Skin Irritation Caused by Cardboard Mites

What Are Mites and Where Do They Come From?

• Cardboard mites are small insects similar to fleas that are found in dogs and cats. They breed copiously and sting and bite often. They are also difficult to get rid of. Cats and dogs and other animals get mites from unclean living situations, poor food and water or lack of vet care. They can also get cardboard mites from other animals or from being outside where the mites might be. Skin irritation is caused by the mites burrowing into the animal's skin and biting and scratching it. Mites can also be passed to humans via contact with an animal that has them. On humans, the mites act just as any other insect would, biting, scratching and irritating the skin.

What Irritation Looks Like

• On animals, the skin will appear to be read and flaky under the fur. The fur might become matted itself. The animal will itch the area quite often and shake his fur to try to get the source of the irritation to leave him alone. On people, skin irritation caused by cardboard mites appears like a rash or a series of bug bugs. The bite itself or the rash that comes around it might be red, itchy or swollen. The skin around the irritation looks dry and patchy to the eye.

How It Feels

• It is important to know what the irritation looks like, but the irritation itself might be different in some people. A condition that looks like a mite irritation might be simply dry skin, a fever rash or another condition. Therefore, it is important to know how the irritation feels---if you couple the look and the feeling together, you can get a for sure diagnosis.

  Cardboard mite skin irritation is bothersome. To the animal, it feels itchy almost constantly. Humans will experience the same itchiness, but are better able to explain it as a burning, itching, bothersome feeling in the affected areas. A mite infestation causes skin irritation, so your skin might also feel itchy or crawly in other places.

Cure

• Skin irritation from cardboard mites can be cured in two ways. The first is to remove the source of the irritation. This means washing and cleaning an animal's fur, giving him a treatment to rid the fleas and mites and changing bedding and living quarters to be clean and mite free. It also means providing your pet with a change of diet and fresh water and food. After the changes have been made, any remaining mites should die off.

  A vet can also prescribe medication that will kill mites and keep them from returning. This is a typical flea and tick medicine that is taken by mouth and kills the mites found on the skin. It is only available with a vet's prescription.

  In people, treat skin irritation from mites as regular bug bites. Make sure that you are no longer exposed to the mites, and clean your body. Wash the clothes you were wearing in several cycles of hot water, or throw them away if they are too infested. Then use triple antibiotic ointment on the mite irritation. It should resolve itself within a couple of days.

Prevention

• Prevent mites in animals by keeping the animals in places with clean bedding, fresh water and a healthy living environment. Do not let an animal without mites interact with animals who have them or with animals that you believe might have mites. To prevent mites in humans, wear gloves whenever handling animals with mites. Wash your hands after exposure to any animals.

• I answered your questions. I left what it looks like and how it feels as two different sections, but I added to the how it feels section to make it apparent that the section and description is important.

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