Hello, I’m visiting Japan for 10 days, this is day 4. When I got here, I got a mosquitoe bite on my leg. By now it has swollen a bit, hurts a little, and is red, and there seems to be a little red streak coming off of it. I’ve read that it should go away with some antibiotics.
Now I don’t know any Japanese, and I don’t know where I should even go. Can I just walk up to any pharmacy and ask about it there? Do I need to find a doctor myself, or can I ask someone to guide me to one? Do I even need to worry, or can I just wait and see if it heals by itself?
5 comments
Ah mine always react like that here, I’ve gotten bit dozens of times since moving here. I just use Kinkan on it and usually take a Benadryl equivalent and the swelling goes down significantly overnight for me. If you’re worried, I’m sure you can find a doctor that speaks English if you’re in a big city but there are a lot of options for mosquito bite creams and ointments here, I like Kinkan but there’s also Muhi S that people swear by. You can find them at any drugstore nearby. If you need help, you can always just show an employee a photo of them too.
What do you mean by red streak? Internally under the skin?
Recommend you see a doc or go to a hospital.
https://www.japanlivingguide.com/health-and-safety/health/hospital-support/
Do you have travel insurance? There should be a number you can call. Usually if you have to ask the question “should i see a doctor?” The answer is yes. There are resources out there for English speakers if you search – I don’t have anything on hand.
Red line going away from a bite could indicate infection but not necessarily. Best to at the very least show it to a pharmacist to get some cream for it and keep a close eye on it.
for me it was $400 to see an english speaking doctor, would not recommend unless you need to