# I need help



## dixie_belle (Oct 20, 2011)

OK, here's my problem. I am getting bitten by something. Can't figure out what. And I'm the only one who has this. Hubby is bite free. I've looked really well at both beds - no bed bugs. (And if they were in the bed, wouldn't we both be getting bites?) My bites are very small, fluid filled and itch like the very dickens. I'm thinking they are coming from the chickens? I haven't seen anything crawling on them but I am the only one who goes out to feed/collect eggs, etc so maybe that's where I'm getting the bites from. Now, first of all, I don't go out there without my muck boots on. They come up to mid calf. And most of my bites are on my ankles and legs. But I'm scratching myself silly. So please, if anyone has any suggestions before I scratch off all my skin, I'm all ears.


----------



## Sonya (Oct 20, 2011)

It could be fleas...not everyone has a reaction to fleas...some people can be getting bit and not even leave a mark.

I'm like that with mosquitos...I get bit and they swell and itch for weeks...my husband can feel them when they bite him sometimes but they don't even leave a mark.

Could also just be a rash of somekind...I changed soaps once and I got a rash that looked like tiny little bites (that were puss filled). Have you changed anything lately...soap/detergent/etc?

Take some benadryl and see if that helps with the itching until you can figure out what's causing it.


----------



## Riverrose28 (Oct 20, 2011)

It sounds like chiggers, they are around this time of year. Wah with soap and water then scrub with betadine. If it spreads and the blister get really large you shoud go to the doctor for some medicine.


----------



## bevann (Oct 20, 2011)

If you have any kind of birds it could be mites.They are very small and difficult to see.I had many bites around my midsection earlier this year.Had itching in my bra-looked down and saw something very tiny moving.Went on line for photos of bites-that was it.Birds also carry lice which can cause itching in any species.Had them too from birds in my barn.Did I mention I HATE birds!!Lice and mites on me,lice on my horses and a fire which ruined our best tractor from a birds nest in a place on the tractor that couldn't be seen.For mite treatment I went to WalMart got stuff for crawling insects and sprayed furtinure rugs etc.Good luck with getting rid of whatever is causing the problem


----------



## Riverrose28 (Oct 20, 2011)

Bev, chiggers are a type of mite, and yes birds and chickens get them, they are also in hay fields in the tall grass, all over. Next time use some betadine, it works, my farm hand got them so bad he had blisters as big as quarters down in his socks and on his feet, they seek out the warm areas of the body. Back in the day we used to put nail polish on the blisters to smother them, but betadine works better.


----------



## Marty (Oct 20, 2011)

Take thy self and runneth to the nearest Pharmacist !!! Go! Make haste!


----------



## shorthorsemom (Oct 20, 2011)

chiggers. Horses can get them too. they are a pain.


----------



## SampleMM (Oct 20, 2011)

What about scabies?


----------



## rimmerpaints (Oct 20, 2011)

I agree sounds like chiggers! I hate those talk about itchy


----------



## Riverrose28 (Oct 21, 2011)

Walmart sells a salve just for this, it's in the area with the calamine lotion.


----------



## chandab (Oct 21, 2011)

dixie_belle said:


> OK, here's my problem. I am getting bitten by something. Can't figure out what. And I'm the only one who has this. Hubby is bite free. I've looked really well at both beds - no bed bugs. (And if they were in the bed, wouldn't we both be getting bites?) My bites are very small, fluid filled and itch like the very dickens. I'm thinking they are coming from the chickens? I haven't seen anything crawling on them but I am the only one who goes out to feed/collect eggs, etc so maybe that's where I'm getting the bites from. Now, first of all, I don't go out there without my muck boots on. They come up to mid calf. And most of my bites are on my ankles and legs. But I'm scratching myself silly. So please, if anyone has any suggestions before I scratch off all my skin, I'm all ears.


I've had very similar bites, just around my ankles and they itch to no end. I still don't know what they are/were, but I have scars on both ankles from whatever it is (they haven't not bitten hubby). The only that even remotely slowed/stopped the itch was Sarna Lotion, it was a lifesaver, not a single other anti-itch lotion/cream/gel worked.

I get it at the local drugstore. Found it at Drugstore.com so you know what it is:

http://www.drugstore.com/sarna-original-anti-itch-lotion/qxp17137?catid=182918&fromsrch=sarna+lotion I swear its a lifesaver for severe itchies. [i use it on extreme dry skin too, and it works for that as well.]


