Help with microscopic biting bugs or mites
I have been living with a mite problem for the last 15yrs. It started when I had two cats and I found that I started to itch whenever they were near me. I initially thought that I might have developed an allergy to them, so a friend decided to have them for a few weeks but I still continued to itch without them in the house. Over time the problem got worse as I found as soon as I walked into the house I would itch all over including in my hair. I get the sensation that something is moving across my skin, but there is nothing visible to see. It appears to be worse at night and when the house is warm. I clean the house regularly, bedding is washed every few days and the mattress vacuumed before new sheets are put on. Clothes are washed on a hot wash and then put away, but I find once they have not been worn for a long time, as soon as you put them on, you start to itch. I initially thought it might be fleas and then decided it must be some sort of mite that the cats have brought into the house from outside.
I had the entire house sprayed by a professional despite the fact he said he could see no evidence of fleas and a further treatment done a month later. I even used flea powders and flea and roach sprays myself, but it didn’t seem to help. I then decided to take drastic measures and put my house up for sale. I moved into my new house and within a day of my furniture being returned, as soon as you entered the new house, I started to itch all over again. When friends come to visit you could see them having the odd scratch to the head or body and it was very embarrassing for me to see them do this as I knew it was because of the problem in the house. I moved house again and this time replaced the bed and soft furnishings, but as soon as the rest of my stuff was moved into the house like clothes and household goods, the itching started again. There is never anything to see when the itching starts, very occasionally you get a bite type lump, but usually you just get red patches where you have scratched the skin. Sometimes when you scratch so much you break the skin, the itching seems to get worse as though something has then got out from under the skin.
I went to see my doctor about the itching and he referred me to a dermatologist consultant. I explained to him what I was experiencing and said I thought it was mites under the skin. He explained that humans only get scabbie mites and affecting examining me he said I had no evidence of the scabbie mite. He came to the conclusion that it must just be eczema and gave me some cream for it. The cream helps to get rid of the red patches caused with scratching the skin, but it does not stop the itching and why would eczema make you itch all over and make other who come into the house itch as well. I have tried using a fogger in the house, but that just seems to make the itching worse. Just out of interest I tried to use a solution on my skin that gets rid of scabbies, and although that seemed to stop the crawling sensation on my skin, it did not solve the problem and I still continued to itch.
Clothes that have been in a drawer or wardrobe for a long time still seem to make me itch as soon as I put them on, and any clothes that have been put away in a suitcase, as soon as the suitcase is opened you start to itch. It is as though by opening the suitcase it has released the microscopic mites into the air. In between one of my house moves I went to stay with a friend for a few weeks. While I stayed there I still continued to itch and also noticed the same problem that as soon as I entered the house I would start to itch in my hair and would itch in bed etc. When I eventually moved into my own house and went back to my friends to visit, I found I no longer itched when I went through the door or while in my friends house. It is as though wherever I go, the microscopic mites follow, like I am the host that they have attached themselves to. I have lived with this problem for a long time now and it causes me a great deal of anxiety. I just want to be able to have an itch free body and home and go about my day to day life without anymore itching. If would be very interested to hear from anyone who might have a solution to my problem that they have used, or anyone else in the UK who has come across this as I can’t be the only one in the UK experiencing this.