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Are there health concerns bedbugs?

Bed bugs cause a variety of negative physical health, mental health andeconomic consequences. Many people have mild to severe allergic reaction to the bites with effects ranging from no reaction to a small bite mark to, in rare cases, anaphylaxis (severe, whole-body reaction). These bites can also lead to secondary infections of the skin such as impetigo, ecthyma, and lymphanigitis. Bed bugs may also affect the mental health of people living in infested homes. Reported effects include anxiety, insomnia and systemic reactionsCDC-EPA Statement On Bed bugs

Do Bed Bugs Transmit Disease?

Bedbugs, like mosquitoes and ticks pierce the skin and suck the blood of their victims. They also inject an anesthesia, like mosquitoes do. Unlike mosquitoes and ticks, bedbugs have not been scientifically proven to transmit diseases.

Bedbugs are suspected of transmitting 41 human diseases

HIV has been found to survive up to 8 days inside a bed bug after it fed on an HIV positive victim

Hepatitis B can survive 7 weeks inside a bed bug, which has fed on a host carrying Hepatitis B

Whether or not bed bugs can transmit human disease agents remains a point of contention. Attorneys representing plaintiffs bitten by the bugs in hotels and apartments often firmly state that the risk is real and warrants compensation.While not scientifically proven to transmit disease, the record of science and the medical community has not been totally reliable concerning some public health issues.

What is the most serious health concern with bed bugs?

One of the most serious health concerns with bed bug bites, is MRSA. Methicillin Resistant Staph Infection is potentially deadly. Today it is also commonly called Medically Resistant Staph Infection. The scratching associated with repeated bug bites breaks the skin. In the age of MRSA there are significant health risks with repeated skin breaks.Different people have different reactions to bed bug bites. For many, severe allergic reactions cause large welts, itching, and extreme discomfort.Left untreated, victims are covered in large itching welts.

Bed bugs can hatch in 10 days and reach maturity in as little as 21 days, they reproduce at an astonishing rate. Bed bugs feed every night, biting their victims repeatedly. They are voracious, and are adept at feeding without the host feeling the bites until morning.

Thepersonshown received these bites in a single night, staying in an infested room. Any break in the skin causes increased risk for MRSA. Repeated bed bug bites and scratching causes health risks that are potentially dangerous.

MRSA is a growing global public health menace because of its rapid spread from hospital settings into communities of healthy people, says NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. This is an evolving pathogen that in recent decades has developed resistance to common medical treatments and now is finding new mechanisms to spread and cause severe illness.Bedbugs, A Growing Health Menace

Over 90,000 people per year are developing life threatening infections caused by the drug resistant staph germ MRSA.MRSA- Deadly Threat

While the jury is still out as to the ultimate effect of bed bug bites on society as a whole, a bed bug infestation should be treated seriously and quickly to prevent possible health risks for you and your family.

Pesticide health concerns.

With Bed Bugs, the Cure May Be Worse Than the Disease.

As reported in Time Magazine Bloodsucking bed bugs have made a comeback in recent years. But as victims of infestation have become increasingly desperate to rid their homes of the bedeviling pests, many have only done themselves more harm.

A total of 111 illnesses associated with bed bug-related insecticides were reported in seven states between 2003 and 2010 (mostly in the last three years), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Thursday. Most cases of poisoning were not severe, but the data included one death.The actual number of insecticide-related illnesses may be far higher than found in the CDC study, because it included only those that were reported to a surveillance system in 12 states. Further, many people experiencing minor symptoms, who didnt seek medical treatment or advice from a poison control center, would not have been captured by the system.

In nearly 40% of cases of insecticide-related illness, extermination was attempted by consumers who werent certified to use pesticides. The problem is only being made worse by bed bugs increasing resistance to commonly available pesticides, the CDC said, which may further drive peoples misuse of toxic chemicals. Do-it-yourselfers should follow product instructions carefully.

Read more:http://healthland.time.com/2011/09/23/with-bed-bugs-the-cure-may-be-worse-than-the-disease/#ixzz1n4Ft7EMf

See more here:
Health Concerns bed bugs - BC BED BUG EXPERT

Ready for your daily dose of gross and nasty news?

