Bedbug bites: differences, symptoms, treatment, danger. Why do bedbugs not bite everyone? (photo)

Bedbugs are blood-sucking insects with a flattened oval body shape ranging from 3 to 8 mm in length. The color and size of bedbugs depends on their age and degree of blood saturation. The adult individual is light brown to brown in color. After the bug drinks blood, the color can change from bright red to almost black. The average lifespan of bedbugs is from 1 to 1.5 years.

Bedbug bites are their way of feeding to support life. Bedbugs feed exclusively on the blood of people, birds and animals.

Unfortunately, in our time, no one is safe from the appearance of such extremely unpleasant insects as bed bugs. Stereotypes that these insects appear only in unsanitary conditions are long gone.

At the moment, a connection between bedbug bites and infection through a bite with various diseases has not been found. Nevertheless, bedbugs greatly poison our lives, interfering with restful sleep, thereby reducing productivity.

What do bedbug bites look like?

Every year the number of people suffering from bites of these parasites is growing. If, after waking up, you notice a lot of round red swellings on your body, do not rush to refer to a mosquito bite; perhaps parasites called “bugs” have come into your home.

The main difference is the massive, tightly spaced and grouped bites. Typically, bed bug bites are located in one line. The number of bites of one bug is also typical - 3 - 5 punctures of the skin at a distance of 2 - 4 centimeters from each other.

How to recognize bedbug bites and how they differ from traces of other pests

At first glance, home bug bites can be mistaken for the consequences of a night mosquito attack. However, the swollen red “buttons” on the body have a number of differences from mosquitoes:

• The lesion has a more defined shape, whereas a mosquito bite is usually blurry, with unclear boundaries.
• The wounds are located close to each other. At night, the bug bites a person several times, and does not make long journeys through the body between attacks.
• A cluster of wounds is easily connected by one line.
• Bites will not wake you up at night, as the bug injects an anesthetic into the bloodstream to continue hunting. But in the morning they will start to itch more than mosquitoes.

Traces of attacks by other insects (fleas, midges, etc.) will also be located chaotically. The pain will be stronger because only the bug numbs the site of the attack. Midge attacks leave small wounds that can be easily identified by droplets of dried blood in the center.

Large aggressive insects - wasps, hornets, bees - sting harder than bedbugs, and do not hide their presence. Their bites are larger in diameter and swell rapidly. In this case, problems with identifying the insect usually do not arise: the bite is so painful that it will wake you up from even the deepest sleep.

The difference between bedbug bites and an allergic reaction

In most cases, bedbug bites are misdiagnosed as scabies or an allergy to something. But there are significant differences between a bedbug bite and an allergic reaction.

• The redness from the bite is not continuous, it is located in a path.
• The allergic rash is spread over the entire surface of the body, and not in any individual open areas.
• The bite mark, as a rule, does not change over time; the size, color and shape of the allergy rash can change quite quickly.
• Other family members did not notice anything suspicious on their skin, unlike the victim.

How to get rid of bites at home using folk remedies

After being bitten by bedbugs, it is not always possible to run to the pharmacy and buy medicine. In this case, time-tested traditional medicine will come to the rescue.

1. Make a paste of fresh leaves, stems, and flowers of dandelion and apply it to the affected area in the form of a compress. The beneficial properties of the plant prevent the development of an allergic reaction.
2. Squeeze the juice out of the garlic, moisten a cotton swab and apply to the bite site. This will quickly cope with itching, redness, and kill pathogenic bacteria.
3. Cut the onion into several pieces and apply to the affected area of ​​the skin. Keep for 4-5 hours. This will soothe the skin, relieve inflammation, and reduce pain.
4. Make a solution of baking soda and a small amount of water. You should have a porridge-like consistency. Apply it to the bite site and wait until it dries.

These simple and affordable remedies will help quickly alleviate the condition, but you should definitely see a doctor to prescribe medication.

The appearance of bed bugs not only brings discomfort to a person, but can also significantly harm health. The presence of parasites cannot be tolerated; you need to get rid of them, know preventive measures and means of providing the necessary assistance for bites.

