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jodielyn

Aug 9, 2004, 5:08 AM

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insect bites? help

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Goodmorning,
This may be a shot in the dark, but i'll ask anyways. Thanks for any help you may be able to give.

My daughter is in Valle de Chalco for the summer (just south east of D.F.) For about 3 weeks now she has been complaining of 'bites' that she keeps getting at night while sleeping. She wakes up with these on her skin, says they look a bit like mosquito bites, they itch, but other than that she has no symptoms of anything else. They are NOT confined to areas that are either covered or exposed.

The family she is staying with is at a loss as to what this is... No one else in the household are getting these bites...they have changed beds for her, cleaned sheets, moved beds, changed mattresses... you get the picture...

Any ideas?
Thanks tons!
Jodie

johanson

Aug 9, 2004, 9:56 AM

Post #2 of 28 (1989 views)

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Re: [jodielyn] insect bites? help

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how about flees?

Uncle Jack

Aug 9, 2004, 10:02 AM

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Re: [johanson] insect bites? help

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As in fleas?

johanson

Aug 9, 2004, 10:08 AM

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Re: [Uncle Jack] insect bites? help

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I'm known for my excellent spellen. :)

Kip

Aug 9, 2004, 10:30 AM

Post #5 of 28 (1981 views)

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Re: [johanson] insect bites? help

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Typo? I thought your were advising her to get the heck outta there!

Kip
kip

Kip

Aug 9, 2004, 10:33 AM

Post #6 of 28 (1979 views)

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Re: [jodielyn] insect bites? help

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Have they tried using a mosquito net? What about some Skin So Soft applied right before bedtime? Any chance that it might not be insects but something she's allergic to?

Or... possibly she's getting bitten before bed and the results show up later?

Kip
kip

jodielyn

Aug 9, 2004, 11:14 AM

Post #7 of 28 (1972 views)

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Re: [Kip] insect bites? help

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i don't think it is fleas (or flees, "smile") because she is the only one in the home displaying these 'bites'. There are 4 others in the house. And i'm not sure the mosquito net would work as she is getting these on her skin weather there is clothing or not.

I thought about the allergy issue... but she has never displayed any other allergy symptoms, and... don't you think that they would be more uniform, rather than very random and not concentrated? I don't know... just speculating here...

any more thoughts?

thanks!
Jodie

Georgia

Aug 9, 2004, 11:15 AM

Post #8 of 28 (1971 views)

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Re: [jodielyn] insect bites? help

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There is a whole litany of possibilities, some serious, some not: fleas, chagas bugs, or our old friend, the bed bug. Flea bites will appear as a series of bites sort of in a row. Bed bug bites are more dispersed, but will also appear in groups. The chagas bug is not a likelihood if she is living in a modern dwelling, but if it is an adobe house or one with a dirt floor, it could be. My best bet would be bed bugs, and they need to totally fumigate the mattress in a plastic bag, or replace it.

jodielyn

Aug 9, 2004, 11:27 AM

Post #9 of 28 (1968 views)

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Re: [Georgia] insect bites? help

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Georgia,
thanks for your thoughts... i have been thinking bed bugs too... what they can't figure out though is why when other's sleep in the same bed they don't get bit but she does. They keep joking it's because her blood is sweeter...

Jodie

Bubba

Aug 9, 2004, 11:49 AM

Post #10 of 28 (1963 views)

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Re: [jodielyn] insect bites? help

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I think I had the same problems 3 weeks ago while we were in Chiapas. We stayed in a high end Hacienda in the country near Comitan. The windows had no netting and the adobe house was built in the 1800 's.
I first thought of mosquitoes as it looked exactly like mosquito bites. Since the windows had not netting I sprayed Off on my legs, arms and face before going to bed. The next morning my body was covered with bites in the parts that had not been sprayed. The strange part is that I slept with a T-shirt on and was covered all night as the night was very cool. My husband had no bites.
The itching went on for 2 weeks! They were not flea bites for sure and I am not sure about bug bites as my husband did not get bitten.
The second I bought some crema hidrocortisona Nutracort over the counter which helped greatly with the itching. But if your daughter stays much longer in the same place she should see a doctor.
I also thought of food or laundry detergent allergy but to this day I have no idea. The cream really helped so she may want to try that. Good luck.
Brigitte

Georgia

Aug 9, 2004, 12:42 PM

Post #11 of 28 (1952 views)

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Re: [jodielyn] insect bites? help

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A fact about bed bugs: not everyone reacts to them. So, even though your daughter is the only one with visible bites, that doesn't mean others are not also being hosts to the bugs.

