It is not true that chiggers burrow! They really don't. Fingernail polish does nothing. The welt doesn't appear until about 6 hours after the bite, when the insect is long gone. (It is the larva that bites, not mature adults, and they don't lay eggs in the skin either.) Everything you experience with a chigger bite is an immune system reaction. I have had that ongoing itching in the past. There is nothing causing it, it's the immune system activating and forgetting to turn off, probably exacerbated by scratching. Homeopathics might help, ask at your health food store. I used to use one called Clear Skin, which is really for acne, but it helped me a lot. There are probably remedies on the market specific for insect bites, though. Oooh, I hope he gets some relief soon!
i had a huge problem with chiggers one time. i lived in the country area and was always in the woods. i went to the doctor and he gave me predinisone (a steroid) and it cleared right up. I find that odd that her doc said he could do nothing. even with him scratching they should have cleared up by now.
has she tried benedryl itch cream to get him to stop scratching? that helps me. watch out using sulpher, i don't doubt that it works but i know several people who are allergic. it seems to be a common allergy.
Hi, i live where there are alot of chiggers and we use preperation h on the bites, before you use this though, please make sure that the bites are not infected. The preperation h will shrink the chiggers and eventually kill them.
Are you sure its chiggers? Seed ticks are able to infest into the layers of the skin.
Chigger bits, on the legs of my 15 month old niece, were cured by placing socks on her hands after she was asleep for the night. She too scratched in her sleep. By putting something on her hands for four weeks in a row they finally healed up.
Hi My in-laws use to put clear fingernail polish on chigger bites it seem to work
Jessica - In our area, since last summer, there has been an outbreak of MRSA, a very serious staff virus. This has happened to my secretary's daughter, twice...at first thought it was a spider bite under her diaper area...tested positive for strep, treated w/ antibiotics, but it came back in same area. My daughters friend has a niece who was bitten by mesquitos and the same happened w/ her, she had to be hospitalized. One of my best friends nephews, age 13, was bitten by mesquitos @ scout camp, wouldn't heal, ended up being staff...thought it was cleared up, had to end up being treated again several times. Dr said he is a carrier. I have heard of other cases besides these that I personally know. Please have the parents ask the dr to simply test the bites to check for any infection. It couldn't hurt to check it out, the little boy has got to be suffering.
Sorry for the delay in responding, but it looks like I have an idea that nobody else recommended. Have you ever considered bed bugs? I know is sounds gross, but my friend had a reaction that the doctor thought was allergic hives. It was 2 months later that she discovered bed bugs in her bed! The way she found out about it was when she changed her sheets, there were small red blood stains on them. Bed bugs can be small (like the size of half of your pinky fingernail) and usually dark red in color (from the blood they suck out of you!) They are attracted to your carbon dioxide so they generally don't come out until it is dark, and you have been lying in the bed for about 20 minutes. They nest in wood. You can take a spray bottle of mostly rubbing alcohol (mix 10:1 alcohol to water) and spray the wooden areas around the headboard/footboard, etc. and watch closely. They will try to get away from the alcohol and you can then see them.
I hope this is not your sister's problem, because it is very expensive to get rid of them. And, since he came home from the hunting trip with them, it doesn't sound like a conncetion. But, if he seems to especially have a problem at night, maybe it's worth checking.
By the way, these bugs are picked up at hotels and it seems to be becoming a bigger and bigger issue (even, and especially at expensive hotels!). Now I always travel with a spray bottle filled with alcohol to check before I stay in the room!
Hope you find a cure!
Karin
we have had good luck with equate head lice shampoo, rub it on them at night with a q tip and let them air dry, should dry them up, its the pyrthiate in the shampoo that kills them. lots of people disagree about them burrowing in but we really think they do some under the skin damage some how, and the sores will leave scars. also i highly recommend putting the paint on skin bandage after the shampoo drys out to keep them from being agitated from bedding.