I don't know what I am looking for in that picture. I wonder if it was a wasp that you were stung by or a hornet. I know when I have been bitten I get a welt and it is itchy and sometimes hot. If you think you are experiencing allergy symptoms by all means go to the ER.

I would say, if no other symptoms, besides the red itchy swollen area, I wouldn't worry to much about it.

I"m not qualified to assess your scenario so I won't.

In the US there are what are often called "Urgent Care" offices. They're usually walk in, no appointment needed type facilities. Some medical groups offer that service in their normal primary care offices too. Something more than seeing your GP (they're ready to treat accidents and many types of injuries) but less than a full-on emergency room visit.

If that isn't available where you are and you want medical care, then please go ASAP where you can get medical care so that 1) you get whatever treatment is decided upon and 2) you get piece of mind to have the uncertainty addressed timely.

Good luck. Don't wait.

Jas, my mom has always had a severe local reaction to insect stings. And she'd often leave it until less than ideal time frame for treatment.....one time comes to mind where she went ahead and went to her afternoon swim at the Y and her exercise mates told her....get out of the pool and dress, go to your doctor!

She would swell, have increasing area redness along with the swelling, sometimes tiny blisters would appear.

Treatment almost always the same. Prednisone. Prescription strength benadryl. A couple of times an antibiotic when she'd waited a few days and had increased blistering ;:(

Mom had two water features in her backyard that seemed to attract summer wasps. Stings took place about every other year - so glad she is now in a senior apartment, no water features.

For a wasp sting I was having a reaction to....not breathing problems, but feeling unwell and swollen, red, my friend who is our public health nurse told me to ice, take advil and benadryl. To do it all and once and without delay. I don't know if its late for you to try that, or if you should be seen. I can't tell clearly from your photo how severe.

Sometimes bug bites can get infected, and the red area around them continues to increase in size. This might be hard to do based on location, but can you use a pen and outline the red area, so you can see if it gets bigger? If it continues to increase in size a trip to urgent care would be wise. Red streaks extending from the area, a sign of spreading infection, would indicate a need for rapid treatment.

My dr is closed and their message sd to call Telehealth or go to emerg. The last time I called Telehealth they wanted me to go to emerg within 30 minutes. I thought I might be dying.

There are two separate issues here. The bite, which happened yesterday. You are itching, but make no mention of SOB. But trying to render an opinion using a bad picture, with a lack of medical history, should not be relied on as anything but the opinion of friends. If you are concerned enough to call your doctor, if your doctor is unavailable call or visit a medical professional.

Second, the fact that you are opting out of the system meant to help you. Is there a substantial cost attached to a telehealth call? If not and you were worried enough to call your doctor's office, why not call them?

I'm certainly not a pro and it's a shame your physician's office is closed. And don't take any chances either.

Last year I had a similar bite from some nasty wasp or hornet that came into the house when I carried in fruit and vegetables from the farm store. I killed it so at least I had an idea of what it was. It started out that way but within hours the swelling, redness and itching became worse. DH is a physician and he told me to put cortisone cream on it, along with a cold compress, I also took an antihistamine and a Tylenol or Advil. I'm not allergic, no difficulty breathy or nausea but it was the worst reaction I've ever had to a bite.

The bite was on the top of my upper arm but It continued to swell and when I woke up in the morning this is what it looked like. I was amazed at the amount of edema and how it had pooled onto the back of my arm while I slept. I continued with the cortisone and compresses but it took well over a week to finally return to normal.

I apologize if this photo bothers anyone.

note: This is not advice, I am not a medical person.

My body reacts like yours when I am bitten by a green fly (horse fly type nasty thing). My treatment is to spray bactine on it and to take Benedryl. It takes a few days for the reddness, local ’fever’ and swelling to go away. But it does.

I've got ice on it now. No swelling, just wasn't sure of the redness.

I spoke to a friend and she said a friend got stung by a wasp last week. It was red and was swollen, and it went away on its own.

Ahh, Maire. That's quite similar to what a stings reaction would look like on my Mother. Would travel far from the point of being stung.

