Big elbows and spiders

[guest61]

I have been bitten a lot by flies and bugs over the years, but over the weekend got a supremely big bite on my inner elbow (looked like an injection)

so.... a visit to A&E...and a bit of dizziness later...and an elbow that grew and grew....and much itching followed by numbness...

has anyone else been on the menu of any bankside bugs...or other related problems or illnesses? it would make me feel better if i knew that i wasn't the only victim

 

[Lord Paul of Sheffield]

Horse fly bites can be bad new

 

[john step]

I have been bitten a lot by flies and bugs over the years, but over the weekend got a supremely big bite on my inner elbow (looked like an injection)

so.... a visit to A&E...and a bit of dizziness later...and an elbow that grew and grew....and much itching followed by numbness...

has anyone else been on the menu of any bankside bugs...or other related problems or illnesses? it would make me feel better if i knew that i wasn't the only victim

There has been a big increase in flies that I think Lord Paul is correct in calling horse flies. They look like elongated blue bottles. I first encountered them in the South West(Blandford flies??)
With warming climate they have spread to gods county Lincolnshire and probably further North even. They attack en-mass and one water becomes unfishable. I always wear long sleeves in the summer and loads of repellant.
I have had a mesh hood from "Field and Trek" for years. Good bit of kit
PS just looked at the Field and Trek website. They still sell the nets for only £3, Search under MOSQUITO HEAD NET.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

The Blandford Fly is a nasty little critter and bites from them can become fatal of secondary infection sets in.

Back in 2008 we lost a valued member of FM, Dave Colcough, who died months after having been bitten by one:

http://www.fishingmagic.com/forums/general-fishing/33151-dave-colclough.html

At the time it prompted me to do a little research and have this issued here on FM:

http://www.fishingmagic.com/articles/reference/9349-the-blandford-fly.html

The short and simple answer is not to mess with these evil little beggars and if bitten then seek IMMEDIATE medical assistance.

They look like this:

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgu...a=X&ei=ht_oU8CEM-qS7AbHjYGQDg&ved=0CHYQ_B0wCg

 

[guest61]

Serious stuff... I was river fishing at the time also. I have lived and travelled the in far east a fair bit so have had some serious bites in the past, nothing like this before in the uk though.

Nurses advice: take some antihistamines, keep an eye on it and go home. If it goes black or shiny please come back.

Damn thing still itching away.....but at least my elbows are the same size now mg:

I didn't actually see the critter so I assumed it must have been a spider, now im thinking the Blandford fly (midlands strain) may be the culprit,

roll on winter and pike season ...

 

[seth49]

If it's a horse fly bite put some toothpaste on it,It stops the itching very quickly.
Honestly.

 

[maggot_dangler]

I have been bitten a lot by flies and bugs over the years, but over the weekend got a supremely big bite on my inner elbow (looked like an injection)

so.... a visit to A&E...and a bit of dizziness later...and an elbow that grew and grew....and much itching followed by numbness...

has anyone else been on the menu of any bankside bugs...or other related problems or illnesses? it would make me feel better if i knew that i wasn't the only victim

I got bitten a few weeks ago totally flattened me for 2 days left a huge bruise almost 3 inches across with a large puncture hole in the middle did not see what it was but dont want another one ..

 

[mick b]

As the result of a spider bite I spent a week in hospital with a temp over 40C and on a drip most of the time!

The symptoms returned a couple of weeks later and at the hospital they had me on a drip in A&E immediately they knew it was me (again) - the result was I was back on my feet within a day and I now carry my own after bite antidote in pill form all the time.

I was also bitten by a spider years ago and the symptoms were exactly the same on both occasions, very high temperature, feeling of intense cold with severe shaking, aching joints and difficulty standing or walking.
I also had severe swelling around the bite and a blood mark spreading under the skin similar to a birthmark.
Another guy who was bitten collapsed within 5mins of feeling the bite on his back, the spider fell from the ceiling in a shopping centre and he killed it so knew exactly what it was.

A spider bite is easy to identify, it has a double puncture mark 1-2mm between each hole.
A fly bite has a single puncture, not like a spider bite at all.

Take it easy, the effect can last quite a long time if its a spider that has got you.

.

 

[Lord Paul of Sheffield]

At the gun club I'm a member of several chaps have had nasty bites and blamed mozzies , I'm inclined to think horse fly

 

[Peter Jacobs]

I'm inclined to think horse fly

Hmmmmmn, no, I'm inclined to think one of these:

Latin name of: minus maculosum louis volant. . . . . . . . . . .







