Tick bite
Trombiculosis is a skin disease that occurs when chiggers, in the process of metamorphosis from larvae to adults, temporarily parasitize vertebrates to feed on their blood in preparation for egg laying.
Chiggers, commonly referred to as proboscis, increase in size over a period of 6-12 days while they are feeding, often leading to misidentification as a tumor because they anchor their stylostome into the host’s skin.
The bite site may necrotize or form ulcers at the center, and gradually red rash, inflammation, and swelling can occur around it.
During the feeding of the chigger, minor pain and itching can be caused at the bite site, but most of the time there are no symptoms, leading many patients to unknowingly live with it. This is because chiggers pierce the skin very slowly and their saliva contains anticoagulants and local anesthetics!
In this case, the patient discovered something on the left buttocks a day after hiking at Changwon Jeong Byeongsan and came to the hospital. The patient had no symptoms. The parasite was removed with forceps, and the bite site, including the parasite, was completely excised by punch biopsy.
Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome, SFTS, also known as killer chigger, is a disease characterized by fever and platelet decrease. The SFTS virus carriage rate of the small Sophi chiggers is 0.5%, and the mortality rate from the infection is reported to be 6%.
As seen in the picture above, the incubation period can be up to two weeks, and if you have symptoms such as high fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and fatigue after being bitten by a chigger, it is necessary to visit a hospital for a detailed examination.
Most importantly, it’s recommended to cover exposed skin areas during outdoor activities and use tick repellents to avoid getting bitten!
You may unknowingly get bitten by a chigger and, surprised upon discovering it, just remove it with your hand, but the firmly attached stylostome could remain.