How to recognize an allergy when bitten by a bug and what to do

When the body reacts inappropriately to contact with various substances, it makes sense to talk about allergies. It can be provoked by everything that surrounds us and even the sun's rays. The nature of allergies remains largely a mystery. It can come and go unexpectedly, and some types are inherited. Any allergy includes the following stages:

increased sensitivity to the effects of irritants and the production of antibodies;
histamine formation;
clinical manifestations.

People start talking about insect allergies when talking about insect bites .
In this case, the human immune system reacts to a foreign body, which can lead to skin rashes. When bedbugs infest your home, you should expect similar consequences. The stereotype about the appearance of parasites due to unfavorable sanitary conditions has long been destroyed. Bed bugs prey on people, but they care little about the conditions in which they live. Reactions to bites can vary. Some people notice them immediately. Others may see marks months later.

Sometimes bites can cause an allergic reaction, which can lead to more serious consequences and require medical attention.

Bedbug bite - what happens

In fact, the substances that bed bugs saliva contains do not pose a global threat to humans, but the weakened

immunity and genetic predisposition do their job.

Not only a bite, but also insect excrement or chitinous coverings that are shed during molting can provoke an allergic reaction. In the latter case, it is enough to inhale the particles.

During the bite, the insect secretes an anesthetic substance. It prevents blood clotting. Thanks to it, the bite is not felt and does not cause the characteristic burning or itching. Thus, the bug can calmly drink blood, and a person will not even feel it.

The highly allergenic substance, along with the bite, enters the body, which immediately begins to react. The damaged area turns red and swells. When already bitten areas begin to itch, it means that the body releases histamine. This is a substance that triggers a complex process of immune response.

Activated work of leukocytes leads to inflammatory processes in tissues. Blood vessels dilate and their permeability increases. Thanks to this, immune cells quickly reach harmful substances to extinguish the outbreak.

But the human body suffers from the accompanying consequences. Thus, a sharp dilation of blood vessels leads to a drop in blood pressure.

An allergic cough or sneeze removes harmful substances from the body, but at the same time, contraction of the bronchial muscles can lead to suffocation.

How to get rid of bedbug bites?

Of course, getting rid of bedbug bites is very important. But in order to prevent insects from tormenting you every night, you must first get rid of their presence in your apartment or house.

To do this, you need to buy a suitable product and treat sleeping areas - beds, sofas, and armchairs.
It is recommended to thoroughly beat the mattress or take it to the dry cleaner and change the bed linen in a timely manner.
It is believed that it is more difficult for bedbugs to climb on metal and polished surfaces, so it is advisable to sleep on beds made of smooth materials.
If at the moment it is not possible to completely remove bedbugs, you can try to scare them away. To do this, you need to lay out herbs with a pungent odor under the bed - it could be wormwood, lavender.

Severe forms of allergic reaction

If after a bug bite an itching appears that is impossible to tolerate, this is how the immune system reacted. It produces a special substance – histamine, which triggers the fight against “foreign” substances. The human body counteracts the allergen, which is the saliva of the parasite that enters the blood.

Severe allergies can occur in people with weakened immune systems or a genetic predisposition. It has more serious symptoms:

signs of acute respiratory disease: runny nose, cough, etc.;
in addition to normal skin irritations, blisters appear;
difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, accompanied by rapid heartbeat.

Angioedema may develop. The lips, eyelids, cheeks, and tongue are most often affected. Less commonly, it occurs in the respiratory tract, which threatens suffocation. The causes are equally hereditary and acquired; in 45% such allergies are causal, including those caused by bedbug bites.

Of particular danger is an immediate, rapidly occurring reaction - anaphylactic shock. There is sharp pain and itching, severe swelling and redness that increases. You feel dizzy, have a sore throat, and have difficulty breathing, which can lead to suffocation and fainting.

If such symptoms appear, you should urgently seek medical help, as self-treatment will not help. Ignoring symptoms can be fatal.

An allergy to bedbugs in people with a predisposition to it can occur not only after contact with the bedbugs themselves. Even accidental contact with the excrement of parasites or the chitin shed by them can cause a complex reaction in the body. The mere presence of insects in a room, the smell in the air, causes allergies in some people.

How does an allergy to bedbug bites manifest?

Allergy to bed bug bites manifests itself in two reactions. Local occurs in three stages:

itching;
edema;
redness at the site of the bite.

The consequences often go away on their own, but you may need a compress or the use of a special ointment. The danger comes from scratching wounds, which become sites of infection.

