Insect bites all over my body – any advice?

Something likely bit me about six days ago in the evening, because by morning I woke up to this distinct red patch about two inches wide on the outside of my right shin.
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There were honestly a ridiculous amount of bugs swarming my apartment that night; I remember having to kill the lights just to get some peace, but they were still sticking themselves all over my monitor...
I don't usually have any kind of allergic reaction to bites, but this is starting to get under my skin, mostly because the redness hasn't budged in six days. It itched for maybe two days, but after that, nothing—no itching, no pain, no burning, it's not warm or raised, just stubbornly red.

I’ve been scrolling through the internet and found a bunch of photos that look exactly like Lyme disease, which has me feeling pretty uneasy, though I haven't actually been out anywhere near ticks. To be honest, I don't think a tick has ever even touched me in my entire life.

If anyone has any insight or even a vague idea of what the hell bit me, I would truly appreciate it.

Maybe you just got bit by an Asian tiger mosquito? Those things can definitely trigger reactions like that...

I’m sitting here in the ER right now, dealing with what looks like Lyme disease... I've got enough Sumamed in my system to sink a ship, so hopefully this does the trick. Honestly, you all need to take a look at this photo; if you ever see something like this appearing on your skin, don't wait around—just get to a doctor immediately.

I was actually just thinking to myself that this looks exactly like something you'd get from Lyme disease.

My dear husband was bitten by some kind of insect on his right ankle about four days ago—we assume it was a bite because there’s a visible mark, though we aren't exactly sure when it happened... By that evening, his leg had swollen up and his ankle was feeling pretty sore, though he could still walk around without much trouble at the time.

The next morning seemed to be getting better, but as the day went on, the pain and swelling just kept ramping up until he eventually couldn't even walk without leaning on a cane... We ended up heading to the ER, where they gave him an injection—I'm assuming it was an antihistamine—and some Synopen ointment...

But even now, two days after that visit, the swelling hasn't really gone down and the pain is still lingering, so I've started to get a little worried... Is it actually possible for an allergic reaction from an insect bite to last for four days straight...

Man, I’m just now seeing this post. Something almost identical happened to me, and this is actually the third time it’s gone down like this. My ankle is so swollen right now I can barely move it, so I’m heading straight to the doctor tomorrow. I was on a different treatment plan this time. The first two times they threw antibiotics and some topical ointment at me, and the swelling didn't even start to budge until day four or five. Honestly, I’m starting to think the antibiotics are a total waste of time here.
So, how many days did it take for the swelling in your leg to finally go down?

Honestly, that nasty little crap doesn't even hit me past the ankle, and I pick it up out in the pasture every single time. 👎

So, I just got put on the same treatment plan. My doctor’s claiming the swelling should go down by tomorrow. Yeah, right... we'll see about that. If it doesn't budge, she says she'll just throw antibiotics at me.

So, every single summer, I start getting bitten by those tiny little gnats that swarm around lights—they somehow find their way into my room, so I guess it’s because I’m waking up right in the middle of it. I've been trying to deal with it, but for two months now, I've had this blister about an inch wide. It starts out as just a red spot, then the color kind of fades toward the center until it's just a red ring left, and the skin inside the circle feels all rough and scratchy...

Anyone have any idea what this could be? 🤷

That sounds more like a nasty allergic reaction to the bite itself 🤷
Either you’re just super sensitive or some creepy spider caught you off guard 😁

Have you tried rubbing on any bite relief stuff, like maybe some Benadryl cream or something similar?

Karen Cook51 said:That sounds like a pretty intense reaction, maybe even an allergic one to the bite itself.🤷
Either you're just super sensitive or some nasty spider got you.😁

Have you tried putting any bite relief on it? Like Benadryl cream or something?

Super sensitive😁 , though I doubt it, honestly. I get bitten by mosquitoes like a thousand times and it’s nothing—they just come and go. But with this thing, it's always the same drama every single summer...

See, I haven't even tried rubbing anything on it yet...

It started on my thumb and just kept spreading to the other fingers. First came the itching, then this blister would form right in the middle and start drying out, splitting into these tiny little vesicles that crawled toward the edges. It looked more like a rash than anything else, stinging intensely along the perimeter. I ended up popping those little blisters and disinfecting them with whatever I had on hand—rubbing alcohol, various creams, you name it.
Eventually, the area where the blister sat just looked like scorched skin. The whole thing kept expanding until it basically "burned" through the skin on two of my adjacent fingers. Recovery was a long, drawn-out process. If I'm being honest, what actually helped was peeling away the dried skin at the edges to prevent the irritation from creeping further.

I don't think we're talking about a gnat bite—those things don't even bite—so it was probably a spider or some other kind of insect. You could head down to a CVS to see if they have something for it, or you could just wait a few months for it to clear up on its own, which is exactly what I did. Nowadays, there isn't even a trace of that rash left.

Hey everyone. Something bit me overnight a few days ago. Now I’ve got a million tiny red marks all over my arms and legs—specifically everywhere my clothes weren't covering. Pretty sure they're bites and not just some random rash or allergy. They look like mosquito bites, except there's way too many for one mosquito to have sucked that much blood. My doctor took a look and basically said they look like mosquitoes and told me to just slather on some 🙂. Fast forward five days and the bites have shrunk and darkened, especially on my feet; they kind of look like tiny little blood clots now.
The weird part? They didn't even itch.
I've scoured my entire room, cleaned everything, vacuumed top to bottom, and found one pretty large spider. I'm starting to think that thing might have feasted on me... the thought of something crawling all over me all night is just gross 😢(
Anyone dealt with this before? Is this actually what spider bites look like?

Could be fleas.

Do you have any pets at home?

Nothing...
It only showed up once and was gone within a week.

I actually dealt with something pretty similar once! I counted about 90 bites in total, which was wild because I don't even have pets, I don't have any carpets—just hardwood floors and a leather sofa—so there wasn't really much for bedbugs or anything like that to hide in. It only happened that one single time; nothing before it and nothing since. Honestly, I doubted it was even a spider, too. No mosquito is going to bite you that aggressively, and living in a place like Seattle where mosquitoes aren't exactly a major thing doesn't help either. I was actually pretty terrified to go to sleep after it happened, but luckily, it never happened again. Unlike what you described, though, my skin was incredibly itchy and the bites were only on my legs.

Are you even sure you were bitten by something? For all we know, it could just be hives.

melloworca6 said:Are you absolutely certain it was a bite? Could it have been something like hives instead?

No, I'm sure... I've never had anything like that happen before. You could clearly tell they were bites. They cleared up in just three days and haven't come back once, even though it's been over a year now. Definitely bites...😕

🤷 I remember one year back in the States, there was this massive swarm of bugs flying around and biting everything in sight. You couldn't even step outside after dark without getting absolutely eaten alive.

There's all sorts of creepy-crawlies out there, who knows what you'll run into.

Could they be bed bugs? Those tiny little pests that feed on blood. You should probably check your mattress—specifically along the seams. If you spot any small black specks or faint bloodstains on your sheets, there’s a very high probability you have an infestation.
If it is indeed bed bugs, finding them isn't easy—but if you commit to some intense steam cleaning, you might just flush them out. They generally only come out at night to feed on us. I know, it sounds absolutely terrifying, but it’s been proven that they don't actually transmit any diseases. One trick is to wrap the bed frame in tape coated with Vaseline; that way, you can sleep without being bitten. Eventually, the bugs will either migrate away or simply starve to death.