Sur5r

Ok....before I start I just want to say I know that this in NO WAY replaces an actual medical diagnosis...but this is something that's been going on for over a year now and it's driving me nuts. Last time (Sept.) I tried to get into the doctor but they were unable to squeeze me in.

Ok, onward and upward.

Since shortly after we moved into our current apartment (august 2005) I've been being bitten by something. We've been wracking our brains trying to figure out just WHAT it is. I seem to get bitten every 1-2 months. Sometimes more often, though rare.

The bite, initially starts off exactly like a mosquito bite, and it stays that way for the first 24-48 hours, and at that point it just flares up into this huge hive, that burns, and hurts, sometimes it's hard to walk. With this past bite at it's worst I actually couldn't even stand for more than a few minutes, it oozed for several hours after the inital bite site popped.

From the time of the bite til the time I'm 'better' is usually about a week. Though the sore where the bite was usually takes a month before it's fully gone. (you know how it is, it's not really a sore any longer, but you can still see it as the skin is healing)

My mother in law is convinced it's a brown recluse...but I haven't had any nercosis of the flesh......upon some research I guess it's pretty common to NOT have that as it's hard for them to inject enough venom to cause it.

NO ONE else has ever been bitten.....so we've come up with the tenative conclusion that it's just some bug that we have that I'm allergic to. Ok it's OBVIOUS I'm allergic, it's just a matter is it poisionious or not. It REALLY worries me because the last few bites are getting progressivly worse. Like I said I tried to get in this last time without any luck.

A few months ago one of the other apartments had a problem with those cockroach/water beetle type bugs. they moved to all the apartments, so they fumegated....so we figured this thing that's biting me would be taken care of then. But alas aparently it survived.

Any insight into what this actually is would be greatly appreciated. I'm just worried my reactions are going to continue to get worse....or worse yet our daughter may get biten..

Here's some pictures of the latest bite:





Those don't do justice to how big the swelling/redness got, which was about 6 inches going up/down my calf, and about five inches side to side.

Thanks a bunch

Becky

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