A very small amount of allergen is enough to manifest a general reaction of the body. Its manifestations include:

runny nose and watery eyes, reminiscent of cold symptoms;
urticaria, which is manifested by the appearance of red blisters resembling nettle burns;
Quincke's edema, which causes difficulty breathing;
bronchospasm requires serious measures, as it is also associated with breathing problems;
anaphylactic shock, in which blood pressure drops sharply and suffocation occurs.

A child's body reacts to insect bites several times stronger than an adult. And given that bedbugs often target children, the risk of serious manifestations increases significantly. An allergic reaction also manifests itself in such symptoms as:

inflammation and enlargement of lymph nodes;
increased temperature;
headaches;
indigestion.

Hives after bedbug bites

A bedbug bite in adults can cause local and general allergic reactions. The local reaction is expressed by the formation of swelling and redness of the skin, itching.

Local manifestations of allergies are not dangerous; after some time, the symptoms may go away on their own. To alleviate the condition, it is recommended to use cold compresses and ointments that have an antipruritic and soothing effect. The main danger with local allergic reactions is itching. Since the bite sites are very itchy, victims scratch them, damaging the skin, and through the damaged skin an infection enters the body, which causes suppuration.

The most severe manifestations of allergies involve the development of general reactions of the body. The condition is fraught with the development of urticaria, that is, the formation of a rash outside the location of the bites. An allergic reaction can lead to lacrimation, runny nose, provoke bronchospasm, Quincke's edema and even anaphylactic shock.

Main signs of allergies

The reaction to bedbug bites does not appear immediately. You can look at the photo to find out what an allergy to bedbug bites looks like.

Doctors identify the following symptoms:

The appearance of a rash (urticaria) in the form of large blisters at the site of bites, which gradually spread throughout the body;

Difficulty breathing (bronchospasm) or shortness of breath. In such cases, you should leave the room in which the parasites live, otherwise the person may lose consciousness;
Development of tachycardia (increased heart rate);
Possible increase in body temperature;
An increase in the size of the tongue, swelling of the eyelids, itching. Such symptoms indicate the development of angioedema;
In the absence of therapy, anaphylactic shock may develop.

To quickly get rid of bedbugs, there are only three effective options:

• Calling a pest control service (expensive);
• Purchase of an inexpensive electronic repeller (1390 rubles);
• Chemicals (doubtful effect).

Quincke's edema and anaphylactic shock are terminal conditions that can lead to the death of the patient in the absence of medical care. In such cases, it is necessary to urgently call an ambulance.

What causes allergies

The bug, like any blood-sucking insect, feeds only on blood . With each bite, he inserts a pair of tiny tubes under the donor's skin. Through one the insect sucks blood from the wound, and through the other it injects a small amount of saliva. It contains painkillers, so a person does not feel the bite in his sleep and most often finds out about it only in the morning. In addition, the bug's saliva contains substances that prevent the blood from clotting, as a result it remains liquid while the insect feeds. Allergies to bedbug bites are caused by proteins found in saliva.

Allergies occur when the immune system overreacts to foreign bodies in the body. With each subsequent portion of the allergen, the reaction will only intensify. Insect bites are no exception. The more often they bite, the more saliva is injected into the blood, the stronger the reaction. Moreover, it doesn’t matter how long the break between bites was. There is a known case when a hotel guest woke up and found small spots on her skin. A year later she returned to the same place, but this time the tiny marks turned into large blisters that were very itchy.

Important! With each subsequent bite, the allergic reaction only intensifies.

It is not only the protein in saliva that causes allergies. In some cases, the reaction occurs when the skin comes into contact with bedbug secretions or particles of dead insects. Sometimes allergies are caused by the skins of larvae after molting, which enter the body through the mouth or respiratory tract. In this case, the symptoms of an allergic reaction will differ. The severity of bedbug allergy depends on age. According to statistics, those over 65 years of age have virtually no reaction, and 42% of people do not notice any consequences at all. At the same time, children, especially under the age of 1 year, are most susceptible to reactions to bites . Most often, complications occur in children.

What else is dangerous about bedbug bites:

infection caused by biting or scratching;
anemia if a child is bitten.

The listed cases are very rare. Most often, the bite goes away within half a day or a day. But if an allergy occurs, treatment will take from several days to a week.

Actions in case of allergies

You can cope with allergies, which manifest themselves in the form of a runny nose and rash, on your own. But in the case of edema and especially shortness of breath

You should seek immediate medical attention.