The difference between bedbug bites and the bites of other insects, such as mosquitoes, fleas, etc.

It is somewhat more difficult to distinguish a bedbug bite from the bites of other insects, since all bites look approximately the same - a red spot accompanied by itching.

From a mosquito bite, a bug bite differs in a more defined shape. Flea bites are distributed randomly on certain areas of the skin (most often the affected areas are the legs, up to the knees), while bedbug bites are located approximately in one line. The pain from a midge bite is stronger, but the bite wound itself is smaller, with a drop of dried blood in the middle. Bites of large insects (bees, hornets, wasps) are always remembered by a person because of acute pain. Bed bugs bite unnoticed and the bite can be detected after some time.

How to prevent bedbugs from getting into your bed

There is a way in which, even if the insects in the apartment have not yet been defeated, it is possible to protect yourself from their bites.

To do this, there are several products on the market with which you must carry out three steps:

1. Treat all joints, crevices, cracks and folds of the bed. Any product that can be used to treat this kind of place is suitable for this;
2. Eliminate bedbugs living inside the mattress. A protective mattress cover against bedbugs is best suited for this task. Using it, you will wall up the insects living inside, leaving them without access to food. Without which, as we know, not a single creature can live on earth;

3. Place special traps under the legs of the bed. Now such a product is produced only by the Hector company. The trap is a product that needs to be installed under each of the legs of the bed.

Thanks to these three steps, you will isolate your sleeping area from the penetration of insects, thereby regaining a restful sleep, even if there are still bedbugs in the apartment or among your neighbors.

Symptoms of bed bug bites

Bedbugs mainly bite exposed areas of the body: legs, arms, neck, face, shoulders. The bite itself can manifest itself differently in each person.

Typically, the main symptoms of a bedbug bite include severe redness, round swelling, and severe and irritating itching. Unlike mosquito bites, bedbug bites are more painful and more clearly defined. In some cases, an allergic reaction is possible, but this is rare.

Bedbug bite marks are a reaction to the saliva that the bedbug secretes before the bite so that the blood is better prepared for intake. Because of this, the bite mark of a bedbug lasts longer than that of other insects.

What’s interesting is that if you are bitten by an adult bedbug, you may not see a reaction right away. If the animal is young, then most likely the reaction will not take long to occur - it will manifest itself instantly. This is due to the fact that young bedbugs, unlike adults, are not able to secrete saliva, which contains a substance that acts as an anesthetic.

So, to summarize, the symptoms of bedbug bites are as follows:

• Redness
• Itching
• Swelling
• Grouped bites (3 - 5 skin punctures at a distance of 2 - 4 centimeters from each other).

Also, bedbugs have a special smell, because... they have odorous glands, the openings of which are located on the chest in adults, and on the abdomen in larvae. If you crush a bug, which is very difficult in principle, you can smell their specific smell. By the way, opinions differ regarding the smell: some believe that bedbugs smell of something sweet, like spoiled raspberries, others say cognac, and others claim that a room with bedbugs smells like almonds.

Symptoms

Indeed, bedbug bites are similar in symptoms to many insect bites (especially mosquitoes), but there are still differences. Before we move on to describing these symptoms, let's look at the structure of the proboscis and the way the bedbug feeds. Because without this, you and I will not understand many of the features of the life and nutrition of these parasites.

An adult Cimex lectularius has two tubules inside its proboscis. When it pierces a person’s skin with its proboscis, it first injects an anesthetic substance (a natural secretion) into the blood from one tubule. This substance anesthetizes the site where the blood is sucked and prevents it from clotting. A kind of natural local anesthesia.

For this reason, many people for a long time cannot even suspect that some parasites have appeared in their house and every night they dine on their blood, citing food allergies, for example (they ate something wrong in the evening). Then it remains a matter of little things.

Simply use the second tubule to absorb the required amount of blood into your body. But it is not enough for him to make one puncture on the skin. He must make 3 - 5 punctures to get enough. That's what nature came up with.

Let's move on to the symptoms on human skin:

• redness on the skin in the form of a track;
• itching on the skin (and the itching may not appear immediately);
• numerous wounds or tumors at the bite sites;
• closed and puffed up transparent skin at the site of bite wounds, with whitish contents inside.

