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Invisible Bugs crawling on skin? Strange sensation...

I posted this info before, but it was a reply to someone else's similar post...

I am a 23 year old healthy male. I recently had a full physical and the results were that I am in above average health. I have no diseases, do not use drugs, but drink on occasion.

Anyways, just started noticing these strange symptoms, within the past few weeks. Nothing "brought it on" so to speak that I can tell of. It's been going on longer, but less noticeable, now since I do not talk sleeping meds any more, it's all that I can notice...

Symptoms are strange sensations on my skin. The sensation is it feels like there are "invisible bugs" crawling on, and/or biting my skin. No actual bites, rashes, bugs, sores, or anything of the nature is ever visible. Occurs more at night, while laying down than any other time. The sensation occurs throughout my entire body, no area is exempt from this sensation, and it seems to be completely random, at times I'll feel it on my arm, then my face, then leg, then arm again, etc, no pattern. The sensation "goes away" once I touch the area (either itch it, brush at it as if there WAS a bug I am brushing off, slap it, or touch it in any way...)

I've heard that various forms of dry skin, or minor allergic reactions to soaps could produce such a problem... I have not changed body soaps, shampoos, or laundry detergent types in quite a while (well before such symptoms) I do not have dry skin, or any type of rash.

Ruled out dry skin

I've read about "Morgellons" (years ago, before it was a mainstream idea) and don't think that is what I have... I have no lesions, sores, boils, wounds, or anything of the sort, and no fibers protruding from anything.

Ruling out Morgellons.

I had read about the possibility of it being bed bugs (from reading sites like this online) so I tore my bedroom apart looking for signs of an infestation, and saw NOTHING. My mattress is brand new, the apartment I live in is also pretty close to brand new. Never the less, not a thing was found, searched mattress, box spring, walls near bed, everything.

Ruled out bed bugs.

The only other thing I've seen it could be is Restless Leg Syndrome. NOT sure about that, but I did hear that that sensation in the legs is a symptom of that, and that in some cases, the skin crawling sensation can occur all over the body, not just the legs, and still be considered RLS.

Undecided about RLS possibility.

The only other things I have going on that MAY be related, is an upper back pain/numbness... unknown cause. Been going on for years though. No diagnosis.

So basically I'm out of ideas, and about to go insane. It's terrible at night not being able to sleep because of that feeling, and not being able to sleep with my girlfriend because I keep her awake with my constant moving around and itching...
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Avatar universal
You, easily, got this wrong.  Arachnophobia  is a fear of spiders and other arachnids.  You are WAY off the page with this "theory".
Helpful - 1
Avatar universal
What kind of sleep meds did you take?  I have the same problem and I know for sure what caused it. The first time it happened I was taking a generic sleep aid for a while.  Active ingredient diphenhydramine. When I stopped taking it the itching started exactly like you say is happening to you.  Random itchy feeling like something is crawling but in the same spot, sometimes in a couple of areas in the body then switching to another. Mostly oN my torso & head and most of the time when I'm not active like on the sofa or bed. When I took the sleep aid it would go away.  When I stopped it would come back. I finally just stopped completely and dealt with. it finally stopped but mo the later. That was years ago. About 6 months ago, I was having trouble sleeping and obviously forgot what I'd gone through this before. I took some sleeping pills, generic, but I found out most have this active ingredient. Took it for about a week. When I stopped, the itching stated again!! I was so mad at myself!  So here I am 6 months later dealing with it again.  Sometimes I can't sleep at all and it ***** cuz I can't take a sleeping pill lol. Hoping it just goes away like it did last time.  Hope this helps.  
Helpful - 1
2 Comments
Thank you UnaChica  - I've been reading this entire post and just read your response - I bet you're right. I have the exact same symptoms for years now as the original poster AND I've been taking generic Benadryl every night for several years.  I think it's also exacerbated by stress and is worse in the months when tiny insects are naturally a problem so you have them on your mind.  My husband is never bothered by a thing and I feel like I'm crawling - so much so that I know it can't be bugs - not all of the time.  I wonder if I dare give up the generic Benadryl?  It really helps me otherwise.    Maybe I'll have to power through the buggy feeling.  Thank you very much.  I'm going to research that more.  I wonder if it's a type of allergic reaction?  I get itchy from acetaminophen (Tylenol) also - I developed an allergy to it from using it too much when I was growing up (migraines).  

