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New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 29 May 2007
Posts: 6
See Pics - Need Opinions Asap
Posted: 05-29-07 11:24am

I live in Atlanta....new home....2.5 year old mattress.....hardwoods in house except bedrooms.

I have been experiencing bites for 8 mos (armpits/arms, chest, thighs, and recently on my face).
Went to DR at first...thought it was cellulitus....no dice.
Thought is was lyme disease....no dice. Ran all sorts of blood work (diabetes, std's, hiv, etc.....all negative!!)
Bites kept occuring.

He referred me to a Derm. After examination, he agreed something was biting me and I am having an allergic/scarring reaction. Over the course of 2 months, I had 2 dermatopathology tests....inconclusive results (features consistent with bite reaction).
Derm has given my cortozone shots in past.....they seem to work. Also gave me topical creme.....takes forever.

I have ruled out bed bugs (no evidence in mattress), we have no pets, spiders, bird/rat/squirrel mites as there is no way for most to access my roof.
I have inspected my attic....nothing!! I work from the house and have never heard anything up in the attic. My wife does not/has not experience anything....just me.

I do feel as if something is crawling on me at times.....even a biting sensation at times. I examine the area and of course I can't find squat!!
I think some sort of mite is biting, feeding on me.....the bites often occur when I am outside (yard work, golf, etc).

The bite starts off as a red bump....it grows....one can visiably see a small hole in the middle of the bump (where I was bitten)....
Eventually, the bump turns into a scab (a scab that does not fall off in a matter of days).....the skin around the scab dries up in a circular pattern.
As the bump heals...it leaves tissue scarring.
All this takes about 1.5-2 mos (without a shot of cortozone).

I am at a lost......gonna ask my Derm to refer me to someone who specializes in insect bites.

Can someone offer any advice????????

SEE PICS....
***bite on face....one can see the bite area, scab and the dry skin around it
***bite on elbow. this one is on the decline but it is leaving a circular scab
****bites under my armpit.....can see scarring.

h ttp://good-times.webshots.com/photo/287861 8750101408143UMfWOh

h ttp://good-times.webshots.com/photo/204431 6300101408143bunsaM

h ttp://good-times.webshots.com/photo/254493 0840101408143UMROPY

http://commu nity.webshots.com/album/559231297tUdiuN

Help, help, help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks,

Dan
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shortone05

New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 29 May 2007
Posts: 4
Location: Raleigh NC

Posted: 06-06-07 14:07pm

Even though you have checked your mattress for bedbugs, have you checked around the mattress, and in the head board and such?

I've had an issue before with bedbugs and it took me ages to figure out what it was. (Bought a new mattress, but they were living in the headboard!) Here's a site I found that should explain a lot about bedbugs and what to look for::

http://medent.usyd.e du.au/fact/bedbugs.html

These link is a fact sheet about bedbugs, which offers advice on how to spot and get rid of bedbugs

http://ohioli ne.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/pdf/2105.pdf


Hope this helps Smile
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scorecard

New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 29 May 2007
Posts: 6

Posted: 06-26-07 07:40am

Kinda late with the reply.....
Checked everything....day and night (w/ flashlight).....
I took the bed apart and all.
.did not find anything resembling a bed bug or a bed bug habitat.

I checked around my windows and I did find some small bugs....have no clue what they are. Killed them. Dusted the outside of window w/ bug treatment and weather stripped the windows.

The wife has not gotten bit one single time....
Weird!!!!!!!!
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shortone05

New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 29 May 2007
Posts: 4
Location: Raleigh NC

Posted: 06-26-07 15:17pm

since bedbugs has been eliminated, i'm starting to think it may be chigger bites. since you do now live in the south, it's a pretty common thing, but allergic reactions to them are a lot more rare.

this is even more likely if you work outside, live near thick woods, or have tall grass in your yard. the reason you wife may never get bit is because she probably doesn't have the same reaction as you do, therefore her bites (if any) may be mistaken as mosquito bites or no bite at all.

chiggers are incredibly small, and usually only the adults are even visible. that's possibly why you never happen to see the bug that's biting you. i've found a few more links with some pictures and info on chiggers. if you are still seeing your dermotologist, you may want to bring this possibility up to him and see if he can't identify a chigger on a fresh bite.

http://libr ary.med.utah.edu/kw/derm/nitrous/20bi.htm< /a>

http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvest_mite#Externa l_links

http://ohioline. osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2100.html

hope this helps some more Smile
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Smiles_from_Texas

New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 16 Jul 2007
Posts: 1
Location: Lewisville, TX

Posted: 07-16-07 10:59am

My husband has the exact problem! He gets bitten, they turn into small bumps - I'm guessing they get infected from scratching them so much - some have pus in them - and then they leave a scar tissue. They really don't heal sometimes, and other times he gets more bites. I don't get any! At first we thought they were bed bugs, but the doctor claims that we both would have the same symptoms, so since that is not the case, it's not bed bugs. He has been out in places where he got bitten by chiggers, as did I, but my three bites have healed and have had no new bites. He continues to get them. He has gone to a dermatologist, and he can't figure out what causes them either. He has given him some medication samples called OLUX Foam (clobestasol propionate), this helps him with the itching problem but that's about it. If you find out anything new that helps you, please advise!
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scorecard

New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 29 May 2007
Posts: 6
I May Have Figured It Out!!!!!!!!!
Posted: 10-04-07 09:54am

Folks........
Please see this post......posted today!!

Gall Mite/itch Mite/oak Mite......in Atlanta, Ga
Posted: 10-04-07 9:50am
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