I am really annoyed with myself!

[Maisie]

I am covered with some sort of insect bites. My daughter has been playing with some girls who live down the road. These bites look awfully like cat flea bites (I had them years ago when I lived with my dad). The girls have two cats who live in and outside. I rang the mother to ask in a very polite way if their cats could have some fleas. I kept saying ''please don''t take offence'' but it would appear it made no difference. Within five minutes of me hanging up the phone she was on my doorstep having a really big go at me. I didn''t argue back - I just let her vent and she left.

I wish I hadn''t asked her now. I just needed to know if I needed to deflea my house and also I didn''t know how to treat the bites till I knew where they came from.

I sometimes really annoy myself.

 

[poptart]

You shouldn''t be annoyed with yourself! If your neighbor does have cats with fleas and they are now in your house, you need to know. There''s isn''t anything wrong with that. It''s not like you were saying it to attack her or anything. Don''t worry about her Maisie, just make sure you figure out where those bites came from.

*M*

 

[Maisie]

Thank you Poptart..... I know I had the right to ask but I had no idea how much she would react to it. I wasn''t implying her house is dirty or anything ...... I just feel bad that she felt so annoyed with me.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 4/14/2007 4:22:16 PM
Author: Maisie
Thank you Poptart..... I know I had the right to ask but I had no idea how much she would react to it. I wasn't implying her house is dirty or anything ...... I just feel bad that she felt so annoyed with me.

Yes, curious that she became so enraged over this.



"The lady doth protest too much, me thinks".....

 

[Maisie]

I''m inclined to agree Ellen. I think she is probably worried that I will tell people that she is ''infested'' or whatever so she is trying too hard to make me believe its not the case.

I''m not the type of person to talk about people like that - I have even send her a message to aplogise for offending her. I can''t see what else I can do. I hate bad feeling though.

 

[ladykemma]

curious can the fleas get to your house? i thought animals only.

where are the bites? hands legs...?

 

[Maisie]

I read up on it before I approached her. Apparently they can ''travel'' into other peoples houses on clothes etc. My bites are on my ankles and lower legs with a couple on my stomach and one of my wrists.

 

[ladykemma]

does daughter have bites?

 

[Maisie]

Thats the weird thing - she doesn''t - but on the day she was there she handled the cats and had to have anti-histamine because she had a reaction. I don''t know whether she had been bitten then and the meds counter acted against it. My husband and my older two children have also got bites though.

Its very strange really......

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 4/14/2007 3:34:08 PM
Author: poptart
You shouldn''t be annoyed with yourself! If your neighbor does have cats with fleas and they are now in your house, you need to know. There''s isn''t anything wrong with that. It''s not like you were saying it to attack her or anything. Don''t worry about her Maisie, just make sure you figure out where those bites came from.

*M*

I agree w/Poptart. You sound like a kind soul. Don''t let that woman get to you. You have a right to know.

 

[Maisie]

Thank you sweetie

Remind me one day to come and visit you!

 

[Kaleigh]

You are a kind and thoughtful person Maisie. Don''t let her get you down!!!! I bet she was having a really bad day. Hope the bites heal quickly, and you have your new ring to look forward to. Concentrate on that!!!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Ohhh...we had fleas once. My DH has a good heart (too good) and let in what he thought was a stray cat on a regular basis. Our house got SO infested they were upstairs/downstairs/my car!

If you have them, you will see them. They are very small and can only be killed by putting it in a piece of tape (pinching doesn''t work). We had to get our house bombed AND take our indoor cat to the vet for treatment. They usually do bother animals more than humans but when their hungry...they will bite. A few could have transfered to your daughter to your house (they multiply at a very rapid rate). But she would have bites (I think). If I remember correctly they were very small, itchy bites.

 

[Mara]

we had a a few fleas come into the house last year on portia''s fur. she was treated but they hitched a ride from the grass outside on her leg fur and then jumped off onto the couch when in the house. the ones that bit her died. thankfully we found a few on her and a few on the couch so we knew right away (we drowned the ones we found), and then we treated the main rooms with diatomaceous earth (a natural way), and there were no further problems. but we stopped taking her outside to that area and started taking her to another area. i was so grossed out finding all of 5 in the house, i was freaked thinking we might have an infestation...they breed REALLY quickly as in like within a day i think...so if you don''t catch them right away it can be scary.

fleas love the animals for sure but if they are inhospitable then they will jump off and find another host. so if a human is nearby they will bite them. but typically i don''t know that they''d want to leave a cat and hitch a ride on your daughters. i would imagine they''d stay on the cat as their first option. could it just be bites from being outside or something?

 

[Maisie]

For the last two weeks I have literally gone from the house to the car to the train then into work (which is right in the city centre). I can''t think of anywhere I could have picked any insect bites up. I mean, I know there are everywhere but even so I don''t hang about in the mornings lol!

I am being bitten through the night. I woke up with another new bite this morning which takes the grand total to 22. I have lotion to put on them to stop them itching but its not so effective. I don''t want to take anti-histamine as it might make me drowsy at work. This is really horrible. My husband is freaking out too as he has a fear of anything like fleas or lice.