What do bedbug bites look like in a person who is not allergic to insect bites (normal appearance), look at the photo.

Moreover, the symptoms and obvious signs of bites may vary, depending on the characteristics of the victim’s body.

If you are not allergic to insect bites, then there will be redness on the skin without any swelling, pustules or thickening. Itching will appear closer to the morning, because the bug begins to feed, as mentioned above, closer to 3 a.m. and after a few hours the substance that anesthetized the bites will stop working.

The number of bites a person gets depends on the number of bedbugs in the house. If you brought these parasites from work or from walking your dog in the park, then most likely there will not be many bites. Because the reproduction process of these insects has not yet begun and any changes on the skin will not be very noticeable.

But if you come to visit your friend and he has an old bed or some other furniture, then it is quite possible that it is stuffed with a whole swarm of bedbugs, which are already reproducing quite actively and have been annoying the owner of the house for a long time.

Numerous wounds and tumors at the site of bedbug bites may indicate the presence of allergies in a person. The skin in places will swell, the area of ​​wounds and redness will increase, pus will ooze from the wounds, because with severe itching, a person with uncut nails and unwashed fingers will introduce an infection that will worsen his health.

Skin irritations from numerous bug bites can spread to a completely healthy person (who does not have allergies).

Closed and puffed up transparent skin at the site of bedbug bites indicates that these are no longer fresh wounds from the bites of these insects. The protective function of the skin will cover open wounds with a thin film to prevent the entry of a new infection, and the whitish content underneath is the accumulation of many dead blood leukocytes that died fighting the infection that got into the open wounds.

Many websites about bedbugs say that they are carriers of dangerous infectious diseases, such as:

• smallpox;
• tuberculosis;
• typhus;
• anthrax;
• brucellosis;
• hepatitis B;
• plague;
• malaria, etc.

But there are no scientifically proven facts about specific people getting these diseases from Cimex lectularius bites.

Also, the myth that bed bugs bite only women and children due to the fact that they have thin and delicate skin is not true.

The bug bites through exactly those places where the layer of skin is the thinnest; both women and men have such places. After all, if you look at bedbug bites on a person (see photo above), you can see that the bedbug left bites on the arms, legs, face, neck, stomach, and soft places on the back (near the kidneys). That is, in those places where there is no thick layer of skin on the body. But there are no bites on the feet or palms.

One bug bite or even several will not have any strong consequences on the human body, even if he is allergic to insect bites. The situation changes in a completely different direction when bedbug bites on a child or adult reach tens or hundreds of times the number of punctures on the skin.

From external symptoms on the skin, let's move on to the exact signs of bedbugs in the house.

When and who do bedbugs bite first?

It is known that the activity of these parasites is concentrated at night and early morning hours, i.e. in the dark, when a person sleeps especially soundly. People notice the bites themselves only in the morning.

If your living space is heavily infested with bedbugs, hungry insects can bite not only at night, but also during the day, although this is not typical for them. Therefore, the faster you get rid of bed bugs, the faster you can be calm in your apartment.

The sensation of bed bug bites is often subjective and individual. For example, women and children most often complain about bites. Their skin is thinner and softer, therefore, the blood vessels are located closer, which attracts the bug.

Adult men are less sensitive to bites, and sometimes they may not notice them at all. Rumors that bedbugs bite people selectively, and especially those who are carriers of certain blood groups, are erroneous. Bedbugs bite everyone, but the reaction to a bite varies from person to person. So, there is no connection between the frequency of bedbug bites and a person’s blood type.

How to find out if there are bedbugs at home?

The main sign of a swarm of bedbugs in your home is the characteristic smell of cognac or sour raspberries. But this is only if there are really a lot of bedbugs at home.

Bedbugs in small numbers can leave traces of your blood on the sheet.

Important! Check your sheets carefully after staying overnight in a hostel or after spending the night as a guest. This will prevent the appearance of bedbugs in your home and prevent possible consequences of bites for your body.

How do bedbugs bite?

