What do bed bug bites look like on human skin?

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.

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.

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.

Treatment of allergies to bedbug bites

The doctor should prescribe therapy, so it is recommended to make an appointment with an allergist or dermatologist as early as possible. If the allergic reaction is not too pronounced, treatment may be limited to taking antihistamines. In cases where severe itching occurs that interferes with normal life activities, the doctor may additionally prescribe sedatives. If there are pronounced skin manifestations, local medications are prescribed - ointments, gels or creams of a hormonal or non-hormonal nature.

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.

Characteristic signs and symptoms of bites

Although bedbugs appear in apartments these days, they are rare, so most people have no idea what the bites of these blood-sucking parasites look like. Quite often, bedbug bites are confused with mosquito bites and, as a result, the fight against bedbugs begins too late.

There are 5 signs by which bedbug bites can be identified. Here they are:

• The bites of these blood-sucking parasites form a kind of “path” - this is when the bites are located almost on the same line, at a distance of several centimeters from one another.
• A distinctive feature of a bug bite is a red dot, which represents a dried drop of blood, indicating that the parasite managed to drink blood in this place.
• The bite site is characterized by severe, unbearable itching and, without special means, it is almost impossible to cope with this discomfort. In addition, swelling and redness appear around the wounds, which leads to the onset of the inflammatory process.
• By morning, small blood stains may be found on the bed. When a person turns over in bed at night, he crushes some parasites, which causes blood to appear on the bed linen.
• Bedding acquires an unpleasant odor, which is associated with the vital activity of these parasites, and characteristic dark spots can be seen on the walls and wooden parts of the bed - the result of the vital activity of bedbugs.

Note to everyone:

• Mosquitoes are easy to identify by their characteristic “mosquito” squeak, and bedbugs approach their prey almost silently.
• Mosquitoes are capable of terrorizing apartment owners every day, and bedbugs rarely feed, so their bites appear every 7-10 days.
• After a bug bite, a small drop of blood appears in the center of the wound, and the bite site itches unbearably, which cannot be said about mosquito bites. After a mosquito bite, no significant discomfort is felt.
• Mosquitoes are able to move quickly enough around a home, easily finding their prey, which cannot be said about bedbugs. They prefer to bite a person in one place. If suddenly the victim decides to change his position, the bugs will look for him for a long time.

How to Recognize Bed Bug Bites

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 of bedbugs in children

In addition to bites on the body, the child’s general behavior also changes:

• Children under one year old sleep poorly, wake up and scream at night, do not want to go to bed;
• become irritable;
• complain of abdominal pain;
• an allergic reaction appears in addition to the skin reaction - headache, runny nose, dry cough, sneezing;
• difficulty breathing is observed.

The child was bitten by bedbugs at night

The child has bed bug bites all over his leg

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.

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.

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!

Hives after bedbug bites

Hives manifest as an itchy rash on the skin that is skin-colored or pale red. It develops within a few minutes and may occur several times during the day and go away again. We recommend looking at the photo.

The triggers for urticaria are still poorly understood. The immune system and allergic reactions may play an important role.

The rashes have a typical appearance, so a doctor can easily make a diagnosis. The problem, however, is to find the reason. Sometimes this cause is bed bug bites. The main treatment is aimed at finding and eliminating the cause. Therefore, along with treating yourself, you need to start “treating” your bed and apartment

In most cases, hives disappear within two days and at the latest after two weeks. If hives last more than six weeks, it is called chronic.

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.

Allergic reaction to house bug bites

Local manifestations of allergies include:

• Lumps and blisters, large red spots;
• Bleeding wounds and suppuration;
• Severe itching;
• Painful sensations.

Common symptoms of an allergic reaction:

1. Hives and rash spreading throughout the body;
2. Swelling of the mucous membranes;
3. Brochospasms;
4. Headache;
5. Loss of consciousness;
6. Anaphylactic shock.

The boy was bitten by bedbugs while he was sleeping

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.

How to get rid

You need to exterminate these parasites as soon as you encounter a problem. It is worth approaching this comprehensively, carefully planning everything and preparing the room for processing.

