[ARCHIVED THREAD] - GD Chiggers!!! I got it bad! (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 9/20/2011 6:14:28 PM EDT
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Went out hog hunting this weekend, was only in the woods maybe a half hour, max.
It was hot (especially after the sun rose), the woods were way overgrown with visiblity very poor and a lot of blowdown from the April storms. The good news is that I saw some pretty good sign, so they're still there! 
The bad news is that I got bit by a bunch of chiggers.  We're talking dozens and dozens of bites on my feet and legs, arms and chest area.
I've been taking super hot baths with some epsom salts thrown in. This provides some relief, but it's usually temporary. Any better solutions out there to relieve the itching and get rid of the bite marks? Thanks, |
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Quoted:
They are not "bites". The little critters are burying in. In a few days your body will eventually kill them. You are fortunate they did not attack the gonad area. Try not to claw your skin so bad it leaves sores. Try alcohol, both internal and external.   IIRC, they are bites. What you're thinking of are scabies. I had a massive amount of chigger bites on my legs when I was younger... took me several months for it to finally heal up. Nothing like excruciatingly itchy sores to tempt you into scratching them back into existence! |
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Merlin, try the following: - Cover the chiggers with a coat or two of clear nail polish. Stings at first, but then helps reduce the itching somewhat. - Take benadryl if you're going to bed or zyrtec (cetirizine) if you don't want to be sleepy. These will also help with the itching. These two things work for me. It'll take probably a week for them to heal completely. When you go out in the woods, spray-down your pants legs, socks, and boots with DEET, preferably the 100% strength. Keep it off watch faces, plastic glasses lenses, etc. |
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Quoted: Quoted: They are not "bites". The little critters are burying in. In a few days your body will eventually kill them. You are fortunate they did not attack the gonad area. Try not to claw your skin so bad it leaves sores. Try alcohol, both internal and external. IIRC, they are bites. What you're thinking of are scabies. I had a massive amount of chigger bites on my legs when I was younger... took me several months for it to finally heal up. Nothing like excruciatingly itchy sores to tempt you into scratching them back into existence! The dust mite larvae are long gone. The irritating part is the "straw" they make while trying to suck your blood. Only defense is to knock them off before the blood sucking starts. When I don't have repellent, I rub my legs every fifteen minutes to knock them off. It works. |
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiggers.
Trombiculid mites go through a life cycle of eggs, larva, nymph, and adult.[14] The larval mites feed on the skin cells, but not blood, of animals, including humans. The six-legged parasitic larva feeds on a large variety of creatures including humans, rabbits, toads, box turtles, quail, and even some insects. After crawling onto their host, they inject digestive enzymes into the skin that break down skin cells. They do not actually "bite," but instead form a hole in the skin called a stylostome and chew up tiny parts of the inner skin, thus causing severe irritation and swelling. The severe itching is accompanied by red pimple-like bumps (papules) or hives and skin rash or lesions on a sun-exposed area. For humans, itching usually occurs after the larvae detach from the skin.[15] After feeding on their hosts, the larvae drop to the ground and become nymphs, then mature into adults which have 8 legs and are harmless to humans. In the post larval stage, they are not parasitic and feed on plant materials. The females lay 3–8 eggs in a clutch, usually on a leaf or under the roots of a plant, and die by autumn.[15] |
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Quoted: Merlin, try the following: - Cover the chiggers with a coat or two of clear nail polish. Stings at first, but then helps reduce the itching somewhat. - Take benadryl if you're going to bed or zyrtec (cetirizine) if you don't want to be sleepy. These will also help with the itching. These two things work for me. It'll take probably a week for them to heal completely. When you go out in the woods, spray-down your pants legs, socks, and boots with DEET, preferably the 100% strength. Keep it off watch faces, plastic glasses lenses, etc. This. Nail polish and benadryl is the best answer short of a magnifying glass and a laser. They like to munch on my wife. She probably has 30 bites going right now. I didn't count them I just painted them but that seems about right. Put a heavy coat on each bite. Repeat as necessary. |
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Quoted:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiggers. Trombiculid mites go through a life cycle of eggs, larva, nymph, and adult.[14] The larval mites feed on the skin cells, but not blood, of animals, including humans. The six-legged parasitic larva feeds on a large variety of creatures including humans, rabbits, toads, box turtles, quail, and even some insects. After crawling onto their host, they inject digestive enzymes into the skin that break down skin cells. They do not actually "bite," but instead form a hole in the skin called a stylostome and chew up tiny parts of the inner skin, thus causing severe irritation and swelling. The severe itching is accompanied by red pimple-like bumps (papules) or hives and skin rash or lesions on a sun-exposed area. For humans, itching usually occurs after the larvae detach from the skin.[15] After feeding on their hosts, the larvae drop to the ground and become nymphs, then mature into adults which have 8 legs and are harmless to humans. In the post larval stage, they are not parasitic and feed on plant materials. The females lay 3–8 eggs in a clutch, usually on a leaf or under the roots of a plant, and die by autumn.[15] this & your only option is dig/scrape the bites till they bleed then scrub down with alcohol, do another alcohol scrub after a couple hours.... will be healed in three to four days but it will stop the itching after the second alcohol rub. |
I hate those little mofos! 