Any blood-sucking insect has its own feeding habits. Bed bugs are no exception. There are many specific details in how bedbugs bite. The oral apparatus of bedbugs is of the piercing-sucking type, has the appearance of a segmented proboscis on the top of the head and is adapted to sucking out liquid substances. For example, mosquitoes simply stick their proboscis into the skin, while bedbugs have two pairs of jaws, thanks to which they feed.

But let's return to how the bug bites. As mentioned above, there are two channels in the bug’s proboscis that allow it to feed and even remain unpunished for some time. One channel is for sucking the victim’s blood, the second is for introducing saliva into the bite, which contains a substance that plays the role of an anesthetic.

The length of the bedbug's proboscis does not exceed 0.7 mm, this forces it to look for areas of the skin with the closest blood vessels in which blood can be drawn. In one bite, the bug sucks out 1-1.5 µl of blood. After receiving this portion, the parasite moves 2-4 centimeters throughout the body and bites again. In young animals, a bite usually takes about 2-3 minutes; in adult bed bugs, this time can last up to 15 minutes.

Thus, the bug leaves 3-5 bites on the body, during which it sucks up to 7 µl of blood. Usually such a meal lasts a bug for 7-10 days. But a lot depends on the number of these insects in the room. If an area is densely populated by these parasites, then in the morning a person can count up to 500 bites on his body!

FAQ

Why do bedbug bites itch?
Bedbug bites become itchy, red and swollen due to the parasite's saliva getting under the skin. Each person's body reacts individually to bites. Some may not feel them, but for others they cause severe irritation, burning and itching.

What places do bed bugs bite most often?

Bed bugs prefer to bite through thin skin, under which blood vessels are located closely. Most often, bedbugs bite the back and shoulders, arms and legs, as well as the neck and back of the head.

Do bedbugs bite during the day?

During the day, bedbugs hide so as not to be detected, and go in search of food at night. Only very hungry bugs can attack a person during the day (for example, during an afternoon rest in bed).

Can a bedbug bite through clothing?

No, a bug is not capable of biting through clothes. But due to the flat structure of the body, it can easily penetrate under clothing through a collar or sleeve.

Is it true that bedbugs do not bite all people?

As long as there are few bedbugs in the room, they will choose people with thinner and more delicate skin - children, women and the elderly. When there are too many bedbugs in a home, they are not inclined to be picky and bite everyone in a row just to get enough.

Do bedbugs bite cats and dogs?

Although the blood of warm-blooded animals is suitable for feeding bed bugs, they prefer to feed on human blood. There are several reasons. Firstly, getting close to human skin and biting through it is much easier than getting through the fur of a cat or dog. Therefore, hairless cats are more susceptible to bedbug bites. Secondly, the body temperature of animals is higher than that of humans. Comfortable temperature for a bug is 20-30 degrees.

Why is a bedbug bite dangerous?

The most dangerous consequence of a bedbug bite is a possible allergic reaction. There are cases in history when people who are particularly sensitive to the enzymes secreted by the bug have been bitten by anaphylactic shock.

Severe allergic reactions are very dangerous for humans; in addition to anaphylactic shock, they can cause:

• Skin erosion.
• Severe swelling in the bite area.
• Difficulty breathing (muscle spasms in the bronchi).
• Hyperemia (overflow of blood vessels in the bite area).
• Sometimes nausea, fainting.

Basically, a bedbug bite is no more dangerous than a mosquito bite. As mentioned above, bedbugs are not carriers of infections dangerous to human life.

Some people may develop a rash that does not go away. However, more often, insects crawling on the bed can cause psychological disorders and fear of falling asleep. Due to the inability to rest peacefully, people's performance decreases, their general well-being worsens, and nervousness and irritability increase.

Also, bites may not heal for a long time and after a while begin to fester. Most likely, this is a sign that an infection got into the wound when scratching. In this case, it is advisable to consult a doctor.

In general, when you find bites on your body, you should not panic, but measures to destroy parasites must be taken immediately.

Consequences of bites for the whole body

The constant attack of bedbugs not only affects the skin, but also leads to the following consequences.

