skip to main content

insect bites or hives

19 years ago

For the past couple of days I have been getting either bites or hives appear on only one side of my body. They look like bites, but they are appearing on my stomach and upper thigh, where a mosquito couldn't have gotten. I was wearing long pants when this started also. The marks come up 2 at a time which is weird. So far I have eight. There is not a lot of discomfort although they are a little itcy and maybe burn a little. Of course, if the condition worsens I will see the doctor, but I thought I would get some opinions from here.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (10)

Vickey__MN
19 years ago
Try benedryl (or any antihistamine). It will help with either.

Vickey-MN
Gina_W
19 years ago
When I had shingles last year I thought they were bug bites too. Burning and tingling in the area clued me that these weren't bug bites. I went to the doc that day and confirmed a light shingles outbreak. Caught it in time (before the REAL pain) and got the drugs.
Related Discussions
Teeny Tiny, lime green to neon orange flying, biting insects
Q
Comments (11)
Actually, I found out what they are. They are in fact biting thrips! I've known what thrips are for ever, but never knew they bit us. Not all kinds bite people either. They are seasonal here, and are generally only out in the hottest parts of the day in direct sun. They are tiny for sure, about 1mm. Im glad its not those things you linked too! Thrips only bite people because they are attempting to find food. They rasp leaves and flower petals and suck up the slush they make by the rasping/ sucking of their mouthpiece. The only reason they bite people is because they are attempting to do the same thing to human skin. Once they find they cant do it, and thus get no food, they fly away or move to another part of the body and attempt again. They are annoying little buggers for sure, but usually leave no lasting affects in most people. Usually just a second or two of a tiny pin prick type itch / slight sting, and we either scratch or they fly off having not gotten any food. Very common bugs, and very VERY common in grassy areas, especially lawns.
...See More
Insect bites in house
Q
Comments (5)
The gnats you saw are likely fungus gnats as you suspect but they aren't your problem, they don't bite. The adults are completely harmless to anything at all, its their larvae in the potting medium that can present damage, by feeding on plants fine roots. Tricks for ridding your kitchen of fruit flies like the vinegar don't work for fungus gnats as you've seen. The adults have very brief little lives, its the breeding cycle you need to stop. Get some form of one of the BTi products (Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies israelenis). The subspecies is important, its specific to mosquito and gnat larvae. Gnatrol, Knock out Gnats, others, or in a pinch buy a package of mosquito dunks, drop a dunk in a container of water, let it sit overnight and use that water on your normal watering schedule for container plants, each time you water, for at least three weeks. It takes a while to break the breeding cycle but be patient, it will eliminate the gnats so be consistent. And the BTi is non toxic to you, your home, pets, birds, harmful only to mosquito and gnat larvae. I don't know what's biting you, it's not fungus gnats. Their larvae stay in the potting medium, either in the bag or your pots, and they aren't causing your itching either. Whether there was something else in that bag, or if the timing was completely coincidental, I couldn't say....
...See More
what took these bites?..animal or insect?
Q
Comments (3)
Definitely leafcutter bees. They seldom do enough damage to hurt a plant, and they are one of the "native pollinators" we need. But my mom used to cuss them out when they sliced up her rose petals.
...See More
Oxythyrea Funesta bites an insect that devours roses from the inside
Q
Comments (14)
Sevin, also called Carbaryl (1-napthyl methylcarbamate), will kill Japanese Beetles, and it probably will kill your Shroud Beetles as well. This is a contact killer and must be sprayed directly onto the beetles to kill them. There is difficulty with spraying Japanese Beetles. They congregate in large numbers devouring roses, elbow to elbow, writhing upon each other as they devour the flower. Yet they are not as oblivious to their environment. They seem to see you coming. You almost have to sneak up upon them and spray their group as fast as you can, because as soon as they see you coming, they sense/feel a disturbance about to occur, and they head for the hills, flying off, before you can spray them. Perhaps, your Shroud Beetles, since they congregate inside a not yet open bloom, their means of escape is blocked, as you spray them. I imagine you would have to saturate the flowers since the spray must land on the beetle itself. Any spray that hits the rose bloom's petals or foliage is unfortunately wasted, collateral waste. Moses
...See More
judys_ont
Original Author
19 years ago
The pharmacist told me they were insect bites. That is what they look like to me, but I can't understand how I have 8 of them--4 of them being on the very upper thigh and 2 on my stomach. I was wearing long pants all the time.
I have had shingles and it doesn't feel like that, although I am keeping an open mind on that.
Anyway, I got some cortisone cream, (recommended by the pharmacist). Hope that helps. He said if it flares up, then I should try an anti-histamine.
Thanks
lindac
19 years ago
Chiggers.....they find a spot beneath your clothing and burrow in....itch like fury!
Some say to paint the bites with clear nail polish....and I know that a NSAID like ibuprofin helps relieve the itch.
Linda C
gardengardengardenga
19 years ago
the pharmacist is not a doctor, they only know what drugs do, they may think they know but they are not doctors of medicine only those who dispense the drugs and its use.
judys_ont
Original Author
19 years ago
I did not expect the pharmacist to be a doctor. I know better than that. I only wanted a recommendation on an ointment that would reduce the itching. I showed him the marks and he offered me his opinion.
I quite understand the difference in the two fields. However, I give a lot of credit to pharmacists for having a broad knowledge of the medical field, not only the medicine he/she dispenses. My uncle was a pharmacist so I know first hand. Believe me, they are there for consultation in you want, but would refer you to your family doctor in a second if he felt the slightest need for it.
sammy zone 7 Tulsa
19 years ago
Mosquitoes bite through my clothing all the time.
Sammy
cheerful1_gw
13 years ago
I was diagnosed with chigger bites 12 days ago. I was working outside and had sprayed myself against our large mosquito population. I got 6 bites on one arm, and one bite on the other. I was told to use a prescription steroid cream and 2 Benadryl every night for two weeks. The bites have subsided, but the Benadryl is making me really dopey.
DimeADozen
12 years ago
I would probably put Caladryl on it. That works good for bug bites, as well as poison ivy. It takes the sting out of it, and makes it less itchy.
vala55
12 years ago
My husband and my son both had an episode of hives and they look like welts, not bug bits.