1. There should be no people or pets in the room.
2. All bedding should be washed in hot water, including what was stored in closets and chests of drawers.
3. Remove food and dishes.
4. Open access to the space behind cabinets, baseboards and other hard-to-reach places.
5. Prepare personal protective equipment in advance: goggles, respirator, gloves.

Carefully read the instructions for the selected product and begin processing.

Process carefully:

• The entire room along the perimeter, starting from the far walls, 50 centimeters from the floor and ceiling.
• Mattresses around the perimeter and seams.
• Upholstered furniture in the back in all possible accessible places.
• Risers, water and sewer pipes, ventilation.

Important! After treating the room, you need to leave it for several hours and then carry out a wet cleaning. It is recommended to wash the treated areas only after a month.

The main thing to remember is that there is no need to delay solving this problem, as bedbugs multiply rapidly. Do the treatment carefully, and your reward will be a restful sleep without painful bedbug bites.

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 without the use of drugs

1. When bites are first detected , you need to wash the wounds with running water and soap. Household or antibacterial products are suitable for these purposes.
2. Apply ice to damaged areas . You can just use a cold object. Cold will relieve inflammation and reduce the temperature in the damaged area. Such simple actions relieve symptoms and bring the skin back to normal. If this is not enough, treatment is extended.
3. Bite areas are lubricated with alcohol tinctures of medicinal plants. St. John's wort, calendula, and plantain are excellent. If there is no tincture available, but there are flowers, you can prepare it. Pour half a glass of grass with the same amount of vodka. Close the container with a lid and let it brew for 2-3 days. Can be used several times a day. Alcohol disinfects wounds, and medicinal plants promote healing.
4. Aloe juice . This plant never ceases to amaze with its healing abilities. If you have such a plant on your farm, then the remedy for bites is already ready. It is necessary to cut off the leaf and, squeezing out the juice, lubricate the damaged areas of the skin. You can make a tincture from aloe. Pour half a glass of leaves cut into pieces with vodka - 100 g. Let it brew for several days. The tincture is stored in the refrigerator and can be used for a long time.
5. Baking soda is a universal first aid remedy for bites . Dissolve a teaspoon of baking soda in half a glass of water.
6. Lubricate the damage several times a day. As a rule, such actions are enough to get rid of bedbug bites. If these measures do not help, you need to move on to the next stage of treatment.

How to treat and treat bedbug bites?

We do not encourage self-medication. It is best to consult a dermatologist. But if going to the doctor is not possible, and the itching from the bites needs to be eliminated as soon as possible, you can apply the following tips.

Special ointment

Until recently, pharmacies and stores did not have a special drug for treating bedbug bites. The Gektor company has developed and released a special gel after bedbug bites that helps relieve itching, swelling and redness. The product disinfects wounds well and promotes rapid healing.

GEKTOR gel after bedbug bites consists of natural ingredients - aloe juice, chamomile, calendula and dandelion extract, essential oils of eucalyptus, mint and lemon. The cost of a tube is about 230 rubles.

Universal ointment

If it is not possible to purchase gel for bedbug bites, you can treat the damaged area of ​​skin with a universal ointment - Fenistil, Beloderm, Eplan, Rescuer, Butadion, Levomekol or Afloderm. You can buy ointment for bedbug bites, which will help relieve irritation at the site of injury, at any pharmacy. Before applying the cream or ointment, it is recommended to disinfect the inflamed area with a cotton pad moistened with medical alcohol or chlorhexidine; this will also help relieve inflammation; try not to scratch the bite.

If, in addition to itching, an allergic reaction appears, it is advisable to use a classic remedy for an allergic reaction - Tavegil, Suprastin, Claritin or another analogue.

If a severe allergic reaction occurs, we recommend that you immediately consult a doctor and not self-medicate!

Folk remedies

If you don’t have ointment on hand, you can treat the damaged areas with any of the following:

• tincture of calendula;
• green and black tea;
• Activated carbon;
• camphor alcohol;
• Sulfuric ointment;
• cologne;
• potassium permanganate solution;
• lemon juice.

These handy remedies will help relieve itching and redness.

