Have you had a rash recently that looks like this?
It’s in a little bit of a linear pattern
on areas of your body that are not covered by clothing.
That is intensely itchy.
And you’ve been in the Chicago land area recently.
Then you may have suffered from insect bites,
specifically from the Oak Leaf itch mite,
or pyemotes herfsi.
Sometimes people are calling this the cicada mite bite.
This was a picture from one of my patients
who gave me permission to share this.
This is a type of insect bite that is unique to the Chicago land area,
where the cicada invasion recently happened.
And we Learned a lot about this back in 2007
during the last cicada invasion.
And so, essentially,
these mites are feeding off of cicada eggs,
mainly on oak trees. And when the wind blows,
the mites fall and land on our skin.
They bite our skin, but you don’t feel the bites right away
like you do with a mosquito bite.
About six to 10 hours later,
a rash develops. And it takes several days for this rash to resolve.
With usual supportive care treatment,
fortunately, these mites will die off soon.
It’s estimated that it could end by the end of August
or the beginning of September.
We won’t have to deal with this for a long time coming.
Is this something that you or someone you know have been dealing with?
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