Thank you Kayleigh for your kind words - and yes I will definitely focus on my new ring - yey!!!!

Tacori I don''t know how you coped with a full on infestation!!! I really hope it doesn''t come to that here or I will be in a right mess!!

My older daughter just came downstairs with three really sore new bites. She scratched them and now they are like hives.

 

[Ellen]

OK, if you''re all getting bitten at night, it''s got to be something in the beds. At first I thought spider, but not every night, and in so many different beds...

Bed bugs?

Sorry Maise, don''t want to gross you out, but this sounds suspiciously familiar.

http://www.uky.edu/Ag/Entomology/entfacts/struct/ef636.htm

 

[Maisie]

Eeew how yuck!!! I hope its not that.

Actually we just took the cushions off our new sofa. We have so far caught 3 fleas. I am devastated. I hate stuff like this. Our sofa is less than 3 weeks old and we have been getting bitten for about 2 weeks. I wonder if they were already in the sofa when it was delivered........

 

[lumpkin]

Yikes! Maisy, I''m sorry to hear about this. I don''t have any experience with fleas. Now, if you had ants....I could help you. I hope you get it figured out soon. I would be really upset, too. Once you do get it figured out maybe you can mend fences with your neighbor and you''ll both get a good laugh about it, and then probably become great friends! On the other hand, maybe not. But I''ve always found you to be extremely tactful and kind on the board, so either your neighbor was being grumpy and having a bad day or she''s easily offended. So don''t be annoyed with yourself.

 

[Maisie]

Aww thank you Lumpkin - such a nice thing to say.

Tell you what though - I wish I did have ants, they wouldn''t freak me out nearly as much as the fleas do!

Look at this - my arm has swollen up with these bites!

 

[Lorelei]

Maisie, comb out your cats fur a few times over a piece of damp white paper, if they have fleas, then the dirts or black specks will turn into blood on the paper. Treat the cats with Frontline and also the house with Nuvan Staykill or similar, available from the vet, hoover very thoroughly too and treat or change the hoover bag. This should help to get rid of them, regarding the bites, you might have an allergic reaction to flea bites, some pets do also with the flea saliva. If they get worse, see your doc.

 

[lumpkin]

Maisy, I''d get to the doctor. He may be able to tell you exactly what you are dealing with and then you can get rid of them. I didn''t know flea bites were so painful. They look miserable. Do you have benedryl or some other over-all antihistamine you can take?

{{{HUGS}}}

 

[poptart]

Maisie, go to a doctor now. Seriously. You have to know what you''re dealing with! Those bites look really painful, and I''m sorry.

*M*

 

[Maisie]

Date: 4/15/2007 11:35:51 AM
Author: Lorelei
Maisie, comb out your cats fur a few times over a piece of damp white paper, if they have fleas, then the dirts or black specks will turn into blood on the paper. Treat the cats with Frontline and also the house with Nuvan Staykill or similar, available from the vet, hoover very thoroughly too and treat or change the hoover bag. This should help to get rid of them, regarding the bites, you might have an allergic reaction to flea bites, some pets do also with the flea saliva. If they get worse, see your doc.

I don''t have any cats - thats whats making this whole thing so much more miserable

We don''t have any pets......

 

[Maisie]

Date: 4/15/2007 11:38:19 AM
Author: lumpkin
Maisy, I'd get to the doctor. He may be able to tell you exactly what you are dealing with and then you can get rid of them. I didn't know flea bites were so painful. They look miserable. Do you have benedryl or some other over-all antihistamine you can take?

{{{HUGS}}}

Thank you for the hugs

I am really nervous to take any meds so I am using something called Eurax lotion .... it stops the itching for a few hours. My ankle is even more swollen:

 

[Maisie]

Date: 4/15/2007 11:40:08 AM
Author: poptart
Maisie, go to a doctor now. Seriously. You have to know what you''re dealing with! Those bites look really painful, and I''m sorry.

*M*

I am going to get them checked on tuesday when I am off work. I am feeling really pathetic lol... I hate stuff like this. We just went and bought a new hoover and once we vacumed everywhere we threw the bag in the bin. We will also have to get something to treat the house. I can''t believe I saw them crawling on my sofa

 

[lumpkin]

Maisy, you need to get to the doctor! Please call as soon as you can! That is severe swelling.

 

[poptart]

That IS a lot of swelling. Can''t you go see a doctor now? I would be nervous to not get it checked and get the proper meds.

*M*

 

[Maisie]

If its worse tomorrow I will definitely see the doctor.

 

[Lorelei]

Sorry Maisie, my brain isn't functioning as it should, definitely see a doctor, your leg looks badly swollen. Fleas don't really crawl, they are more like tiny hopping specks, I wonder if they aren't cat fleas, they might be another species of parasite...

 

[Kaleigh]

Yes please see your doctor, that looks pretty swollen to me. You poor thing.