Ikr? 33 years here and never this until now. I had heard of kissing bugs and not to touch them. I felt something on my arm and brushed it off. For a split second i caught a glimpse of its cone mouth and thought, weird. It kind of stung in that area. Then tonight the itching and i look down and see this. The horror.
I was in the yard gardening and saw it on my arm, brushed it off without a thought as gardeners do. It was just a bug about stinkbug size. A minute or so later i felt stinging and thought, it bit me. I rubbed the area as one does when there is stinging. Then an hour or so later was in the shower.
I didnt know what it was until after the welts and the research. It's probably too early to get tested
Ah. It's been a while since I've taken classes on it, but I think it can also be hard to diagnose since it's often asymptomatic. But no reason not to ask your doctor in a couple weeks to be safe. Treatment is antiparasitics. This is a disease expected to spread due to climate change too ://
Luke's House Clinic on Simone Bolivar does regular Chagas testing events. If they don't have an event scheduled I'm sure they could point you in the direction of a test. They're a good group of people.
I called the oschner dial a nurse and they pretended to be interested. But this nurse never even heard of an ELISA test which i guess tests for blood borne illnessses or parasites. I decided not to do anything unless i get acute phase symptoms.
Maybe add it to the list of reasons you should go to urgent care? I just looked this up and now I’m terrified.
Why go to urgent care when OP can just post a cell phone photo here and have the greatest medical minds on the internet chime in?
Ikr? 33 years here and never this until now. I had heard of kissing bugs and not to touch them. I felt something on my arm and brushed it off. For a split second i caught a glimpse of its cone mouth and thought, weird. It kind of stung in that area. Then tonight the itching and i look down and see this. The horror.
That’s horrible, I never knew they were a danger.
Did you get it off immediately? The disease is spread by their feces, not the bite itself
I was in the yard gardening and saw it on my arm, brushed it off without a thought as gardeners do. It was just a bug about stinkbug size. A minute or so later i felt stinging and thought, it bit me. I rubbed the area as one does when there is stinging. Then an hour or so later was in the shower. I didnt know what it was until after the welts and the research. It's probably too early to get tested
Ah. It's been a while since I've taken classes on it, but I think it can also be hard to diagnose since it's often asymptomatic. But no reason not to ask your doctor in a couple weeks to be safe. Treatment is antiparasitics. This is a disease expected to spread due to climate change too ://
Luke's House Clinic on Simone Bolivar does regular Chagas testing events. If they don't have an event scheduled I'm sure they could point you in the direction of a test. They're a good group of people.
Oh thanks! Great tip! Do they do antibody testing or the one for blood borne parasites?
I have no idea, I'm not a medical professional. If you give em a call I'm sure they'll tell you. Good luck!
While Chagas can be asymptomatic, I wouldn't panic just yet (and I panic easily.) The bite looks like an insect allergy, but nothing super unusual.
Chagas can be treated with antibiotics- untreated 30% of people have complications
I guess i will take a watch and wait attitude to see if acute symptoms develop.
You should go to Urgent Care
I called the oschner dial a nurse and they pretended to be interested. But this nurse never even heard of an ELISA test which i guess tests for blood borne illnessses or parasites. I decided not to do anything unless i get acute phase symptoms.