I can't stop itching

**pammy** · 06-20-2006, 06:18 AM

Ahhhhhhh..... help! Durn the chiggers! Been awake for two hours now cause I can't stop itching. Can't find any clear fingernail polish.

Anyone know a good trick to stop the itch and make it go away??

**bee9984** · 06-20-2006, 08:58 AM

Calomine lotion? (sp?) I went through something similar not too long ago, what a nightmare....my dr. said it was flea bites (what a mess I was in) but I did not see one flea in my house. I think it was something from work as I work in a warehouse and there is alot of dust in the back etc......I stopped wearing perfume to work and whatever it was stopped attacking me.

Hope you feel better real quick.....I went through about 5 weeks of suffering before I finally went to the dr. got to the point I was bruising, I won`t make that mistake again.

Do you have allergys maybe? Gosh, I am starting to itch just thinking about it!

Hugs to you

**sunshine** · 06-20-2006, 09:16 AM

put vics vapor rub on areas affected. The petroleom suffocates them and the methanol relieves itching.

Get a washcloth wet with warm water. Apply table salt to the wet washcloth. Rub the washcloth on the affected areas of the skin, avoiding the genitals. It may hurt a little, but it will help stop the itching.

**KatieInLa2** · 06-20-2006, 09:21 AM

Add 1/2 to 1 cup of baking soda to your bath water. There is a lotion called Caladryl. It has calamine and benedryl and its clear. The dollar type stores sell a generic version. And most important use insect repellent on your legs before you go outside. I hate chiggers. We get them in our yard every summer.

**bee9984** · 06-20-2006, 09:29 AM

What are chiggers? I have never heard of those before

**bee9984** · 06-20-2006, 10:05 AM

Dh just told me, I didn`t know if he would know or not but he said that chiggers are fleas.

**sunshine** · 06-20-2006, 10:27 AM

Chiggers:

If you have ever been out in the woods or an open field in spring, summer or fall, you may have gotten chiggers around your waistband or on your ankles. They leave red, itchy bumps on your skin.

Chiggers are the larvae of mites belonging to the suborder prostigmata, commonly called harvest mites or scrub mites. Like ticks and spiders, mites go through three biological stages in their life cycle: They begin as eggs, hatch as larvae, develop into nymphs and finally become adults. Nymph and adult harvest mites feed mostly on plant life and don't bother people or other mammals, but in the larval stage, many of the species in the prostigmata suborder are parasitic. After a parasitic chigger hatches, it finds a good position on tall grass or other vegetation so it can spring onto a passing animal. When it finds an animal, it attaches to the animal to gather the protein it needs to grow into the nymph stage.

Chiggers do not burrow under your skin, as many people believe, nor do they feed on animal blood. They actually feed on the fluids in skin cells. To get the fluids, they attach themselves to a skin pore or hair follicle and inject a digestive enzyme that ruptures the cells. The enzyme also hardens the surrounding skin tissue, forming a sort of straw for sucking the skin cell fluids. The whole process irritates the skin, causing an itchy red bump that continues to cause discomfort for several days. Chiggers are only about 1/50th of an inch (0.5 mm) in diameter and so are too small to be seen with the naked eye. This invisibility is the reason so many people believe chiggers burrow under the skin.

You might encounter chiggers in any number of environments, but they are especially concentrated in damp areas with a lot of vegetation. They are attracted to concealed, moist conditions on hosts, too, so they tend to attach to skin under tight clothing, such as socks and underwear, or in concealed areas of the body, such as the groin and the armpits. One way to decrease the chance of chigger bites is to wear loose clothing when you're in the woods or other infested areas. You should also take a shower as soon as you get home from an outdoor expedition, to remove any chiggers before they attach to your skin.

