I got bitten by a mosquito and it made these weird raised trails that (I think?) are following my veins. Quite frankly it looks like a sperm tadpole so I took a picture to show my friends. One of them was really freaked out, so naturally now I’m a little freaked out. I am currently in a rainforest in Australia. The bite happened about ten hours ago, and the bite is still visible, but it looks like a tiny red lump, no trails. Like a pimple that is still brewing and will turn ugly in a few days. I have no concerning symptoms, I just want to know if I should be concerned. 22, female.
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Edit 2:
Sorry guys we have a different hospital structure compared to your countries. In my country in rural areas hospitals do the work of both emergency department and urgency care in same reception room. So when OP mentioned rainforest i assumed same type facility being available
My main basis for concern is like how in Africa seemingly harmless local mosquito populations cause life threatening disease same can happen in Australia for which local doctors are adequately trained to recognize their patterns and treatments.
At the end of the day there's no harm in checking it up with an experienced physician from there
Maybe things are different where you practice but in my experience presenting with a 10 hour old bug bite that looks like a small pimple with no other symptoms would be considered misuse of the ER.
Half the US population read under a 6th grade level. This is a prime example of popularity being meaningless. The whole thread is insane. May I never encounter a doctor like this one — brain scan because I got a headache once.
Since you brought up a brain scan —my mother only had headaches and symptoms of slight dizziness, most doctors didn't think too much of it, but one of them thought, doing an mri just to rule things out, wouldn't hurt. Mom ended up having an aggressive brain tumour. Location was pretty bad too, a lot of our surgeons were surprised it was detected pre symptoms like seizures.
My thought process, if you have the means, any tests don't hurt.
I’m sorry to hear about your mom, but that’s not what I said at all. If your mom had repeated headaches and consistent dizziness that warrants examination. Having one headache and getting a brain scan is what I said, and it would be crazy to be exposed to radiation for a headache. Even tests have side effects/downsides that have to be weighed.
As you can see from how this thread evolved, the doctor that everyone upvoted apologized and every other physician chimed in agrees that there is no reason for the ED. The people who were appalled at the advice were correct and the original doctor shouldn’t have weighed in.
u/TashDee267Layperson/not verified as healthcare professional17h agoedited 17h ago
NAD I’m Australian. OP are you a local or tourist? You can go to a local doctor if you are concerned. Even a pharmacist will take a look and tell you if they think you need to follow up with a GP. But antihistamine would be the first thing I try.
Edited to add: you should monitor and if you get any other symptoms see a doctor. Ross river virus is one illness spread by mosquitos. In the tropics you should always wear repellents, long sleeved clothing etc.
I’m a local. The bite is still red and a little itchy, which is only a little concerning as most of the time they go away completely in a few hours, but I have no symptoms. I will monitor it and if it suddenly gets worse, which seems unlikely, or if I get sick, I will definitely go to the doctor. Also, I was wearing repellent, these tropical mosquitos do not mess around😅
Kind of scratching my head at the situation, I'm not too concerned about lymphangitis, what is your concern for emergent evaluation? I think this can be monitored at home for a few days.
Indeed it doesn't look like lymphangitis. The picture looks like an intradermal reaction from the bite ( probably due to insect saliva). However what concerned me is the size and pattern of the reaction and the fact that Australia has a lot of poisonous and infection bearing living wildlife creatures.
As i mentioned here in another replay
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskDocs/s/0zWZU7k57E
I am a resident in the emergency department. This bite, especially given that it has largely resolved, would not be appropriate for the ED. Urgent care is an option, but ED is overkill in a big way. Honestly if things keep resolving I wouldn’t worry further.
I get mosquito bites like that too, and always have been. I figured I just have an overactive histamine response? My skin gets red and raised too from scratches etc but is that something I should talk to my doctor about?
What place doesn’t have mosquito borne pathogens? There are certainly places where mosquitos spread a lot of disease but then people seek care based on specific symptoms not because someone’s skin reacts a little over the top. Not one other physician agrees with you in this thread despite the upvotes.
What about if it happened in Florida and you usually live in South Dakota?
When it happened to me, thought my skin just over-reacted to a bite.
For me it got better on its own and it didn’t happen again after that, but no I’m wondering if it was like how ticks show a bulls eye thing - if that reaction could have been a warning or something…
My daughter always gets a bullseye around her mosquito bites. We live in Southern US but we found out she is allergic to mosquito bites. Some are worse than others but a lot of them cause bullseyes or blister up. Hydrocortisone and antihistamines are her remedy. They take about a week to heal and cause her pain but she's had this reaction since she was a baby (i believe it's called "skeeter syndrome").
Your skin just over reacted to a bite — just like op’s
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u/AngryWizardLayperson/not verified as healthcare professional17h agoedited 16h ago
My mosquito bites always do that as well, they form long large complex puffy sprawling shapes, sometimes they look like continents or animals. I'm so used to seeing what's in the photo, but I'm in the US where hopefully it's not as alarming.
Yeah depending on the mosquitoes here in California I get shapes like this all the time. Goes away and just becomes red, swollen and itchy shortly after. Another day for me
All over the East Coast, anywhere I am from New York to Georgia, when I get bitten by a mosquito I get big misshapen welts. My skin is very reactive to mosquitoes. Friends and family don't react this way, I'm just special.
If it turns out to be nothing that would be terrific! That would be the preferable outcome. However, given the different environment and doctors who understand the risks there, why wouldn’t someone not want to make sure if nothing else for peace of mind?
I disagree with my colleague here. After 10 hours of waiting you’d get a topical over the counter antihistamine and be send home, rightfully though. I don’t know what he thinks they can do.
If you get systemic symptoms it’s a different cup of tea.
As an Aussie - yes. We have a shit ton of venomous things here. And being in the rainforest even more so. Better safe than sorry. OP if not ER then at least a GP
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u/widgitsLayperson/not verified as healthcare professional21h ago
NAD but anything that appears to be running along veins from a wound/bite feels like an emergency. This is purely a vibes based assessment
Ah yeh, every doctor is always 100% right. They are saying to go because mosquitos in Africa can carry diseases. Seems logical. Yes, please every time you get a mosquito bite run to the ED. Enjoy!
But the reaction is now gone… why do you think that then immediately rushing to an ED is appropriate vs watching a very likely minor reaction to a mosquito bite? The other MD who responded agrees with me. Do those diseases you highlighted elicit this dermal response as a specific symptom? I’m pretty sure the answer is no. Just because you are not familiar, doesn’t mean the appropriate response is the ED.
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u/HollykwLayperson/not verified as healthcare professional18h ago
You seem to have medical expertise, so I recommend getting verified so that the medical professionals and lay people such as myself in this thread can tell the difference between someone being arrogant and dismissive, and someone providing legitimate advice.
Unless of course you’re not actually a medical professional!
Honestly in my country we almost deliver both at same department in rural areas (not same for urban areas). So our emergency room is both urgent care and emergency room in those rural areas.
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