Bugs bite!

Submitted by waiting_4_1 on 14 June, 2006 - 22:51.

Ok, so the first two times i visited Nicaragua, we had virtually no problems with bugs. But this last trip, we stayed in Juigalpa and when we woke up in the mornings, we started noticing little bites, that turned out like mosquito bites...but they wernt the same. they wern't hit and miss...they were more like a rash, and they were only on the bottom part our my arms, but some of the other ladies in the group had them on their legs and they were bigger welts. they itched SO BADLY. we only found them on the women in the group and whatever it was didnt bite everyone, just certain people, and they didnt all occur on the same night. some of us didnt find the bites till later on in the week (as in my case). it was unbelievale. they didnt go away for nearly 3-4 weeks either.

have no fear, the bottoms of my arms are no longer all bit-up-looking. thank God. now all i have to remember this "plague" is a few scars that remain from where i gave in to the itch. :( jaja.

Does anyone have any idea what could have bitten us ladies in the middle of the night??? some people thought it may have been chiggers? i have no idea.

Thanks!! -Marissa

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holy cow

Submitted by dodgese on 18 October, 2006 - 10:56.

put that bed, the sheets, the mattress in the hot sun all day. and repeat until they're all gone.

ahh...

Submitted by waiting_4_1 on 15 June, 2006 - 14:09.

i would guess the possibilites are endless, but i thank ya zenpilgrim for all that information...very helpful. the idea of fleas is not ringin any bells to me...there was no animals around when the first case was recognized... so im guessing maybe it wasnt fleas. a friend of mine from Mexico said in Cental American countries there are these little bugs that you dont see...and they get into under your skin at night. ive done some googling, and ive yet to find anything.

have any of you heard of these? or maybe are these chiggers? haha thanks alot for taking the time to help me!

En Cristo, -Marissa

Have you considered that

Submitted by cmoore56 on 15 June, 2006 - 15:32.

this are critters called "no see-ums"? Check here for more info.

yes

Submitted by waiting_4_1 on 15 June, 2006 - 15:52.

but what she was talking about was something other than no see-ums.

it maybe have been no see-ums that got us too. we had thought about it but our friend Guillermo said he'd never seen them do this kind of biting before. *shrugs* who knows.

Thanks!!!

En Cristo, -Marissa

Fleas

Submitted by Pinolero2 on 15 June, 2006 - 12:15.

There is a good possibility they could have been dog fleas, specially if the floor was dirt floor, that happened to my friend in Apanas.

FAP

Chiggers?

Submitted by zenpilgrim on 15 June, 2006 - 12:13.

The way you describe it would make me think of chiggers too but they would also be on the legs more than the arms. You would also get them by walking in taller grass where they were located (which could explain why some people got them and not others). I'll see if I can get more info what this might be for you.

Chigger info

Submitted by zenpilgrim on 15 June, 2006 - 12:30.

They are fascinating (and disgusting) creatures. According to the University of Florida, "In humans, chiggers can cause intense itching and small reddish welts on the skin. In other parts of the world, chiggers transmit scrub typhus; however, in Florida they are not known to transmit disease. The intense irritation and subsequent scratching may result in secondary infection."

Credit - pictures below are from University of Florida. Online article is from Ohio State University

Picture of typical rash

Picture of a chigger

Chiggers - Extension Service Fact Sheet

OK, NOW

Submitted by cmoore56 on 15 June, 2006 - 12:34.

you have me scratching and itching all over! And I DON'T have fleas! Or chiggers, for that matter!

haha

Submitted by waiting_4_1 on 15 June, 2006 - 14:10.

yeah me too...!

En Cristo, -Marissa

The power of suggestion is amazing

Submitted by zenpilgrim on 15 June, 2006 - 12:36.

Just doing my part. LOL

Same experience!

Submitted by Jose721 on 15 June, 2006 - 11:30.

On our last trip, I experienced the same bites on the back of my legs and arms at night. I used repellant that didn't seem to have any effect. I will try mosquito netting next trip.

Just a thought here, but

Submitted by cmoore56 on 15 June, 2006 - 12:17.

if it IS fleas or chiggers, will a mosquito net keep those tiny things from coming in?

Nope

Submitted by zenpilgrim on 15 June, 2006 - 12:23.

Sorry to tell you that but nets won't stop them. Chiggers that bite are larvae that you pick up from grass and weeds as walking around. And fleas will almost jump on a host from a floor or carpet.

Scabies

Submitted by toms on 15 June, 2006 - 15:34.

are a microscopic mite that burrow under the skin and are easily killed with a one application treatment of a scabicide sold in just about any drugstore here, this could have been your attacker too.

Lyin' Farmer John Wayne