What look like bites of bed bugs on human skin

Finding strange marks on the body after a night’s sleep, people begin to upholster the thresholds of dermatologists and allergists, not even suspecting that they might be bug bites. Knowing what the bites of bed bugs look like is good for everyone. Timely detection of blood-sucking parasites will allow you to start pest control in the early stages and prevent their active reproduction.

If you put 40 bugs in a room with favorable conditions, after 6 months their number will reach 6000.

Photo of bites of bed bugs on human skin

There are a number of specific signs by which it can be determined that the culprits of damage to the skin are precisely bed bugs:

1. After a bite of a domestic bug, a swelling remains with a pronounced contour and a protruding bump.
2. The main distinguishing feature is the characteristic paths from bites of domestic bugs (see photo). It is not common for these bloodsuckers to make single punctures. Each insect bites its prey 3-5 times, the interval between bite marks can vary between 2-4 cm. Bed bugs feed collectively and therefore the number of tracks can vary from several units to several tens.
3. With a thorough examination in the center of the cone, you can notice a trace of a puncture through which the bloodsucker fed.
4. Spots of blood on bedding, wallpaper adjacent to the bedroom.
5. Bedbug bites occur after sleep. At night, a person does not feel the insect sucking blood.
6. Bedbugs bite only at night. In the afternoon they hide in secluded places. A rare exception that can make bloodsuckers go hunting in the afternoon is a long hunger, which makes them especially aggressive or a high concentration of individuals, because of which they have nowhere to hide in the daytime.
7. In places where the bug bit, severe itching, burning and pain, slight peeling of the skin may appear.

The reaction of the skin to bites of domestic bugs depends on the puncture site and the thickness of the skin. On the face and neck, the skin is thinner and the capillaries are close, in these places the bite marks are more pronounced.

On a note!

The bite of a bed bug in a child is accompanied by spots of a brighter color and larger size than adults.

Bedbugs bite open areas of the body without hair. Favorite places are the neck, face, back, arms, feet, legs. A clear picture of the consequences of bites can be seen in the photographs. Insects are not able to bite clothes, but under certain circumstances they can crawl under the victim’s clothes.

A fresh bite mark looks like a swollen blister with a characteristic bump in the center. It can be very itchy and resist the temptation to scratch a wound is very difficult.After 2-3 days, it begins to fade and is a red spot. If you look closely at the photo, you can distinguish the paths from the red spots. In rare cases, symptoms of a bite of a bed parasite may appear after a few days.

On a note!

The number of bite marks on the skin directly depends on the infection of the apartment. The more individuals are in the room, the correspondingly and more acne can be detected in the morning. There are cases when up to 500 punctures were counted on the human body.

How to bite bugs

Bed bugs are parasitic individuals that feed on human blood. In a hungry state, they have a light brown flat body, sizes which range from 3.5 to 8 mm. Due to the structural features, it is very difficult to crush an insect in bed. However, after saturation, the body of the parasite lengthens and expands, as a result of which it becomes more vulnerable. It is these crushed individuals that leave behind them specific brown spots of blood that are obvious signs of bugs appearing in the house.

Regardless of gender or age, the bug absorbs a mass of food, which is twice its own mass. Larvae They are smaller and have a transparent body. If you look at the larva after feeding, you can see a drop of blood in its stomach.

The upper and lower jaw of the bug represent a proboscis, performing a piercing and sucking function. At a time when the insect is not puzzled by the search for food, the proboscis is firmly pressed to the cephalothorax, so the parasite's sucking apparatus is rarely seen in the photo.

On a note!

Bloodsuckers feed purely at night, and external factors: light, noise, in no way affect them. So, sleeping with the light on and avoiding bedbug attacks will fail. The peak activity of parasites occurs in the predawn time: from 1-2 a.m. to 6 a.m.

The bug pierces the skin of its victim and tries to find the capillary. He well senses the vibration of blood in the vessels and accurately determines the place for a bite. The proboscis parasite is equipped with two channels. Through one, he sucks out blood, and the second serves to inject saliva into the puncture site, which has an analgesic effect. For this reason, a person does not experience pain during a bite. For one bite, the bug consumes approximately 1-1.5 μl of blood, then it moves 2-3 cm and continues its meal.

