Bites of domestic bedbugs on the skin: symptoms and treatment at home

Bedbugs mostly live in places where people live – in multi-story apartments, private houses, summer cottages, and in some cases in hotels or recreation areas. Bedbug bites mostly appear at night, since it is during this period of the day that the insects become most active.

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Symptoms bedbug bites

Symptoms of a bedbug bite include the following:

• swelling of the skin at the affected area;
• irritating severe itching in this area;
• the appearance of redness;
• Usually, there are several bite marks on one area of skin – they form a small path.

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Complications and consequences

Bedbug bites can cause quite serious consequences. A very unpleasant complication is the development of an allergic reaction to the bite. As a result, rashes spread across the skin, which itch and hurt a lot. In addition, a person becomes irritable, his temperature may rise, dizziness and a feeling of weakness may appear. More serious allergic reactions are also possible, so after the above symptoms appear, it is recommended to immediately consult a doctor, without waiting for the situation to worsen.

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Treatment bedbug bites

Usually, bedbug bites are not treated with special medications, as they go away on their own - after a few days they disappear without a trace. If desired, if the redness and itching at the bite sites are too strong, you can buy a special ointment.

Inflammatory processes caused by bites can be treated with various medications for external use - creams, ointments, gels or balms.

Home remedies for bedbug bites

It is also possible to relieve the symptoms of bites at home. For example, simply soak a small piece of cotton wool in alcohol and apply it to the damaged area for a short time. This procedure should be repeated several times. As a result, the itching usually disappears.

You can also rinse the bite area with running water (warm) - this helps reduce the severity of inflammation signs, which appear as redness and itching. Onion juice can also reduce the severity of symptoms - you need to rub the bite with a small piece of onion.

Medicines

The most effective and popular medications against bedbug bites are the following:

• Fenistil gel - it has antipruritic properties, eliminates pain, and also reduces irritation at the bite sites. It acts by blocking H1 histamine receptors, which provoke the development of itching and inflammation. It also reduces swelling and inhibits the body's allergic response to insect saliva. Its consistency allows the gel to quickly absorb into the skin, leaving no stains on clothing. This medicine cannot be used by children under 1 year old;
• Psilo-balm, the active component of which is diphenhydramine. It has an effect similar to the properties of dimethindene maleate, which is contained in Fenistil gel - it blocks receptors that cause itching. As a result, the medicine reduces the symptoms of inflammation, removes swelling and pain. Its main advantage is the presence of a long-term cooling effect, which allows you to significantly reduce the discomfort of the inflammatory process;
• Afloderm is a hormonal drug used in cases where conventional ointments with an anti-inflammatory effect no longer work. The drug effectively eliminates an allergic reaction to a bedbug bite, as well as redness with itching. But it is necessary to take into account that ointments containing hormones can only be used with a doctor's prescription after the necessary tests. The drug is prohibited for use by pregnant women and small children. It also cannot be used if the patient has advanced purulent inflammation;
• Bepanten is an effective wound-healing agent that can be used by both children and adults. This medicine is available in the form of a cream, and therefore has a more liquid consistency. The active substance dexpanthenol perfectly heals and restores the skin, and also has a moisturizing effect - this allows the cream to prevent skin drying and scratching. It is often used to eliminate mild symptoms of inflammation after a bite;
• Elidel is a cream that can eliminate extensive allergies that appear as a result of bedbug bites. It is used in the case of allergic dermatitis and other skin reactions that occur due to bedbug bites. The medicine can be used even by children from 3 months. Treatment is usually carried out in courses, as prescribed by a doctor.

Folk remedies

In case of bedbug bites, you can also use folk remedies.

In such cases, washing the bitten parts of the body with soapy water is effective (it is better to use antibacterial soap to avoid the risk of infection). Then, ice or a bag of something frozen should be applied to the injured area.

These measures will help eliminate itching, thereby preventing the risk of scratching the bites. To completely eliminate traces of bedbug bites, you should use the following methods:

• treat them with alcohol infusions of herbs (St. John's wort, calendula, or plantain);
• apply aloe juice, which eliminates swelling and inflammation, and also reduces the severity of itching;
• soda solution - stir soda (1 teaspoon) in water (0.5 cups) and make baths from it.

Prevention

Unfortunately, it is impossible to give a 100% guarantee that bedbugs will never appear in the house, and it is impossible to protect yourself from their bites if they have already appeared. There is only one way out in this case - to destroy the parasites. This can be done with the help of disinfestation.

At the same time, you should not trust advertising and buy various ultrasonic devices or fumigators, as they will not have any effect in the fight against bedbugs. The best option would be to seek help from specialists who deal with such issues. They will be able to perform a comprehensive treatment of the entire house/apartment.

If you want to deal with the problem yourself, you can purchase the following products: powders, as well as dusts or aerosols, and in addition, special concentrated solutions.

It is recommended to select a product that will be able to destroy not only adult bedbugs and their larvae, but also egg clutches.

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Forecast

Bedbug bites have a favorable prognosis, as they are usually harmless to the body of an adult. Only if there is an allergy to such an irritant, certain problems may arise. But it should be taken into account that we are talking about adults, but for small children and babies, these bites can be very dangerous.

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