Chiggers

Sunday, December 30, 2007:

WX: 8:00 - Sunny, 65, no wind.

We listened to a sermon recorded by the pastor of the church we frequent in the US, Scio Community Aliance Church (a C&MA church). His sermons are always really good and recorde in mp3 format on their website: http://www.ScioCommunity.Org We were very pleased and it made us feel good to hear familiar voice and a good sermon!


Itchy chiggers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvest_mite) were really bad last night. This little buggers are common here, especially in tall grass. Beto and I must have picked-up a load while we were visiting the cattle ranch. Both of us have bites about every 10” over most of our torso and lower bodies. The bites itch like mad, especially at night, for about a week. I have learned that the nymph stage of the animal is what bites people and that they do not burrow under the skin as is commonly thought. They do inject an enzyme fluid that breaks down skin tissue that they then eat. The enzyme is what causes the extreme itchiness long after they have fallen off or been washed off.

Today, our friend Luciana who lives in the village, stopped by to visit and we talked for a long time. She suggested that very, very hot compresses help. Jennifer and I had noticed that a hot shower always makes them itch less. I adapted that idea by heating the metal handle of a butter knife, until is was as hot as I could stand it, and pressing that against the small spot comprising the bite. To my delight, this crazy idea has seemed to work! The itchy spots I have treated like this at lunch time have not itched all day. I honestly don’t know if it has something to do with heat or if it is just a very strong placebo effect – but I don’t care either. I have tried the treatment on bites on my stomach, legs, and back. So far I have a 90% rate of success.

Now, I know a barber in the town of Coban that used to give me a free haircut if I brought him a live scorpion. We have plenty of them, so I would routinely take one with me when I knew I was going there and needed a haircut. He, in turn, would use them to treat some of his “patients”. He explained to me that there is a certain clientele that believe that the sting of a scorpion helps to alleviate the pain of arthritis and even angina. I suppose it is possible that the pain induced by the sting of a scorpion probably does take their mind off of their arthritis and angina! They pay this fellow q10 for each sting – about double the cost of a haircut.

It is possible, I suppose, that the pain induced by a hot knife on the skin is enough to desensitize me to the relatively mild itching of a chigger bite. But that might not explain the long-term relief I have gotten. I’ve read elsewhere that using ice on a scorpion bite is not advised because the venom actually breaks down and dissipates with heat but the reverse is true when it is cooled. Perhaps the enzyme from chiggers is broken down at a certain temperature – much like a turkey at 400 degrees. I really don’t care. Just getting relief from the itch is all I want! I’ll report later as to weather it works overnight.