The beginning - but little did I know it!

In November 2011 I went to Jamaica with my husband for a holiday. I have been visiting the Caribbean for over twenty years and often been bitten by insects. However, on this occasion I had a very severe reaction. I was bitten four or five times and each one developed a large, watery blister and the area around it got very red with cellulitis. I had to see a doctor on site and was so concerned with his treatment that I saw my own GP on my return home to the UK. She told me he had over medicated me and advised me to be very careful when I got bitten again.

 Over the following years, whenever I was bitten I had the same reaction with some of the bites. It didn't matter where in the world I was, I even got bitten at home! The result of this was that I alway travel with a special medical kit. I found the best thing to do was to pop any blisters as soon as they appeared, clean and then medicate and dress them. I had found to my cost that if I let them grow they would become the size of a plum and would burst anyway, leaving a large, white scar once they had healed.

 My GP gave me a supply of antibiotics and steroids and I take a daily prescription antihistamine. I don't go anywhere away from home without my kit. I have found some excellent dressings which, although large, prevent the leaking wounds from becoming too excessive!

 I had always wondered why this severe reaction had happened to me in 2011 but could find no explanation. I found out the real reason in Decemebr 2016!

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