# If Paper Mites Don't Exist, Why Am I So Itchy? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 10, 2013, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-paper-mites-dont-exist-why-am-i-so-itchy/655287 "2013-04-10T03:32:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-paper-mites-dont-exist-why-am-i-so-itchy/655287/1 "2013-04-10T03:32:49Z")
Last month or so I have been going through a lot of dusty old books and papers, including shredding old invoices etc going back 20 years. A search on the Internet tells me that paper mites don’t exist. However, I feel itchy. And the more I think how itchy I am, naturally you start to itch in other spots. So what causes all the itching? Is it psychosomatic? I know the damn silverfish are real enough. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-paper-mites-dont-exist-why-am-i-so-itchy/655287/2 "2013-04-10T03:35:22Z")
The dryness of the paper is an irritant. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-paper-mites-dont-exist-why-am-i-so-itchy/655287/3 "2013-04-10T03:37:55Z")
How good a shape are the papers in? Some folks react to mold and mildew, and old books and papers can harbor both. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-paper-mites-dont-exist-why-am-i-so-itchy/655287/4 "2013-04-10T03:53:43Z")
Thanks Even Sven and Elfkin. Papers are pretty crappy as in dusty, but not moldy or any mildew. (Very dry climate here). ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-paper-mites-dont-exist-why-am-i-so-itchy/655287/5 "2013-04-10T04:06:32Z")
There’s dust, and then there’s paper dust, and there’s also paper fibers that are likely flying around from the shredding. I can see that making you itchy. It would make me itchy! ---
**Author:** ![PurpleClogs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@PurpleClogs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PurpleClogs)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-paper-mites-dont-exist-why-am-i-so-itchy/655287/6 "2013-04-10T04:32:24Z")
Dust mites are real. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-paper-mites-dont-exist-why-am-i-so-itchy/655287/7 "2013-04-10T04:37:57Z")
book worms eat paper mites. ---
**Author:** ![JLRogers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce73a5/32.png) [@JLRogers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JLRogers)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-paper-mites-dont-exist-why-am-i-so-itchy/655287/8 "2013-04-10T10:42:37Z")
Sounds like a textbook case of Morgellon’s. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-paper-mites-dont-exist-why-am-i-so-itchy/655287/9 "2013-04-10T11:40:25Z")
> [@JLRogers](#): > > Sounds like a textbook case of Morgellon’s. Until the OP shows us a matchbox of fibers that he pulled out of his skin, no it doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-paper-mites-dont-exist-why-am-i-so-itchy/655287/10 "2013-04-10T11:47:19Z")
I’d never heard of Morgellon’s until now. I think I would prefer gout. And no fibres or anything. I can shower, change into fresh clothes and still feel itchy. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-paper-mites-dont-exist-why-am-i-so-itchy/655287/11 "2013-04-10T12:12:54Z")
If thinking about being itchy, and what creatures might be causing it makes the itching worse, there is a psychological component. Any contact-based reaction will resolve with removal of the offending antigen, so avoid exposure for a while and see what happens to the itching. Sure; maybe you picked up scabies somewhere. But more likely something not alive is irritating your skin. You have to be really nutty to have Morgellons, but we’re all a little nutty when it comes to worrying that small somethings are going on with our skin. Except me. ---
**Author:** ![JLRogers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce73a5/32.png) [@JLRogers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JLRogers)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-paper-mites-dont-exist-why-am-i-so-itchy/655287/12 "2013-04-10T12:23:49Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Until the OP shows us a matchbox of fibers that he pulled out of his skin, no it doesn’t. Show me a medical text that includes a fiber requirement for a diagnosis of Morgellon’s. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-paper-mites-dont-exist-why-am-i-so-itchy/655287/13 "2013-04-10T12:30:06Z")
So, you’re shredding invoices going back TWENTY YEARS?? I think the itching is the least of your problems. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-paper-mites-dont-exist-why-am-i-so-itchy/655287/14 "2013-04-10T12:42:48Z")
I didn’t say they were MY invoices. (And I would add I have also royally rooted one shredder and had to buy another). ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-paper-mites-dont-exist-why-am-i-so-itchy/655287/15 "2013-04-10T12:53:27Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > I didn’t say they were MY invoices. > > (And I would add I have also royally rooted one shredder and had to buy another). Time for a bonfire then! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-paper-mites-dont-exist-why-am-i-so-itchy/655287/16 "2013-04-10T13:58:32Z")
Damn you! Now I’m itchy. Also another vote for bonfire. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-paper-mites-dont-exist-why-am-i-so-itchy/655287/17 "2013-04-11T03:34:20Z")
> [@JLRogers](#): > > Show me a medical text that includes a fiber requirement for a diagnosis of Morgellon’s. 😛 Show me a medical text that gives a diagnosis of Morgellon’s. Most MDs think it’s a manifestation of delusional parasitosis. But here, [matchbox sign](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matchbox_sign). ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-paper-mites-dont-exist-why-am-i-so-itchy/655287/18 "2013-04-11T10:57:09Z")
Bonfires not allowed. No back yard incinerators in the suburbs. However, I had a lot to do today and forgot to be itchy. I hope you readers aren’t thinking about itching either. ---
**Author:** ![JLRogers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce73a5/32.png) [@JLRogers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JLRogers)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-paper-mites-dont-exist-why-am-i-so-itchy/655287/19 "2013-04-11T10:57:44Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Show me a medical text that gives a diagnosis of Morgellon’s. Most MDs think it’s a manifestation of delusional parasitosis. But here, [matchbox sign](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matchbox_sign). Yes, this was the joke. Either you didn’t get it or your sense of humor is drier than mine! ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-paper-mites-dont-exist-why-am-i-so-itchy/655287/20 "2013-04-11T11:30:34Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > Bonfires not allowed. No back yard incinerators in the suburbs. You great wuss you. Bugger the local council by-laws…you’re just having a BBQ if questioned! 😛 (Seriously, for all that weird shit that needs to be disposed of, find thee a tub out of an old top-loader washing machine, get a grate for the top, stick the stick bit at the bottom in the ground, bung yer’ flammable rubbish inside, and some chops on the grate/grill). Win-win! 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-paper-mites-dont-exist-why-am-i-so-itchy/655287.md?page=2)