[oh boy, google translate is going to be busy tonight LOL]

 

[nicepix]

Hmmmmmn, no, I'm inclined to think one of these:

Latin name of: minus maculosum louis volant. . . . . . . . . . .







[oh boy, google translate is going to be busy tonight LOL]

Stab in the dark - ex-Liverpool footballer?

 

[no-one in particular]

I was bitten in the garden a couple of years ago just by my elbow, blind side. It started innocent enough, a small red bump. Then it swelled up and a unspeakable substance started oozing, it became a very deep infection.. Took three lots of different anti biotics to clear it up and it took weeks. I don't know what it was.

Just a tip on something in a similar vein . I knew a bloke who sea fished on the pier. He always wore woolen gloves in the winter and handled lug worms etc. I don't think the gloves were very clean. One day he got the hook stuck in his hand and then infected from the dirty glove as some of it must have entered the wound. A week later I saw him and his hand was the size of melon. He was in all sorts of trouble with blood poisoning, etc.. It was very serious, I do not know the eventual outcome.
Just thought I would mention it as something else to be careful about.

 

[terry m]

I must confess I was ignorant about the dangers of the Blandford Fly - I live very close to that part of the world.

Nasty stuff eh!

 

[Peter Jacobs]

Stab in the dark - ex-Liverpool footballer?

. . . . . yup!

 

[guest61]

I got bitten a few weeks ago totally flattened me for 2 days left a huge bruise almost 3 inches across with a large puncture hole in the middle did not see what it was but dont want another one ..

Elbow update: swelling gone, now just a bruise about 3-4 inches across with a large puncture hole in the middle...sound familiar ?

long sleeve tops for me from now on, even if its baking. no more bugs will be feasting upon my flesh again

 

[The bad one]

From what you say my money's on a horse fly bite. Seen more this year than I've seen for many years.
Get to know what they look like here
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=h...%2FHorseflies_Clegs_and_Deerflies.htm;401;267

I have one rule only when they start flying around me.... and they don't leave you alone when they find you. They have to die before they take a lump out of me. Thankfully they are quite slow flyers and a bit thick, offer a bare arm and they'll land on it. At which point they become cosmic travelers to whatever next world there is, assuming there is one. One things for certain they are no longer of this world that's for sure!

 

[mick b]

Good to hear your bite is clearing up, remember its only another couple of dozen more and you will become imune to the afereffects

For info.
Horse flies just love an area of damp exposed skin and will land on a damp area rather than one that is dry.

When they land they initially stand on tip-toe, when they don't receive a swish from a horses tail they drop their body lower and use their legs to anchor the body for the pneumatic drill to do its dirty work.....and thats the time to flatten them!
......

I once managed a large lake that had the mother and father of a horse fly population and they bit me dozens of time each week for several months before I became immune to them.
Now if Im bitten by a horse fly all I get is the puncture, a speck of blood and a clear fluid weeping out but nothing more.

Ive even been bitten by the giant horseflies of Andalusia with little effect and they are huge 1.25" long beasties with a bite that feels like a blunt hypodermic needle going into you!

But spiders..............Kill 'em all mg:

.

 

[cal_sutt]

I've had my fair share of "issues" with all sorts of creepy crawlies whilst down the bank. I've always returned home with god knows how many little bites from midges, I also got bit by a spider whilst fishing and (very fortunately) it didn't require medical attention. More recently, right at the start of river season, I was just sat peacefully on my own watching the tip and appreciating what had been a good day's fishing. I heard a loud buzzing in my ear and just ignored it thinking it was a fly, it kept coming back and moving around behind me, all of a sudden I felt "it" (what I thought was a fly) land on my arm so I brushed it off quickly and felt something a lot bigger than a fly... I then looked to my side and saw a very angry looking hornet, about the size of my index finger, coming right back for me. The whole ordeal resulted in the hornet chasing me 30 yards along the bank before I managed to "lose it", I cannot explain how happy I am that I was the only angler on the bank at the time because I made a right fool of myself! Anyway I sat down and had a cig followed by a lovely couple more hours barbel and chub fishing.
Cal.

 

[dangermouse]

But spiders..............Kill 'em all mg:

.

Better not invite Mick to any PaSC fish-ins eh Del

 

[smufter]

Mate of mine was bitten by a spider on a flight to Mexico a couple of years ago. He didn't realise it at the time.
Was taken ill at the hotel that night, ended up being rushed to hospital and spent the best part of the two weeks in there.
He nearly lost his hand, and still has a nasty scar to prove it.
I saw the piccies. Not nice