Sand Fleas? Bites? Help! | Debbie's Caribbean Resort Reviews Forums

Returned from Sol Luna y Mares last Wednesday – March 10. While down there I got some bites on my legs. My boyfriend didnt get any. My friend also got some, and her hubby didn’t get any. They stayed relatively small and didn’t itch much, so I chaulked it up to some sand fleas.Well… the past few days the bites have become VERY itchy, some of them have ‘hived’ up and I feel like I am getting more. I’ve read that sometimes it takes several days for the bites to appear – but almost a week later?Anyone have any experience with this sort of thing? They definitely fit the bill of a ‘flea’ bite, considering they are 90% on my feet/ankles, with the rest being on my lower legs – all below my knees. We did walk on the beach at night, which I just read is a bad idea – d’oh.Any info would be appreciated. Kind of losing my mind thinking I brought fleas back with me…. ugh!

(Other than that, my trip was fantastic though… LOL)

Hi eclaire !
Here is my post (from TA) after my last trip to Cuba . It looks like you have the same problem ! I was also worried that I brought sand fleas back (and I probably did, since I brought a bag of sand with me !! I know …loca

Anyway , just to let you know ,that the itching didn’t go away for a few weeks …sorry I bought "Aveeno anti-itch lotion" , that helped for a while ,you just need to re-apply a few times a day. Good luck !

Just returned from Sol Cayo Santa Maria! Had a wonderful time! I have been to MCSM twice ,and love it,but Sol is also beautiful!So green and lush.But this could be a reason,that I got EATEN alive by sand fleas (or like they call them in Cuba "jejenes" ) !!!! And not just on the beach..mostly in the resort at night, sitting in the theatre! We used different creams,sprays,my Cuban friends gave me their spray ..NOTHING worked !!!I have been taking garlic capsules forever ,didn’t help!I noticed that Cubans got bitten,but didn’t have an reaction like me(and most tourist).I am COVERED in red bumps! And is sooo itchy !.It seams like new ones are coming! I am putting Benadryl after bite cream,it helps for a while.

So ,any of you getting ready for a trip to the Cayos,please be prepare.I never had this problem when I went to MCSM,but maybe because I traveled in Nov and May,or because there is standing water (like ponds) everywhere,and Sol is very lush.Also my friends told me ,that this is the worst (Sept ,Oct) time for the sand fleas !

	Oh geez – weeks!!! Honestly, I can deal if I know that eventually they will go away. Getting new ones almost a week after leaving was freaking me out. Thanks for the info, its helping put my mind at ease. Off to load up on anti-itch EVERYTHING!

	Around dusk and early morning in Cayo Coco I have seen little "clouds" of low flying, barely visible flying insect of some sort, midges maybe but smaller. (I must remember to snap a picture next time I see them.) They tend to be at a height below the knee. Most people walk right through them without seeing them and most are not bitten… some get eaten.

Oh geez – weeks!!! Honestly, I can deal if I know that eventually they will go away. Getting new ones almost a week after leaving was freaking me out. Thanks for the info, its helping put my mind at ease. Off to load up on anti-itch EVERYTHING!

If your local drugstore or healthfood store has a section of homeopathic medecine, try Apisgel – it provides a cooling sensation and can be applied as many times as needed. I found it worked just as well if not better than Benadryl antihistamine cream.

Let me start by saying that I am no doctor, but I am the guy who usually looks like he has the measels from the knees down.The quickest way to get rid of the itch is to lance them with a needle, or just scratch the heck out of them until they are open. Once they drain the itch goes away fast. For quicker and a more noticable cure, apply a little hand sanitizer to them once they are open, the alcohol in it will catch your attention but will get rid of those things in 24 hours.I know it sounds barbaric, but thats why the good Lord created ya with fingernails.If you dont open them to get the poisons out it takes your body a very long time to naturally detox it all out of the bites.

So go on, itch them, you know you want to.

	As soon as I noticed a bite I applied tea tree oil. I’d it apply to each bite after showering and then before I went to bed. The welts didn’t get too red or big and after less then a week home they started to disappear. They still itched a bit but not as bad as they would have.

….. So go on, itch them, you know you want to. Maybe you want to, but I don’t think it’s a good idea. Try googling the phrase ‘sand flea bites treatment’ or similar. The general consensus is that scratching irritates them more and raises the risk of infection.

But hey, whatever works for you.

Here are a few of my suggestions …and they like me alsoBuy green clay – it comes in a powder form – great for facials also -make a paste of it and apply to the areas – allow to dry and then shower off – that will helpAnveno also makes an oatmeal application that does the same king of "drawing out"

Make sure and watch if it is increasing in area. It might be something entirely different – like a poison ivy kind of irritation.

