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'HELL ON EARTH'
My dream holiday left me covered in blisters and I lost my hair and nails – people asked if I had been in a fire
Amy's legs swelled up twice their usual side and turned green
A WOMAN had a holiday from hell after her skin peeled off and her hair and nails fell off after she was bitten by a tiger mosquito in the Caribbean.
Amy Wells, 37, got a huge rash over her whole body after the bite and was treated with antibiotics.
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But they reacted with a medicine she was already taking and within days the skin all over her body blistered - leaving her looking like she'd been badly burned.
She had to take ten weeks off work and has been left with scars all over her lower legs.
Amy, from Ashford, Kent, who works in quality control, said: "It was hell on earth.
"The blisters covered my whole body - even my eyes and my lips.
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"It was extremely painful. People kept asking me if I'd been in a fire.
"It's very odd. I've never had any kind of allergic reaction to anything."
Amy and now-husband Charlie, 27, who works in security, travelled to the Dominican Republic on January 22 2023 and got engaged four days later on her birthday.
After a day swimming with dolphins, on January 28, Amy woke with a rash on her neck, which quickly spread over her whole body.
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Amy went to the island's hospital where she was given an antibiotic called ceftriaxone not commonly used in the UK, she says.
A language barrier meant they didn't talk about how she was taking amoxicillin for a tooth infection.
‘Serious’ holiday warning as deadly tiger mosquitoes found in TWO hotspots
Amy stayed in the hospital and was allowed to fly home on February 1 because the infection markers had dropped, but she had little appearing on her body.
Her thighs swelled to twice their normal size during the ten-hour flight, and it felt like they were burning, she said.
She went to an urgent care centre in Faversham, and was sent on to A&E at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, Kent.
She said: "I knew something wasn't right. It felt like I was burning from the inside out.
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"The blisters started popping while I was in A&E - fluid was pouring out of them. It was horrible."
Amy said she had to wait 56 hours in A&E before being given a bed in a corridor, then a ward, because the hospital was so full.
'RARE REACTION'
Doctors spotted puncture wounds on Amy's legs which they identified as mosquito bites, she said.
Amy believes she was bitten by tiger mosquitos, which carry dengue fever and Zika virus.
I looked in the mirror and I was like 'That's not me'
Amy Wells
The critters, which originated from southeast Asia, are now spreading across Europe.
She thinks an infection from the bites caused the first rash.
Medics said the burning was caused by a rare reaction between the two antibiotics, she says.
After the blisters popped, her skin peeled off, but some skin stuck to her legs leaving open wounds which turned green after she was discharged.
"I was really frightened," she said.
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Her legs took three weeks to heal, thanks to cream, and she now has scarring covering half of each leg below the knee.
Amy had to take ten weeks off work.
LOSING HER IDENTITY
Amy's finger and toenails fell out in April, and her hair started thinning, and by May she was bald.
A hair specialist explained this is due to shock, she said.
She said: "Losing my hair was the hardest part - your hair really defines you.
"I looked in the mirror and I was like 'That's not me'."
Amy and Charlie got married on October 14.
Amy said: "After everything that had happened we decided not to hang about.
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"You never expect that something like this can happen to you.
"It's such a rare illness and I was so healthy."
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What is a tiger mosquito?
Tiger mosquitoes, also known as Aedes albopictus, can transmit several serious diseases by biting humans
It can pass on viruses such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika.
These diseases were previously only found in parts of Africa, Asia, and the Americas, but climate change has allowed the invasive species to spread to Europe.
In 2013, the species had gained a foothold in eight countries across the continent, affecting 114 regions.
A decade later, the mosquito is now established in 13 countries and 337 regions – including all of Italy and Croatia, and parts of Spain, France and Germany.
Known for its tolerance of frost and ability to adapt to new environments, Aedes albopictus is moving around 93 miles north every year in Europe.
It has been spotted six times in south east England since 2016.
Tiger mosquitoes are active during the day and bite humans, which can lead to a major public health challenge.
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