I was bitten on my lower inside forearm last week by a yellow jacket. The sting hurt like the dickens. It statrted to swell immediately and continued to swell for two days. The sweeling encompased my arm, hand and fluid was unbelivable. It was red hot. I kept ice on it and took Benadryl. I have never had this type of reaction to a wsp, bee or yellow jacket sting. It took four days for the swelling and heat to resolve itself. Now it just itches. I thought about going to the ER but hesitated. Hopefully your will resove itself in a few days.

I would keep an eye on it and watch for infection and take benadryl. My son gets a very bad reaction to being stung but doctor said that as long as the reaction is at the site of the sting we didnt need to worry. If he started to have swelling some other place on his body, it was a sign of an allergic reaction and he would need medical help.

Skipping to the end so it may have already been said: apply ice and take an antihistamine.

If you have trouble breathing, feel any nausea, fever, chills, joint or muscle pain, weak, swollen eyelids, or ulceration at the site, go to the ER.

My advice, in addition to antihistamine and ice, is to stop putting peroxide on it. That will just irritate your skin eventually.

Yes, if you develop red streaks, that is an emergency and you need to go to an ER.

If the size/nature of the swelling is stable, just wait.

If your health insurer has a consult line, give it a call to ask for advice - including about the med I mention in my PS

PS. My DD had a close encounter with stinging nettle while horseback riding. Benadryl didn't have any effect, so her pediatrician switched to Tavist (clemastine or meclastin) - that was like a miracle, it worked so fast. It is only available as a generic now.

I guess the good news is that if it flew away, it's not a tick.

I use a benadryl cream directly & often on itchy insect bites, rather than taking a pill, and ice does help a lot too for the discomfort. Meat tenderizer is good for wasp & bee stings, as the enzyme in it (papain) breaks down the chemical.

Wasp stings can vary depending on the size of the wasp. We have very tiny ones here that feel like being poked with a needle, but leave practically no trace of a reaction.

P.S. The remedy for stinging nettle is to wash with soap and the hottest water you can stand, which neutralizes the sting.

On another post people were talking about horseflies. That pic you posted looks pretty much like most horse fly bites (along with some other insect bites) look on most people. A normal reaction like this is not an allergic reaction. By now, if you were in any immediate danger you would have known. Like raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio posted, if there is no red lines or spreading I would not worry about it. The best anti itch cream I know of is Calmoseptine Ointment. It was recommended to me by my doctor when I had shingles and I am never without some now. I'd never heard of it before. No steroids just cooling and soothing.

If you feel ill then go to urgent care or whatever, but unless the redness continues to spread I wouldn't worry about. JMHO, not a doctor but have dealt with plenty of bug bites and lived to tell about it.

It looks better this morning.......the red is fading. So all is good.

My friend and I are going for a walk and she needs to pick up something at the drugstore, so we'll walk there. My plan was to have the pharmacist look at it and see what he suggests. I may still do that. I was going to buy some Benadryl on everyone's recommendation. It wouldn't get used again, that's the thing, it will languish in the cupboard, but I'll get his opinion anyway.

Any stings we get, we immediately put on ichthammol ointment (OTC at the pharmacy) and then cover it with a bandaid. The ointment helps draw out the venom and it takes away the pain almost immediately. Benadryl is good for dealing with the swelling and inflammation afterward. If you are going to have an allergic reaction with difficult breathing and such, that usually happens pretty quickly.

It looks better this morning.......the red is fading. So all is good.

All is well. Now you don’t need to do anything else. The pharmacist would likely recommend otc hydrocortisone, topical Benadryl, and other anti itch topicals. When I got stung by a bee when dead heading a marigold bloom, I remembered a remedy told by my mom about turmeric, so I immediately ran back inside and made a paste of turmeric powder, then applied & gently massaged on to the affected area between my thumb and forefinger. 30 minutes later, the swelling and pain were nearly gone. An hour later it was like nothing happened there. From there on I use this remedy for insect bites. I always have a turmeric powder bottle on my spice shelf to use occasionally in some dishes. Turmeric powder is also used to reduce arthritis pain and inflammation when taken internally. Several years ago, The People’s Pharmacy talk show discussed an arthritis remedy using this powder. I referred to this talk show and recommended it to a dear friend’s mom who had arthritis pain in her arm/shoulder joint. She took a teaspoon every night and it started working for her in a few weeks. She has taken it every night ever since. When I had a surgery on my jaw bone, I took turmeric powder, along with using ice pack. Worked well to control inflammation without taking ibuprofen which often does not go well with my stomach. Can you see how much I like turmeric powder.

