Please flay me.
I haven't written about the bites in a while. But this weekend I've gotten a ton of them. I CANNOT TAKE THIS ANYMORE. It's absolutely miserable-- like chicken pox to the extreme. I feel like flaying myself.
I've decided to ask if I can move in with my grandma so I (hopefully) don't have to deal with this anymore.
If you haven't heard about the situation, or forgot, here's an e-mail I sent out this morning to some entomologists and parasitologists which describes what's going on. Please read it before insulting us with inane suggestions like fleas, bed bugs, or allergies:
Hello,
For ~4 years now, my family has been dealing with mysterious bug bites. Most people's first thought when I say that is "bed bugs." However, we have had numerous exterminators, including a supposed bed bug expert, come and check our houses (yes, we even moved at one point) for bed bugs and have found nothing in either the beds or couches. Also, my mother and father share a bed and, of the two of them, only my mother gets these bites. In fact, neither of the males in the house have ever been bitten.
The exterminators didn't find anything, in fact.
The bites can be in clusters or on their own. I have had around 70 of the bites at once, but other times only a couple at a time. They are round, pink, raised, and itch intensely. It takes them about a week, or sometimes a bit longer, to go away. They are relegated mainly to the upper half of the leg, buttocks, hips, waist, stomach, ribs, chest, and back.
The biting is sporadic. Sometimes we will have periods of time (weeks or even a few months) where only one of us will get them, or only two of us, or occasionally none of us. The biting can happen in any season.
My mother, sister, and I have been to the dermatologist several times, and my mother even had a biopsy of one of her bites. The result: arthropod bite. Yet the bites do not seem to fit any of the following:
-Mosquitoes & biting midges: Unlike mosquitoes, "Bug x" seems to bite almost exclusively under clothing, and bites all year round. The bites do, however, resemble mosquito bites.
-Chiggers: Again, the biting happens all year round. Additionally, I get them the most and I probably go outside the least. We live in a suburban area.
-Fleas: We have had our dog and cat checked. They both see the vet regularly and the dog is groomed regularly. The bites do not seem to have any correlation with the amount of time spent around the pets. The bites are not concentrated around the ankles.
-Scabies mites: The dermatologist ruled out scabies. We have never had bites in between the fingers. And I am away at school during the week and do not get them while I'm there.
-Lice: We all bathe and change/launder our clothing on a regular basis.
-Bird mites: May or may not be a possibility. My mother talked to someone who said it wasn't. Plus a bird mite infestation seems unlikely since this has gone on for so long and in two different houses.
-Rodent mites: We have never seen any evidence of rodents in/around the house and the exterminators didn't find any, either.
Other notes:
-We do not have hives. Not only do they not look like hives, but also we have used several different kinds of soap, laundry detergent, and fabric softener and these changes do not effect the incidence of biting.
-We do not live in squalid conditions. Our house is spacious, fairly tidy, and cleaned regularly.
-We do not have delusional parasitosis. For one thing, three of us experience the bites, and we never have used drugs or experienced any major trauma. (My sister is only 12.) We do not experience creepy crawly sensations, only bites. Also, sometimes we have periods where the bugs don't bite, and during that time I personally have forgotten all about the problem (heavenly) and only remembered it when I discovered a new batch of bites.
-We have had a foreign student living with us (in our basement) for several months and she has never reported having bites.
If anyone can help us solve this mystery, we would be extremely grateful. This is causing us a great deal of anguish and frustration.
Thanks,
Rachel Collins
I've decided to ask if I can move in with my grandma so I (hopefully) don't have to deal with this anymore.
If you haven't heard about the situation, or forgot, here's an e-mail I sent out this morning to some entomologists and parasitologists which describes what's going on. Please read it before insulting us with inane suggestions like fleas, bed bugs, or allergies:
Hello,
For ~4 years now, my family has been dealing with mysterious bug bites. Most people's first thought when I say that is "bed bugs." However, we have had numerous exterminators, including a supposed bed bug expert, come and check our houses (yes, we even moved at one point) for bed bugs and have found nothing in either the beds or couches. Also, my mother and father share a bed and, of the two of them, only my mother gets these bites. In fact, neither of the males in the house have ever been bitten.
The exterminators didn't find anything, in fact.
The bites can be in clusters or on their own. I have had around 70 of the bites at once, but other times only a couple at a time. They are round, pink, raised, and itch intensely. It takes them about a week, or sometimes a bit longer, to go away. They are relegated mainly to the upper half of the leg, buttocks, hips, waist, stomach, ribs, chest, and back.
The biting is sporadic. Sometimes we will have periods of time (weeks or even a few months) where only one of us will get them, or only two of us, or occasionally none of us. The biting can happen in any season.
My mother, sister, and I have been to the dermatologist several times, and my mother even had a biopsy of one of her bites. The result: arthropod bite. Yet the bites do not seem to fit any of the following:
-Mosquitoes & biting midges: Unlike mosquitoes, "Bug x" seems to bite almost exclusively under clothing, and bites all year round. The bites do, however, resemble mosquito bites.
-Chiggers: Again, the biting happens all year round. Additionally, I get them the most and I probably go outside the least. We live in a suburban area.
-Fleas: We have had our dog and cat checked. They both see the vet regularly and the dog is groomed regularly. The bites do not seem to have any correlation with the amount of time spent around the pets. The bites are not concentrated around the ankles.
-Scabies mites: The dermatologist ruled out scabies. We have never had bites in between the fingers. And I am away at school during the week and do not get them while I'm there.
-Lice: We all bathe and change/launder our clothing on a regular basis.
-Bird mites: May or may not be a possibility. My mother talked to someone who said it wasn't. Plus a bird mite infestation seems unlikely since this has gone on for so long and in two different houses.
-Rodent mites: We have never seen any evidence of rodents in/around the house and the exterminators didn't find any, either.
Other notes:
-We do not have hives. Not only do they not look like hives, but also we have used several different kinds of soap, laundry detergent, and fabric softener and these changes do not effect the incidence of biting.
-We do not live in squalid conditions. Our house is spacious, fairly tidy, and cleaned regularly.
-We do not have delusional parasitosis. For one thing, three of us experience the bites, and we never have used drugs or experienced any major trauma. (My sister is only 12.) We do not experience creepy crawly sensations, only bites. Also, sometimes we have periods where the bugs don't bite, and during that time I personally have forgotten all about the problem (heavenly) and only remembered it when I discovered a new batch of bites.
-We have had a foreign student living with us (in our basement) for several months and she has never reported having bites.
If anyone can help us solve this mystery, we would be extremely grateful. This is causing us a great deal of anguish and frustration.
Thanks,
Rachel Collins