Got a bite on the leg at the weeknd while riding in the woods. Since then it there is a very hard area around the bite about 10cm in diameter. Its incredibly itchy, swollen and red.
Any ideas what it was and what I can do to alleviate the itching/tenderness and swelling?

Horse fly.

horse fly would be my guess.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/313714.php

[edit] too late because I looked for a link 😉

Horse fly bite more than likely

Any ideas what it was and what I can do to alleviate the itching/tenderness and swelling?

Probably doesn’t matter at this stage what it was  and  maybe cellulitis?

Docs. ASAP.

I had this 6 weeks before my wedding and let it go a week before seeking medical attention. That was stupid. I have two ten pence sized scars on my leg as a reminder.

Any pics?

Any pics?

😉

Any pics?

What?… of the scars on my leg?

I know that chicks dig scars but that’s a step too far.

Any pics?

none that really show the extent of the swelling.

Some kind of horse fly, I’ll wager.

Was it a tiger?

<script async src=”//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

this is what a horse fly did to me about 8 weeks before I got married, healed up just in time after 3 weeks of heavy antibiotics.

Yuck.
It does sound like a reaction to a horse fly bite. The infected area will be worse if you then scratched it.
If it makes you feel any better, I got bitten/pierced by an assassin bug (or similar thing) rescued off of a path on Sunday..my knuckle is now red, swollen and hot. Not sure the kids learnt the lesson about not being scared of insects that I had hoped they would!

When I was bitten by a horsefly it felt like someone had shot me in the back of the leg with an airgun.

Horseflies are pure evil, I was bitten twice in close succession, through clothing. Horrible buggers.

New line of cycle clothing required – Zebra Stripes

Louise?

I was bitten about half a dozen times in one go last year. Damn itchy, and scratching just makes it worse (although very hard to resist).

I got bitten by a spider
I am now spiderman
Little bugger was hiding in my water meter housing under a cobweb. I swpet aside the cobweb , then felt a small prick.
Yanked out my hand to see a spider impaled on my little finger. Hit it up with alcohol gel, and a couple of Certrizine hyrdro tabs , and apart from being able to fire webs from my wrists , no reaction at all.

Your meter STM?

I was bitten on the side of the leg by a horsefly… started a thread called “What bit me?” 😀

I’m sorry…I was peckish…

Might have been a false widow spider.
One bit me and I lost an arm as nd can now omky tulr with mu nobe.

Horrible things horsefly bites.
In the warm February we had, I was bitten 7 times. I didn’t get much sleep for 3 weeks.

Dr. told me to put something like germolene on the bite the minute you feel it happen and the skin is broken.
Also the little biters seem to go for black. I’ve even been bitten through my black cycling longs.

I wish I’d been bitten by a horsefly!
Instead I got an Akita to the back of my knee!!!
That was bad enough, but it’s caused a DVT in my leg and I’m on blood thinners for 3 months.
I can almost walk normally now about 16 days later…

Presume the akita is now exakita?

No, the Akita is still free as far as I’m aware.
The ‘owner’ didn’t see it but denied it and claimed my dog had bit me!
She had other large dogs so confronting her was not really an option.
I reported it but not sure what can be done as don’t know her or where to find her!

If it was a child then things could have been much, much worse.
I completely blame the owner, not the dog.

I was bitten by a horsefly and wondered what the fuss was all about, stung a little but that was all. 4 hours or so later when the itching started I knew the answer.

clegs. big black clegs here. they do some damage too.
it seems to go:
they land on poop
they land on you and bite
the bite hurts
a few hours later you feel unwell
a day later the area around the bite, often most of the limb swells, you feel like you have flu.
either, you ride it out, feeling like crap for a couple of weeks.
you go to the docs and get antibiotics and only fel crap for a couple of days.

clegs here. they do some damage too.

That’s a bit of an accusation.

alanf – are those the injections you have to have in your stomach? If so, not nice.

baby robin?

@Bunnyhop – fortunately it’s now tablets rather than injections and no messing about with INR blood tests etc. I suppose that’s a plus 🙂

I have been bitten at Swinley when riding in the evening (summer) a few times where the bite has caused similar symptoms. Not sure what the culprit is, but definitely not a horsefly, and definitely not as horrible in the centre as 77s, I reckon I just react badly to certain mozzies. Try to remember to put on the insect repellent these days which seems to stop it.

Blandford fly are the ones that give me a bad reaction. Horrible little buggers, have taken to using the Avon skin so soft as a repellent.
http://www.woodstocksurgery.co.uk/website/K84042/files/Blandford%20fly%20bites.pdf