That said, people must consult with their doctor or pharmacist if they want to take turmeric while on certain prescription drugs or under a treatment regimen.

^^^^Oooohhhh, I like the turmeric paste remedy.

I did talk to the pharmacist and he suggested the cortisone cream for itching. He too said the redness was centered around the sting so that was good

I'm going to put the turmeric on anyway.

I just looked at the site and I have 2 puncture wounds. The bugger bit me.

Your medical kit should always have Benadryl pills in it. If you start to have a systemic reaction and can still swallow that is one of the first things to do after calling for EMS. Liquid Benadryl would be a good choice but unfortunately I haven't been able to find any that doesn't contain artificial sugars so no longer an option. Benadryl has a long shelf life.

IMPE, topical diphenhydramine hydrochloride (a.k.a.Benadryl) works much better for itching than cortisone, since it's an antihistamine. Histamines are what causes the itching/swelling.

And most bites aren't causing a systemic reaction, but a localized one, so I don't know that taking the drug internally is always needed.

I once broke out in hives after being stung 3X on my chest by paper wasps. Benadryl would've been appropriate for that, but we had none at the time.

CarolB, we didn't know that she had encountered the nettles (that was an assumption, actually) until much later - when her entire lower leg was inflamed and swollen! So the MD was treating that severe reaction. The Tavist had the leg looking nearly normal within the day - but I missed an evening dose, and the next morning the inflammation and swelling was back. Quickly abated again after another dose, and improved steadily from there on.

Two puncture wound? Sounds like a spider bite. Really pay attention to the symptoms I described

rpb. I was going to say the same thing.

I live in S. Florida and work in my garden. We have a lot of trees and shrubs. I was pruning some small trees. Florida is full of mosquitoes and I usually spray myself with OFF when working in the garden, but this day I didn't because I didn't plan on pruning, just looked at a branch and grabbed my pruners and one leads to another.

I got a bunch of mosquito bites while working and decided to quit and go back inside. The other stupid thing I did was wear flip-flops (which I never do because of fire ants). That evening after taking a shower, I was itching and felt bites all over my arms and legs and used Benadryl cream on the bites, which usually helps.

Later that night I was scratching my ankle and foot and noticed how swollen my foot was. I took a closer look and didn't like that my foot was getting so swollen and my ankle was also swelling. Long and short, I went to Urgent Care the next morning because my foot, ankle and lower leg was so swollen I couldn't put a shoe on.

The doctor looked at my ankle and leg and said I had a spider bite because she could see two puncture wounds. She said it appeared to be a large spider. I was given a shot of antihistamine, prescription antihistamine cream to put on the bites. Because the swelling was spreading up my leg (the puncture wounds were on the top of my foot), she prescribed a antibiotic.

She told me to put ice on it and keep the foot elevated. She wanted to see me the next morning.

Sounds like you might have had a spider bit. Nasty business.

Jane

Also at this time of year you can easily come into contact with stinging caterpillars. My daughter got caught by one a couple of years ago and it was seriously inflamed and itchy.

Hubs had something like it fall onto him when he was sitting in his chair on the deck one day.

It sounds like you are on the mend. In general, I have had very good experiences with my local urgent care when I can't get in to see the doctor.

I won’t attempt to play doctor or give medical advice. I hope by now youre feeling better.

I live in a wooded area and have recently had similar insect bite looking welts. (when it rains a lot, spiders enter the garage and climb the interior wall space, often coming into the bedroom. We blew the garage out yesterday!)

I will offer what I usually do when I get what appears to be insect or spider bite welts that are very itchy and swollen.

I wash the area well and and check to be sure there is nothing that looks infected. If not, i wipe with alcohol. Then I apply a dab of either max strength Cortisone Cream (helps quell inflamation and itch) or Benadryl itch stoppin cream. This usually does the trick. Sometimes I press an ice cube on it. This also is my regimen for the maddening itch from tick bites.

Feel better.