Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Itchy



What is up with the chiggers this week?


Are any of the rest of you having trouble? Dave and I worked out in the yard this weekend (pictures to come) doing some landscaping and trimming a bunch of bushes, and wouldn't you know, I have like 5o chigger bites. Dave, of course, has none. Ethan has 1, which he complains about frequently. :) But Simon is in the same shape as me, just completely covered in them. Chigger bites ON TOP of chigger bites. It's true.

And believe me, we are not sleeping well around here. These chiggers must have burrowed deep, because the itch is not going away!

Last night someone told me to cover the bites with clear fingernail polish, a trick from childhood that I'd completely forgotten about. And it helped, a little. And I've been using hydrocortisone cream too. But since it's about all I can think to talk about these days, I'm going to send my questions out into the blogsphere...any other good tips for chigger bites?

We're very, very itchy! Please help.

13 comments:

Shawna said...

The clear fingernail polish idea reminded me of a remedy I think you told me as a kid. Make an "X" on the bite with your fingernail. Do you remember that? Or am I loosing my mind?

jenica said...

Haha, Shawna, yes I do that! But it's only temporary/minor relief.

I HATE chiggers! I always get them at THRBC, especially when there was sand volleyball.

Sadly for me, they last at least a month...sorry to tell you that.

Would a pharmacist(oh that's your dad!) know of any good remedies?

Rachel said...

Yes, I remember telling you about that remedy, Shawna. One of my neighbors taught me that...she had these fake nails that were perfect for making a deep "x" on the bite. It's just temporary though.

Heather Anne Riden said...

Oh yes... the nail polish is the way to go. http://www.lifehacker.com/software/home-remedies/
This site has a few ideas for annoying things (hiccups, bites, sore throats?, etc.)
Hope you all get better!

HopiQ said...

So...that wasn't my parent's suggestion, was it? :)

My dad and I were talking about this recently. I told him that my mom wasn't into fingernail polish. We didn't do a lot of girly things while I was growing up. He agreed and said that the only reason we might have had some nail polish (and it would have been clear) in the house was for covering chigger bites! I commented that we kept it in the house for medicinal purposes only...but we did not imbibe! :)

Rachel said...

Ha! Hope, no it wasn't your parents. It was actually Cindy and Sonja in Lawrence. And it does seem to help a little.

Anonymous said...

Makes me think of when you wrote from Honduras and described your body covered with mosquito bites. :) You just must be very tasty to the critters. I get chiggers too every time I go THRBC. They are very annoying. You might try looking at CVS or Walgreens to see what over the counter creams they have for chiggers. Seems I bought something one time that was especially made to sooth the itch of chigger bites. I can't remember if it worked. Love, Mom

Heather Anne Riden said...

haha, no, it was Katherine, Sarah, Mom, Grandma Morris and I!! It was a lot of fun!

Shawna said...

I realize the "x" would be temporary, and not really feasible in a situation like si's with tons of them!

brooke's remedy make me think that taking them swimming like you have is probably helping, you know?

calamine is still working for us, if you feel like trying something else. :)

Ruth said...

Haha Shawna! I remember that X trick. Unfortunately I don't have any extra advice, we have just had major mosquitoes here, whose bites seem to go away faster than chiggers.

Qtpies7 said...

When you can see where the chiggers were to cover them with nail polish they have already hatched from there, so it really doesn't work that well. You'd have to cover LOTS of area. You could also just cover your legs in duct tape!
The doctors have a prescription med to kill chiggers off. It really works the fastest

meesh said...

Fingernail polish always worked for me! It doesn't even have to be clear...it just looks better that way! I think the idea is to sufficate the chiggers...the more you scratch them, the more air they have to breath. The fingernail polish cuts off their air source. I do agree that chigger bites are no fun!

Dan Billen said...
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