![]() “They need shelter from the sun and they like high humidity, so they tend to like tall grasses and places where there are mice and small mammals around,” he says. RELATED: Everything You Need to Know About Bug Bites and DiseaseĬhiggers usually live in shaded or overgrown areas like forests and wild fields, Townsend says. The same is true if the bite is leaking fluid, has developed a yellow, golden crust, or has become painful, or if you’re experiencing hives, vomiting, or nausea - see a doctor. ( 5)ĭoctors can prescribe prescription topical steroids or even inject dilute steroids into intensely itchy bites if you don’t experience relief from over-the-counter options. If the swelling or redness around a bite is getting worse several days after it first appeared, or if you notice a fever or other flu-like symptoms, those may be signs of an infection. That could happen if you scratch the bite (or bites) and break open the skin, allowing in bacteria, Merchant says. That said, chigger bites can put a person at risk for a secondary infection. “Chiggers can transmit diseases in some other parts of the world, but not here,” Townsend says of domestic chiggers. ( 4)ĭo you need to see a doctor? In most cases, no. ![]() So can cold compresses, oral antihistamines like diphenhydramine (Benadryl) or cetirizine (Zyrtec), and rubbing alcohol. (This can remove chiggers before they’ve had the chance to cause welts and irritation, he says.) Applying topical calamine cream can also help reduce the itch, he adds. He recommends taking a hot shower and soaping the area thoroughly. ( 3) “Once they’re done feeding, drop off on their own,” Townsend says. While itchy and uncomfortable - not to mention unsightly - chigger bites tend to resolve on their own within a week - and often within a few days. ( 1) If you have a swath of itchy skin lumps that looks like many mosquito bites or welts, it’s a good bet you’re dealing with chiggers. And the resulting bites often appear as clusters of red welts - as opposed to a single itchy lump or a red rash. But you may feel some irritation when they first start feeding. You won’t be able to see them without the aid of a magnifying glass. “I don’t know of many things as intensely itchy as a chigger bite,” says Michael Merchant, PhD, a professor of entomology at Texas A&M University in Dallas.Īlso, chiggers tend to latch onto a person’s skin in groups. For one thing, chigger bites tend to take itchiness to a whole new level. Especially if you’re bitten by a lone chigger, the red welt that forms may look more or less identical to a mosquito bite.īut there are bite characteristics that can show up that can help differentiate chiggers from other bugs. “Different people react differently to bites, so it can be really difficult to tell the difference between bites of things like mosquitoes from chiggers,” Townsend says. RELATED: 7 Skin Conditions That Look Contagious, but Aren’tĪs with all bug bites, there’s some person-to-person variation when it comes to chigger bites. That reaction, he says, comes from the chigger’s saliva, which they use to break down and digest the cells and tissues they devour. ![]() But much like mosquitoes and ticks, chiggers can induce a nasty skin reaction. Instead, chiggers feast on skin cells and tissue, Townsend explains. Unlike mosquitoes, ticks, and other biting bugs, chiggers don’t attach themselves to mammals in order to suck blood. “Not all mites are chiggers, but all chiggers are mites,” he adds. It’s these that are referred to as chiggers. Townsend says that there are many different species of mites, but only a few types that bite during their larval stage. “Chiggers are a type of immature mite that spend time feeding on small mammals, and also on humans,” says Lee Townsend, PhD, a professor emeritus of entomology at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. Though they’re often bright red in color, chiggers are only about the size of a grain of salt - making them almost impossible to spot either in the wild or on a person’s skin. Sometimes called “berry bugs” or “red bugs,” chiggers populate large sections of the United States - including all of the South, the Great Plains, and the Mid-Atlantic. ![]()
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