There's recently been a major breakout of bed bugs in the US, so there are plenty of websites on the topic. Check them out.

Uncle Jack

Aug 9, 2004, 12:48 PM

Post #12 of 28 (1951 views)

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Re: [jodielyn] insect bites? help

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Does she have a boyfriend with very small teeth?

Don

Aug 9, 2004, 1:17 PM

Post #13 of 28 (1944 views)

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Re: [jodielyn] insect bites? help

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My wife and the girl that works for us said that it could be a bug called chinchi. They live in mattresses/beds. They come out at night. Bite is like a mosquito bite except you will find the bites close together in pairs. If it is this insect, the mattress and bed frame has to be sprayed and the mattress put out in the sun for a day. The insect is small and reddish brown in color.

Carol Schmidt

Aug 9, 2004, 1:30 PM

Post #14 of 28 (1936 views)

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Re: [jodielyn] insect bites? help

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I got that kind of tiny strange bite, too, when we took in a new feral kitten whose leg had been crushed. The vet put a kitten-strength flea medicine on her nape, then a reapplication two weeks later, while we renewed Frontline on our adult pets, and the problem was gone. No fleas were ever seen. We have tile floors that get mopped with bleach water every other day so nothing could linger in the carpet, the problem back in LA. Apparently nothing got into the furniture.

To treat the pain and itching, we used the same antibacterial hand gel we use before eating out. Worked fine, works on mosquito bites too. I keep a bottle on the nightstand in case I get a mosquito bite during the night.

Karin

Aug 9, 2004, 4:15 PM

Post #15 of 28 (1892 views)

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Re: [jodielyn] insect bites? help

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I had the identical symptoms.
After ruling out mosquitoes, fleas and other insects, also allergic reactions of food, clothing and washing detergent etc. we came to water.
The water in our tinaco was tested. It contained no chlorine but bacterias (coliformes)!!
I did neither drink nor did I brush the teeth with this water , but of course I used it in the shower.

The doctor confirmed that with sensible persons just the skin contact can result in these symptoms.

He prescribed an antihistamin (ASTEMIZOL) against itching and doxiciclina. Already 24 hours after the first dose it showed a considerable improvement.
Of course we treated the water with chlorene (3 ppm)

The water company explained that in the rainy season it is possible that dangerous bacteria can enter the water system.

Cynthia7

Aug 9, 2004, 7:08 PM

Post #16 of 28 (1868 views)

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Re: [Karin] insect bites? help

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I would put good money on it that it is bed bugs. They are so common in Mexico and sweep through a neighborhood. A very clean house (like mine) can get them and they are the devil to get rid of. Look them up on the internet. Mexican families don't like to talk about them being in their houses. My maid would not tell me. I don't think they are life threatening but not very pleasant to live with. We washed everything in hot soap and water. The mattress was on the roof for a month in the ultraviolet sunlight and treated with a variety of brain altering chemicals. That was years ago but not much fun!!

ERISAjunkie

Aug 9, 2004, 8:49 PM

Post #17 of 28 (1851 views)

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Re: [jodielyn] insect bites? help

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It sounds like bedbugs to me as well. My brother's home became invested with them. We at first thought it was fleas but the exterminated found bedbugs. As in your case my brother and niece were bitten but my sister-in-law and my nephew were unmolested. It was the devil getting rid of them. The exterminator came several times and new mattresses and beddings had to be purchased. Everything is in plastic now.

Don Moore

Aug 11, 2004, 9:51 AM

Post #18 of 28 (1778 views)

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Re: [ERISAjunkie] insect bites? help

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Help, I can't stand the suspense. What were the critters!!!
Don Moore

jodielyn

Aug 11, 2004, 2:22 PM

Post #19 of 28 (1742 views)

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Re: [Don Moore] insect bites? help

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I really think they are bed bugs... however, not being there, i cannot tell you for sure. I have passed all of this very helpfull information on to my daughter and will most likely get the 'full' story when she returns on Sept 5.