One adult bug during feeding makes from 3 to 5 punctures. This amount of blood is enough for him not to experience hunger for 6-10 days. Feeding time of an adult is 15 - 25 minutes, for young animals 3-4 minutes are enough for full saturation.

On a note!

The bites of domestic bugs by pain can vary depending on the age of the biting individual. Adult parasites bite completely painlessly. Larvae of domestic bugs feed on a daily basis and their bites are accompanied by instant itching, pain, because they do not introduce saliva into the wound.

Who can become a victim of bedbugs

Home bugs feed exclusively on human blood. They can’t pierce the skin of pets, a rare exception is birds. In fact, parasites do not care whose blood they eat. They are not picky in relation to gender, status, age of the person. But if they are given the choice of whom to bite, then bedbugs choose the skin of women and children. Since it is thinner in comparison with the male one and the capillaries are located close. Parasites attack men less willingly, just the body of the stronger sex is not so susceptible to their bites. Therefore, it is often believed that bedbugs do not bite all people.

When family members sleep in different rooms, it may seem that someone from the family has gained special love from bedbugs due to the fact that only he is attacked by bloodsuckers. There is only one explanation for such selectivity.The sleeping place, where the "pet" of parasites spends the night, is infected, and they simply did not reach the rest of the rooms. But if you do not take measures to the destruction of domestic bugsthen in a short time they will spread throughout the apartment.

It is also erroneous to believe that bedbugs give preference to a certain blood group. According to statistics, the number of people with blood groups 1 and 2 prevails over owners of rare groups, so it may seem that the parasites selectively fit the blood group.

Among the victims of domestic bugs there are many famous personalities. The king of France, Louis 14, is known not only for his temper, love of lovingness and the fact that in his childhood he slept on holey sheets. The Sun King suffered from insomnia due to bedbugs, according to his order, spirits were created that, by their smell, should drive the bedbugs away. The appointment of canopies over the bed, which became widespread at that time, was very utilitarian. They were hung not so much for aesthetic reasons, but so that the parasites would not pour on the head from the ceilings. It should be noted that such a measure did not save from bedbugs, they miraculously took refuge in the folds of matter. The famous Russian writer Leo Tolstoy surrounded the bed with water basins, hoping that the bloodsuckers would not be able to get close to him. But this did not stop the bugs, and they successfully selected their victim from the ceiling.

Differences between bug bites and other insects

The bites of all insects for an ignorant person seem similar - redness that itches. Therefore, it can be difficult to determine who bites in bed except for bedbugs.

The difference between a bug bite and a mosquito

Confusing a mosquito bite and a bug is especially easy in the summer. The nuances of insect behavior and traces of punctures have a number of characteristic differences:

• the appearance of mosquitoes is usually accompanied by a buzzing, bugs do not give out their presence with sounds;
• mosquitoes can appear both in the daytime and nighttime, and bedbugs in the daytime prefer to go unnoticed and leave their shelters only at night;
• bedbugs have sharper contours than mosquitoes;
• traces of mosquito bites are randomly arranged, and bedbugs are several in a row.

The difference between tick bites and bedbugs

Wounds from tick bites are larger. Tick ​​bite It is accompanied by painful sensations and it is easy to find on the skin, since it is common for a tick to immerse its head under a wound.

How to distinguish bug bites from fleas

There are a large number of flea species; the most common species are parasitic in pets. I can bite a person bed fleas, As well as bed bugs, they are active in sleeping places. Bedbugs from bedbugs are characterized by severe swelling, a pronounced color and blood points. Traces of flea punctures do not have bloody spots, are randomly located, most often on the feet and are more like spots than blisters.

The difference between midges and bedbugs

Moshka prefers to bite on the street, in contrast to the "home" bugs. A small black insect does not pierce the skin, but literally gnaws it. A person instantly feels severe pain and the bite mark begins to itch strongly. Midge bites heal for a long time and disappear after a week.

