Bed Bug Bite Symptoms
Bed bug bite symptoms are characterized by itching, inflammation and appearance of small red bumps or rashes. The symptoms, however, are not easy to identify, especially when you have no clue about possible bed bug infestation in your house or hotel.
Signs and symptoms of bed bug bites usually appear after a few hours or days. The symptoms may manifest even 7-9 days after being bitten by these pesky little creatures.
When not identified correctly, these bites can be mistaken for other insect bites or skin disease.
Even dermatologists can fail to identify bed bug bites accurately particularly in case of absence of distinctive pattern of multiple bite marks which is referred to as “breakfast, lunch and dinner” pattern.
What are bed bug bite symptoms?
Symptoms of a bed bug bite include skin irritation, localized itching, swelling, redness and formation of raised welts or rashes (in rows or clusters) on the affected area. Smaller bite marks tend to fade within a few days.
As bedbugs feed every few days or weeks, the bites are likely to appear again in case you do not control the infestation or do not take any preventive steps.
Intensity of symptoms tends to vary from one individual to another. Due to this reason, some individuals do not show any noticeable signs of bed bug bites whereas some are susceptible to allergic reactions, depending on body’s reaction to the chemicals present in saliva of bed bugs.
Allergy symptoms can range from severe itching and hives to anaphylaxis.
These parasitic insects usually bite during night hours and suck blood from veins underneath your skin when you are asleep. They generally derive their blood meal by injecting their elongated beaks and piercing your skin.
Face, neck, arms, hands, legs or any other areas that remain uncovered while sleeping are the most common areas affected by bed bug bites.
Although, you can rest assured that bedbug bites do not spread serious diseases because they cannot transmit pathogen to humans.
Nevertheless, in certain individuals, these bites can lead to large painful blisters with pus. Moreover, repeated bed bug infestations can cause psychological distress, anxiety and insomnia.
Still, in spite of the appearance of ugly red bumps on skin, symptoms of bed bug bites are generally not considered harmful. But you do need to treat bed bug bite symptoms carefully and resist the urge to scratch persistently, or else you will end up with to secondary infection on the wound.
Thus, it is recommended to wash the affected area with antibacterial soap and water, and then apply cortisone cream or lotion on it.
Watch this video showing bed bug bite pictures.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTzYwMFkRC4]
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