To remove redness using traditional methods, you should dilute a teaspoon of baking soda in 0.5 glass of water and treat the affected areas with the solution. Lotions made from tincture of string, which are brewed in a thermos, will also help. If an allergy catches you at the dacha, then apply crushed plantain leaf to the bite site.

What are the symptoms of allergies?

As with any allergic reaction, bedbug bites can be accompanied by local or general symptoms. The first case includes the following symptoms:

severe swelling, redness and itching compared to normal;
in rare cases, the entire limb swells.

A local reaction does not require hospitalization, since the condition is not life-threatening, so you can be treated at home rather than in a hospital.

The general reaction may include the following symptoms:

the appearance of red blisters along with itching all over the body;

Allergies may manifest as bronchospasms

runny nose;
lacrimation;
bronchospasm;
Quincke's edema;
the occurrence of anaphylactic shock.

A person may have sticky sweat, decreased blood pressure, and pale skin. The likelihood of loss of consciousness increases. If Quincke's edema, bronchospasm, or anaphylactic shock occurs, you should urgently call an ambulance. Signs are life-threatening and require hospitalization.

Attention! If symptoms appear, you should consult a doctor. If there are no complications from one bite, this does not mean that the same will happen the second time. Therefore, it is necessary to examine the body.

Children's immunity has not yet been formed, so allergies are stronger than in adults. Most often complications develop.

In addition to redness, children may experience various complications

Symptoms of bed bug bites

The first sign of a bedbug bite is the appearance of small, swollen or flat scars on the skin, located in a line or an island on a small area of the body. This trend occurs because bedbugs prefer to feed from the same place. These bites may be itchy and red.

Another symptom of a bug bite is that wounds appear every night, usually in the same place. Other signs include small spots of blood on the bed or sheets.

What do bed bug bites look like?

Bedbug bites look quite remarkable - they are a line of 4-5 red dots. Among all the blood-sucking parasites, bedbugs are the only ones that need to drink blood from several separate wounds in sequence to get enough.

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Drugs for treatment

For allergies, antihistamines are effective, which are aimed at suppressing excessive histamine production. A cold compress is placed on the site of the bites or balms and ointments are used to relieve skin itching. These include, for example, Fenistil or Psilo-balm. Tablet medications also relieve itching: Suprastin, Loratalin, Tavegil, Cetrin.

Pregnant women who have become victims of sting allergies are not recommended to take antihistamines. Therefore, expectant mothers should especially take care of themselves and it is better to immediately seek advice from a doctor if suspicious redness is detected on the body. Children under three years of age should be given the drug in accordance with the doses indicated in the instructions.

The mourning bird is a most interesting insect! You can learn more about termites by reading our article.

The dragonfly is beautiful and deadly. There is a very interesting text on the link about this insect.

Features of the reaction of the child’s body and pregnant women

The smaller the child, the more pronounced the allergy symptoms, especially if there is a genetic predisposition. The reason is an insufficiently formed immune system, which reacts hypersensitively to interference in the body. Children are more likely to be attacked by bedbugs. They have thin skin, blood circulates faster - it is easier for parasites to feed.

Itching after bites causes particular concern for children. They cannot resist scratching the troublesome area and cause infection. Wounds take longer to heal. Often in this case, children have their nails cut short or wear mittens. Suffering is relieved with cold compresses and antiallergic medications approved for children.

Pregnant women should be especially careful to avoid the possibility of bedbug bites, even if they have never had an allergic reaction. The fact is that while carrying a baby, the body can react to insect bites in an unexpected way and provoke complications.

Pregnant women should be treated exclusively by doctors, regardless of the degree of allergy.

Differential diagnosis

It is quite possible to differentiate bed bug bites from the bites of other insects.

The difference from flea or mosquito bites is that bedbug bites are more grouped, there are quite a lot of them in one area, and they mainly occur on those parts of the body that are covered with a blanket. In addition, their bites have an expressive red color and are also painful.

They can be distinguished from a tick bite by the fact that they are softer and smaller. In addition, a tick bite can be noticed even while it is feeding, since it plunges headlong into the wound.

Bee and wasp bites are much more painful than bedbug bites, and besides, bedbug bites itch rather than actually hurt.

They can be distinguished from an allergic or infectious rash by the presence on each wound of a small hole, but visible to the naked eye, through which the bug fed.