I find that showers help but that may just be a side effect of being relaxed.  I also suffer from eczema which doesn't help.

Thank you again - I'm going to try to wean myself off of diphenhydramine and see what happens.  I have a prescription for Ambien but try to only take that when absolutely needed.
I don't take any drugs and have n phobias...   and I have been experiencing this inching for over 9 mo.
Avatar universal
Also might be the metal used in fillings of teeth.   Saw this on Medical Mysteries, the guy almost went crazy thinking he had scabies or parasites that no doctor could help with.  One specialist finally figured out it was his metal fillings.  He had them removed and the crawling sensation ceased.  Must have had porcelain fillings to replace them.  Worth checking into.  Good luck!
Helpful - 1
1 Comments
I don't think it's fillings as my son has same issue and no fillings.
Avatar universal
It's more then likely mold spores.my mother started out with it a few weeks ago and I got it 3 days ago looked up invisible bugs biting on bing search engine and came across this

linkhttp://invisiblebitingbugscure.blogspot.com/2011/08/cure-for-invisible-biting-bugs-on-skin.html?m=1

it describes my situation right down to my son's,so I decided to try the things suggested in the link.so i go to turn off the a.c and look in the return vent and sure enough a pile of dust a inch and a half thick sat all over the inside,funny thing is the filter sits under the a.c unit and ***** all the air and dust back back into the unit which basically cycles all the air and dust back into the house worse part is the landlord used the cheapest filter he could find.since cleaning and keeping the a.c unit of until the ducts can be cleaned the feeling of being bitten has dropped dramatically I highly suggest all those who suffer from this please read the inclosed link and try some of the things suggested it worked for me and I truly hope it works for you
Helpful - 1
Avatar universal
Read my latest comment - I have evidence of a tic, and perhaps the cure. This is of national interest and peoples ignorance has led this to be a world-wide epidemic.

I will have youtube videos soon with my 800X hand-held microscope evidence.
***@****

They are sensitive to light and heat, you will have a hard time to see them as they are very fast and black dots hop a few centimeters at a time.  They lay eggs and make blood paths under the skin,  with an 800x microscope you will see fine blood trails and if you start sweating you will see the tiny white balls rapidly travelling along the blood trails,  if you put the microscope out of focus a bit you can barely notice the white balls leaving the red holes at the end of the blood trails, then they can't be seen.
The tiny black dots on your skin are blood spots where the tics have layed eggs.  You will see near the black spots (under white surface oils or a mucous on skin you may notice things swirling around - these are the eggs that are nearly hatched or have done so and they come and go as they please through the tiny red holes.
My photos and video evidence is now on my google drive - just have to sort and edit and figure out how to post on youtube and to make a web-site.
***@****
New Brunswick Canada
Helpful - 1
1 Comments
Post your video:  We might have to figure these issues out ourselves.

I’m a retired attorney.  My problems began after spine surgery when i could not feel my body. I was living off grid using filtered water that was trucked in to my 2500 gallon water holding tank. I must have been showering with water that had insect larvae in it. Since I had lost skin sensation I’m guessing that as the insects grew on my skin I could not feel them.