----------



## SampleMM (Oct 21, 2011)

chandab said:


> I've had very similar bites, just around my ankles and they itch to no end. I still don't know what they are/were, but I have scars on both ankles from whatever it is (they haven't not bitten hubby). The only that even remotely slowed/stopped the itch was Sarna Lotion, it was a lifesaver, not a single other anti-itch lotion/cream/gel worked.
> 
> I get it at the local drugstore. Found it at Drugstore.com so you know what it is:
> 
> http://www.drugstore.com/sarna-original-anti-itch-lotion/qxp17137?catid=182918&fromsrch=sarna+lotion I swear its a lifesaver for severe itchies. [i use it on extreme dry skin too, and it works for that as well.]



I agree with the Sarna Lotion being a lifesaver. It is really awesome stuff! I used it daily for my incapacitated father-in-law. He was never itchy and usually people who can't move and get out of bed itch a lot. I will warn you, it does have a really weird scent. It's not bad but it certainly isn't a great smell either.


----------



## chandab (Oct 21, 2011)

SampleMM said:


> I agree with the Sarna Lotion being a lifesaver. It is really awesome stuff! I used it daily for my incapacitated father-in-law. He was never itchy and usually people who can't move and get out of bed itch a lot. I will warn you, it does have a really weird scent. It's not bad but it certainly isn't a great smell either.


I kind of like the smell, its kind of a menthol type smell.


----------



## dixie_belle (Oct 25, 2011)

Well, I've ordered the Sama Lotion, should arrive in a couple of days (hope I have some skin left by then, sigh). And have done some research. Seems like I have narrowed it down to two possible causes. 1) I have recently started using a new soap, Caress, because it smells so good. I've since gone back to my Dove. or 2) Since I am the only one affected, and I am the only one to take care of the chickens, I am assumimg they have some type of mite. Research has shown that chickens can be aflicted with any number of nasty mites. So, since I had to go into town anyway to get horse de-wormer, I bought a container of Sevin dust. We moved the coop to a new location, cleaned out the nesting boxes, dusted the outside permiter of their enclosed area, as well as the nesting boxes themselves. Hopefully this will cure the problem, although I did not see any evidence of mites (they look like specks of pepper) on the chickens or in the nests. And the chickens thought I was nuts manhandling them and searching underneath all their feathers.

I've changed sheets, washed them in hot water and bleach and looked really well on mattresses, box springs, etc for any sign of inside bug and haven't seen a thing.

Hopefully I'll stop this darn itching soon. Seems like every day I have new bites in places I didn't know I had!!


----------



## Riverrose28 (Oct 25, 2011)

Well my daughter worked for a dermatologist, yes the sarna lotion will offer some relief but if it is mites, like chiggers you will need to kill them, as they get under the skin. I recommend going to the doctor or get a mite killing salve. They sell one at Walmart, look in the section were the calamine lotion is, it says it kills chiggers, and even if it is some othe mites this lotion will work, also try betadine solution.


----------



## Katiean (Oct 25, 2011)

I also have chickens. My problem is that they lay their eggs in my hay. I also keep shavings in there. My Guinea Pigs get mites from them all the time. The only way I have been able to control them is I lightly sprinkle cat flea and mite powder in the cage bottom before I add the shavings. I do not have as much problems when I use wood pellets as bedding.


----------



## dixie_belle (Oct 28, 2011)

Well, today for the first time in weeks I am not itchy. I still haven't decided what is causing it, but I have started a new routine which seems to be working. First of all, just in case it is ciggers or something I am picking up from outside, before going out of doors, I spray with deep woods off. Upon coming back inside from chores, the clothes go directly into the washer in hot water. Then I have switched soaps to Dove (in case it was an allergy to Caress). After showering, I use lice shampoo like a skin cream. I rub a small amount in my arms and legs and anywhere else I have had bites. This will kill any chiggers or mites left on my skin. I let that dry(only takes a sec) and then I apply the Sarna lotion. My arms and legs are literally covered with hundreds of little tiny scabs from all the bites. It's no wonder I was going crazy with the itching. But I have been doing this for two days now and today was the first day I was completly itch free. I am going to continue for a couple of days and then just do the clothes spraying. I have also dusted the hen house quite liberally with Seven dust. Hopefully I have covered all my bases and won't be getting any more bites. I'm telling you though, for a couple of days there I thought I was going to go insane. I literally scratched from the time I got up until the time I went to bed. This seems to be working as I don't think I had any new areas today. Now all I have to do is get all these little sores to heal. Hopefully BEFORE my daughter gets married on Nov. 18. I don't really want to be seen in public with all these sores all over me. ha ha ha


----------

