Mergath Posted June 20, 2017 Share Posted June 20, 2017 About a week ago dd came home from playing in the neighbor's yard with her feet covered in what looked like mosquito bites. They've been itching for a week and don't really seem to be getting any better, so I brought her to the clinic today to find out what was going on, and the doctor said scabies. :scared: So we gave her a shower (dd, not the doctor) and slathered her in the prescription cream. I'm washing the bedding now. However, after reading about scabies online (which I don't recommend doing because you'll end up convinced that short of torching everything you own, there's no way to get rid of it) now I'm wondering if they might be chigger bites instead. They're only on the tops of her feet and a few scattered bumps on her forearms. They look exactly like mosquito bites, and I can't see a burrow anywhere. She doesn't have a single bump in the webbing between her fingers or anywhere else they supposedly like to hang out. Dh and I have zero symptoms. They're itchy, but it seems to come and go. Interestingly, this is the same doctor who told my dh a couple years ago that his medication-related rash was scabies. I swear, I think the woman thinks any kind of itchy bump is scabies. She didn't even look too closely at dd's rash, just glanced at her feet from across the exam room and said, "It's scabies." Is there any way for me to tell if this is chigger bites rather than scabies? I don't want to have to slather dd in insecticide again in a week if I don't have to. I also really, really don't want to have to slather myself in insecticide as a precaution, given that I'm pregnant. Would it be worth getting a second opinion and having them do a skin test? If it is scabies, is it really that hard to get rid of? We have carpet in every room but the kitchen and bathroom, and a huge fabric sectional that we sit on every day to do school. I don't even know how I'd vacuum it well enough to suck up every single microscopic mite that might be lurking in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted June 20, 2017 Share Posted June 20, 2017 (edited) DBL oops Edited June 20, 2017 by Slartibartfast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted June 20, 2017 Share Posted June 20, 2017 I have seen someone with scabies and there were furrows, they seemed to go for the creases like inside the arm or behind the knee. They weren't just staying on the tops of the feet, not at all. The scabies were easy to get rid of with some prescribed ointment and never came back I think you may be correct and it does sound more like chiggers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternalsummer Posted June 20, 2017 Share Posted June 20, 2017 Sounds like chiggers to me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted June 20, 2017 Share Posted June 20, 2017 The thing about chiggers is that they take several hours to really manifest. Like overnight sometimes. And they also like to go to places like underware line, behind the knees, armpits etc. I have never seen a chigger bite show up so quickly or be limited to open areas like what you described. I would get a second opinion. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jann in TX Posted June 20, 2017 Share Posted June 20, 2017 Are you sure they were not flea bites? Fleas are active this time of year. We have chiggers for the first time in years-- I do not walk in our pasture without jeans and socks being sprayed... This seems more logical if the bites were visible as soon as your dd came home. In some people there is a small bump. The itching can last 1-2 weeks. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted June 20, 2017 Share Posted June 20, 2017 My husband got what he thought was chigger bites, but it turned out to be contact dermatitis. The doctor gave him a prescription for a strong steroid cream and it went away. So that is another possibility. He had many itchy spots- on his legs and a few on his arms. No widespread rash, just spots which is why we thought it was some bugs or arachnids. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bensmom Posted June 20, 2017 Share Posted June 20, 2017 The thing about chiggers is that they take several hours to really manifest. Like overnight sometimes. And they also like to go to places like underware line, behind the knees, armpits etc. I have never seen a chigger bite show up so quickly or be limited to open areas like what you described. I would get a second opinion. OMG. Scarlett, you just brought back a horrible summer memory where a friend and I had a wonderful afternoon picking wild blackberries... only to wake up the next morning with a ton of chigger bites where "the sun don't shine." It was my only experience with chiggers, but true to what Scarlett posted, it was hours before I noticed and they weren't on my more exposed parts. I vote fleas. