Mystery bites...very much off topic but need the hive mind...

Peely66

Peely66

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Apologies for this question which I feel slightly embarrassed about having to ask but I've been getting bitten for the last few months by some critter and I can't get to the bottom of what it may be (although it seems to be able to get to my bottom on occasions) and what to do about it.

I don't have any pets but when I did have, as a boy at home(a dog, Cindy) and in a shared house (a cat, Boot), I never got bitten as much as I am now. The bites are mainly top of the thighs. I don't seem to be able to pin point exactly when they occur although I am beginning to suspect the car seat...

They don't seem to fit the profile of bedbugs as they seem to be limited and isolated bites rather than a row of bites which is how I understand the MO of bedbugs.

Just be grateful if anyone has been through anything similar and what products (if any) I could use to get rid of whatever it is without poisoning myself. The scratching is beginning to disrupt my sleep.

The only way I can think to relate this to diabetes is that maybe my blood is a bit sweeter than usual and they are developing a sugar habit.:D

Many thanks if you've managed to read thus far!
 
Peely66 said:
Apologies for this question which I feel slightly embarrassed about having to ask but I've been getting bitten for the last few months by some critter and I can't get to the bottom of what it may be (although it seems to be able to get to my bottom on occasions) and what to do about it.

I don't have any pets but when I did have, as a boy at home(a dog, Cindy) and in a shared house (a cat, Boot), I never got bitten as much as I am now. The bites are mainly top of the thighs. I don't seem to be able to pin point exactly when they occur although I am beginning to suspect the car seat...

They don't seem to fit the profile of bedbugs as they seem to be limited and isolated bites rather than a row of bites which is how I understand the MO of bedbugs.

Just be grateful if anyone has been through anything similar and what products (if any) I could use to get rid of whatever it is without poisoning myself. The scratching is beginning to disrupt my sleep.

The only way I can think to relate this to diabetes is that maybe my blood is a bit sweeter than usual and they are developing a sugar habit.:D

Many thanks if you've managed to read thus far!
Click to expand...
There has apparently been lots of cases of bed bugs highlighted in the press. I am convinced it is because everybody is persuaded to use low temperature for their cloths washing which kills nothing.
Those sort of things are hard to track down especially when you can't see anything obvious.
It doesn't imply you have a 'dirty' house but there are many things like fleas, scabies as well as animal fleas. There are also house dust mites but I don't think they bite.
 
There are quite a few midgey things around @Peely66 Could there be a couple stuck in your car that are biting you during journeys?
 
What makes you so certain it is biting rather than something else such as a reaction to your washing powder causing the most irritation where there is friction from walking, etc.
As for treatment, have you tried anti histamines such as hayfever tablets?
 
A food allergy is also a possibility. My ex husband developed an allergy to raspberries. It was a fruit that we had infrequently so it took a long time to figure out that it was the cause but he would get itchy "hives" on his back and thighs that resulted in red itchy wheals that could easily be mistaken for insect bites but not on other areas of his body and they would develop the day after he ate them and then last for several days, so it wasn't at all what you might expect from a food allergy. Just thinking if you have perhaps changed your diet to manage your diabetes, if there may be something new that is causing a similar reaction.
 
Sorry to hear you are getting nibbled @Peely66 :(

Itching like that can be really uncomfortable and frustrating.

I don’t know quite where on your thighs you are getting the bites, but I did have a period where I had raised itchy bumps at the top of my legs, which looked like mosquito bites, but ended up being more like athletes foot - sometimes called ‘jock itch’, though mine weren’t in the groin area at all!

Hope you can find the critters, or find what’s behind it.
 
Peely66 said:
Apologies for this question which I feel slightly embarrassed about having to ask but I've been getting bitten for the last few months by some critter and I can't get to the bottom of what it may be (although it seems to be able to get to my bottom on occasions) and what to do about it.

I don't have any pets but when I did have, as a boy at home(a dog, Cindy) and in a shared house (a cat, Boot), I never got bitten as much as I am now. The bites are mainly top of the thighs. I don't seem to be able to pin point exactly when they occur although I am beginning to suspect the car seat...

They don't seem to fit the profile of bedbugs as they seem to be limited and isolated bites rather than a row of bites which is how I understand the MO of bedbugs.

Just be grateful if anyone has been through anything similar and what products (if any) I could use to get rid of whatever it is without poisoning myself. The scratching is beginning to disrupt my sleep.

The only way I can think to relate this to diabetes is that maybe my blood is a bit sweeter than usual and they are developing a sugar habit.:D

Many thanks if you've managed to read thus far!
Click to expand...
Hello, you mention a “car seat?” New or used car. How long have you owned the vehicle?
What I’ve experienced is I’ve never been hassled with mosquitos with high BGs? I’m not sure this is a “Goldilocks zone” for blood sucking?
 
Fleas for example can lie dormant for a couple of years (living in skirting boards etc.) before their eggs hatch (had an infestation at my old work a few months ago - had to get them professionally removed as we were all getting bitten round the ankles - with no animals etc. ever in the office) - not nice though - hope you get to the bottom of it and get it sorted
 
Well lots to think about there. Thanks for the replies. I guess I thought they were bites as they look like bites and itch like bites so, using the principle of Occams razor, I concluded they were probably bites. Now I have other possibilties to consider...
I work in social care and a few months ago another team member saw a flea on the sofa of someone we work with in the community. I'm wondering if I've picked something up there and it has taken up residence in my car or house. If only I could go without using my car for a week that might help to rule that out but I can't. Oh well...I'll carry on scratching for the time being.
 
Try dabbing on a dilute solution of tea tree oil. It may give some relief and deter bitey insects if that is the cause.
 
The stupid thing is that I am now itchy and scratching just reading about your situation..... The power of suggestion! Hope you manage to figure out the cause and resolve it. I would imagine if it/they is/are living in the car, the coming cold spell will do for it/them. Few insects survive normal daily life in good frosty weather.
 
Peely66 said:
Well lots to think about there. Thanks for the replies. I guess I thought they were bites as they look like bites and itch like bites so, using the principle of Occams razor, I concluded they were probably bites. Now I have other possibilties to consider...
I work in social care and a few months ago another team member saw a flea on the sofa of someone we work with in the community. I'm wondering if I've picked something up there and it has taken up residence in my car or house. If only I could go without using my car for a week that might help to rule that out but I can't. Oh well...I'll carry on scratching for the time being.
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If you suspect there may be something in your car then you could spray the seats with animal flea spray.
My friend's mother who worked in social care got scabies so don't rule anything like that out.
When my daughter was in Zambia she got some awful bites all up her arms from resting them on some cane furniture in a backpackers hostel.
 
Peely66 said:
Oh well...I'll carry on scratching for the time being.
Click to expand...

Let us know if you get some relief from it, and if any of your precautionary measures seems to work!
 
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