Re: I Hate Chiggers
After returning from a chigger-infested area, launder the field clothes in soapy, hot water (125°F.) for about half an hour. Infested clothes should not be worn again until they are properly laundered and/or exposed to hot sunshine. Unlaundered clothes or those laundered in cool water will contain the biting chiggers to again reinfest your skin. As soon as possible, take a good hot bath or shower and soap repeatedly. The chiggers may be dislodged, but you will still have the stylostomes, causing the severe itch. Scratching deep to remove stylostomes can cause secondary infections. For temporary relief of itching, apply ointments of benzocaine, hydrocortisone, calamine lotion, New Skin, After Bite, or others recommended by your pharmacist or medical doctor. Some use Vaseline, cold cream, baby oil, or fingernail polish. (The sooner the treatment, the better the results.)<br />_____________________________________________________________<br /><br />Regular mosquitoes repellents will repel chiggers. All brands are equally effective. Applying these products to exposed skin and around the edge of openings in your clothes, such as cuffs, waistbands, shirt fronts and boot tops, will force chiggers to cross the treated line get inside your clothes.<br /><br />Unfortunately these repellents are only potent for two to three hours and must be reapplied frequently.<br /><br />By far, the most effective and time proven repellent for chiggers is sulphur. Chiggers hate sulphur and definitely avoid it. Powdered sulphur, called sublimed sulphur or flowers of sulfur, is available through most pharmacies. Dust the powdered sulphur around the opening of your pants, socks and boots. If you plan to venture into a heavily infested area, powdered sulphur can be rubbed over the skin on your legs, arms and waist. Some people rub on a mixture of half talcum powder and half sulphur.<br /><br />But a word of warning: sulphur has a strong odor. The combination of sulfur and sweat will make you unpleasant company for anyone who has not had the same treatment. Sulphur is also irritating to the skin of some people. If you have not used sulphur before, try it on a small area of your skin first.<br />_______________________________________________________________<br /><br /><br />What can you do to alleviate suffering if these precautions fail? Lotions will relive the itching somewhat, but no substance is completely effective. The only ultimate cure is time, since there is nothing you can do to dislodge the chigger's feeding tube, the true cause of your itch. You must simply wait until your body breaks down and absorbs the foreign object.<br /><br />In the meantime, local anesthetics such as benzocaine, camphor-phenol and ammonium hydroxide may provide you with several hours of comfort at a stretch. Over-the-counter creams can also help. In rare cases, some people are allergic to chigger bites and require prescription medications from their doctor.<br /><br />The most popular home remedy for which there is little justification is to dab nail polish on the welt. This cannot "smother" the chigger because it has not burrowed into your skin, and it was probably scratched off long ago. The only benefit to applying a thick coat of nail polish is that it helps to remind you not to scratch the bite.<br /><br />Chronic scratching will only cause the stylostome to further irritate. Scratching deep enough to remove the stylostome will probably cause a secondary infection that is worse than the original chigger bite. If you do scratch, disinfect the chigger bite with topical antiseptics.<br /><br />Fortunately, in North America the only real danger from chigger bites is secondary infections that develop after scratching with dirty fingernails. Our chiggers do not carry Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia or any other disease. Some veterans may recall this is not the case in Asia and the Pacific, where chiggers can transmit disease called scrub typhus. Luckily, Missourians have nothing to fear from chiggers except that terrible itch.<br />________________________________________________________________<br />Reducing the Itching<br /><br /> Immediately after exposure to chigger-infested areas, take a hot bath to kill and remove chigger larvae. Then apply an antiseptic solution to any welts that have appeared to kill trapped chiggers and to prevent infection. Destroying the chigger usually does not stop the itching completely because the itching is caused by tissue reaction to the fluid injected by the chigger. Normally, two to three days pass before the itching stops. Temporary relief can be obtained by applying a commercial product that contains a mild, local anesthetic. Your pharmacist can suggest an appropriate product for your needs. <br />_____________________________________________________________<br /><br /><br />Makes you miss the north woods doesn't it?
How do we stop this freakin unbelievable itch. 