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted June 20, 2017 Share Posted June 20, 2017 OMG. Scarlett, you just brought back a horrible summer memory where a friend and I had a wonderful afternoon picking wild blackberries... only to wake up the next morning with a ton of chigger bites where "the sun don't shine." It was my only experience with chiggers, but true to what Scarlett posted, it was hours before I noticed and they weren't on my more exposed parts. I vote fleas. Yes, I have had a couple of horrible experiences with chiggers. Shudder. My SIL was visiting from San Diego area and I looked out the window to see her standing in knee high grass in the woods next to our house. I made her come in and we washed her legs up to her thighs and I hosed off her shoes. She had no idea what she was risking. LOL 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted June 20, 2017 Author Share Posted June 20, 2017 The thing about chiggers is that they take several hours to really manifest. Like overnight sometimes. And they also like to go to places like underware line, behind the knees, armpits etc. I have never seen a chigger bite show up so quickly or be limited to open areas like what you described. I would get a second opinion. Dd was outside playing for probably four or five hours. This time of year the neighborhood kids run around in a herd for most of the day. I just don't know, though. We're kind of on the edge of chigger territory according to the maps, but we've had a really hot spring so maybe that brought them further north? Are you sure they were not flea bites? Fleas are active this time of year. We have chiggers for the first time in years-- I do not walk in our pasture without jeans and socks being sprayed... This seems more logical if the bites were visible as soon as your dd came home. In some people there is a small bump. The itching can last 1-2 weeks. From the descriptions and pictures I just googled, flea bites are a possibility. I didn't even realize fleas live outside. (Silly, I know, but we haven't had to deal with fleas so I didn't really think about it.) I thought people were only exposed to them via pets. Dd's bites are looking a lot better this morning after the permethrin, which from what I'm reading should not happen if it really is scabies. She also said the itching is almost gone and it didn't get any worse after she took a hot shower, and apparently with scabies the itching is supposed to be horrible after the mites are exposed to heat. I think I'm going to take her in to see someone else and get a second opinion. I might try that marker test to see if I can see any burrows, too. Thanks, everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted June 20, 2017 Author Share Posted June 20, 2017 I tried doing the marker test (where you color over the bumps and wipe it off, and the burrows will be visible from the marker) on her feet, and didn't find a single burrow. You can tell from where the ink soaked in that there's a huge bite on each bump though, so most likely something insect-related rather than an allergic rash. Probably not scabies, though, unless she has the most atypical case in history. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Okra Posted June 20, 2017 Share Posted June 20, 2017 That does not sound like scabies. Scabies likes it where it is dark. She most likely has something else IMHO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted June 20, 2017 Share Posted June 20, 2017 That does not sound like scabies. Scabies likes it where it is dark. She most likely has something else IMHO If it is chiggers or fleas the bites will subside after a week or so. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted June 20, 2017 Author Share Posted June 20, 2017 Well, I have an appointment for a second opinion at 1:30 today, so hopefully I'll find out for sure what's going on. You guys have been super helpful, thank you! :D 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted June 20, 2017 Author Share Posted June 20, 2017 Went to the appointment and two different doctors looked at her and did a skin scraping. The scraping was negative for scabies, and the doctors said if it is scabies it's about the most unusual presentation they've ever seen. I'm still going to finish washing everything just in case, but it sounds like it's probably some kind of insect bites or possibly swimmer's itch. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted June 20, 2017 Share Posted June 20, 2017 Went to the appointment and two different doctors looked at her and did a skin scraping. The scraping was negative for scabies, and the doctors said if it is scabies it's about the most unusual presentation they've ever seen. I'm still going to finish washing everything just in case, but it sounds like it's probably some kind of insect bites or possibly swimmer's itch. That is great news. As much as I hate chiggers I think scabies is worse! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 20, 2017 Share Posted June 20, 2017 Went to the appointment and two different doctors looked at her and did a skin scraping. The scraping was negative for scabies, and the doctors said if it is scabies it's about the most unusual presentation they've ever seen. I'm still going to finish washing everything just in case, but it sounds like it's probably some kind of insect bites or possibly swimmer's itch. The fact that you have a doctor who thinks everything is scabies is just cracking me up, but what great news your daughter doesn't have to deal with that nastiness! I hope her skin feels better soon and there are no repeat mystery bite incidents! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherGoose Posted June 20, 2017 Share Posted June 20, 2017 it might also be thrips. My poor mother weeded my flower bed for me when I was pregnant and ended up with them all over her back so badly she had to get a prescription treatment. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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