Thanks again for all your help!
Jodie

Cynthia7

Aug 11, 2004, 6:26 PM

Post #20 of 28 (1712 views)

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Re: [jodielyn] insect bites? help

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Is she going to move or continue to be bitten for 3+ weeks?

jodielyn

Aug 12, 2004, 5:30 AM

Post #21 of 28 (1679 views)

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Re: [Cynthia7] insect bites? help

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she is staying with her boyfriend's family, they are working on the problem and have moved her to a different bed... we'll see....

gbatrucks

Aug 12, 2004, 12:47 PM

Post #22 of 28 (1636 views)

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Re: [jodielyn] insect bites? help

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MEMO TO SELF:Plan to take the waterbed when we move to Lakeside next spring.
"The trouble with life is there's no background music."

kirkswig

Aug 13, 2004, 1:33 AM

Post #23 of 28 (1582 views)

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Re: [jodielyn] insect bites? help

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What kind of soap does she use?

I just concluded a fairly demoralizing round with the local mosquitoes that saw them scoring at least a dozen bites or more every day for a period of about a week.

My neighbors in the apartment next door professed no similar difficulties.

Using the standard mosquito weapons provided fleeting protection at best.

After doing some research and talking with my neighbors again, I decided to change the soap I was using. I had been using Zest (rhymes with Pest) and which is heavily scented. I am now using Jergins, which has no scent (and incidentally, does not rhyme with Pest.) I have been using this soap for two full days now, and have not had a single bite.

I don't have the link on hand, but some dotgov site was going on about how deodorizing soaps act as an attractant to mosquitoes. Which isn't what most people want. Most people want mosquito repellents, but would rather not slather themselves with N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (aka DEET) several times every day. In my very humble opinion, such people should first consider what kind of odors they are deliberately ornamenting themselves with, and if still being feasted upon, only then move on to the chemistry-set solutions.

To boldly go where no wig has gone before.

kirkswig

Aug 22, 2004, 11:57 PM

Post #24 of 28 (1453 views)

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Re: [kirkswig] insect bites? help

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OK, I'd like to amend this.

Or maybe just qualify it.

It is true that my experience with mosquitoes is much improved since using the scentless soap, however, I had an experience today that has shaken my faith here and I'm not sure what to think now.

I went to a restaurant last night that is fairly pricey and has an English menu. I order some cerveza (I can spell that correctly because I have one in my hand, yes, even as I type this) and an appetizer and a main dish. Well, for one reason or the other the waiter decides to give me less than three minutes to finish off the appetizer before delivering on the main dish. Now, I'm seated outdoors, OK? So the flies, I mean, they're amazing... it's like they have their own little CB frequency, and the descend on my table enmasse. I mean, literally, there are like thirty of them, all arriving at almost the same moment, and I'm left to defend a table containing five or six dishes (seven if you include the cerveza) from these vicious little beasts (and they are vicious, man, they will fly into your eyes and try to fly up your nose and in your mouth too.)

Needless to say, it was not a fine dining experience. But what I didn't realize until halfway through this culinary nightmare was the eight or nine bites the mosquitoes scored as I was distracted by the flies. All on the same leg too. Damn! Do these guys work in teams or what?

I can't figure out why they chose that particular moment to attack! Since using the scentless soap, I have otherwise been unmolested by them. Then all of the sudden... SHAZAM! It's like they knew that this would be the moment to attack that would yield the greatest misery for me. It was an expensive meal that I was treating myself to for recent good news, and despite the money I threw at the restaurant it probably rates as the worst dining experience of my life.

(I know this is a digression, but I'm detecting a pattern with the restaurants. It really does seem that the more money I spend on a meal, the less happy I am with it. My best meals have all been under 50 pesos. One day I had breakfast in a place above the local marketplace that I almost didn't have the courage to sit down in because it just, well, seemed unsanitary. It was the greatest breakfast of my life. If I hit the lottery someday then I will make a movie about this breakfast... it was that good. And it cost me less than 20 pesos.)

To boldly go where no wig has gone before.

johanson

Aug 23, 2004, 12:38 AM

Post #25 of 28 (1454 views)

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Re: [kirkswig] insect bites? help

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As I sip on a glass of highly discounted Andre' Champagne, here in rainy NW Washington, counting the days until I return to Ajijic, ; let me see, --- 24, I want you to know that if you would hang out at better restaurants you would not have these problems. I have visited such restaurants world wide never to have such problems with bobos, flies or flies as you described in your about posts.

Oh in the US and Canada, but usually not Mexico, you even get a 10% senior discount if you are at least 55 years of age. What is the name of these famous restaurants, Burger King, of course. We should have one lakeside in 155 days.

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