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Suggest Post Chigger Bite Care
Question: I do believe I have chigger bites. Do or can they spread? And what is the best way to get rid of them? I've had them for a week and they don't seem to go away. I've used Benadryl spray and it seems like it's not helping. Plus some of them are blistering.
Brief Answer:
Post chigger bite care:
Detailed Answer:
Sorry you have chigger bites. I will give you some information about how to take care of the bites, assuming you are quite sure they are from chiggers.
The chiggers themselves do not stay on the skin for long and you usually do not actually feel when they bite. They migrate to find an easy place to attach, usually around the ankles or lower legs, waist band, or skin folds. Then they bite, feed, and after feeding they fall off. They do not stay burrowed under the skin, so you don't have to try to suffocate them. And they don't spread. Usually people start to itch within a few hours after the bite (after the chigger is already gone.) Your body's reaction will determine how long you are itchy, but usually it is just a few days. The intense itchiness lasts a few days but the red spots may last longer. BUT: if you are getting more bite looking welts, and if it is going on for a week without some improvement, either you are being exposed to new chiggers, or something else is causing the rash.
Taking a hot soapy shower when you come in will help prevent new chigger bites. Also any of the insect repellants will work to prevent them.
Treatment is riding out the itchiness with hydrocortisone cream or calamine lotion, and taking an oral antihistamine such as Zyrtec (or it's generic cetirizine).
The bite areas can get infected from scratching, and produce pus, but I have never encountered them creating fluid filled blisters.
You may want to go to your dr. or urgent care to sort out if these bites are chigger bites or not.
I hope this information helps.
Post chigger bite care:
Detailed Answer:
Sorry you have chigger bites. I will give you some information about how to take care of the bites, assuming you are quite sure they are from chiggers.
The chiggers themselves do not stay on the skin for long and you usually do not actually feel when they bite. They migrate to find an easy place to attach, usually around the ankles or lower legs, waist band, or skin folds. Then they bite, feed, and after feeding they fall off. They do not stay burrowed under the skin, so you don't have to try to suffocate them. And they don't spread. Usually people start to itch within a few hours after the bite (after the chigger is already gone.) Your body's reaction will determine how long you are itchy, but usually it is just a few days. The intense itchiness lasts a few days but the red spots may last longer. BUT: if you are getting more bite looking welts, and if it is going on for a week without some improvement, either you are being exposed to new chiggers, or something else is causing the rash.
Taking a hot soapy shower when you come in will help prevent new chigger bites. Also any of the insect repellants will work to prevent them.
Treatment is riding out the itchiness with hydrocortisone cream or calamine lotion, and taking an oral antihistamine such as Zyrtec (or it's generic cetirizine).
The bite areas can get infected from scratching, and produce pus, but I have never encountered them creating fluid filled blisters.
You may want to go to your dr. or urgent care to sort out if these bites are chigger bites or not.
I hope this information helps.
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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