# Insect(?) bites **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 26, 2007, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insect-bites/416958 "2007-08-26T02:53:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2007, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insect-bites/416958/1 "2007-08-26T02:53:24Z")
I don’t know if this falls under the category of “soliciting medical advice;” it’s not something that most people would see a doctor about. My partner returned from a business trip to Milan, with what look like large mosquito bites around his waist. He’s been back about a week now, and they haven’t gone away; nor are there any new ones. They are only around his waist, and he says they itch, but not as bad as mosquito bites. I’ve never heard of an insect bite that would be unchanged after a week. What could they be, and will they go away by themselves? ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2007, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insect-bites/416958/2 "2007-08-26T04:27:01Z")
“Bites that remain the same, under a waistband, that don’t torment you quite the same way as mosquito bites but that still itch” = chigger bites. Chiggerid works. Available at any pharmacy. He has my complete sympathies. And yes, it will take them a long time to go away. ETA: You don’t even have to walk through particularly tall grass to get them. We used to live in Dallas, Texas, and chiggers were endemic on people’s lawns. If you wanted to attend a yard sale at this one friend’s house, you had to routinely spray yourself with Off (Deet) all the way up to your armpits, and even then, it was iffy. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2007, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insect-bites/416958/3 "2007-08-26T16:20:05Z")
Except that he was in central Milan for the entire trip, never even being near a lawn. Is it possible to catch chiggers from a hotel bed or lavatory? ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2007, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insect-bites/416958/4 "2007-08-26T17:21:34Z")
No. And “migrating to under the waistband before they bite” isn’t normal bedbug behavior, so it probably isn’t bedbugs. Found [this](http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/IG085): > [@](#): > > Chiggers are most often found in low, damp areas where vegetation is heavy, although some species prefer dry areas. Chiggers seem to be most abundant in areas covered with shrubs and small trees where rodents are numerous. Chiggers occur in pockets or islands because a female will lay all her eggs in one spot; however, chiggers may persist in home lawns. He doesn’t have to have strolled across an entire lawn; he could have simply set foot in one particular low, damp area where vegetation is heavy and with shrubs and trees–like a planted median strip–where a chigger female happened to have laid all her eggs. Ask him if he ever came in from the parking lot to the entrance by crossing some of those planted dividing strips with grass and shrubs. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2007, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insect-bites/416958/5 "2007-08-26T17:30:38Z")
Could be a boil that is working its way thru the skin in multiple places instead of coming to a single head. Common in people with high blood sugar levels and is often a initial signs of the onset of diabetes. Hope I’m wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Fetchund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b2d939/32.png) [@Fetchund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fetchund)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2007, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insect-bites/416958/6 "2007-08-26T20:12:19Z")
Could be scabies - but, then, I’ve had flea bites that were similar, too. If it starts to spread at all, get to a dermatologist! ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2007, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insect-bites/416958/7 "2007-08-27T00:53:19Z")
Either “chiggers” or 1st instar ticks. Both will preferentially feed where they can get shelter, such as the belt or bra line. Both will usually fall off before they are noticed leaving a puzzling line of welts. Sice ticks will live almost anywhere, and since you seem sure these aren’t from mites then that would be the logical assumption. ---
**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:** [August 27, 2007, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insect-bites/416958/8 "2007-08-27T04:28:53Z")
[QUOTE=panache45] I don’t know if this falls under the category of “soliciting medical advice;” it’s not something that most people would see a doctor about. My partner returned from a business trip to Milan, with what look like large mosquito bites around his waist. He’s been back about a week now, and they haven’t gone away; nor are there any new ones. They are only around his waist, and he says they itch, but not as bad as mosquito bites. I’ve never heard of an insect bite that would be unchanged after a week. What could they be, and will they go away by themselves? [/QUOTE] Rashes are hard to diagnose even when seen in person and practically impossible to diagnose without a photo… Spiders, bedbugs and other critters are all in the differential along with things like a mild case of Zoster if it’s only on one side. If it’s not worsening, most rashes are not worth seeking medical advice. Most medical advice on this board, including mine, is worth what you paid for it less $15.