What is the danger of a bed bug

As a result of epidemiological studies, the fact of the transmission of dangerous viruses to human life has not been proved. A large danger bedbug bites are for people who are especially sensitive to the enzyme found in insect saliva. In such cases, bites can provoke anaphylactic shock and Quincke's edema.

The harmful effects of bites on health:

• Bedbug bites can cause allergic reactions, according to statistics, 80% of people are affected.
• The appearance of severe itching and pain.
• Combing the wounds leads to suppuration, inflammation, skin erosion.
• Numerous, regular attacks of parasites with severe infection can cause anemia of a child, an elderly person, an infant.
• In rare cases, bed bugs are disease vectors.
• Fever, headache, sometimes loss of consciousness.

Cases where bedbug bites can cause a deterioration in well-being are considered isolated. For most people, they are just as dangerous as mosquitoes. To a greater extent, the appearance of blood-sucking insects in the apartment affects the mental state:

• For a fastidious and suspicious person, just the image of a bloodsucker can terrify. And what can we say about the close proximity and creeping bloodsuckers on their own body, which, in addition to everything else, can also bite.
• Deterioration of sleep leads to irritability, decreased performance.
• The appearance of neurosis, a depressive state.

How to treat bedbug bites

When identifying parasite bites, do not panic. In no case should you comb your wounds so as not to provoke a purulent process. In the absence of pain syndromes at home, there is no need to handle the lesion site. Symptoms of bites disappear within 2-3 days, and complete healing of the wound occurs in a week.

If the puncture site is very itchy and sore, it is recommended to treat it with warm water and an alcohol solution to avoid suppuration. There is no special effective drug for the prevention and treatment of bug bites. You can use ointments that have antiseptic action, essential oils that will help damaged skin heal faster.

On a note!

To accelerate the healing process, wounds are recommended to be lubricated with Fenistil gel. It will relieve itching, swelling and reduce pain. Menovazin, Afloderm have proven themselves well. Drugs can be purchased in pharmacies, they are not very expensive, they should be smeared with damage 3-4 times a day. People prone to allergic reactions should take a course of antihistamines.

With severe allergic reactions to bites, self-treatment is categorically contraindicated. If mucus appears in the wounds or they do not pass for a long time, you should consult a doctor. Only a specialist can prescribe the right and effective medications.

Alternative methods from bites

In the piggy bank of folk remedies, many recipes have been collected to alleviate and eliminate the discomfort associated with insect bites.

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

  

• Wipe the wounds with alcohol or alcohol tincture from medicinal herbs for disinfection.
• To remove puffiness, make a scarlet lotion or ice cubes and wipe them with wounds.
• Prepare a soda solution, resembling sour cream in density and grease the bite.
• The juice of plantain, onion, parsley helps to remove skin irritation.
• Spread the bite mark with grated garlic in case of purulent inflammation.

How to prevent bug bites

Absolutely effective ways to prevent bloodsucker bites do not yet exist. However, you can pick up products with an insect repellent odor or cook ointments for bites by yourself.

If skin rashes are the result of bedbug attacks, the most effective way to prevent new lesions is to destroy the parasites themselves. Get rid of bed bugs it is possible by different methods, but the most effective is the persecution of pests effective chemicals. Pin hopes on folk remedies, and even more so on conspiraciesnot worth it.

On a note!

If you still have doubts about the bitten parasite, you can use the folk method of determination.To do this, adhesive tape is attached around the perimeter of the bed frame, sofa or crib. In the morning, it will be possible to collect insects and submit them for analysis to an entomologist or other specialist whose activities are associated with domestic pests.

To get rid of the annoying neighborhood you need to start as early as possible. It is possible that the bugs have just begun their settlement and have not yet managed to acquire numerical offspring. Reproduction of parasites happening at a fast pace. The average female lays an average of 5 eggs per day, during its life cycle, it can produce from 300 to 500 eggs. Under favorable conditions, after 40 days, the new offspring will be able to increase the population.