Vancouver has been ranked as one of the worst cities in Canada for bed bugs.

You read that right.

RELATED:Vancouver and Burnaby Are Among The Rattiest Cities In B.C.

Orkin Canada released its list of top bed bug cities and Vancouver came in at #4, while Burnaby was ranked at #20.

Toronto was ranked as the worst city in Canada for bed bugs.

Photo: Orkin Canada

The findings by Orkin Canada are based on the number of commercial and residential bed bug treatments carried out by the countrys largest pest control provider reads a press release.

Heres the full list of Canadas worst bed bug cities:

If you want to prevent bed bugs from being an issue for yourself, Orkin advises you to:

Plan your next night out, enter contests, and stay connected.

Read more:
Vancouver Is One Of The Worst Bed Bug Cities In Canada

Bed Bugs in Hotel

Bed bugs are easy to transport in luggage and very hard to get rid of. For this reason they have become an especial nuisance for hotels, who are not eager to publicize their infestations. You can't tell whether a building or hotel room has them based on cleanliness - the bugs can thrive anywhere there are cracks and crevices to hide in. Bed bugs are becoming common in hotels, possibly because the bugs are developing resistance to sprays, or possibly because more toxic sprays have been outlawed. The bugs are showing up in luxury buildings and expensive resort hotels, so no one is immune to them. Bed bugs cannot fly, and you can kill them by encasing furniture or clothes in plastic; they need blood to live.

Still concerned? Concerned travelers may want to check their bed for telltale signs of the bugs, a more common practice years ago. Before jumping into bed, here are a few spot check tips:

First, look into the cracks and seams of the mattress, as this is a favorite spot for bed bugs to hide. They sleep during the day, so are easy to spot at this time. If there are no bugs to be found, you should look for small rusty spots staining the mattress, as these stains could be the blood excrement of bed bugs. There may also be discarded exoskeleton shells near these stains, as bed bugs grow up to 5 times after a feeding, and shed often.

Blood excrement and exoskeleton shells are an indication of a bed bug brooding site, and if one brooding site exists, there are often more in the room. Next, look behind the head board of the bed and any nightstands that are in the area. Bed bugs have an affinity for wood, and are often found hiding in these areas. It is important to check these areas because the mattresses may have been cleaned, but the room could still be infested. Any bed bugs still alive after the bedding and mattress is treated will most likely be in these areas. They can not jump or fly, but can easily walk the distance from a night stand to your bed when you are asleep.

If you do find any bed bugs or brooding sites in your room, alert the staff immediately. Take your luggage with you also, because you don't want any of them hitching a ride and infesting your home. Hotels, motels, and hostels usually take bed bug infestations quite seriously and should be happy to move you to another room.

Bedbugs (or bed bugs) are becoming an epidemic in hotel rooms throughout the United States. Larger cities, especially New York City are literally infested with them. Before staying in a hotel room for the night these days, it is best to spend five minutes and check the room for bedbugs. Some of the pictures of victims are downright gruesome. The bugs come in the night and bite along the thickest veins in your legs in the middle of the night where your slumber is at it's deepest level. Bedbugs are small black creatures, but you should be able to pick them out by following a few simple procedures. Here are some tips to and information on how to check for bed bugs around the hotel room.

1.Pick up the mattresses in the rooms and look under it. Check around the edges of the box springs. 2.Check under the box spring. 3.Look at the corners of the room. Oftentimes bedbugs are wedged in corners sleeping during the day. Also, spiders do catch them and this is where they generally have their webs. 4.This is the most important tip of all. Headboards in hotel rooms are easily removed. They are basically decorative. Lift up each headboard an lie it on the bed. Carefully inspect the hole where the headboard was lifted out of. Also, inspect all niches and corners of the headboard. Remember bedbugs are very small and dead bedbug husks sometimes can be hard to pick up. If you see any type of bug or husk of small bugs, you most likely have bedbugs in the room (or at least used to).

Excerpt from:
Bedbug in Hotel :: Bed Bug Registry Database