You might need stronger medicine. Could it be poison ivy,oak or sumac?
I had poison ivy lst year and the only thing that relieved the itching was Zanfel. Benadryl, hydrocotesone and calomine lotion did nothing.

My daughter once got a bite and then many more kept appearing, long story short she had an infection introduced in to her body via a mosquito. We had to scrub her 3 times a day with phisohex and had an rx antibiotic.

Is the itching worse at night and really intense? It might be scabies. I hope it's not but if it is, it's much easier to cure in the early stages.

Don't ask me how I know about this. Children are a great joy, aren't they?

Aloha - I had a similar experience last month, when I suddenly developed a number of itchy bites around my ankles. We live in a rural area and they popped up after I walked outside in clogs (I normally wear muck boots) when the grass in our dog yard was uncut.

I'm very sensitive to bites, scratchy weeds, etc. and had a terrible time with the itching - bad enough to wake me up at night. I couldn't take Benadryl because I was studying for the Bar exam (it knocks me out) and over-the-counter creams did nothing. I eventually ended up at my GP, who prescribed a cream that helped a little, in addition to applying ice (I used a bag of frozen peas) before going to bed.

The key is breaking the cycle - even if the source is gone, once you start scratching (even if you're doing it unconsciously in your sleep), it's difficult for the bites to heal. For me, bites can also show up a day or two after they occur, so that I may initially see a few and days later see more.

I finally made an appointment with a dermatologist and of course the moment I did, the itching finally stopped. He gave me a script for Cormax cream to have on hand for the future, but I haven't needed to use it.

I understand not wanting to pay another co-pay, but you do need to make sure that the area hasn't become infected because that will alter the treatment.

You probably need to get a steroid shot to stop the itching. I've had skin allergies, poison oak and irritants that cause itches places. Most of the time the poison oak gets oozy (which is SO attractive!) and I have to take a dosepak. Luckily, I haven't gotten it since we moved but once.

Do you have fire ants? That was one of the worst itches I've ever experienced. They bite, then these little itchy pimples form.

Have you tried hydrocortisone cream? I have some prescription cream, stronger than the OTC stuff. I'm always knocking around in the garden and coming up with itchy rashes from whatever I'm brushing against. The higher does cream works quickly for me, usually 1 to 2 days of treatment is enough.

FWIW, our dermatologist says never to use hydrocortisone cream but to use the OTC 1% ointment instead. I'd never think ointment vs cream would make a difference if the active ingredient is the same but it's like a miracle. DH and I have both had experiences where the cream was worthless and the ointment worked. Worth a try and it's good to have around the house.

Hmmm...my DH has had a similar thing hit him this summer, all of a sudden. He found out from someone at work who saw his arms, and evidently had had the same thing, that it's a histaminic reaction to grass! He found that it sprang up on parts of his body (mostly, although it got somewhat spread) that touched grass, e.g. his ankles and also his hands because he was edging.

He has found that advil also takes away the inflammation, as one might guess...It goes away when he doesn't go into the garden, but any time when he goes back out, it comes back! He's trying antihistamine cream this evening to see if it helps.

They start out as red spots but then get wider and look almost like flat, raised, red discs. What do your spots look like? He's never had this in the 21 years we've known each other, btw., so there must be something about this summer that is different from others...maybe it's something that has to do with the mild winter last year? It might be grass, it might maybe be something else...but you're not alone.

I went through this last month with my son.
Only 100 times worse.
He couldn't sleep because at night it became unbearable.
Finally took him to the hospital to get a shot of epinephrine.
Twice...
Do you suffer from allergies ??
The Doc said that your system can tolerate so much then the whole thing shuts down.
Took about a week to clear-up and now takes a Claritin now and then...
If the co pay is the same ask to see an allergy spec.rather than the dermo.

forboystoo, is that reaction above from hayfever or another type of allergic reaction?

aloha, are you taking any medications?

I just had a similar situation myself several weeks ago. I had a itchy rash similar to the photo, above, except it had the added beauty of being redder and weepy. After freaking out thinking it was bed bugs, I finally saw the doc and discovered it was an allergic reaction to Naproxen, which I had been taking for almost 4 weeks for a knee problem.

The lesions showed up over several days in very random places. On my neck and up on to my face, my upper arms, backs of my knees and exactly where my underwear waistband sits.

The itching was like I had never have felt before - insane! I scratched so hard I had bruise marks. OTC hydrocortisone helped keep it for being overwhelming but what really helped the itch was Hydroxyzine. I was also taking Prednisone and the Hydroxyzine made me drowsy and helped to counter the jittery feelings from the Prednisone.

I feel for you, the itch makes you totally crazy! I hope you can figure out the source of your problem soon - and without steroids (ugh!) (but better than itching!).

Nicole

Like Nicole said, are you taking any new meds? Did you buy a new chair or sofa? A new pillow or blanket? Sheets?

Did the doctor rule out hives?

Try to get an appt. ASAP, and if he's too busy, go to another doctor. I might go to another doctor anyway. A GP could probably help you too.

Hope you feel better soon, it's got to be miserable!

1st thing that comes to mind is peroxide. When we had MRSA last year; it was the only thing that helped. My daughter has what looks like bites on her ankle/foot; says they itch like crazy.

If you even suspect bedbugs; start running the vac.
I've been seeing some microscopic bugs that are coming in our screens & some how getting in through the windows in the house. I don't see a lot; few here & there & I'm mostly finding them in the master bath. They're not a flea; not sure if they're a tiny spider or bug.

