What happens when an insect bites you? Obviously different insects bites have different chemicals, this is a bit of a generalization. Every patient reacts differently: some more severely, it depends on your immune system. This does not include bee stings. A black fly bites you: first there is an anesthetic so you do not feel the bite, next there is an anti-coagulant so your blood does not clot (have you ever seen the blood dripping down after a bite) and then there are tissue destructive enzymes that liquify tissue. They get their meal and take off. All of these chemicals are enzymes which are proteins and are left behind. The tissue destructive enzymes continue working. Your bodys immune system (white blood cells, wbc) picks up this protein, processes it, brings it to a local lymph node and hands it off to another wbc. It then makes several different types of wbc. Some of them go back and attack at the bite and begin to clean it up. Some cause more injury by releasing chemicals. And there are memory cells made. Some bites will last for about 2 weeks and sometimes a lymph node will enlarge nearby and will slowly go back to its original size over a couple of months. Of course people think the worst when they see an enlarged lymph node. In this case a hydrocortisone cream will suppress the wbc and the bites will be less itchy and go away earlier. I hope that makes sense.
Posted on: Thu, 15 May 2014 02:32:11 +0000
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