Every caring parent worries about their baby, and when more and more bite marks appear every morning, adults begin to really panic. Often, a bed bug bite on a child’s body is confused with the activity of other blood-sucking insects.
You can spend a lot of time and money fighting mosquitoes or fleas that are not even in the apartment, so in order to effectively fight the parasite, it is important to correctly identify it. Due to their tiny size and secretive lifestyle, bedbugs remain above suspicion for as long as possible.
Insects hide in secluded places during the day, and at nightfall they go on a “bloody hunt”
Symptoms of bites in children
Blood-sucking parasites choose children as victims for a reason; the fact is that a child’s skin is much thinner than that of adults. The bug does not need to make a lot of effort to bite through it and get to the blood capillary. Another important factor is the lack of hair on a child’s body, this allows bedbugs to puncture the skin in any open areas.
Bedbug bites in children are usually more severe than in adults. Children are more sensitive, and therefore the body’s reaction to a bite is more severe. Some may also experience a delayed reaction. When a child is bitten by a bug in a dream, he does not feel anything and rarely wakes up, but after some time (4-20 hours) allergic rashes appear on the skin. This can range from minor redness to extensive allergic rashes with severe itching. It all depends on the baby’s immune reaction to the salivary secretion of the bed bug. The bites themselves are not particularly dangerous, but children cannot tolerate the itching and scratch the puncture wounds, where pathogenic bacteria can later enter.
It is important to ensure that a child bitten by bedbugs has his nails cut as short as possible, this will reduce the degree of scratching of the damaged areas
The main feature that gives away a bedbug is the way it feeds. To get enough, the insect makes 5-7 bites on the body of an adult, and in a child it is even more than 7-12, this is due to the fact that the volume of the blood capillary in children is much smaller. The puncture wounds are located at a distance of 2-3 centimeters from each other, forming a path along which the bloodsucker moved while feeding. It is the presence of a cluster of bites that indicates that a dangerous enemy has settled next to you - a bed bug.
Symptoms of a bug bite
Bedbugs usually bite exposed parts of the body. The bite itself can manifest itself in different ways, depending on the individual characteristics of a particular organism. The redness is usually strong, the swelling is round in shape, and there is severe itching. Unlike harmless mosquito marks, bedbug bites are very painful and have clear outlines. Allergic reactions are possible, but in practice they are rare.
The spots that follow a bite are a reaction to saliva. The insect secretes it to make it easier to drink blood. It is because of this that the marks last long enough. When an adult bug bites, there may be no reaction for a long time; marks from young insects appear immediately. The reason for this phenomenon lies in the different composition of the saliva of adults and young individuals.
So, the main symptoms of bedbug bites are:
- swelling;
- itching;
- redness;
- grouped character.
Pay attention to the smells in the bed - if you crush a bedbug (you can do this accidentally), a characteristic smell will appear. Some say it is cognac, others say it is bitter almond. Parasites are especially active at night and early in the morning; people only see bites in the morning. During the day, insects usually sleep. The sensation of bites is subjective - for example, men have a reduced degree of sensitivity, women and children will be more painful. Bedbugs bite everyone - there is no selectivity, including taking into account blood type.
bedbug nest
The insect swallows twice as much food as its mass. At the top and bottom of the insect's body there is a proboscis - it is needed for piercing and sucking. When the insect is not looking for food, the trunk is pressed against the cephalothorax. After piercing the skin, the bug looks for a capillary in the victim’s body. He accurately senses the vibration of the blood in the vessels, so he bites correctly. There are a pair of channels in the proboscis - one sucks out blood, and the second throws out saliva. The saliva contains an anesthetic, so there is no pain during the bite. In one approach, an adult insect sucks out about 1.5 ml of blood, then moves a couple of centimeters and makes a new puncture. The average number of punctures per meal is no more than 5. The extracted volume of blood is enough for the bug to last a week. Young animals eat their fill in a few minutes, adults need about 15-20 minutes.
Bedbugs and babies: procedure
Bloodsuckers cause the most problems to infants. Bedbugs feel very comfortable in a crib; as a rule, babies sleep most of the day and this allows the parasites to attack a defenseless victim not only at night, but also during the day. An immature immune system can react to enzymes in insect saliva with severe allergic reactions. The baby will no longer be able to sleep peacefully in his crib; he will constantly toss and turn and cry, and uninformed parents will never understand what’s going on.
In heavily infested areas, bedbugs can cause anemia (anemia) in infants.
A baby badly bitten by bedbugs
At the slightest suspicion of bedbugs, it is necessary to inspect the child’s sleeping place. Inspect the bed frame. Turn the mattress over and carefully examine the back of it. Pay special attention to seams, stripes, folds. Bedbugs, like any living organism on Earth, leave behind waste products - chitinous shells after molting and excrement. If signs of a parasite are detected, measures must be taken immediately to isolate the infant from the pest. Bed linen must be removed and washed at a temperature of at least 60°C, and then ironed. Place the mattress in a vacuum cover, take it outside, beat it thoroughly, and if it’s winter outside, it won’t hurt to freeze it for several days. The frame of the crib should, if possible, be disassembled into components and treated with a steam generator or an iron with a steamer. Steam, like boiling water, is instant death for the pest and its eggs. In order to prevent the possibility of insects getting into the child’s sleeping area again, bowls filled 1/3 with water should be placed under each leg of the bed. If there are no legs, and instead there is a swing system, then the base in contact with the floor must be covered with double-sided tape around the entire perimeter and it is important not to leave any gaps through which bedbugs can penetrate. This is only a temporary solution to the problem; bed bugs need to be fought not locally, but comprehensively, this is the only way to get rid of this bloodthirsty insect.
These bowls of water are placed under the legs of the bed.
Newborns bitten by bedbugs must be seen by a doctor
Peculiarities of bedbug reproduction
First of all, you should study the topic of bed bug reproduction. The frequency and number of eggs laid directly affect the rate of growth of the parasite population in the apartment and, as a result, the level of potential danger to humans. The topic can be divided into several questions, sequentially giving answers to each of them. First of all, you should study the topic of bed bug reproduction. The frequency and number of eggs laid directly affect the rate of growth of the parasite population in the apartment and, as a result, the level of potential danger to humans. The topic can be divided into several questions, sequentially giving answers to each of them.
How often do bedbugs lay eggs?
A bed bug reproduces by laying eggs. The female insect is capable of laying a daily clutch of 3-5 eggs. With good and regular nutrition, their number can increase to 10 or even 12 pieces per day. This performance is maintained throughout the adult female's life cycle.
Therefore, it is not surprising that in the absence of measures to combat the parasite, the number of bedbugs in the apartment increases very quickly. Therefore, it is very important to detect bedbugs