1. Headache;
2. Dizziness;
3. Nervous tension;
4. Loss of sleep;
5. Exhaustion of the nervous system.

A person deprived of normal sleep gradually weakens. This affects your well-being and overall health. After all, a weak body is vulnerable and susceptible to many diseases.

The child was bitten by bedbugs

How to protect yourself from bites

It is almost impossible to somehow prevent bed bug bites. The best way to get rid of the bites of these parasites is to get rid of the parasites themselves. The most effective way in this case would be to contact a pest control service.

It is important to remember that bedbugs are very mobile insects, so getting rid of them in your apartment will not give you a complete guarantee that the parasites will not return again. If your neighbors' home is infested with bedbugs, the insects will most likely come to you again through the ventilation or other cracks.

Therefore, disinfestation must be carried out together, otherwise the desired effect may not be achieved!

To at least somehow protect yourself from bites until the insects are completely destroyed, you should do the following:

• Carry out a wet cleaning of the room, move the bed away from the wall and from other pieces of furniture, remove bed linen, and wash at the highest possible temperature.
• Carefully check the mattress and pillows for the presence of bedbugs themselves and their eggs (pay special attention to the seams), and it is better to iron everything with steam.
• Lay clean bed linen so that it does not come into contact with the floor. If possible, you can place a container of water under each leg of the bed, this will serve as a barrier.

This procedure will help you protect yourself from bites at night. It is also known that bedbugs cannot tolerate strong odors and the smell of tobacco smoke.

Very often you can get bedbug bites while traveling, spending the night in a hotel room or a cheap hotel. Therefore, in order to avoid unpleasant consequences, you should carefully inspect the room in which you are planning to spend the night, and if after the trip you still suspect something is wrong, then the best solution would be to dry-clean all the things that were with you on the trip. If this is not possible, then the bag with things must be placed in an empty bathtub, everything should be inspected for the presence of bedbugs and eggs, shaken off and washed at the highest possible temperature.

Routes of infection

The bedbug is a small insect, the size of which can reach from 3 to 8 mm, it has an oval body shape. Its size is affected by the degree of saturation, and its color also speaks about this. The individual may be light brown in color before feeding on human blood.

Bed bug

After another nourishing feeding, its color can be deep burgundy or black. You should not think that such parasites attack the homes of those who neglect sanitary standards. The apartment may be sterile clean, in the middle of which there is a colony of bedbugs.

A person can easily bring the parasite into his home on outer clothing or shoes. Insects easily move through cracks in residential buildings, between ventilation ducts. There are cases that parasites are brought in by unscrupulous builders who are carrying out repairs on one of the residents. After such a team, the entire house will gradually become infected.

Insects can become new residents of a cozy apartment, moving into it from furniture purchased in a store. Even shopping cannot be called a safe activity, because a similar parasite can live on branded new products.

Life cycle of a bedbug

Bedding on trains and furniture in hotel rooms can be called real breeding grounds for bedbugs. All you have to do is sit for a couple of minutes on the chair where the bug lives, and it will move to a new place of residence, where it can still satisfy its hunger.

Getting rid of and treating bedbug bites

In most cases, treatment for bedbug bites is not required. Any symptoms of the bite disappear within 1-2 days. If the bite site hurts and itches, you can treat it with antibacterial soap or alcohol.

Also, folk methods of getting rid of bites include:

• Ice. Relieves swelling well.
• Alcohol. Treat the bite site with a piece of cotton wool or bandage soaked in alcohol.
• Aloe juice or plantain leaves.
• A decoction of chamomile and St. John's wort.
• Baking soda solution. Wipe the bite with a highly concentrated solution.
• Grated garlic. It should be applied to the wound for a while.
• Pink lotion. It will help dry the bite area well.
• Potato. Apply to the bite.

You can also use any soothing ointment: Afloderm, Psilo-balm, Menovazin, etc. Tsindol helps well - it is a healing suspension that is effective for skin damage.