There are other really good homeopathic remedies Anne gave you one and another is Rux Toc , Apis, Cantharis (can help with some itching) – but important you chat with someone at the health-food store for ‘official’ guidance.

And these great but some people still prefer the OTC antihistamines

	I got some of the Aveeno itch reflief moisturizer and that really seems to be helping. I can deal with the itch – my main question is this – to those of you who have experienced this:Once you were home, did the bites seem to inflame moreso than when you were in Cuba? Also, did you notice NEW bites showing up once you were home? And if so, how long thereafter?

I have never been bothered by bug previously in Cuba until Sol Luna y Mares in Feb. I never felt them bite but some of the welts took up to a month to disappear. I went to the Dr at the resort and he gave me some Calamine lotion and hydrocortizone ointment. My legs were actually starting to swell. My wife never had a single bite. I noticed several others walking by with the telltale signs.
I don’t know where they were coming from but I am sure I was bitten while sleeping. I would apply 95% DEET bug repellent before going to bed and then before the beach.

	I have had the day after I arrived home them seem more itchy – ( and therefore more red) but not more bites

Hola
ok check out this pic…yes it is gross [email protected]/3699331954/Nothing did work on them, even when I drained them they would fill up again with a pale yellow liquid…and they even scare…took nearly 2 years to fade away…but I still see them.I now have 100% deet from the states, cannot get that here in Canada. Maybe stronger deet, may help. But at dusk, they come, they feed, and then gone…never saw what bite me.We will see what happens in April….

Yeah I noticed alot of other people at the resort with the same bites on their legs, from the knee down. We thought we were getting bit during the night as well, but then I noticed new bites in the late afternoon that were not there in the morning, so I think I was just noticing the difference in the morning, which made me think the bites were coming at night.

Crabby: My bites do not look like that. Mine are move hive-ish, instead of ballooned out like those, though they look really really painful Hopefully you will stay bite-free in April.

	I am sure I got new ones when I got back home 🙁 It took a couple weeks for them to start disappearing! And I ,like crabby, still have the scars 🙁

	Did anyone actually feel themselves being bitten? The no-see-ums we have up here, really take a chunk out of you. There, I didn’t feel a single bite. (until after)

	Did anyone actually feel themselves being bitten? The no-see-ums we have up here, really take a chunk out of you. There, I didn’t feel a single bite. (until after) In all the years I’ve been traveling, maybe once or twice. It’s hard to believe that anything that small could leave such a large welt ….

	I have found if you shower with the hottest water you can stand on the bites, it will sting and itch for a couple of minutes, then it will take the itch away and in a couple days they will get smaller. This has worked for anyone that I have traveled with

I’ve had those bites – they do seem to get worse when you get home, and I have scarring from scratching them. My travel companion was so allergic to them that her eyes puffed up and she was given a cortisone shot, which instantly magically (and chemically!) took it all away, swelling, itching, everything. I use Watkins cream, then shower when I get back to the room, then apply tea tree oil. Also, during the day, I liberally slice up an aloe branch and freely apply aloe. Do not go on the beach before 10 am and leave by 4 pm. Rinse before you go to your room, dry your towel outside (dont throw it on the bed!), and then shower with extra soap on your ankles. Could I BE more specific? Probably!!!

	I had some this year. Got back on a Wednesday and they didnt appear until Sunday. That was 3 weeks ago and I still have a couple that are taking a while to heal.

	when i go away to the caribbean i take anti-histamine tablets every day ,( hay fever tablets)1 week bfour you go and 1 week after you come backand while you are ther ,this seems to work for me i still get bitten but they dont come up in big red marks my partner does not seem to get bitten but they love me

Wow – thanks so much for the suggestions and support!!! My bites are FINALLY starting to heal up now. Some are worse than others and the itchiness is still lingering, but getting better. No new bites over the past few days.

I’m definitely going to take all your advice for next year when I head down south. At the Luna y Mares – the disco is on the beach, so we were walking there a few nights out of the week and I am thinking thats where alot of them came from!

	If you take antihistamine tablets, you might want to go easy on the alcohol – both are processed by your liver, and combined with the often fattier food in Cuba, your liver might suffer!

WOW, travelled to DR X4 and never had sand fleas issues. Girl’s trip in Sept. going to nH Krystal Cayo Coco and lots of talk about sand fleas.

I have now noted many of the recommended creams/treatment which is great, thanks to everyone for sharing. My questin is: "is there a preventable" cream/spray/lotion that can be applied to prevent the sand flea bites? Would a canadian mosquito repelant work. Rmeebr that in Canada, Deet is at very low levels in most products.

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