Solving the Mystery of My Itchy Bites

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around identifying the source of itchy bites experienced by a participant, with considerations of various potential culprits such as fleas, mosquitoes, shingles, scabies, and chiggers. The inquiry includes personal experiences and observations regarding the bites' location, timing, and the participant's environment.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant reports experiencing itchy bites behind the left knee, occurring over a week, while their spouse has no bites.
  • Another suggests that fleas may have bitten the participant and then fallen off, but questions arise due to the ongoing nature of the bites.
  • A participant mentions being away on a cruise, indicating that the bites started before the trip, complicating the timeline.
  • Some participants propose that the bites could be shingles, but others challenge this by questioning the similarity of symptoms.
  • One participant shares their experience with flea bites in different locations, suggesting that some people may be more prone to bites.
  • Another participant mentions a pod-mate diagnosed with scabies, raising concerns about potential transmission.
  • Chiggers are suggested as a possible cause, with one participant agreeing that this makes more sense than other options.
  • Disagreement arises regarding the possibility of scabies, with one participant providing reasons for why they believe their symptoms do not match.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express multiple competing views regarding the source of the bites, with no consensus reached on a definitive cause. The discussion remains unresolved as various hypotheses are explored.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference personal experiences and observations, but there are limitations in the assumptions made about the bites' origins, including the potential for misidentification of symptoms and the influence of environmental factors.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals experiencing unexplained itchy bites, those interested in pest identification, or anyone seeking to understand potential causes of skin irritations may find this discussion relevant.

DaveC426913
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I'm trying to figure out where I'm getting these bites from. Skeets or fleas or whatever.

I've got about six bites in the soft crook behind my left knee. None behind the right knee.
They are very itchy.
They have been occurring over at least a week or more. Still occurring, in fact.
I've been wearing long pants, so no shorts.
My wife sits on the same couch as I and she has no bites. Same with bed.
Yes, I've been around cats and dogs but no one of them over the week+ that this has been occurring.
My office is carpeted, but I'm almost alone in my pod, and none of my pod-mates have animals.

I know it's flea season, making them a very likely culprit, and I've seen mosquitos even this late in the season, but why only me and why only in that specific spot?
 
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Once fleas have gorged, they fall off, or so I have read. So maybe you had one flea, it ate well, then fell off outside the house/office, end of bites.

I read an awful lot about fleas last year when I was being attacked.
 
Except that they're continuing. A bite or two every few days over the last couple of weeks.

I should mention that for one of those weeks I was away on a cruise - but I'm afraid that'll have people barking up the wrong tree. I got my first batch of bites before going on the cruise - they were itchy enough that I bought some Hydrocortizone cream to take on my trip. Now I'm back, and I've got another bite or two.
 
DaveC426913 said:
Except that they're continuing. A bite or two every few days over the last couple of weeks.

I should mention that for one of those weeks I was away on a cruise - but I'm afraid that'll have people barking up the wrong tree. I got my first batch of bites before going on the cruise - they were itchy enough that I bought some Hydrocortizone cream to take on my trip. Now I'm back, and I've got another bite or two.
So the little blood suckers are partial to you.
 
Could they be shingles?
 
OAQfirst said:
Could they be shingles?
Only if shingles manifest exactly like flea bites or skeeter bites...
 
These two occurrences can be hard to tell apart:

http://www.ahmf.com.au/images/guidelines/managing_herpes_zoster_fig02.jpg
http://all-pets-info.com/fleacontrol/flea%20bite%20image%20(small).jpg
 
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I was attacked for two two weeks or so by what I am sure were fleas. I don't know where they were coming from, at home I was fine but in the bus and in the lab I would get bites.

I'm a magnet to biting bugs, it could be the same for you (explaining that your wife is not being bugged).
 
  • #10
Last fall I got several{6} flea bites, the cat got 3, the dog was not itching, but discovered 10+ bites on her backside, my partner got none. I had to bomb the whole house, and spray the yard.
 
  • #11
DaveC426913 said:
I'm trying to figure out where I'm getting these bites from. Skeets or fleas or whatever.

I've got about six bites in the soft crook behind my left knee. None behind the right knee.
They are very itchy.
They have been occurring over at least a week or more. Still occurring, in fact.
I've been wearing long pants, so no shorts.
My wife sits on the same couch as I and she has no bites. Same with bed.
Yes, I've been around cats and dogs but no one of them over the week+ that this has been occurring.
My office is carpeted, but I'm almost alone in my pod, and none of my pod-mates have animals.

I know it's flea season, making them a very likely culprit, and I've seen mosquitos even this late in the season, but why only me and why only in that specific spot?

DaveC426913 ... you and all of your mysteries. Have you washed and changed your pants? I wonder if there are any bugs that like to reside in that one area but are small not to be noticed.

Wipe the site with Isopropanol then apply some Calamine lotion. If it happens again then isolate the area , put something over it , if it continues then you either have incredibly small bugs or some type of event that is intrinsic to your body.
 
  • #12
OAQfirst said:
Well, I think they sometimes do. Can you tell if they run a nerve line?
Yah, I read about that. No, not really. One on the side of the knee, three in the crook, one on the meat of the calf.
 
  • #13
Great.

My pod-mate was just diagnosed with scabies.

But I'm pretty sure it's unrelated.
 
  • #15
Sounds like you've got an infestation of http://mdc.mo.gov/nathis/arthopo/chiggers/" They are bad in the fall but can be easily controlled outdoors by mowing and with pesticides. I find the chiggers need something like socks and long pants to hold on to. If you walk in an infested area with shorts and sandals, you won't suffer any bites on your lower legs.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #16
Yeah, you know, chiggers makes more sense.
 
  • #17
DaveC426913 said:
Yeah, you know, chiggers makes more sense.
If your co-worker has scabies (mites) why would you think you didn't pick some up?
 
  • #18
Evo said:
If your co-worker has scabies (mites) why would you think you didn't pick some up?
1] I'm not intimate with him.
2] The symptoms are all wrong. My bites are manifesting exactly like skeeter/flea/chigger bites, not scabies.
3] The doctor doubts it.
4] And finally: the timing is completely wrong. I started getting my bites two weeks ago. He only had his "mattress incident" this week.
 
  • #19
DaveC426913 said:
1] I'm not intimate with him.
2] The symptoms are all wrong. My bites are manifesting exactly like skeeter/flea/chigger bites, not scabies.
3] The doctor doubts it.
4] And finally: the timing is completely wrong. I started getting my bites two weeks ago. He only had his "mattress incident" this week.
Maybe you infected him.

Have you been intimate with chiggers? :rolleyes:

Last year I thought I had bed bugs, but it turned out to be fleas.
 

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