Insect Bite

[sherrardk]

I got bitten on my neck about 10 - 12 days ago. I have honestly not scratched or poked and prodded it but there's an angry deep red patch on my neck (about the size of a 10p) and a hard lump in the center of it (about the size of a 5p). It's now starting to irritate me (it's itchy) - should I put something on it or just leave it alone?

[Tilly2]

Try antihistamine cream, Sherr.

[237SJ]

I`d use a bit of hydrocortisone cream.

[Islay]

As tilly says, also try a cold compress to calm it down, you could also try taking one orally.

[sherrardk]

Thanks all - I'll have to see what we've got, not much survived the brutal cull when we moved house.

[Mamyalynne]

Hydrocortisone would be my choice too, whichever you've got really.

[goodgoalie]

Have you spent time in woodland or heath areas? If you think you might have been bitten by a tick, it might be worth looking into Lyme Disease, which has become increasingly prevalent recently - the earlier it's treated, the better. More info here:
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Lyme-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx#symptoms

[237SJ]

^ If it was a tick it would still be there. They latch on for some time until they have become engorged with enough blood and then they fall off.

[goodgoalie]

It wouldn't still be there, as the poster was bitten 10 - 12 days ago

[237SJ]

They cling on for days like this https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=sheep+tick&client=firefox-b&dcr=0&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiLo7P_oOTVAhULZlAKHVAfAhoQ_AUICigB&biw=1346&bih=628#imgrc=SMlj6VWbP2pA0M: I had one on my back a while ago. It was several days before I noticed it and it was only when I saw the legs that I knew what it was (I thought I had discovered a new mole)

[sherrardk]

Nothing clinging onto my neck but it does look pretty gross :(

[woofgang]

sometimes they stay sometimes they feed and leave.....given how nasty Lyme disease can be (I live in a UK hotspot) it might be worth getting it looked at?

[237SJ]

A single bulls eye mark from Lyme disease comes up within about 3 days. After that, you get multiple bulls eye rashes. I would think you would have more than one mark by now if it was Lyme. Keep an eye on it an if it gets worse go to the GP because you can get cellulitis from bites

[Sam1960]

A cleg bite I got a couple of years ago reacted similar ....

[sherrardk]

If it's no better (or worse) in the week I'll go to the doctors - it's right by where your mam would check your glands when you were little and it's sort of tugging when I lift my head (nothing major but irritating).

[woofgang]

237sj, this article says that the bull’s eye can appear from 3 to 30 days after being bitten and that not everyone will get a rash elsewhere. This is not said to worry the OP but because what you have said is not correct.
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Lyme-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx

[237SJ]

I`m just repeating what I was told when I went to the local walk in centre to get the tick removed from my back. I don`t think the OPs situation was caused by a tick anyway so that is academic.

[Sqad]

Bit odd? Problems almost 2 weeks after the bite.

I agree about the hydrocortisone ointment/cream.
But why now.......
If you live in a Lyme Disease area, then it must be excluded and if there is no improvement tomorrow, then see you GP.

[Khandro]

If it was a tick bite and it is red you must go to seek medical advice and have a course of antibiotics, of course it probably wasn't that because of the "hard lump", if it was a tick you would have a small wound at the centre of the red patch.

[Georgiesmum]

If you havent got a cat or dog that would lick it, id say put some TCP on it., that would calm it down a lot and stop the itching. We always keep a bottle in the cupboard for insect bites.