Related Stories

GARDENING GUIDES This Fly Is One of the Most Beneficial Insects Around

By Pollination Press LLC

Meet the syrphid fly, a colorful pollinator that also beats chemicals for controlling aphids and other garden pests

GARDENING FOR BUTTERFLIES Gardening for the Bees, and Why It’s a Good Thing

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

When you discover how hard bees work for our food supply, you may never garden without them in mind again

EARTH DAY 12 Entertaining ‘Bee-haviors’ of Native Bees

By Debbie Ballentine

The parade of pollinator antics is another reason to create a garden that nurtures native bees

GARDENING AND LANDSCAPING Bid Bad Garden Bugs Goodbye and Usher In the Good

By Matt Kilburn

Give ants their marching orders and send mosquitoes moseying, while creating a garden that draws pollinators and helpful eaters

GARDENING GUIDES Support Bumblebees by Providing Forage in 3 Seasons

By Pollination Press LLC

Bumblebees are fascinating and fun to observe foraging in gardens. Find out how to create a buffet for these fuzzy, charismatic bees

SHOP HOUZZ Shop Houzz: Get the Buzz on the Bee Motif

Inject a bee-dazzling energy into your rooms with bees, honeycombs and hive motifs

GARDENING GUIDES 6 Plants That Beat Butterfly Bush for the Wildlife Draw

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

It's invasive, a nonnative and a poor insect magnet. Check out these better alternatives to butterfly bush in the garden

GARDENING GUIDES Small Carpenter Bees Are Looking for a Home in Your Plant Stems

By Pollination Press LLC

Provide flowers and nesting sites in your garden for this beautiful, tiny, metallic blue wild bee — your plants will thank you

FARM YOUR YARD Hello, Honey: Beekeeping Anywhere for Fun, Food and Good Deeds

By The Best Bees Company

We need pollinators, and they increasingly need us too. Here, why and how to be a bee friend

GARDENING GUIDES Great Native Plant: Rattlesnake Master for Unique Interest

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Serpents actually don’t give a hoot about this prairie wildflower, but insects do — and the foliage is a big draw too

Sponsored

Frasure Home Improvements

2 Reviews

Franklin County's Highly Skilled General Contractor

More Discussions

Question regarding Basmati rice calories

19