Description of life stories

We rested at the dacha, but returned home the next day. The child was bitten by bedbugs at night. And in the morning she woke up with huge red marks on her leg. It was very difficult to explain to the child that he should not scratch. I distracted myself as much as I could. At night I even slept in mittens. I smeared the wounds with Fenistil. It helped.
I suffer from allergies to citrus fruits, dust and cats. I went to visit some friends and found out that I was also allergic to bedbugs. It turned out that she was sitting on an old sofa that was brought from the dacha. I started sneezing and swelling. Since I know about my problem, I always carry medicine with me. My friends threw out the sofa; it was simply infested with bedbugs. And I’m trying to refrain from visiting for now. Such pleasure is too expensive.
When the child began to itch, I thought that he was allergic to food, and was guilty of poor nutrition in kindergarten. But I never thought that there were bedbugs in the house. The child had a fever. I had to knock it down with an antipyretic, but there were no more signs of illness or poisoning. I took the child to the clinic, where they said, although not immediately, that it was an insect bite. It turned out that the parasites lived under the crib. I took my son to my grandmother. While she was smearing Fenistil on his wounds, we were poisoning the bedbugs.

To protect yourself from insect allergies to bedbug bites, regularly inspect your body for reddened wounds located in a row close to each other. First of all, bedbugs bite children and women. You need to know what bed bugs are afraid of. If bite marks are found, immediately take measures to destroy the insects. Use products that kill, rather than repel, bed bugs to prevent their reoccurrence. The use of ointments, compresses and antihistamines will help against allergies.

Treatment for bed bug bites

To quickly relieve the discomfort of a bedbug bite, you can immediately rinse it with warm running water - about 1 minute will be enough. Lubricate with chloramphenicol or iodine. This method will disinfect the wound.

Remedies for bed bug bites

In addition to the ointments discussed below, antihistamines should be used in treatment to avoid the development of an allergic reaction. In this case, remedies such as tavegil or suprastin are suitable. In addition, medications used for sunburn will be useful - they help dry out the rash and protect the skin. To relieve itching, you should take analgesic medications.

Ointments for bed bug bites

Because bedbugs are also considered blood-sucking insects, like fleas and mosquitoes, to treat wounds it is allowed to use ointments that are also used for bites of these parasites. Among the most popular and effective drugs are the following ointments.

Symptoms of local allergies

Not every person has an allergic reaction to bedbugs. More often women and children are susceptible to it, but sometimes it is easier for a child to endure an insect attack than for an adult.

Bedbugs leave 3-5 rows of bites on the human body. Most people have the same reaction, accompanied by itching, redness and swelling. The red dots soon disappear - this is how a local allergy manifests itself, which is not dangerous to health. People who care about their health treat wounds with alcohol or wash them with soap and water and after a couple of days they forget about unpleasant bites.

Thus, an organism with a strong immune system practically does not react to bites - only red spots or colorless bumps are noticeable. For those who are weaker, redness and itching are more obvious. The burning sensation can be so strong that the hand involuntarily reaches out to scratch it, which sometimes leads to infection and complications.

Reviews from people who have experienced allergies

Vera, 39 years old, Moscow

Until they did skin tests, I didn’t know that I was having a reaction to parasites. I had to undergo treatment only once so far, but the symptoms were hard to bear (runny nose, hives, itching).

Anna, 35 years old, Sevastopol

I liked the effect of Prednisolone and Suprastin. These are not the newest drugs, but they help well, even with severe allergies. I had a reaction to bedbugs, and to everything: bites, excrement. I couldn’t stay in the apartment; swelling of the larynx immediately began. I had to stay with relatives while my husband removed bedbugs.

Olga, 28 years old, St. Petersburg

I developed strange spots - up to 2-3 cm in diameter. And not everywhere, but mainly on the arms, legs, and neck. I didn’t understand who was biting until I found a nest under the mattress. As I fought the parasites, they continued to bite. The itching was terrible. I suffered, took antihistamines, and after 2 days the insects stopped bothering me.

Getting rid of bedbugs using a steam generator

What is the danger of a bedbug bite for adults?

Among the various allergic reactions to a bug bite, local and general reactions can be distinguished. In the vast majority of cases, the consequences of bedbug bites are limited to such local reactions as:

itching;
slight swelling;
redness at the site of the bite.

By and large, such manifestations of allergies can go away on their own after some time. They can be removed by applying a cold compress to the bite site or using modern antipruritic ointments and balms (see photo):

What is the danger?

Bedbugs, unlike other parasites, do not carry dangerous diseases. Their main danger is the likelihood of developing anaphylactic shock after a bite, which in rare cases can be fatal. Otherwise, bedbugs are not much more dangerous than other household parasites.

In order to be guaranteed to get rid of these insects, contact a sanitary service for the extermination of bedbugs .

