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Rebecca
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| Posted: April 12 2006 at 3:50pm | IP Logged
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I have a mystery bite(s) to describe. I am hoping someone can help. I worked outside in our flower beds yesterday, turning over the hard soil. I woke up this morning with 20-30 red, itchy welts on my abdomen. I don't know if something got under my clothes while I was outside or whether something was feasting on me in my sleep.
To further add to the mystery, I did take a hot bath last night before bed. Also, I was sleeping with my baby and toddler for most of the night and neither of them got a single bite. No one else in the family has ever been bitten at night so I do not think it could be bed bugs (  ). I am at a loss....
Any ideas?
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JennGM
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Have you ever experienced chigger bites?
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Jennifer G. Miller
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JennGM
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| Posted: April 12 2006 at 3:56pm | IP Logged
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How Stuff Works: What Are Chiggers and How do They Bite?
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Rebecca
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No Jenn, not that I know of...what do you know about them? Do you know what their bites look like?
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JennGM
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Chigger Bites. This page has loads of links for images and information...
We joke that chiggers like certain types of blood. We'd go outside and only my mother would get them. I never knew what she was talking about for years! 
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Family in Feast and Feria
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Rebecca
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Thanks for the link Jenn. It sounds like it could be chiggers except that according to that sight, they supposedly come off in the shower. I did take a bath after I was outside so that doesn't make sense.(Maybe I didn't scrub hard enough! Better get out the brillo pads next time.  ) Seriously though, I will have to do more research and see what it takes to kill them. They sure are itchy! It's making me crazy....
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JennGM
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That part about the bath does make it inconsistent with chiggers, unless it wasn't very hot water.
If it's around the waistband area, it's likely it is chiggers. And they are itchy devils!
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Family in Feast and Feria
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cathhomeschool
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My youngest got 4 chigger bites a few weeks ago. We'd never had them before. The centers of the bites should get white if they are chiggers.
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Janette (4 boys - 22, 21, 15, 14)
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Rebecca
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cathhomeschool wrote:
| My youngest got 4 chigger bites a few weeks ago. We'd never had them before. The centers of the bites should get white if they are chiggers. |
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I don't see any white...just look like redder than normal mosquito bites...sort of  . What did you do to get rid of them? Now I am paranoid that the are in the bed because when I woke up, thats when I found the bites. Washing sheets, clothes, children...lots of washing today! I already border on a paranoid personality...this chigger thing might put me over the edge! Thanks all for your help!
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cathhomeschool
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| Posted: April 12 2006 at 10:29pm | IP Logged
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Rebecca wrote:
| I don't see any white...just look like redder than normal mosquito bites...sort of . |
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Supposedly, chigger bites will have that white cap sooner or later. It did take a couple of days for my son's to get white.
There's not much you can do beyond the good scrubbing in the shower (right after you come in from the garden) and some Benadryl (or something for the itching). One comforting thing I found out was that scratching usually removes the chigger before it is done feeding, and the chigger dies within hours. So you probably don't need to worry about the sheets (if they are chigger bites).
If it's any comfort, dh said, "She sounds just like you!"
JennGM wrote:
| That part about the bath does make it inconsistent with chiggers, unless it wasn't very hot water. |
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Another note -- Bathing or scratching will get chiggers off, but if they have already bitten you, the itching can go on for days and days (until your body neutralizes the saliva in the bite).
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Janette (4 boys - 22, 21, 15, 14)
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