itching all over – is it bed bugs? – Lonely Planet travel forum

itching all over - is it bed bugs?

About 3 weeks ago i woke up and found myself itching all over. My first reaction is it was something from the bed but i have never had anything like this before so dont know and didnt know how to check at the time so just moved hotel. I have researched bed bugs now and it sounds like them but maybe not i am not sure?! I feel the itching all day but in keeping with bed bugs i get it in my sleep at night, probably the worst but not every night, though with time it seems to be getting worse so again that could be the eggs hatching and multiplying in numbers maybe?

I dont have any bite marks, though i have read this is common but i cant see any bugs on me at all anywhere and after reading many guides and advice on looking for them, i can't find them in my current room anywhere.

My understanding is that i probably picked them up from a bed and since then they have been on me but they dont live on me - is that right? - does that mean that at night they leave my body to live on anything close by and that when i go to sleep they, being nocturnal,they travel from their hiding places and feed on me and then leave me again by next morning? Is the continual itching through the day therefore from the bites the night before, not from them still on my body?

Before washing and treating all my clothes and belongings i want to understand what i have and then the best way to try and get rid. I plan to take all my clothes and bags to the laundry and wash on 60 degrees and clean everything else with a spray mixture of dettol and baby oil, which i use already as a mosquito repellent and have read elsewhere this kills the bugs but not any eggs apparently. So if i have eggs on me, and i cant kill them, but can kill all the bugs on me and my possessions, doesnt that mean that when the eggs hatch i am faced with the same continual problem until finally i kill them all and by chance kill the egg layers too?

I am going today to try see a local doctor but unsure i will get the right advice so i hope someone can help me on here too.

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itching all over - is it bed bugs? - Lonely Planet travel forum