sock. A tick will also happily crawl on the top of your clothing until it finds somewhere it can get under, so wearing tights you might well get bitten on your upper body instead of your legs. Ticks also seemingly survive the washing machine, so maybe it will get you the next time you put your tights on ...
I simply check my legs every so often, especially after long grass and bracken sections. Ticks don't bite immediately, they crawl until they find somewhere they like, usually behind the knee. You can often spot them crawling, or, the bigger ones, feel them. Even once they stop, it takes them a while to burrow through your skin, and they are very easy to remove in the early stages even with your fingers, though when I plan a long off track run, I often take the tick removal tool with me and some Savlon. I keep an eye on any bite locations; when the tick managed to burrow through to your blood stream this is easy, it itches as hell for several days, forming a small hard lump.
The other thing, once attached, the tick will not detach until its appetite is satiated; because the bites itch greatly, you will likely register it before it lets go of its free will -- if you have a bite and there is no tick (or part of a tick) attached, I'd say it is unlikely it is a tick bite.
Thanks TTHEF.
I wan't given antibiotics, just advised to get some anti-histamines. Tried them but felt ill with them. The rash cleared up of its own accord over the next few days. So, not a tick bite. Phew.
Thanks all for the info and advice. Here's hoping this winter is long and cold to kill them off for next year.
Looks very much like horse fly to me. I've just picked up 4 of them around my ankle at the weekend. They look very similar to yours and I know it was horse fly because the little b*gger jumped onto the person next to me before it was spotted and, I'm sorry to say, squashed.
Currently got a red patch about the size of two 50p pieces on my outer ankle but, fingers crossed, it's not getting worse and may actually be clearing a bit today. By the way, I used a paste of coconut oil and bicarb of soda on it....I know that works for bee stings!
Same thing happened to me 4 years ago after camping. seems like a horsefly to me as well.
I've had 3 ticks in the peak this year, that's the most I've ever had down here.
removed them all with in an hour so all good.
They do seem very prevalent this year. My family all picked some up on Dartmoor in July (including daughter's Danish boyfriend, who had never encountered them before).
I went on a work teambuilding event in Denmark a couple of years ago and came back with two ticks after running in the woods the over there :D I must admit though I am a tick magnet, they really seem to like me :(Quote:
Originally Posted by gej
I think it's a horse fly, I remember my dad had one when he went camping