Insect Bites

[gsmith7158]

Redferd it sounds like to me you are describing the symptoms of Scabies rash which is caused by a microscopic mite that bores into your skin and lays its larvae. It is long lasting and difficult to get rid of,it can take 6months to a year to kill off those little critters. It is most often contracted through close contact with another person who has the rash,their clothes or or bedding. It can also be contracted from animals with a certain type of mange. I had this many moons ago and believe I got it from a sofa in a.hotel room. It requires daily treatment with a special prescription lotion, which I can't recall the name of but it took me 6 months to get rid of. I've had redbug bites many,many time and their effects are usually gone in a week. I would ask my doctor if that's a possibility because it is highly annoying.

[redferd]

The MedicineNet and the other sites all say the chigger makes a funnel hole and kills the flesh and eats that. When it is full , it drops off and the funnel hole with the fluid the chigger leaves causes the itch. I put some clear finger nail polish on my skin and it does have a cooling effect. Maybe it is the acetone in the polish that cools the itchy skin? I think the use of the clear polish instead of red colored polish is used so it is not as noticeable? I had poison ivy and I know this is much different. No blisters, just lumps. Even in my hair on my head there are itchy lumps. My real worry is that I spread the chiggers all over the house and they feasted , dropped off, and then got hungry and get back onto me and will bite again. I don't know how long they live nor what happens when the larva hatch and become chiggers. Maybe the house is now infested? What a mess that will be. Now my friend and brother will not come to visit me. I can't drive due to the loss of my vision . So I can't go to their house. Getting old was no fun and this is something I did not need to add to all the problems I have now. I want to thank everyone for all the comments and info. Much appreciated. I'll be staying inside from now on. At least until I can get some insecticide and spray it all over the place outside.

[Dinadan]

Redferd - I have had chiggers several times a year for the last sixty years. What you are describing is not typical. as the others said, the itching usually goes away in a few days if not hours.

Question: had you taken any unusual medications before the symptoms appeared?

What you have sounds more like a bad reaction to a drug than chiggers. A few years ago I was prescribed a sulfa drug for an infection and within a couple of days I had lesions all over and it took a while for me to get back to normal. Funny, but I made it to my fifties without ever knowing that I was allergic to any medication.

[redferd]

No medicines taken. Searched the different sites for scabies. The only thing chiggers and scaboes have in common is the itching. I have no rash just small red dots and itching. Nothing like the scabies photos on the web to make me think this is scabies. But I will ask my doctor about it and see what she says. I just changed my bedding and used the sweeper all over the bed and the chair I sit in. I got three bites on my right arm but cannot say it was from the chair or the bed? Also put on clean clothes and will wash all the bedding and other clothes in bleach and soap and hot water. I am very tired of all this washing and cleaning almost everyday. I still have to call the doctor to find out what the blood test was for and what the results are for that.

[jerryd6818]

Have you been out of town and stayed in a motel recently? Bed bugs are back in our lives.

[redferd]

Have not been out of the house since last Thursday. No motels or other houses. Just the 20 to 30 diameter by 6 foot high brush pile out back last Thursday. We had 2 inches of snow on everything and the day was very cold. I poured a cup or two of gas onto the edge of the brush pile and lit it. It would not burn well so I put two gallons of water onto the place where I had lit it. I watched it off and on to make sure it was out. I did not go into it or near it. Just tossed the gas onto it and later tossed the water onto it. I really do think this is chiggers from all I've read on the web sites. I think I may have infested the house with them? I have three more small red dots on my upper right arm. I put some cortisone cream on them as they are itchy. That's why I think they are in the house now. I will keep cleaning but as long as the chiggers have me to feast on, well, I guess they will keep on producing. Can't say I've ever been in this type of situation before?

[philco]

Redferd do you have any indoor pets (i.e. dogs or cats) ? Something is most likely continuing to bite you periodically. Chigger bites just don't linger a month in my experience. I'm not sure what part of the country you're in, but this isn't really chigger season for most of the country. If it's not an insect bite, it's most likely an allergic reaction to something you're continually exposed to. I'd suggest you consult a dermatologist if this problem continues much longer. I sure hope you can figure this out and put it in your past soon.

[Mumbleypeg]

Have not been out of the house since last Thursday. No motels or other houses. Just the 20 to 30 diameter by 6 foot high brush pile out back last Thursday. We had 2 inches of snow on everything and the day was very cold.

If it was cold with snow, I'm pretty sure it's not chiggers. Chiggers like warm weather, and humidity. I get chigger bites every summer but never in my life have I ever encountered them in the winter, early spring or late fall. First frost, they're gone.