I have tiny insects that live on my skin, they hatch in my skin, then live on my skin and scalp. Your article is extremely general. The type of “feeling” of something crawling, inching like a worm, stings of varying severity everywhere on your skin but at various times, crawling in your nostrils, in your ears, all have extremely different sensations. I do not have an itching sensation and I do not tear my skin to get at the insects. I have been able to capture samples of the insects. I take a sticky substance similar to chewed gum and rub it on my skin. The insects are picked up by the gum off of the skin. I have inserted the gum into my nostrils and captured tiny mite appearing black, brown or red dots. Some look like minitature black snakes. I’ve captured thousands over 1 and 1/2 years. They are present even immediately after showering. They are so small no legs or beaks are visible. They’re movement is imperceptible but when they move on the skin, I rub the capture material across my skin and capture them. I’ve seen 3 doctors and they cannot diagnose what the black dots and black snake like creatures are.

I have researched the subject intensely. Some people may fit into the category your article describes. They might only have psycological sensations. But too many others, like me, have samples of insects that have been captured on our bodies. When we live with this foreign objects that should not be on us, it is depressing to the point of wanting to commit suicide. Some people have resorted to suicide because they are ridiculed by doctors, the public, psycologists who simply cannot identify the insects so in their ignorance they conclude there is no insect. Even when they gave seen the insect. Not many of these “professionals” are trained in using microscopes. If they were, they could at a minimum see the insect shape, if it has legs or its method of propulsion over human skin, a mouth or how it bites, stings, eats.

I have found several self help articles listing home remedies and first hand experiences of how men, women, families are having their lives completely unravelled because they spend every waking moment combating these insects. They can’t work, they can barely leave home. Even worse some peoples homes are infested with the very insects that are on their bodies. I have created a system of home remedies that has begun to minimize the numbers of the insects on my body and scalp. The forums I found were archives no longer taking new contributions. I will post my system on a forum that is still active.

I just wanted people out there who are like me, to know many of us are beginning to find ways to live better quality of life again using home remedies. To anyone who needs this, here is a brief list of ingredients that might reduce insects numbers and therefore symptoms:

1. raw garlic cloves blended into water and sprayed onto skin (add garlic mix, apple cider vinegar, tumeric powder, CVS lice treatment with permethrin, CVS tea tree oil blend used for lice treatment. (we’re not talking about lice but there seems to be some crossover in what kills foreign objects in/on the human body)
2. eat 1 crushed garlic clove every morning
3. tumeric capsules
4. This is huge: takes baths add these ingredients to the water, Aerial disifectant laundry detergent (3 cups) or Oxy Clean laundry detergent , bleach, borax laundry detergent, 1 pint hydrogen peroxide, 1 quart apple cider vinegar. Stay in the bathtub for at least 20 minutes every night. Rub the CVS Tea Tree oil mix listed above onto your skin. Bathe every night with these ingredients. You should begin to kill most of the insects on your skin, but the eggs will keep hatching for months until you have completely disrupted the life cycle. Some insects don’t hatch for 5 weeks. So keep up this routine for a couple years. I have seen a handful of people who seem to have rid their bodies of the insects. I have an appointment to see an infectious disease doctor that would only see me after my dermatologist ruled out lice, scabbies and standard parasites detected in fecal or stool samples. My dermatologist ran tests and rules those out. So the infectious disease doctor will see me in 1 week.

Additions:
5. Debrox ear wax removal, this kills some insects and their eggs living in your ears.
6. leg wax used by women to remove hair, is a good way to remove insects living on skin. NONE of these methods can rid all insects in one day. I think ALL of the above listed methods must me used over 1 or 2 years minimum to rid the body of these insects.

7. facial masks that dry can be used over the body to remove insects
8. chewed chewing gum smushed together with moldable silicone balls used to block sound for ears, is sticky and can rub across skin to remove and capture insects on skin. REMEMBER most insects are so small they can only be seen with a magnifying glass. If you have bad eyesight, get a magnifying glass and eyeglass readers to help you see what’s on your skin. I had to get both. I was surprised how much I could see on the chewing gum ball after I roll it across my cheek, or arm or leg or my scalp.

Avatar universal
PS: We really feel it has something to do with our house because if we go away for a few days, the crawling sensation stops.
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