Bites!

[237SJ]

This morning I`ve noticed 4 quite large bites on my leg. I know they`re not mosquito bites. I honestly don`t know if they were there before I went to bed or afterwards. What other biting nasties are there around that could do this (I`m really hoping it`s something other than bedbugs).

[boxtops]

what do they look like, 237? They could be mozzies, not sure why you say they're not - I often get the occasional nip in the garden (or weirder, overnight) and it's definitely a mozz.

[sandyRoe]

They could be flea bites. A dog or a cat scratches them off and when they sense warmth, in this case yours, they jump on the new host.

[LazyGun]

Purely based upon anecdotal evidence from people I have known who have experienced very similar problems 237 - it does sound a lot like fleas.

[DTCwordfan]

fleas, especially if they are close together.....ooze for two or three days and then bleed extensively if the scab is knocked off, almost like there is a little puncture in your skin. Take some time to heal and leave purple marking for a long while if you are fair-skinned. Use honeycomb wax to counter that.

[woofgang]

if its only four and they are large, its unlikely to be flea. How do you know they aren't mozzie?

[woofgang]

In the course of work, before I retired, have been heavily bitten (don't ask) by fleas twice. Neither time was there oozing or extensive bleeding.

[DTCwordfan]

my mother's dog and cat were laden with them and there have been extensive powderings and bombs to cure this.......and regular powdering now as its in the depths of the country. I am also very fair skinned.......

[DTCwordfan]

http://farm2.static.f...762804_d1ee01cc3f.jpg

these were fleas apparently

[daffy654]

Flea bites can be quite large, they itch like crazy and they can last for days, i've never had extensive bleeding or oozing from them and i've had them dozens of times due to rescuing cats for several years(i'm incredibly fair skinned).

[237SJ]

Thanks for the answers. They`re definitely not mosquito bites. I`ve had more mozzie bites than I care to remember and they don`t itch enough (I also don`t react to mozzie bites anymore). Not sure about fleas. There are no animals in the house. As a teenager I had a cat that had fleas and I did get the occasional bite (ususally on the ankles). These bites are much bigger than that. I was wondering if there is some other sort of biting fly around but the only one I can think of is the horse fly. Whatever this was though, I didn`t feel it bite. I`m clutching at straws to convince myself they`re not bedbug bites.

[Sqad]

\\\\\I`m clutching at straws to convince myself they`re not bedbug bites\\\

I agree.

[LazyGun]

@237 - That straw you are clutching at - if thats in your bedding, chuck it out and buy a new mattress ;)

[237SJ]

LG - trouble is, I don`t know which bed! I get around a bit (in the most wholesome way you understand)

[sandyRoe]

Bedbugs leave small brownish-red stains on the sheets. These are the hosts blood which they've eaten, digested, and defecated.

[EDDIE51]

Do they look like these 237SJ ?
http://hotels.about.c...rets/ig/Bedbug-Bites/

[237SJ]

Thanks for everyone`s trouble putting up links. They do look a bit like that Eddie but it`s hard to say. The swelling is a bit less now and they`ve pretty much stopped itching which is why I think it must have been something that happened last night.

[Clanad]

You haven't had an RON at a suspect hotel have you. FA's here often, now, carry a pair of silk sheets that are fastened together like a bag with them and sleep on top of the hotel bedding. Even upscale hotels are plagued, it seems...

[237SJ]

I don`t think so Clanad but there are a few flea infested aircraft flying around from time to time. I`m trying to remember the registration so I can ask around if anyone else has had the same.

[Hopkirk]

Change all the bedsheets, and hoover the mattresses both sides.