What's Biting Me
Still with the bites on my ass. And shoulders. And calves. And forearms. Two nights ago, I had two bites so itchy that they woke me up in the middle of the night and I lay there trying not to scratch them. Doing three part breath and letting the thought of scratching them come into my head and then trying to let it go.
Eventually, matter won over mind and I gave those fuckers a good going over. Of course it didn't help in the long run. It never does. But the first moments of relief were on the orgasmic continuum.
After the scratching that didn't help for long I got up and put toothpaste on them, which is what we did with mosquito bites when I was a kid. It helped and I got back to sleep. But I woke up still itchy and not a little frustrated.
I have performed approximately one hundred internet searches in an attempt to figure out what is biting me, all to no avail. So while I cleaned up after breakfast yesterday morning, Eric poked around the interweb on my laptop, looking for more information. As far as we can tell, they're not spider bites, because bites are hardly ever spider bites. They're not bed bugs, because other than me getting a series of bites every couple weeks there is not one whit of hard bed bug evidence. It seems likely to me that after 8 or so weeks of bites, I would have not a dearth of evidence but an infestation.
We narrowed it down to some kind of mite other than scabies* to which we both may be allergic, since Eric gets the occasional bite too. It may also be urticaria, which is a fancy word for hives. Which I know I am already prone to getting, because they pop up after I pet Freya sometimes. And also sometimes on my face after I eat. They can also be caused by microscopic things that cry tiny battle cries while you sleep: slavering dust mites or mold shooting off its spores. Huzzah.
Last night I vacuumed my mattress and emptied the dehumidifier in the basement and we'll see if that stops the whatever it is.
Owing to the pet and food hives, I have already added urticaria to Megan's List of Ridiculous Ailments. If it's going to make your life uncomfortable but not kill you, there's a pretty likely chance I either have, have had, or will have it. Scratch scratch.
*I actually got nauseous when Eric explained that they live and breed under your skin. That is not something I knew about scabies. As an aside to Grace, the thought makes me want to scratch my palm with my middle finger to ward off the queasiness.
10 comments:
I'm palm scratching for you, man. Erg.
Have you considered fleas? I know it sounds gross (but can't be grosser than bedbugs, scabies or spiders, can it?). Fleas don't usually bother people, but some people they do. My legs got covered in fleabites one summer after we got a new puppy. eeeuuuchhh...it was nasty.
Then again, if you're getting bitten above the waist, fleas might not be the answer. Who knows. Can't hurt to check it out the cat though. (My foolproof tip for catching and destroying fleas on an animal: put a little vaseline on the end of your finger and dab it on the flea. Then you can wipe it into a tissue and crush it. Take that, ya little bugger!)
thank you grace, i could feel the empathetic scritching.
thanks for the tip, patti! i had a bunch of go 'rounds with fleas several years ago now, and these are much different, quite a bit bigger, and only one or two in pretty random places. and freya's got a white belly, so they're pretty obvious on her. little fuckers. i'm glad it's not, because even if they're low on ick, man, are they hard to get rid of.
Gee, why don't you just throw out your mattress, clean the room with bleach (moth balls, Raid, take your pick) and buy a new bed if it's causing you so much irritation? It doesn't seem worth the continuing angst to keep trying to classify it. Just get rid of it....
Is that sarcasm? I only ask because it seems a little crazy to me to spend $350 on a new futon mattress when mine is only two years old and coat the room where I sleep in poison rather than spend some angst time figuring out if those actions are warranted. But that's just me.
If you are looking for a product to put on your bites. I would recommend Watkins. They have some sort of 'smelly' stuff that very powerful against bug bites.
Good luck!
We had the same problem a few years back -- something kept biting us in the night, randomly, causing insane itching. Sometimes weeks or even months would go by with nothing, then we'd get attacked again. We went mental trying to figure it out, combat it, live with it.... It finally stopped when we moved (for other reasons). We never had the problem again. Ever. So I reckon it was something in the house.. crawling out of the floorboards or something. Not much help, I know.
I have had the same problem for about 6 years. It happens every spring and disappears by fall. I have been diagnosed with Poison Ivy, Scabies, Epidurmal Multiforma, and Foliculitis. Last week a biopsy points to "bug bite". Nobody else in my family gets these bites and my home is meticulously clean. I bought a new mattress and bedding 2 years ago, launder my pillows regularly. I firmly believe it is dust mites that either love only me, OR, I am allergic. I am going to get one of those "Steam Buggy" products you see on late night infomercials and use it on my mattress (then cover my mattress with one of those allergy covers) and carpet. Everything else is getting washed on the sanitary cycle of my washing machine. I think I'm finally on to something. Hope this helps!
Hi i really hope you find the culprit for this. im having a living nightmare also along with my poor little 16month baby and my mum. The strange thing is no one can see anything at all and when we get bit you dont even feel anything its ludacris!! lol They seem to love to bite my ass lol :( and my stomache and sometimes at the back of my neck under my hair. They are very painful and sore to touch but have no idea when they appear. iv had this happen for nearl 3 years and still nothing ?? :( The strange thing was when i was pregnant they seemed to back off month me but the 1 time. It really upsets me to see my daughter with them though as she is so young its arwful i just wish the lil fuckers would go bite the shit outa someone else for a change lol please if anyone can help or tell me what it is thankyou xx im desperate!! ;))
I guess it's somewhat comforting to know that I'm not losing my mind, this is happening to others, as well. The scary thing is how long it can go on for some!! :O I just started getting bites about a month ago. Has anyone used a pest-control service?
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