Treatment

As a rule, bites do not need to be treated; they completely go away on their own within a couple of days. If the area is very itchy or painful, you can treat it with an alcohol-based antibacterial solution. Other effective means:

• ice – removes swelling;
• alcohol - used to wipe bites;
• aloe, plantain leaves - soothe;
• decoction of St. John's wort, chamomile;
• baking soda - you will need to make a solution;
• garlic - grate a clove and apply it to the wound;
• rose petal lotion – dries;
• Potato - cheese cut is applied to the problem area.

You can apply any healing ointment - for example, Menovazin, Psilo-balm, Afloderm. There is no universal remedy, since each body reacts individually to the effects of saliva (the main allergen). If a blister appears in the area of ​​the bite, do not puncture it, but wait until it goes away on its own.

Ice helps with itching and burning; you can take an antihistamine orally. Ointments for irritation are available in the pharmacy - they relieve irritation in the damaged area well. In addition to those mentioned above, Rescuer and Fenistil are suitable. Antihistamine tablets can be anything - for example, Claritin, Suprastin. Before applying the ointment, be sure to treat the problem area with chlorhexidine and alcohol. Ointments are replaced with cologne, camphor, crushed activated carbon, alcohol tincture of calendula, potassium permanganate solution, and lemon juice.

When the bite does not heal for a long time, it hurts, and white, yellow or green liquid is released from the bite site, you need to contact a dermatologist. A professional will choose the right treatment and eliminate unpleasant symptoms. Infections that develop as a result of scratching are treated with antibiotics.

Preventing bedbugs at home

Not a single person is safe from the arrival of these “bloodsuckers” in an apartment; they penetrate into apartment buildings, coming from neighbors, and into new mansions. In order to avoid the arrival of such “guests” as much as possible, to detect them faster and take urgent effective control measures, it is necessary to take preventive measures:

1. Monitor and pay attention to the health of the entire family and especially children.
2. Carry out periodic repairs, glue up torn wallpaper, seal and remove all cracks in the walls and baseboards, etc.
3. If you have pets, pay attention to their hygiene, because they can bring “bloodsuckers” from the street.
4. After returning from vacation or another city, you should wash all items in hot water or take them to dry cleaning.
5. Place fragrant herbs in the house or use essential oils that will repel insects.

Important!

If a business traveler, spending the night in a hotel, feels a bedbug bite, then one should expect that the insects will definitely move into clothes at night, even folded in a suitcase. Therefore, when returning home, it is necessary to inspect and disinfect all underwear and outerwear, and, if necessary, treat it with boiling water or special chemicals.

Before the parasites multiply in gigantic quantities, causing a lot of trouble for all residents, it is necessary to get rid of bedbugs as quickly as possible.

Bites from other types of bedbugs

Types of bedbugs
In addition to the usual bed bugs, there are other types of bedbugs in nature that can also bite a person:

• Water scorpions are insects similar to their terrestrial counterparts, they live in lakes, ponds and rivers, they bite only for protection, but do not drink blood. The bite of such a scorpion is quite painful.
• It is not for nothing that smooth water bugs have received the nickname “water wasps” among the people, because they can sting a person in self-defense quite noticeably and unpleasantly.
• Tropical bugs or predators, which are brightly colored and large in size, can cause fatal injury to humans, although they feed on mollusks and other insects;
• Triatomine bugs, or kissing bugs, are so named because their bite marks are often found near the lips. They are carriers of Chagas disease, which kills many people every year in tropical jungles.

Symptoms of the presence of bedbugs in an apartment

Signs of the presence of bedbugs
To make sure that the “bloodsuckers” have settled in the room, it is recommended to pay attention to the following signs of the presence of bedbugs:

• a large number of bed bug bites in the form of a trail of pimples that appear in the morning, because... insects usually feed between 3 and 8 hours;
• such traces are visible every 2-3 days, because insects feed not every day, but weekly. They can live up to 30 days without food;
• in a room where many house bugs live, a specific smell is often felt;
• small spots of blood are noticeable on the bed linen, which remain after bedbug bites or when a clumsy, saturated parasite is crushed;
• on the bed, furniture and beds and noticeable black dots 0.5-1 mm in size, dry skins remaining after the change of cover, long white eggs up to 3 mm, similar to grains of rice.