Holy cow....I have chigger bites all over my feet

[harper]

I went out bird watching Sunday and came home with some unwelcome visitors. I thought my feet were on fire today...my socks and shoes really irritated the bites to the point where I have big itchy blisters on my ankles.

I stopped and got some hydrocortisol cream and something call "chigarid". You dab it on the bites and it dries like clear fingernail polish. It has camphor, phenol and menthol.

If anyone has any foolproof home aids please chime in, I'm pretty miserable here.

[Dookus]

1. what exactly is

a "chigger"? I grew up in NY and have lived in California for 20 years. We never had 'em, I guess.

[donco6]

6. Tiny little buggies

I don't know that I've ever seen one, just the aftermath. The itchiest bites ever - way worse than mosquitoes. Hate 'em!

[Dookus]

8. are they flying critters?

or jumping ones? Similar to fleas?

[donco6]

9. Not flying

Jumping - yes, like fleas. Blood-suckers. Embed themselves in your, uh, tender flesh.

[curlyred]

2. Nail polish will suffocate those nasty little things

What are chiggers?

A supersized, redneck tick. :)

I remember one summer visiting relatives in Georgia, my mom had me scared to death to step outside, between her tales of chigger madness and evil snakes behind every pine tree.

[donco6]

3. Chigger-rid is the BEST.

When I was a kid, we had a picnic in the park, and we all sat in the grass. Sat. For hours. So when we came home we were all kinda uncomfortable "down there." I'll bet we went through one of those little bottles in one night plastering our thighs.

Ugh, chiggers! Glad I live in Colorado now, where they don't exist.

[Misunderestimator]

4. Soap Scum...

Spread soap suds over the bites and leave it on. It smothers them and kills them... at least that's the wive's tale I grew up with in Texas... and it worked for me.

[SoCalDem]

5. Here's what to do..

In a shallow basin, pour alcohol (rubbing alcohol..not whiskey) over your feet.. then get some rhuligel from the drug store..

(not the spray kind)..

That stuff works well, and will coombat the URGE TO SCRATCH..

I once slept on a beach at a lake in Kansas (don't ask why:P) and woke up COVERED with them :(

Oatmeal bath and bakingsoda helps too..

I feel your pain

[SoCalDem]

11. lots of tips here too

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=chigger+relief

[harper]

12. I knew they were a possibility

so I took a hot bath as soon as I got home. So at least I limited the damage to below the knee. In some of my past adventures I've just been covered with them also. The worst itch ever, and they persist for WEEKS.

Thanks for the tips...I may go back to the store and get some Aveeno.

[tridim]

7. At least they're not on your.. ehem..

private regions. Growing up in chigger-land, aka Kansas City I was very familiar with that unpleasant fact of childhood.

[harper]

13. Gee, I'm in Kansas City aka chigger-land eom

[TEXASYANKEE]

10. Hot water and epsom salts.

Forget the whole "smother them" old wives tale (sorry folks). There's nothing to smother. They don't burrow under your skin.

Based on several past experiences, the best thing I've found to work is to soak the suffering area in hot water and epsom salts. Tap it dry and apply an anti-itch cream. You have my sympathies. Chiggers and fire ants (of which I got several bites on Sunday at White Rock Lake) are 2 of the hazards of birdwatching. Best of luck to you.

[Misunderestimator]

14. Wow... you're right... I always assumed they burrowed under the skin

Another myth debunked:

http://science.howstuffworks.com/question488.htm

On edit... however, they are so tiny (1/50th of an inch) that they could still be attached... ergo the reason to smother them perhaps?

This article recommends Caladryl or hydrocortisone salves though it does say that nail polish will help stop the itching.

[SoCalDem]

15. The reason the old wives said that is this

after you scratch and scratch and scratch, an infection develops under the skin, and a hard "kernel" of scab forms just under the skin.. It feels to the touch, as if something has burrowed under the skin :)

[Rex]

16. Best thing I've ever used against chiggers - ChiggerX

Its a white and red bottle - some kind of cream. Works WONDERS! I'm talking instant relief!