Watch a video about how people react to bites from bedbugs and other insects.

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How do bedbugs bite?

As a rule, sleeping people become victims of bedbugs. They often bite those areas of the skin that remain open. After the location for the bite is selected, the bug pierces the human skin with its proboscis. The parasite's proboscis consists of two cavities inside. One channel is designed to provide blood to the insect’s body, which it sucks from a person. Using the second channel, a special secretion that has an anesthetic effect is injected into the victim’s skin. This allows the bug to suck blood unhindered, since the victim does not feel the moment when the bite occurs. The secretion also contains substances that prevent rapid blood clotting. This makes the parasite's feeding process much easier.

In a healthy person, the body either does not react in any way to the impact of the secretion introduced by the bug, or the reaction is very insignificant and is expressed in the form of small red spots or bumps, similar to traces of mosquito bites. In a person suffering from an allergy to bedbug bites, the body reacts to the introduction of insect secretions in a completely different way.

Significant swelling may appear at the location of the bites, which can cause itching and pain.

Bites of bedbugs and other insects: differences

The table shows the main differences:

Insect	Where does it bite?	When it bites	How it bites	What does a bite look like?
Bedbugs	Unprotected areas of the body with thin skin (neck, arms, face, legs, stomach, back)	At night>	Due to the anesthetic in the saliva, almost nothing is felt	Small redness with a scarlet dot in the center. Several punctures (3-7). They form a "path"
Fleas	Legs, feet, ankles	Any time of the day	During the bite, unpleasant sensations occur, the area begins to itch	Slight redness with swelling
Lice	They often bite on hairy areas of the body, but can bite on any part of the body.	Anytime	Itching, irritation appears	Red, swollen spots, in the center you can see a dried drop of blood. There are bluish spots around the areas of greatest damage.
Mosquitoes	Any exposed areas of the body	Any time, usually in the summer, autumn months	The puncture starts to itch after a few minutes	Reddish blisters

List of symptoms

The first signs of an allergic reaction are similar to those of ordinary bites, but they are expressed in a more pronounced form. The itching at the site of the bites becomes stronger, the area of redness is much wider, and the presence of swelling is noticeable even to the naked eye. Such an allergic reaction of the body is due to the fact that it fights analgesics that enter the body as part of the secretion of the bug.

An interesting fact is that the younger the insect, the stronger the body’s reaction to its bites. This is due to the fact that the secretions of young bedbugs do not contain substances that have an anesthetic effect. People do not always feel the bites of older insects. Thanks to the analgesics contained in their saliva, they relieve pain and promote slow blood clotting.

A foreign body entering the blood provokes the release of histamine in the body, which causes the growth of leukocytes in the human blood. As a result, the blood vessels expand and become more permeable. This can cause a sharp increase in blood pressure, and in some cases, attacks of suffocation.

Causes of an allergic reaction

An allergic reaction, accompanied by a number of unpleasant symptoms, can manifest itself not only to bedbug bites. It can also be caused by all the waste products of these insects. For most people, after being bitten by bedbugs, the body begins a rejection process.

But children suffer the most from bedbug bites. During the infection process, additional symptoms may appear that significantly complicate the disease. This is facilitated by the very secret that the insect injects when bitten. Soon itching and burning may appear in the affected area. This suggests that the body has begun an active fight against the foreign protein that has penetrated into it with the help of histamine produced by the body. However, it is under the influence of histamine that leukocytosis occurs, causing an inflammatory reaction in the body.

Reviews

Dear readers, you can leave your review about allergies to bedbug bites in the comments, your opinion will be useful to other users of the site!

Valery

When I was on a business trip, I spent the night in a hotel. In the morning I found red bumps on my body that itched and gradually became bright in color. The itching and burning intensified, so I had to go to the first aid station. After examining me, the doctor said that these were bed bug bites, and my body reacted quite strongly to the insect enzyme. Prescribed Suprastin tablets, Fenistil gel. The drugs helped to quickly overcome the unpleasant symptoms.

Nikita

They say that if bedbugs live in an apartment, they can also move into the next room. That's how it was with us. Bed bugs came to us from the neighbors' house, who do not particularly care about hygiene. They bit terribly, it was impossible to sleep at night. After the bites, swelling and itching appeared, and my wife even had an allergic reaction. The allergy was relieved with the help of antihistamines and lotions with soda solution. We contacted a special agency and had the house disinfested. The same procedure was carried out in the neighboring apartment, which helped completely get rid of the harmful bloodsuckers.