Roselvr, are they a teeny tiny black bug, almost minuscule? I have them along w/ several neighbors, and been told they're sugar ants. Have never heard of such a thing, but they do seem to gravitate where I keep the sweets.

As for itching, I've been bitten by fireants twice this summer and also had chiggers. Both times I applied peroxide every time I started itching. In less than a day, the itching stopped, when I was bitten by fire ants last year and used the cortisone cream, it did nothing. The peroxide is less harmful than the cortisone cream which you can build up an intolerance too, or get a secondary rash from the skin getting too dry~that becomes a real mess!

Thanks for all your responses. I've been too busy scratching to reply back...I have to make a joke about this, as it's getting depressing.

The bites look very similar to mosquito bites IMO thought the dermatologist couldn't identify them.

Forboystoo - that rash reminds me of my DS's with his laundry soap reaction.

My DH ultimately is getting bit now which prompted another inspection of our bed. We even turned out the lights almost hoping we'd find something so we can move ahead on fixing this frustrating problem. We even went over the boxspring carefully and nothing.

Some of our "bites" pop out during the day, which really frustrates our mission to finding the culprit.

My DH an I are not allergic to anything that we know of, nor do we take any medications.

We tried an oatmeal bath last night, that made for an even more restless night.

One oddity our dog that sleeps with us isn't scratching but has had 2 different days of diarrhea....yes we're looking at EVERYTHING.

We'll be taking Benadryl tonight and get the ointment. Though my DH isn't keen about the idea, I thought we could set the alarm to go off every hour, turn on the lights and strip back any blankets to see what may be lurking. Desperate measures for desperate times.

A very good friend of mine has suffered with bites and itches off and on for the last couple of years. She has no obvious allergies. Talked with her this a.m. and she had tried witch hazel. It immediately took away the itchiness and the spots started shrinking. It's an old remedy but it might be worth a try.

DS had severe itching and went to a hospital in Seattle. They said is definitely wasn't chicken pox until they did some tests and discovered that, in fact, it was chicken pox.

Have you had chicken pox before? If not, it could be that you have it now. People think of chicken pox as a childhood disease, but adults can get it, too.

If you are still concerned about your bed/furniture this is what the exterminator suggested we do. We were having a bite problem too, but couldn't determine what it was. We were also afraid it could be bed bugs. Our mattress set is a black floral so that made it doubly hard to see if there were any bugs. He had me strip the bed, put a heating pad on the mattress and then put a wide strip (maybe 4"x6") of sticky paper next to it. Said to check in 1-2 hours. Evidently the bugs are drawn to the heat, same as they are to our body heat and will get stuck on the sticky paper. You could probably use some wide packaging tape? We got lucky, no bed bugs.

Claritin works better than Benadryl,(per the doc) plus it is not sedating .
Nothing topical was recommended .

And I'm not saying anything about your housekeeping~
but if you have carpets it could be dust mites.
And chances are that if your son has allergic reactions to something he got it somewhere :)
It's just that we were brought up in a dirtier world and our immune systems can nip it in the bud.

Good-luck !!

Mary_lu, were you ever able to find out what was the problem was? Possibly some dry ice on top of a heating pad would trick whatever is lurking?

You mentioned your dog sleeping with you. Have you checked the dog for fleas?
Just thinking they are pretty hard to spot, so tiny and move so fast.

Chiggers ususally bite on the ankles, but when DH had a bad experience with them, (he had to take off work he itched so bad!) a lady at work gave him some Chigger-X. Once he rubbed it on, the itching stopped. We keep a jar of cream here all the time now.

I would go back to the doctor, but not the same one. Go see your regular doctor.

I had a terrible experience with chiggers -- bites all over -- and then huge welts ...

Checked on the internet -- and tried a trick that I learned on there -- I soaked in a warm bath -- added Listerine with Spearmint!! Seriously -- worked so well!

Then I used Chigger-Ex Plus (from Walmart) cream (which is made with spearmint oil too!) and then added anti-itch cream too ....

Have you been eating a lot of tomatoes, especially home grown? I had a horrendous rash years ago~its an overload of the acidic acid. Strawberries can also have the same effect, but is usually related more to young children. It very well could be a food allergy and not bug bites. Just another thought. ;o)

Patty_cakes has a good point: My hand-eczema worsen when I drink citrus juice, esp. Orange/pinapple/strawberries. There are so many pesticides on strawberries that can set off a rash. I have no problems with cranberry juice (no pesticide & no need for citric acid since it's so sour). What's worse, they add citric acid to juice. Citric acid is made commercially from a genetically-modified black mold, rather than from citrus fruits. Lots of people are allergic to that.

I can tolerate juice WITHOUT chemical citric acid .. much better than juice with citric acid added. Also find that applying Milk of Magnesium STOP THE ITCH better than other remedies, be it hydroxide peroxide, calamine lotion, iodine, or apple vinegar cider. Milk of Magnesium works because magnesium relaxes the tissue, thus help in calming the itch. With my 3 years of eczema & itching right hand, I have tried all remedies possible.

Similar stories come up periodically on a list serve I'm on (Berkeley Parents Network, if you want to dig through their archives), and by far the most common response is to suggest it could be rat mites. I don't know how widespread they are (I'm in the San Francisco Bay Area), but I see online articles from NY and Texas, so it can't be just a regional thing.