Ken

[Paladin]

Have not been out of the house since last Thursday. No motels or other houses. Just the 20 to 30 diameter by 6 foot high brush pile out back last Thursday. We had 2 inches of snow on everything and the day was very cold.

If it was cold with snow, I'm pretty sure it's not chiggers. Chiggers like warm weather, and humidity. I get chigger bites every summer but never in my life have I ever encountered them in the winter, early spring or late fall. First frost, they're gone.

Ken

What he said!!

Ray

[Unk]

Yep, I have been eat up by chigger numerous times - but the itching (and brother, do they itch) is usually gone in a 3 or 4 days. I haven't ever seen the bites last anywhere near a month. And always from the waist down - usually on calves and ankles - never on my head!

[redferd]

I typed a very long reply and bumped something and it went away. Oh well, My friend came and looked at the rash, bites, whatever they are and said I do not have scabies but looked ill. Yellow skin with small bite marks. He said I need to go to a doctor again. I doubt I'll go again. This also is not poison ivy. Closest diagnosis online is chiggers but I also looked at all the other sites. I guess I'll have to keep scratching and putting the hydrocortisone cream on the itch.

[Dinadan]

Have you asked your pharmacist about it? An experienced pharmacist will have seen lots of stuff and might be able to give you a clue. My pharmacist took one look at my sulfa rash and said sulfa allergy. Of course she knew I was taking a sulfa drug, which probably helped. She told me to go back to the doctor, who concurred.

Sometimes things that affect the skin are not what you would expect. Way back when I was young (last millennium) I had an outbreak on my torso, not too different from what you describe. I went to a dermatologist and he took one look and checked my throat and diagnosed strep throat.

[redferd]

I will ask the pharmacist about this. Never thought to do that. Now face has turned beet red. Very itchy too. I wonder if I have poison oak? Never had that, just poison Ivy. I think being so old now, that I am slow to heal? I got a nip from my razor two days ago and it has not healed yet. Hmmm? I just got done changing the bedding again I have changed it every two days. I was awake all last night with the itch and did not get any sleep. So I changed the bedding this morning. Put on clean clothes also as I have done every three days or less. I washed the permanent press in hot water with bleach and Fab laundry soap. Other than calling an exterminator, I don't know what else to do? The hydrocortisone cream is not working anymore. The Benedryl cream is ok but I am still itchy. I am wondering, if I bought t some Hartz Mountain flea powder and sprinkle that all over the place , would it work on the bugs or harm me?

[redferd]

I went to the dermatologist. She looked all over me and said I have a rash. Prescribed some cream from the drugstore. She looked at the bites and said they are a rash .I was sitting in my recliner last night and felt more biting. Took off my shirt and in an area of 2 Inch by 2 inch area just above my right elbow to my shoulder , I was all bitten and itchy. That is not a rash. I took a shower and went to bed. Got up this morning and ran the sweeper over the chair, rug and anything around the chair. Ran the sweeper on the kitchen floor. Really cleaned everything. Washed all the covers and clothing. Emptied the sweeper bags and tossed the sweepings into the wood stove. I put some of that cream on the bites. So itchy. I am taking time to reply and then go clean something. I am getting very tired of cleaning everything over and over again. I think the rash is from the bites? I guess I'll never know for sure as I do not see any of the bugs that are biting me. Now all I can hope for is that they die off soon. The original bites seemed to have started to clear up??

[Mossdancer]

You might try Hydrocortisone 1% crème. Costco sells a 4 pack or get a single at Walgreen. That and calamine lotion are generally good for rashes and bites that itch. If it is a viral thing like a rash without itching Neosporin has a bit of antibiotic in it. Works pretty well.
moss

[redferd]

Thanks again for all the posts. I tried the prescription hydrocortisone and neosporin But they only took away the redness for awhile. The dermatologist prescribed a cream that remove the redness and some of the itching. She wants to see me in 3 weeks to check up on the condition Both the neosporin and hydrocortisone ard good products. But I think I am allergic to the bites. I am hoping that I got most of the bugs with the sweepers? I will put the cram on and see how that works over a period of time.

