I used the nail polish because nothing else in the house was working. It did work! The welts looked like they would leave scars, thankfully, they did not.

seetheworld, do they have little heads on them, leaking fluid, like water? Nasty but if so, most likely they are chiggers..smother the buggars, only way to get rid of them that I know..

I would take an Aveeno oatmeal bath, and then I've used the cortisone sprays. Anytime I've gone to a coastline, I have been eaten alive by mosquitoes and no-see-ums, and those have helped me a lot. I also then take Benadryl to help with the swelling and itching. Good luck!

seetheworld, go to the pharmacy and ask the pharmacist. He may direct you to a doctor.

GoT..while we were having work done in our house in Jax, the cajun contractor that we had was listening to my whining and wailing about the bites all over my legs and ankles...were they fleas? were they mosquitos? He took one look, walked out, came back and put a smudge of kerosene on my foot lol...it worked. Smothered the chigger..of course, if anyone lit a match near me I would have gone up in smoke :O but it worked!!
He was better than any doctor I had in Florida LOL

Impossible to identify invisible bug on a travel forum - but I would not assume this was mosquitoes, noseeums, etc. Many possible critters, including bedbugs, fleas, etc.

What I have been told, as one who reacts horribly to bug bites, is that the bugs bite everyone but some people react more severely to the bite.

In general, identifying the bug is not all that important - I use hydrocortisone topical and benadryl by mouth. The idea behind using these is that they are treating an allergic reaction - which is what your body is doing when it swells and itches. And also the reason why some people react more strongly than others. I do not know anything about scratching them that makes them worse unless you scratch so much that they become infected - I think the "don't scratch" thing is another health care myth.

If they are not getting any better after a few days or seem to become infected, then see an MD, but my suggestion, or some of the others above should work.

It is said that itch is a worse sensation than pain - don't know how they actually measure such things, but I would agree.

Eeuuwwww MizScarlett!!

Speaking of bugs, King Kong was the creepiest movie I've ever seen because of all the gross creepy crawly bug things!

Im the sweet one in our family, my wife takes me along so the mosquitoes wont bother her.

For info on chiggers, check out the following website...

http://mdc.mo.gov/nathis/arthopo/chiggers/

STW, having grown up in chigger territory, I know that they usually attack in places like under waistbands, etc. If your bites are all over, it's probably not chiggers.

I hope you get some relief FAST!

Caph, not so..that was what I grew up hearing ( in NC) but when we were lying on the hammock , strung between a pine and a live oak, we got chigger bites..they live in Spanish Moss. After hurricanes is the worst time too, or so "they" told me in Florida.
Waistbands and around where the socks go is because that is where they can get in from the outside, but if you are in shorts or a skirt, you are just a feast for chiggers lol.
I always got them on my legs but a few made it as far as my back and arms...that is the Worst Itch!!!

Wow AnnMarie...that is one ugly critter. My treatment results and theirs are in agreement it seems. Nothing but time. Thanks for the article...it was very informative.

Seetheworld, someone else came back from FL last year with a similar report...and we all had similar suggestions to these. I wonder what ever came of that?

I thought of sea lice too, but isn't that rash found primarily in the areas your bathing suit has covered?

AnnMarie: thanks for that link. Hopefully the people here who think you can smother chiggers will actually read it.

Now that I think of it the sea lice was limited to the areas covered by a bathing suit. I hope you find a good remedy and when you do please share it with us!

I stand corrected, Scarlett! Thanks for setting me straight. It's amazing how much of the stuff we think we know is really just hearsay! Especially when it comes to stuff we remember from childhood. However, I do also remember being told that clear finger nail polish works. And, from what you said, that was one "old wives tale" with some merit!

TxTravelPro, the problem with going to the pharmacy is that, if you live somewhere where chiggers aren't indigenous, you may not be able to find the remedies. At least, that was the case for me. I grew up in southern Illinois but now live in the Chicago suburbs. One Fourth of July, we were "home" and sat in the grass to watch fireworks. I got chiggers for the first time in my life. (I'd always heard people talk about them. But I guess I'd just been lucky up to that point.) I didn't know I had them until we got back here. When I went to the pharmacy, I couldn't find anything and asked the pharmacist for help. He was at a complete loss as he'd never dealt with chiggers before.

Well, I see that they say in that link that nail polish works, it worked for me, although I did have a few funny looking spots on me lol...I tried to use the polish that was the clearest, but when you are itching that bad, you will not care if you have Jungle Red spots on your legs :D

They said the only benefit to nail polish is that it reminds you not to scratch, so from that standpoint it is effective I guess...hopefully you won't scratch, but no other benefit. It sure looks funky! (I used what I had...red) Instead of scratching, I rubbed...and rubbed and rubbed or pressed on it until it hurt. LOL I used to do that with poison ivy too when I was told not to scratch. You don't have to rub with friction, but take the spot and mash it around accomplishes the same thing.

It is interesting that there is nothing there to smother. I'd bought into the idea of something under my skin as well. Not sure I like the idea of his digestive juices dissolving my flesh any better though!

HI--first of all, let me sympathize--it must be awful!! A friend's teen-aged son had a similar condition when they went to the Carribbean. He had to consult an MD and I wonder if that might be the best thing for you to do...Good luck for a speedy end to your suffering!!

Please list all states that have chiggers, lol. I never want to go to these places! Nasty looking bugger!

Well, the best I could do is apply the Caladryl Clear. The pharmacist said to put in the the fridge for added relief. I'm still waiting for the relief.

No doubt that I am having a nasty allergic reaction. Maybe I'll give the doctor a call in the morning.

Weirdly, I just came back from a long weekend away with a few very itchy, persistant little bites too. My DH has them too! After doing some internet research, I think they are chiggers (gross). One website said they bite under waistbands, but also in areas of "shallow flesh," which explains why they're on my elbows and the tops of my hands.

We have chiggers here in Virginia so if you are avoiding states with them you'll be missing a lot. I heard that the nail polish works because it serves as a barrier between the bite and air flow. Works like super glue works on paper cuts.