HELP! Waking up for the last 3 weeks with tiny bites on different parts of my body (allergy, ankle)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
One night, about three weeks ago, I woke up in the morning to itchy bites around one ankle and one or two bites on different parts of my body, like my leg, thigh, arm, back...all beneath my clothes and covered with my bed sheets and blankets. The bites are really small and don't itch too intensely, but they itch. Every night since then I have been waking up with new tiny bites on random parts of my body, but never exposed skin, like my face, neck or chest. I thought maybe it was fleas, but the cat sometimes sleeps on my bed, and I have never seen her scratch herself. Plus, I examined her for fleas and didn't find any. It only happens at night while under the bed covers, but I haven't seen any bugs inside the covers and I never feel anything crawling on me.
I changed the bed sheets and washed the blankets and bed cover, but the same thing happened the next night. So I washed all the covers and my pillows, but I still got bites. The night before last I sprinkled baking soda and salt on the rug under the bed and let it sit for 24 hours before vacuuming. I also tore my bed apart yesterday looking for the culprit. I tore the sheets and blankets off, removed the mattress topper, took the mattress off the box springs. I vacuumed everything. I also checked the seams for bed bugs, but didn't find any evidence. Plus the bites don't look like bed bug bites. They always bite me under my pajamas. I wear a thin sweater to bed since the weather became cooler, and they bite me under my sweater, again never on exposed skin. I have bites on my calves and shins, on my thighs, my back, stomach, upper arms, wrists, (none on my hands or feet), all tiny bites in random patterns on different parts of my body. I can't seem to figure out what it could be.
I moved into this house this past August (San Bernardino County, SoCal). The floors are wood laminate and the house was very clean upon moving in except for an ant infestation that was taken care of by a pest company. I haven't found any evidence of bugs in my bed and no flying bugs, like mosquitoes or gnats, in my bedroom. My three kids live with me, two upstairs in separate bedrooms, and one downstairs. Nobody else is waking up with bites. I'm at my wits end. Any suggestions would be helpful.
One night, about three weeks ago, I woke up in the morning to itchy bites around one ankle and one or two bites on different parts of my body, like my leg, thigh, arm, back...all beneath my clothes and covered with my bed sheets and blankets. The bites are really small and don't itch too intensely, but they itch. Every night since then I have been waking up with new tiny bites on random parts of my body, but never exposed skin, like my face, neck or chest. I thought maybe it was fleas, but the cat sometimes sleeps on my bed, and I have never seen her scratch herself. Plus, I examined her for fleas and didn't find any. It only happens at night while under the bed covers, but I haven't seen any bugs inside the covers and I never feel anything crawling on me.
I changed the bed sheets and washed the blankets and bed cover, but the same thing happened the next night. So I washed all the covers and my pillows, but I still got bites. The night before last I sprinkled baking soda and salt on the rug under the bed and let it sit for 24 hours before vacuuming. I also tore my bed apart yesterday looking for the culprit. I tore the sheets and blankets off, removed the mattress topper, took the mattress off the box springs. I vacuumed everything. I also checked the seams for bed bugs, but didn't find any evidence. Plus the bites don't look like bed bug bites. They always bite me under my pajamas. I wear a thin sweater to bed since the weather became cooler, and they bite me under my sweater, again never on exposed skin. I have bites on my calves and shins, on my thighs, my back, stomach, upper arms, wrists, (none on my hands or feet), all tiny bites in random patterns on different parts of my body. I can't seem to figure out what it could be.
I moved into this house this past August (San Bernardino County, SoCal). The floors are wood laminate and the house was very clean upon moving in except for an ant infestation that was taken care of by a pest company. I haven't found any evidence of bugs in my bed and no flying bugs, like mosquitoes or gnats, in my bedroom. My three kids live with me, two upstairs in separate bedrooms, and one downstairs. Nobody else is waking up with bites. I'm at my wits end. Any suggestions would be helpful.
You might have an allergy, or possible become overpopulated with demodex mites. Demodex naturally live on skin, but sometimes get out of control, and you will feel like you have itchy bites. Another possibility is a yeast or fungal overgrowth. At any rate, if no one else is getting "bitten" and you are in the same environment you might want to visit a dermatologist. Again, maybe it actually is fleas from your cat.
