Question: Hello,

I have some itching insect bites around and below my waistline, and on my upper inner legs.
Here is what happened: I commute between two places: family and work, and when I work, I live alone in a house with garden. I came back to the house from vacation on 20 August. I stayed until 23 August. On August 23, I realised I had many red itching buttons around my waist until my belly button, and the upper inner part of my tight and that they started gradulally from 22 onwards. I did not know what it was. I thought some kind of allergy. Family said either lice or bed bugs. I went to see a dermatologist, she said it was bug bite, but could not tell what kind of bug was causing it. I washed all my clothed at 60 degrees. I stayed 1 week with my family. Nobody has gotten any bug bites ever since.

I came back to work on September 31. I put insecticide everywhere in the house and sprayed the beds. On September 3 morning, I had 3 red buttons on the right inner tigh, two grouped together, the third one elsewhere (not in a line). By that evening, I had three more on the other side (close to the hollow of the left knee), and by September 4, I had 4 more, one on the outer left waist, and two on the middle of the right tigh, one in the middle of my penis.

I am sleeping in pyjama in a way that the trousers are put into the socks (no opening) and have t-shirt and a long-sleeved jumper on, both put into the trousers. So the only open surfaces are my hands, neck and face. Openings are the sleeves and around my neck. No bite there.

I started cleaning up the house and washing systematically everything at 60 degrees and vacuum packing.

In the last two days, I did not have new bites. I am sleeping on the floor. I put vinegar below the blanket and insecticide around it (I have lower back problems, so sleeping on the floor is fine).

I put out bed bug traps but could not catch any. But it does not mean there are not any.
Another option is chigger (red bug) bite. I have some grass not cut since mid-July (it is not growing much) and it has been very hot and dry here. I am going back and forth the house and garder, without changes clothes (I will change this habit).
It could also be Scabies and pediculosis. But I cannot see anything with the naked eye on my skin.

Yesterday, I applied Ascabiol 10% (benzyle benzoate) top my whole body. This supposed to kill the red bugs.

Dear Dr. Kakkar,

Thank you very much for your answer. I do have permethrin, so will apply it to my skin.

I would have a follow-up question. Can you exclude that these are bites from bed bugs? There seems to be correlation with the place I go when I get the bites. Can it be related to location or is it that there is a week-or-so incubation period for the eggs to 'hatch'? Can one get it in a taxi or airplane or hotel? These are the only options, otherwise other members of the family should be also itching.

Many thanks for your anser.

Balazs Egert