"Chiggers suck up liquefied tissue, not blood The reason the bite itches so intensely and for such a long time is that the chigger injects saliva into its victim after attaching to the skin. This saliva contains a powerful digestive enzyme that literally dissolves the skin cells it contacts. It is this liquefied tissue, never blood, that the chigger ingests and uses for food. A chigger usually goes unnoticed for one to three hours after it starts feeding. During this period the chigger quietly injects its digestive saliva. After a few hours your skin reacts by hardening the cells on all sides of the saliva path, eventually forming a hard, tube-like structure called a stylostome. Nail polish doesn't work The most popular home remedy for which there is little justification is to dab nail polish on the welt. This cannot "smother" the chigger because it has not burrowed into your skin, and it was probably scratched off long ago. The only benefit to applying a thick coat of nail polish is that it helps to remind you not to scratch the bite. Chronic scratching will only cause the stylostome to further irritate. Scratching deep enough to remove the stylostome will probably cause a secondary infection that is worse than the original chigger bite. If you do scratch, disinfect the chigger bite with topical antiseptics." http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/avoid-outdoor-pests/chiggers |
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Quoted:
Nail polish doesn't work The most popular home remedy for which there is little justification is to dab nail polish on the welt. This cannot "smother" the chigger because it has not burrowed into your skin, and it was probably scratched off long ago. The only benefit to applying a thick coat of nail polish is that it helps to remind you not to scratch the bite. I couldn't give a damn whether there's a justification for it or not. I know there's nothing inside the bite to kill. I also know that when I put nail polish on the bites they sting for a second and then quickly feel better. |
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Quoted: They are not "bites". The little critters are burying in. In a few days your body will eventually kill them. You are fortunate they did not attack the gonad area. Try not to claw your skin so bad it leaves sores. Try alcohol, both internal and external. That is a popular MYTH. |
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One fine summer evening in Nashville, I walked through tall grass to do a quick site survey. By the time I walked back to the truck, THEY started to show their presence. I never itched so bad in my life! Chiggers? Well, if the were, they were a very fast acting sort. The next two days were fairly hellish. You could scratch to the bone and still want to scratch more. Really. I'd rather have another kidney stone attack than get hit that hard by chiggers. (Or whatever they were.) CJ |
| Get a small bottle of sulphur powder from the pharmacy. Only prevenative deal I've ever found while working in the woods everyday sunup to sundown. Sprinkle some in your socks and around your waistband and you should be good to go. I've heard others say you can take sulphur internally and get the same effect but I've never tried it. |
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I've come in with shitloads of ticks and chiggers. You can actually feel those fuckers walking on you. NEXT TIME... Immediately get in the tub draw warm water, and add BLEACH.... ( maybe a cup ) not so strong that it's going to burn your skin. Do it right away, before they dig in. It works great. Do not put your exposed clothes back on... duh.... as a matter of fact, get them the hell away from everything else... pets too. If you hit the woods without deet, WD40 works. I've sprayed the shit out of my belt line, pants cuffs, neck area etc... it works. Nail polish DOES NOT work, if anything, it aggravates the spot, as salty sweat gets into the bite. They will last about a fuggin' WEEK. The bathtub with bleach seems to help a little ( after you've got em' ) as it drys your skin out a little, and - may - kill a few if you rub the area underwater. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: They are not "bites". The little critters are burying in. In a few days your body will eventually kill them. You are fortunate they did not attack the gonad area. Try not to claw your skin so bad it leaves sores. Try alcohol, both internal and external. IIRC, they are bites. What you're thinking of are scabies. I had a massive amount of chigger bites on my legs when I was younger... took me several months for it to finally heal up. Nothing like excruciatingly itchy sores to tempt you into scratching them back into existence! The dust mite larvae are long gone. The irritating part is the "straw" they make while trying to suck your blood. Only defense is to knock them off before the blood sucking starts. When I don't have repellent, I rub my legs every fifteen minutes to knock them off. It works. This^. By the time the itching starts, the larvae are gone. When I venture into chigger infested areas, I rub down my lower body vigerously every ten minutes or so. If I get any bites I treat them with a hydrocortison ointment for a few days to relieve the itch. |
