Your Health Matters
By Claudia Parks, R.N.

My daddy would tell me, "It's because you are so sweet!" Not since I was a little girl, living in Florida, has anything enjoyed my sweetness as much as they (?) have since moving to the mountains. To my knowledge, all I did was walk across my yard and now I'm covered in red, itching, annoying welts.

Folks tell me that I have a good case of CHIGGER BITES, also known as redbugs. One of my neighbors said, "In Alabama, we called them no-see-ums." Probably no creature on earth can cause as much torment for its size than the minute chigger! They are so small that most cannot be seen without a magnifying glass-unless when they are grouped together in large numbers and then appear red in color.

I decided to do some research on the itchy chigger! Chiggers are the larvae of the harvest mite, Trombicula alfreddugesi. The eight-legged adult harvest mites are bright red and are seen crawling over the soil surface when one is spading the garden during the warm days of springtime. They look like small velvety red spiders. In the early spring, these adult mites lay eggs in the soil that hatch into the larval chigger stage. After hatching, chigger larvae climb up onto vegetation from which they can more readily snag a passing host.

The larval chigger moves very quickly on the plants and ground and crawls onto feet or legs. On its host, the chigger usually moves about until it reaches a place where it is somewhat confined, such as around ankles, under socks, or behind knees. When people sit on chigger-infested ground, frequently they may get severe chigger bites around the waistline or in the crotch area, especially under belts and elastic bands of underwear.

Chigger larvae do not burrow into the skin, nor suck blood. Ticks feed on blood; chiggers do not. Chiggers are not known to transmit any disease in this country. The chigger has a special mouthpart for feeding. A chigger's saliva will at first harden the walls of the hole made by the mouthpart. This hardening gives the chigger a "straw" to use for feeding and prevents our body from closing off the hole made by this pest. Once the chigger has made its hole, (often around a hair follicle) and inject a fluid that prevents blood from clotting, it can now feed. Its saliva will actually liquefy our skin cells, which the bug now uses for food. The fluid causes tissues to be inflamed; each bite has a characteristic red welt with a white, hard central area. The inflamed tissues effectively camouflage the tiny red chigger in the center of the itching bump.

The chemicals or proteins in a chigger's saliva will cause itching in the area where the tiny red bug feeds. This itching is delayed; we sense intense itching about 24 to 48 hours after being exposed to chigger bites. Some itching might be detected in 3 or 4 hours but the worst sensations a day or two later.

Skin Care: After returning from a chiggerinfested area, launder the field clothes in hot soapy water. Infested clothes should not be worn again until they are properly laundered. As soon as possible, take a good hot bath or shower and soap repeatedly. The chiggers may be dislodged, but you will still have the enzymes causing the severe itch. For temporary relief of itching, apply hydrocortisone crme, calamine lotion, benzocaine; menthol or pramoxine anti-itch cream may be soothing. Keep bite areas clean and treat three times daily. At bedtime, take an antihistamine such as diphenhydramine (Benadryl), which can both relieve nighttime itching and help you sleep. The "painting" of bites with clear nail polish to destroy the chigger is probably not effective. By the time the bite itches, the chigger has already fed and dropped off.

See your doctor if you suffer an allergic reaction (such as hives) to chigger bites or if over-the counter treatments fail to relieve severe itching or if you develop a secondary bacterial infection. Next week I'll give more information on avoiding and elimination of chiggers.

Claudia Parks, RN, lived in south Fulton

C o u n t y