[Mossdancer]

Redferd:
Only a lay persons suggestion, If you have or can access a high resolution digital camera. Take at its highest quality a close up of a patch of your skin showing a fresh rash.Push your storage card into a USB port and upload the photo into your computer. Crop the photo to a point where a square inch and a half of the rash fills your entire display. It should be near or equivalent to a 150 power microscope depending on the size of your display screen. If there is a bite or sting you will see the punctures in the skin if you do not it is probably an airborne or a contact allergy. Good luck.
moss

[redferd]

Redferd:
Only a lay persons suggestion, If you have or can access a high resolution digital camera. Take at its highest quality a close up of a patch of your skin showing a fresh rash.Push your storage card into a USB port and upload the photo into your computer. Crop the photo to a point where a square inch and a half of the rash fills your entire display. It should be near or equivalent to a 150 power microscope depending on the size of your display screen. If there is a bite or sting you will see the punctures in the skin if you do not it is probably an airborne or a contact allergy. Good luck.
moss

That is a good suggestion! I don't have that type of camera but I have a smart phone that has What looks like a usb on the charger cord. I don't know what that does if I inserted it into my pc??? I am afraid to stick that into my pc or smart phone as it might do some damage to both or one or the other? If I took a photo and could get it onto the pc , I could enlarge the photo and look at it on the 40 inch tv/monitor. Does anyone know about the use of the cord? I am willing to try anything right now. I thought the charger cord with the ac plug removed and the usb inserted into the pc was only for charging my smart phone? At best , my eyesight is blurry, cataracts and AMD, so blowing up the image on the pc would be great. Thanks for the info. I would never have thought of doing that.

[jerryd6818]

You need to see a different dermatologist. That one got her license off the back of a box of Cheerios. Chiggers don't infest a house but Fleas do. In you hair, in the winter time, biting you while sitting in your chair? Sure sounds like a flea infestation to me.

[Mossdancer]

Redferd:
If you have an email address on your pc just mail it there from your camera. When there save the photo to your computer from your email. Somewhere along the line you will have a chance to name your photo. Use an easy to find name like AAA or aaa or XXX etc. When that is done left click on the little red yellow blue and green on the bottom left corner of your computer. You will see a rectangle box that reads: Search programs and files. enter what you named your photo. Above the box you should see a bigger display that will say different things left click on the one that you named your photo. Your photo should appear to the right now.
Right click on your photo and about four lines down click on edit and this should put you in the photo shop. Do as you wish with your photo. Now you can display it on your PC or TV screen or wherever you wish. Don't let it scare you if you put it on a 40 inch TV screen cause the teeth marks will look like they were administered by a flat ended center punch if indeed it is a bite.
Good Luck
moss

[Mumbleypeg]

It's fairly easy to determine whether your home has a flea infestation, by making a simple flea trap. Get a small container, like a Tupperware bowl or cool whip container, remove the lid. Fill it near full with water. Add one drop of liquid dish soap (put the soap in last, so it doesn't make suds). Place the container full of soapy water on the floor before you go to bed for the night. Leave a light on near (over) the bowl.

The light will attract the fleas, the dish soap breaks the surface tension of the water so the fleas can't jump out, and it kills them. If you have fleas in the house, there will be some in the bowl next morning, trapped in the water.

Ken

[Unk]

I have two flea traps. They keep chewing up my shoes and shedding hair all over my house.

[redferd]

It's fairly easy to determine whether your home has a flea infestation, by making a simple flea trap. Get a small container, like a Tupperware bowl or cool whip container, remove the lid. Fill it near full with water. Add one drop of liquid dish soap (put the soap in last, so it doesn't make suds). Place the container full of soapy water on the floor before you go to bed for the night. Leave a light on near (over) the bowl.

The light will attract the fleas, the dish soap breaks the surface tension of the water so the fleas can't jump out, and it kills them. If you have fleas in the house, there will be some in the bowl next morning, trapped in the water.

Ken

OK I set up a night light above a Corningware cereal bowl of water with dish washing soap in it. I have the light on now. I will leave it on all day and night. We'll see what happens. It could be fleas? Maybe some other bugs. I went to the local hardware store and bought 2 bags of Seven and 3 bags of Ortho Bug Be gone granules for outside the house. Ten lbs. each. I already put one ten lb bag in the single car carport the other day. The girl at the store told me she bug bombed the house she just moved into. 5 canisters , one for each room. Came back in 3 hours and found roaches, silverfish, spiders, etc. Had to open the windows to let the vapor out of the house. Killed all the bugs. She did not see any film or residue left by the bug bomb. I'll have to wait till warm weather to do all that tho. If this works with the soapy water, I'll let you all know. Being that I've not seen fleas before, how large are they?

[Mumbleypeg]

Fleas are very small, brown insects. About the size of the head of a straight pin. They can jump several feet in distance.

Ken

[redferd]

That small? I probably won't be able to see them unless they go into the soapy water. I just looked at the water but could not see any thing in the water so far. I'll leave the light on and let you know if I do get something in the water. I was given a Woolrich coat from my brother last September. Now I am wondering if it had bugs in it? He had it dry cleaned but let the coat hang in the closet for a few years. Maybe it has the bugs in it? I'll hang it out on the enclosed deck now. But whatever is biting me is still in the chair and likely the living room.