Why did son’s insect bites flare up weeks after family holiday?
BUZZ OFF: Bee pollen doesn’t fight Covid- 19
QMY SON appears to have a really weird reaction to insect bites. We went on holiday at the end of August and he was bitten by mosquitos.
To begin with they were just small, red marks that didn’t bother him but suddenly, almost a fortnight on, the skin around all his bites has swollen alarmingly and large patches of his skin around them look inflamed and bruised and he is scratching.
Why is this happening so long after he was bitten and is there anything I can do to stop it happening?
AINSECT bites ( for example from midges or mosquitos) can inject irritating chemicals into the skin which can cause inflammation in the surrounding skin. This can cause swelling, redness and itching, which usually happens within 24 hours of the bites occurring. Sometimes blisters develop too.
Less commonly, an allergic reaction can occur which can cause more dramatic swelling, with a large area of swelling and redness, swollen lymph nodes and sometimes a slight fever as well.
This type of reaction usually develops over a period of a few days but it can be delayed for a week or more. With mosquito bites it is known as skeeter syndrome.
The good news is that your son should grow out of this problem. Children are more likely to develop a severe reaction than adults because, with increasing age, most people will have experienced lots of bites and gradually become desensitised to them.
In the meantime, as soon as you see a reaction developing around a bite, apply hydrocortisone cream and give your son an oral antihistamine, such as cetirizine or loratadine ( available from chemists). If the swelling continues despite treatment, then seek medical advice.
I’M 69 and last November I had some slight vaginal bleeding. I had a scan which showed slight thickening of the womb lining but a biopsy showed no abnormality.
The doctor decided I should have a coil fitted but the nurse who did the procedure was very surprised to be doing it on a woman of my age.
Will it help with the thickening or should I have the coil removed?
ATHE thickening of the womb lining that you describe is what doctors call endometrial hyperplasia. Before the menopause, this thickening effect is counteracted by the cyclical production of progesterone and when progesterone levels fall each month, the womb lining is shed.
After the menopause, when the ovaries are no longer working, the biggest risk for endometrial hyperplasia is being overweight. This is because the small amounts of male type hormones produced by the adrenal glands are converted to oestrogen by fat cells. This can lead to gradual thickening of the womb lining which can lead to bleeding. Over time, there is also a risk that the thickened cells can turn cancerous, though your normal biopsy means that this has not happened yet to you.
However it is important to stop further thickening of the lining and this is best done with progesterone. Though it is possible to take progesterone tablets, a far better way is to insert a Mirena device into the womb. This has progesterone on the stem, which is slowly released directly to the womb lining.
Though the Mirena was originally developed as a contraceptive it is used equally now for treating gynaecological disorders such as heavy or abnormal bleeding in women of all ages, including older women like you.
So in answer to your question, yes, it will help the thickening and you should leave it in place for the next five years.
‘ The good news is that your son should grow out of this problem’
I HAVE been taking bee propolis for many years. Will this help fight the Covid- 19 virus?
BEE propolis is a resin- like material that bees use to build their hives. There is some limited evidence that it has some benefit against the herpes virus that causes
cold sores and that applying a cream containing three per cent propolis may speed healing of sores.
A mouth rinse containing propolis may also aid healing of sores caused by ill- fitting dentures and there have been some very small studies that have suggested it may slightly improve blood sugar control in people with Type 2 diabetes, though it does not alter insulin levels or affect insulin resistance.
Unfortunately there is no evidence that it can improve the immune response or help fight the infection with the Covid- 19 virus. So please continue to observe social distancing, hand washing and wear a mask to help protect others.
Q
MY COUSIN has just told me she has Weber- Christian disease. I’ve never heard of this. Can you tell me more about it and especially whether it runs in families?
A
IT’S A RARE disorder where the fat under the skin becomes inflamed. This leads to tender, red lumps in the skin, especially on the thighs and lower legs. These are usually about one to two centimetres in diameter, which usually heal in about two weeks but leave a dented scar where the fat has thinned.
Some have more general symptoms, such as feeling tired, with a fever and joint pain. Even more rarely, it can lead to inflammation of the liver, spleen and eyes.
It appears to mainly affect middleaged women but the cause is not known. It may be an autoimmune disease, where the body’s own immune system attacks fat cells.
It can be treated with drugs that reduce inflammation, such as steroids and also drugs that reduce the action of the immune system, such as methotrexate. There is no evidence the disorder runs in families.
If you have a health question for Dr Leonard, email her in confidence at yourhealth@ express. co. uk. Dr Leonard regrets she cannot enter into personal correspondence or reply to everyone.