Bedbug Bites

Bed Bug Bites

Bed bugs bite exposed skin and leave behind small, red, itchy welts. The good news? Bed bugs are not generally thought to transmit any diseases. The damage is more emotional than physical. The CDC does say that bites from bed bugs can be treated with topical emollients or criticaster. You can also take an oral antihistamine. If you are exposed, you may consider treating your home as well. Most pest control companies are equipped to handle bed bugs. Picture of bed bug bites.

Bed bugs bite and suck blood from humans. Bed bugs are most active at night and bite any exposed areas of skin while an individual is sleeping. The face, neck, hands, and arms are common sites for bed bug bites. The bite itself is painless and is not noticed. Small, flat, or raised bumps on the skin are the most common sign; redness, swelling, and itching commonly occur. If scratched, the bite areas can become infected. A peculiarity of bed bug bites is the tendency to find several bites lined up in a row. Infectious disease specialists refer to this as the "breakfast, lunch, and dinner" sign signifying the sequential feeding that occurs from site to site. It's actually pretty hard to tell, because they can look like little bumps, a rash, or just reddish skin. There's nothing really distinctive about them, and many doctors misdiagnose them as some other skin condition. They're basically just an allergic reaction, so they could look like a lot of different skin conditions.

First of all, it's important to know that not everybody reacts to the bites in the same way. A lot of people don't feel or notice them at all - you're bitten when you're asleep, and the bed bug will inject a chemical into the bite that stops the blood from clotting and keeps you from feeling it. Many people are allergic to this chemical - if you're itching, or seeing a reaction on your skin, then you're one of them. Most people's allergies are mild in the sense that they aren't dangerous. It's highly annoying, and your skin will itch like crazy, but it is extremely rare for anyone to have a serious health problem based on a bed bug bite (though there have been a few cases where people have gone into shock. Obviously, if you see something that seems like it's a more serious symptom than itching you need to see a doctor).

The presence of bed bugs can make the few hours of sleep that a person is able to get in a hectic daily schedule quite unbearable and traumatic. The bites from bed bugs may be a little hard to identify correctly when they first appear as they resemble either little bumps or rashes or might even manifest as simply a reddish skin. As a result, most doctors may misdiagnose it to be some other skin condition. The bed bugs that cause this to occur feed on human blood and since the bites don't really hurt all that much, few victims realize that they have been bitten until some time later '“ when the itching starts to take effect. Most bed bugs are small and measure only about 5 to 7 mm in length with reduced wings.

The female bed bugs are slightly larger than their male counterparts and deposit fertilized eggs in cracks or crevices with newborns emerging in about 5 days. The variations of the skin injuries sustained from bed bug bites will largely differ depending on the structure of the mouthparts. They live primarily in wooden boards, bed frames, furniture, and mattresses as well as behind peeling paint. They grasp onto human skin with their forelegs and pierce the skin before injecting saliva containing anti coagulant and anesthetic properties. They are known to feed around an hour before dawn and each meal would normally take about 3 to 12 minutes.