In North America, chiggers don't spread any diseases to humans, but chigger bites can get infected. You should keep the irritated area clean and refrain as much as possible from scratching. In other parts of the world, chiggers may pose a more serious threat. In some areas of Asia, for example, certain chigger species carry the disease scrub typhus. If you spend a lot of time outdoors, check an insect and spider field guide to find out what sort of chiggers are in your area.

One commonly known remedy for chigger bites is to apply nail polish to reduce itchiness. This does not kill the chigger or treat the bite in any way. It simply seals the area off from the air, which keeps the sore from itching so badly. If you want to apply something to relieve itching, it's much better to use a salve or cream that contains antihistamines (Caladryl or hydrocortisone salves are the most common). Like nail polish, these treatments will seal the bite from the surrounding air, but they will also help to prevent infection. If the welts continue to irritate you for more than a couple of weeks, they might be infected and you should see a doctor.

Fleas:

Fleas

SIZE: 1/8 inch (3mm)

COLOR: Very dark

DESCRIPTION: Adult fleas are about 1/8 inch long, wingless, and have three pairs of legs. The hind pair of legs is modified for jumping. Fleas are vertically flat like a fish, and can move easily through the hair of a host. The immature stage or larval stage of the flea looks like a small white worm with a dark head. Flea eggs are small and white.

HABITAT: The cooler and drier fall weather brings a reduction in the number of household fleas. However, house pets usually maintain small flea populations throughout the winter, with the numbers increasing slowly in the spring and exploding in mid-to-late summer.

LIFE CYCLE: Female fleas lay eggs loosely in the host's hair (usually a cat or dog). The eggs drop off and hatch into tiny, hairy, worm-like larvae. The larvae are usually found where the animal sleeps, along baseboards, in carpets, or on furniture. Larvae pupate and new adults emerge. The new adults seek a host immediately and must get a blood meal to survive and produce eggs.

TYPE OF DAMAGE: They will bite humans-especially when they cannot find their usual animal host or if they become very numerous. Their bite often will leave a small, red, irritated area on humans.

CONTROL: The key to successful household flea control is frequent vacuuming of pet bedding and resting areas, treatment of the pet, and careful use of insecticides.

INTERESTING FACTS: Fleas are not known to be capable of transmitting infectious diseases in Virginia; however, allergic reactions to flea bites cause the most complaints.

**pkellyc** · 06-20-2006, 10:37 AM

Listerine mouthwash it will sting for a minute but it will take away the itch and disinfect the bites at the same time.

**MOMMYDEAREST** · 06-20-2006, 11:15 AM

well i had chiggers & posion ivy at the ame time. the best stuff there is is benadryl liguid gel..........its amazing!!! good luck!!!

**bee9984** · 06-20-2006, 11:21 AM

Thanks Sunshine

, I will tell dh....lol. I remember seeing fleas in Nova Scotia and also when we lived in Ontario but when we were in Alberta I did not see any ( we had heard that where we were there were not any fleas as they couldn`t survive the cold winters there ), we have been here in Quebec now for 4 years and I havn`t seen not a one, and hopefully we never will lol.

All of these different remedys are great to see.

Now I also know what giggers are too.

**marym** · 06-20-2006, 11:37 AM

My SIL works for a dermatoligist, they suggest using a product called Sarna anit itch lotion for itchies. It works well, have used it.

**pammy** · 06-20-2006, 11:51 AM

Wow, lots of great advice, thanks!

Have a clear Caldryl, still itching. Put some vapor rub on them and it helps, but now my tee shirt smells all minty, lol. Gonna go soak in a hot bath in a bit and try the table salt and will reapply the vapor rub.

Man, nuttin' like looking through your stuff to see what you can put on your skin at 5am, lol. Thanks all!

**BTK** · 06-20-2006, 01:03 PM

The best thing I've found for chiggers and plain old bug bites is ammonia on a cotton ball. The after bite sticks that you can buy are mainly ammonia, and the straight ammonia works like a charm. If you put it on fairly soon after getting bitten, it does sting a bit, but then it's gone.