If the bite mark does not heal for a long time and causes pain, or if green, yellow or white discharge appears, you should immediately contact a dermatologist: in such cases, only a professional can choose the right treatment. Infections that develop in heavily scratched areas may require the use of strong antibiotics.

Differences between bedbug bites and other insect bites

All insect bites seem similar to an ignorant person - redness that itches. Therefore, it can be difficult to determine what bites in bed other than bedbugs.

The difference between a bug bite and a mosquito bite

It is especially easy to confuse a mosquito bite with a bug bite in the summer. The nuances of insect behavior and puncture marks have a number of characteristic differences:

• the appearance of mosquitoes is usually accompanied by a buzzing sound, but bedbugs do not make their presence known by sounds;
• mosquitoes can appear both during the day and at night, and bedbugs prefer to remain unnoticed during daylight hours and leave their shelters only at night;
• bedbug bites have clearer contours compared to mosquito bites;
• traces of mosquito bites are located chaotically, and bedbug bites are located several in a row.

The difference between tick bites and bedbug bites

Wounds from tick bites are larger in size. A tick bite is accompanied by painful sensations and is easy to detect on the skin, since the tick tends to bury its head under the wound.

How to distinguish bedbug bites from fleas

There are many varieties of fleas, the most common types parasitizing pets. A person can be bitten by bed fleas, just as bedbugs are active in sleeping areas. Bedbug bites are characterized by severe swelling, pronounced color and blood spots. Flea puncture marks do not have bloody spots, are located randomly, most often on the legs and look more like spots than blisters.

The difference between midge and bedbug bites

The midge prefers to bite on the street, unlike “housey” bugs. The small black insect does not pierce the skin, but literally chews it out. The person immediately feels severe pain and the bite mark begins to itch very much. Midge bites take a long time to heal and disappear after a week.

Types of insect bites

Traditional methods for bites

The collection of folk remedies contains many recipes for alleviating and eliminating the discomfort associated with insect bites.

• To reduce swelling, apply ice or frozen meat to the damaged areas.
• Apply tea tree oil to the bite area. This remedy will reduce pain and itching.

  
  Folk remedies

• Wipe wounds with alcohol or alcohol tincture of medicinal herbs for disinfection.
• To relieve swelling, make aloe lotion or ice cubes and wipe the wounds with them.
• Prepare a soda solution, the thickness of which resembles sour cream, and lubricate the bite area.
• The juice of plantain, onions, and parsley helps relieve skin irritation.
• Apply grated garlic to the bite mark when purulent inflammation appears.

How and with what to treat bites?

If massive bedbug bites lead a person to hysterical states, you need to take a sedative pill. After the person has come to his senses, the treatment process should begin. The skin should be thoroughly washed under warm water using laundry soap. This procedure will relieve severe itching. After this, you need to apply a piece of ice to the bite site. It will relieve swelling and speed up the healing process.

Also, regular table vinegar can help. To do this, you need to moisten gauze or a clean rag with it. The affected area must be thoroughly wiped. You can use a compress of green or black tea. They will relieve swelling and eliminate itching on the skin. An effective remedy is medical alcohol. It should be applied to a cotton swab and treated the affected areas on the body. The burning sensation that occurs is normal, so you should not be afraid of it. Wounds can be treated with medicinal herbs such as propolis or calendula. In the absence of alcohol, you can use a soda solution. To prepare it you will need a glass of water and 2 tablespoons of soda. You need to moisten the affected area 2 times a day.

The listed methods allow you to provide first aid using improvised means. Further treatment should include the use of serious medications. Among them are the following:

• Fenistil-gel . The product helps to instantly relieve itching and burning. The ointment is especially effective for multiple bedbug bites.
• Psilo-balm. The drug allows you to quickly get rid of itching sensations and relieves unpleasant symptoms on the second day.

• Bepanten . Baby cream ensures rapid healing and eliminates swelling of the skin.
• Epidel. One of the most effective remedies that helps fight allergic reactions.
• Afloderm . The product has anti-inflammatory and antiallergic properties.
• Ointment "Star " It is based on natural plant extracts and essential oils, therefore it quickly and effectively relieves swelling and burning on the skin.