Weird Sores from Chigger Bites?

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.

I know this may sound wierd. But, my father was a hunter when I was growing up and we always put clear fingernail polish on his chigger bites. It suffocates the chiggers and they die. Hope it helps.

My son and I had the same problem. My doctor prescribed Triamcinolone 0.5% and it worked! I keep a tube for the next attack of mutant chiggers.

Apparently this is a recent problem. He knew exactly what to prescribe because his sister had them too.

Don't waste your time on other methods as I did.

we find that covering the bites with clear finger nail polish stops the itching and give the bites time to heal and the polish wears off

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!

K.

Hi J. I dont know about chigger bites but did they do allergy tests?? Is he allergic to any bug bites if so if he keeps picking the scabs they leave scars. My son had this problem with flea bites especially; they became red spots, sometimes as big as a quarter, bugs are attracted to dead skin; try sponges. and meds also attracts bugs my son said so try antibacterial soaps then have him use alcohol if tolerated and the sweat attracts bugs i used deodorant and anti persperant to help with his sweat look up bugs and try to find out what they look like and try showers not baths if tolerated and try calimine lotion typo ss but steven still has scars from these and yea Drs. didnt help me either he also had them on his arms,m if u have pets which I do 2 dogs 2 cats 2 cockatiels the flea meds i use is advantix plus its excellent no more flea problem also there is a mite called scabies they live under the skin but u need meds from dr on this 1-- you have to look it up on internet, try mayo-clinic also goodluck and take CARE D. HI J. HOW ARE THINGS GOING JUST WANT TO ADD ALSO BABY OIL KILLS FLEAS I DONT KNOW ABOUT OTHER BUGS; PEOPLE TRIED NAIL POLISH BUT THE OIL ALSO SUFFOCATES THEM GL AND TC D.

I've always use clear finger nail polish to cover and smother my chigger bites. If he's been scratching and the sores are open this technic may be painful. They do however have actual chigger medicine at walmart that does the same thing. (get the clear medicine that drys like polish - the cream never worked for me)

My daughter's bites did that several years ago; we were told to scrub them with Dial soap while bathing and scrub under her fingernails with a nailbrush and Dial as well; Then at night, she slept in my husband's tube socks so she couldn't dig at them; she had scars for a while, but soon disappeared and Dial seems to be a cure for a lot of sores!However, if it becomes Infitigo (sp?)he will have to take an oral antibiotic to clear it up.

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.

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.

I would ask the doctor to test for a staph infection.

Hello J.. Has she tried any cortizone on them? Also there is something that is called Sulfer. U can get it at the pharmacy at Walmart. It is a yellow powder substance and it does smell like sulfer. U just rub that on the infected areas. My husband has used this for chigger bites and it has worked very well. If that doesnt help I would suggest a Dermotologist. Something else might be going on with that. I hope this helps and Good Luck.

J. - 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.

I would try talking to your doctor about using a prescription for (sorry can't remember the medical term for it), body lice. There is something one can take baths in.

Several years ago, I broke out in welts from itching so much. I don't recall having anything that looked like chigger bits; however, my doctor said it was apparent that some (similar to fleas) was eating at my skin from the inside out. While we had outdoor pets at that time and a grass lawn between the house and the car, including a wood desk, I rarely was outdoors which seemed odd to be for picking it up.

Outside of that, I have had chigger bits twice since living in Missouri, but don't recall what I used to get rid of them successfully. The thing to figure out if it really is chigger bites you are dealing with or something else. Once you find the problem you can better treat it and not just going after the symptoms which can lead to a reoccurance.

My sister had a similiar problem with her daughter. The doc told her that it was from the natural staph that is on our skin - not the dangerous one that everone is worried about. They prescribed an antibiotic ointment called bacitracin and they healed right up. As far as the scratching at night try to get the child to wear mittens to bed if they are willing. That way the sores do not get "scratched" causing an even worse infection. Hope that helps! E.

Hi My in-laws use to put clear fingernail polish on chigger bites it seem to work

This sounds more like seed tick bites than chiggers. They are really bad around the Midwest now due to all the deer. I as well as a lot of people have an allergic reaction to them. That sounds like what is happening with your nephew. Your sister might suggest that possibility to the Dr. I use antibiotic ointment on them and watch for a rash when I get bitten. When the bite is too bad the Dr. has put me on doxycycline. Hope this helps.

The only thing that seems to work on Chigger bites for my kids is to put clear fingernail polish over them, the idea is to smother them. The fingernail polish flakes off easily & it has to stay on until they are healed, so I have also used superglue(just a dot over the bite, but you don't want to put that on an open sore, it stings badly) I hope this helps...

Believe or not try clear nail polish on the bites.

You might want to try Tea Tree Oil. That stuff works wonders for many things!

Poor little guy.
I use to take care of a little girl who was allergic to chiggers and masquitos so if she was bit by one at my house I would dab some vinegar on them. It only smells for a short time. Do this several times a day and they will dry up.
Hope this helps.

Hi J.! I'm sorry to hear about your Nephew's chigger bites. I maybe able to help! I'm a Independent Rep for a Company called JoyUSA and we have wonderful products for skin conditions such as bug bites, rashs, dry skin, etc. My Website http://www.freewebs.com/bttybeal is posted on mommasourse for these miracle products. Please take a look and discover for yourself what our products can do for your Nephew. I know alot of people are skeptical on products they have never heard of or tried before, but believe me, these work. Take Care.

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!