Demodex lives on the face, in hair follicles, but I don't have a single bite on the face. Exposed skin is free of any bites: my face, neck, upper chest, and hands. I wear socks to bed and take them off a couple of hours later when my body heats up. No bites on the feet though.
I've looked deep under the covers and have found no evidence of any type of bug. An allergy may be possible. I started taking soy isoflavones about a month ago. That is the only thing that is different recently. But these "bites" don't appear to be a rash. They appear nightly on different parts of my body, and always under my clothing. The bites itch, but not intensely, and I'm able to ignore them for the most part. I'm feeling the itch right now, but I'm not inclined to scratch.
In regard to the soy isoflavones, I have not previously been allergic to soy products, and I don't know what a rash to soy would look like. Again, these bites don't look like a rash. They are mostly spaced apart, sometimes an inch away and sometimes 3 inches away from each other. Very rarely are they very close together.
You might have an allergy, or possible become overpopulated with demodex mites. Demodex naturally live on skin, but sometimes get out of control, and you will feel like you have itchy bites. Another possibility is a yeast or fungal overgrowth. At any rate, if no one else is getting "bitten" and you are in the same environment you might want to visit a dermatologist. Again, maybe it actually is fleas from your cat.
Dermatologist visit asap. Then you'll know for sure and the Dr. can prescribe something.
Fleas would bite exposed skin too. I think that you have some sort of allergy maybe to your laundry soap or clothes softner. Or, it could be several other things....best to get to a professional as soon as possible. Don't needlessly prolong your suffering and it sounds like it is getting worse in a short time.
My daughter gets small hives from being too covered up in bed, from the heat. They're itchy and usually go away after several hours. Her allergist prescribed a couple of meds that don't really help at all and said to use less blankets on the bed.
My daughter gets small hives from being too covered up in bed, from the heat. They're itchy and usually go away after several hours. Her allergist prescribed a couple of meds that don't really help at all and said to use less blankets on the bed.
It doesn't sound like hives, based on the description. I used to suffer terrible hives, and they are just like itchy welts all over that go down after awhile. I don't think any of us here can diagnose, OP should visit a derm.
OP, you haven't lived in that house that long, there could be something in there, even though it looked "clean" when you moved in. You can't always see tiny mites. Do you get this during the day or only at night?
Bed bugs bites are typically small bites and usually kind of clustered together (you mentioned small and in patterns). Fleas are similar. Cats are GREAT at grooming away fleas, so they can be hard to detect on a cat.
Anyway, I had the same thing happening to me. I couldn't find ANY evidence of them, nobody else was getting bit. I just went to the store, bought the bombs and bombed for bed bugs/fleas/etc and called it a day. I stopped getting bit.
You could try the bomb and if it it persists, I'd see a derm as it could be something else.
If you had a moving truck get you to your current home, the truck could have been carrying some no-see um type bugs and they got into your mattress. Not uncommon. Also, if the laminate flooring was put in the house during a remodel or sprucing up before you moved in, the issue could be under the flooring. Is your kitty strictly a house cat, or does he/she go outside? But, that raises the question of whether or not the kitty was always a house cat or always went outside in either house. Geesh, I'm getting itchy .... hope you can solve the problem, I feel your pain.
If you had a moving truck get you to your current home, the truck could have been carrying some no-see um type bugs and they got into your mattress. Not uncommon.
True! We once got some no-see-ums in our van from some sand/dirt from a creek. Our son kept getting bitten only when in the van. We vacuumed thoroughly and the bites stopped.
Is your kitty strictly a house cat, or does he/she go outside?
Yeah, if your cat goes outside at all...it has fleas, which may or may not be what is biting you, but still....get some Revolution.
Bed bugs bite three times in a row. "Breakfast, lunch, dinner."
You won't feel them bite or crawl on you because they sense your CO2 level and when you are fast asleep, their proboscis gives you an anesthetic so that you can't feel the bite.
Get an exterminator out to check for them, and do the heat treatment. It's the only way to get rid of them, chemicals don't work.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
