Author Topic: Horse flies? (Read 7238 times)

artichoke · « **on:** August 29, 2012, 19:04:21 »

Head down in my daughter's Greenwich allotment, chopping away at brambles and nettles and horsetail and couch grass amid the cries of her three small children and the roar of passing trains, I failed to notice two bites on my face among the stings and scratches.

The next day I had a bulging cheek, very inflamed, shooting pains like earache, plus a headache.

No problem really, but today (bitten on Sunday), two large vesicles remain, nasty lumps full of liquid, weeping whenever I smile or frown or talk. Or move. Painless.

What is anyone else's experience? Do these liquid lumps fade away with time, and how much time? I feel I am a gargoyle.

BarriedaleNick · « **Reply #1 on:** August 29, 2012, 19:14:19 »

You have to watch for infection - once saw a horsefly bite result in a huge infected lump which needed daily trips to the docs.
They should go in a couple of days but if it gets painful or hot and red I'd check with the quacks..

tomatoada · « **Reply #2 on:** August 29, 2012, 20:03:21 »

I keep a tube of antihistamine cream with me. It works well for gnat bites. Also piriton tablets. You could ask the Pharmasist at the chemistsif you don't want to go to your GP. I would take them very seriously.

artichoke · « **Reply #3 on:** August 29, 2012, 20:07:36 »

Thanks. I don't want to make a fuss, but I did feel bad yesterday. Much better today, just hideous.

artichoke · « **Reply #4 on:** August 29, 2012, 20:10:39 »

And priton makes you drowsy? My friends gave me some, but I had to drive us home for about 40 minutes, then took it. Very interesting to hear about other people's experiences. I have had huge lumps on arms before, but these face bites are quite depressing.

Uncle Ted · « **Reply #5 on:** August 30, 2012, 08:30:44 »

Earlier this year I had 3 bites on the same hand whilst strimming nettles etc. my hand swelled up like a football, and was V uncomfortable for 3-4 days, on a previous occasion another horsefly bite went septic and I ended up on antibiotics, they are little b*******s!!!!!!!!!!

goodlife · « **Reply #6 on:** August 30, 2012, 08:40:15 »

Oh...there is lot of them about this year and they love me.. ::)..and yes, I've managed to get few chunks taken out of myself by them this year. Their bites always get infected and they are really painfull..takes long time to go down too. Best 'medicine' for it is keep 'slapping' antibacterial hand gel on..quite liberally all over the bumps..few times a day..it calms down the itchiness and will help tackle start of infection.
I had bite from them just 3 weeks ago. I kept using 'gel' for a week before it started to calm down..without it I would have ended up to doctors for antibiotics as antihistamines don't work for me against those bleeders 'venom'.

artichoke · « **Reply #7 on:** September 01, 2012, 09:17:10 »

So it's not just me making a fuss then, thanks. Lumps have gone down and scabs fallen off, and in time I suppose the nasty red scars will die away.

shirlton · « **Reply #8 on:** September 01, 2012, 09:27:00 »

I have only ever had one horse fly bite and I wouldn't like another. It was at the time when I smoked and I thought that the end had dropped of me ciggie and dropped on me arm. Looked down and sow the black fly. Arm came up in a big hard lump and took days to go away. We were walking past a lake. I thought they stayed around water.
Have had a couple of nasty bites this year from what I thought were midges. I think the wet weather has had alot to do with it

gwynleg · « **Reply #9 on:** September 06, 2012, 18:00:00 »

I was minding my own business near some water and one of my friends came and slapped me hard on my leg!! She managed to kill a horse fly for me in the process - it bled a little ( I made it bleed more to try to get rid of the toxin) but didnt swell at all. So although I couldnt understand for a while what the hell was going on, she did me a big favour!

steve76 · « **Reply #10 on:** September 06, 2012, 22:11:38 »

Sounds like that's what had me then, was up the plot on sunday and noticed blood on my forearm didn't see any fly!!
By the next day the site of the bite was all red and blistered with clear fluid weeping out, my arm was twice the size of the other one hot to touch and itchy... Today its a lot better arm only a little swollen not hot any more or any blisters with fluid weeping out,,, But still itchy with about an inch that is very hard to touch :(

Thanks for the info wasn't sure what had bite me..

Steve..

Jeanbean · « **Reply #11 on:** September 07, 2012, 07:28:32 »

This explains sudden hard lumps appearing and not realising you have been bitten. Had one on my cheek last year that took weeks to fade. Sorry to appear ignorant but can you actually see horseflies? What do they look like, ordinary flies or smaller? On Sunday we had a plague of flies just fall from the sky- sounds a bit like the chicken licken story- but there were hundreds of them. They weren't flying ants, just looked like a small fly. Any ideas? Jeanbean

goodlife · « **Reply #12 on:** September 07, 2012, 08:20:20 »

There is few different sort of the bleeders and all of them are easily seen. They are about size of ordinary fly but without the buzzing noise.. ::)..sometimes they fly around you, stalking..or looking the available bare skin..and if you have plenty available they dive straight in. You will recognize their bite as they literally take off little piece off from you..so when the lump appear, it has hole in the middle.. ::)

Jeanbean · « **Reply #13 on:** September 07, 2012, 08:24:19 »

Thanks for that. I shall keep my eyes open for the little darlings and try and eliminate as may from the fly populationa as I can ;D ;D

ACE · « **Reply #14 on:** September 07, 2012, 08:40:36 »

disinfect as soon as you are bitten, The last meal they had might have been on a huge lump of fresh dung. I was silly and scratched mine years ago, it took ages for the lump to go away. They always used to feed a bit of garlic to racehorses as the flies do not like the smell and keep away. So stick a beret on your head, have garlic in every meal, a nasal haw, haw, haw now and again a gauloise in your gob, smoking away. No problem. On second thoughts just smoke the gauloise, it will keep anything away.

goodlife · « **Reply #15 on:** September 07, 2012, 09:05:34 »

And to make you really itch..some photos of the bleeders.. ;D
http://www.naturespot.org.uk/taxonomy/term/19427

Jeanbean · « **Reply #16 on:** September 07, 2012, 09:10:00 »

Blimey I didn't realise there are so many different flies on the planet. Have led a very sheltered life :-[

artichoke · « **Reply #17 on:** September 07, 2012, 20:37:07 »

Well, anyway, my horse fly bites made two large red swollen patches on my face, but the scabs peeled off, and now I am only slightly disfigured. No infection, gradually fading.

We called them cleggs when I was a child in Scotland, andwere very nervous when we saw them.

I love digging · « **Reply #18 on:** September 15, 2012, 00:13:22 »

Three or four years ago I got horse fly bites on both my legs. They turned into ulcers. Almost great holes in my legs, weeping and itchy. I spent the best part of six months going up to the doctors two or three times a week to get them dressed and I had to wear compression stockings. Even now I still have massive scars and the skin is dry and itchy. I don't know whether I got them from horse manure that my allotment neighbour said I could share, or whether I got bitten on a trip to the Quantocks to pick wortleberries (as there are wild horses up there). Either way, I give horse manure a wide berth now. :( :( :(

News:

Author Topic: Horse flies? (Read 7238 times)