Overview

Bedbugs are small wingless insects (Cimex lectularius) that begin in the dark to feed. They sleep in dry, dark crevices like the seams of mattresses, furniture, floorboards, wallpaper, and suitcases. Their only food source is blood, and that they can live for up to a year without a meal. Their bite is painless, so you will likely not be awoken. They usually feed the very early morning hours, which explains why they're mostly found in and around your bed. It can take up to half-hour for them to finish their meal. In the absence of the bedbug's preferred human host, it'll prey on any warm-blooded mammal.

Who's at risk?

Bedbugs do not discriminate, so anyone can be affected. Additionally, there is usually no relationship between a bedbug infestation and poor hygiene or an unclean home. They are most commonly found in places where there are a high number of people, such as in hotels, prisons, shelters, apartment buildings, and dorms. They can travel to your home in used furniture or in suitcases.

Bedbug infestations have been on the rise. This is thought to flow from to recent increases in international follow with changes in insect pesticides that don't affect the bedbug but do kill the bedbug's natural predators, the cockroach and red ant.

Signs and Symptoms

The morning after being bitten the bedbug, you'll notice an itchy hive-like bump at the location of the bite mark, which can get away through the course of the day. There may or not might not be a clear bite mark within the center of the bump. After that, what start as small bruise-like areas become red, intensely itchy bumps on the exposed parts of the body (arms, legs, chest, and sometimes the face). There could also be a clustered configuration of three bites during a line (commonly referred to as "breakfast, lunch, and dinner"). Resolution takes about 2 weeks and leaves some darkening of the skin (post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation).

You may see tell-tale signs of the bedbug's presence, like blood stains on the sheets, flecks of bedbug dung on or around your bed, otherwise you may smell a sweet odor that occurs when there is a large bedbug infestation. You may be able to spot a moving bedbug if you are searching at night.

Self-Care Guidelines

The management of bedbug bites includes removing the bedbug infestation and controlling the itching.

The best time to look for live bedbugs is the middle of the night, when they come out to feed. Wash all linens in hot water and dry in a hot dryer. You may also need to wash your curtains. Scrub furniture to get rid of eggs, and fix any cracks which will be within the furniture; you'll got to take the furniture apart to try to to this well. Vacuum the space , including the mattress (concentrating on the seams) and any surrounding crevices. You may want to fill and seal any cracks round the room and paste down any rolling wallpaper seams. Check the adjoining rooms for bugs as well, even if the occupants don't complain of itching.

Sometimes, in cases of severe infestation, it may be best to have a licensed pest control agent inspect and eradicate the bedbugs. Be aware that some insect repellants can be toxic to children, so make sure to find out exactly what chemicals they will be using and what the chemical's risk profile is.

Diphenhydramine (Benadryl®) can be used to control the itching. A low-strength topical corticosteroid cream or ointment, like hydrocortisone, are often purchased over the counter to assist with itching.

When you travel and stay in hotels, keep your suitcase and clothing faraway from the bed or other furniture. Upon returning home, wash the clothing you took with you, and place your suitcase in an attic, basement, or garage, where there's little chance of the bugs encountering humans for prolonged periods at night.

When to Seek Medical Care

Bedbugs can create considerable anxiety. You may need a prescription-strength topical steroid to help intensely itchy bites. Scratching the bite sites may cause infection, so if there's pus, redness, swelling, fever, or the reactions blister or are otherwise severe, you ought to see your doctor. There have been rare cases of severe allergic reaction that affects breathing (anaphylaxis), which requires immediate emergency medical care.

Treatments Your Physician May Prescribe

Your doctor may give you an antihistamine, such as Benadryl, and/or topical corticosteroids to help reduce the itching and inflammation. In rare cases of blistering skin reaction, oral corticosteroids may be necessary. If you have a bacterial infection of the skin from scratching, you may need oral antibiotics. Rarely, anaphylaxis has occurred and is treated with emergency care.

Bedbug bites are difficult to visually diagnose, so if you still get lesions, your doctor may have to require a little sample of skin (biopsy) to work out if you have some other skin condition.

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