Bed bugs can often be seen in a person's home. Parasites feed on blood. The bite itself can be dangerous for a person, because when the skin is pierced, special substances are released that can lead to a serious allergic reaction and other troubles.
Find out what caused the bugs to appear in the house and how to get rid of them. It is important to know how to alleviate your condition when bitten by a tick, than to lubricate the wound. Study the following material and strictly follow the useful tips described.
Reasons for the appearance of bed mites in the house
Parasites do not like sunlight and live in dark corners where there is no good air ventilation. Favorite habitats for parasites: headboards, mattresses, household appliances, soft toys, furniture. Bloodsuckers hunt at night (they are most active from 3 to 5 am). It is not difficult to suspect a bedbug; large colonies of pests cause significant harm to humans and love to feast on the blood of women and small children.
How do pests get into your home? There are several main ways:
- from neighbors. In most cases, ticks look for a new source of food if they are being poisoned in their old place or if unfavorable conditions for existence have appeared;
- transported on various things. Often old sofas and beds are infested with bedbugs; in a new place they willingly drink the blood of their owners. There are often cases when a person spends the night in a hotel that is infested with parasites; some individuals attach themselves to a backpack, other things, and wander into your home;
- Parasites even live in household appliances. If safety rules were not followed at the warehouse, then various pests can migrate into your home through new or used equipment;
- bedbugs cling to pants and sweaters in nature. Parasites can also be brought by pets that often walk outside (it is easier for ticks to jump onto fur and gain a foothold).
There are many ways to infect an apartment with bedbugs, so follow the preventive recommendations that are described at the end of the material. Get rid of a small number of ticks in a timely manner, because it is problematic to overcome a large colony of bloodsuckers.
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What is a dust mite?
Insects that have microscopic sizes (from 0.5 to 0.1 mm), whose life period lasts up to 80 days and leave behind offspring in the form of an egg clutch of up to 60 pieces, are called field ticks.
This is an organism that lives together with a person, loving warmth (from 22 to 260 C) and humidity above 55%. The tick feeds on dead human skin cells (it loses up to 1.5 grams daily). The parasite feels very comfortable in the pile of carpets and rugs, in places where there is a large accumulation of dust (plinths, shoes, etc.).
They live in colonies: from 10 to 10 thousand insects per 1 gram. dust. Their numbers vary at different times of the year, with numbers increasing especially strongly in August-September.
If there are 100 pieces in a gram of dust. pests - this will not pose a danger to the human body; if the number is 500 individuals per gram, it will cause an asthma attack, but if the number exceeds 1 thousand, it will awaken allergies and chronic runny nose (especially in people who are predisposed to this).
The presence of a huge number of parasites in an apartment can constantly cause attacks of tick allergies in residents, which are not only an unpleasant sensation, but also very dangerous.
Features of bed mites
These types of ticks are called synanthropes due to the fact that they live only near humans. Penetrating into the living space along with dust, they feel quite comfortable when the temperature in the room is from 20 to 260 C, and there is an increased percentage of humidity.
The life period is up to 2.5 months. During this time, they are able to lay several hundred eggs. Pests live where a person is: in bed, in slippers, in upholstered furniture.
Many people mistakenly believe that pests feed on blood - this is far from the case, they do not bite, red spots on the body are a sign of an allergy to insect waste products.
What do bites look like and how to recognize them?
During a bite, the parasite injects an anesthetic, the effect of which wears off after 20 minutes, during which time the tick manages to retreat to a secluded place. Larvae do not have this ability, but due to the small size of the pests, it is problematic to feel the bloodsucker during a bite. If the wounds are not scratched or lubricated with anything, after a few hours they darken, and a dot of coagulated blood forms in their place.
If the apartment is heavily infested, the bites will appear again in larger numbers; over time, the body’s reaction can be much stronger. Often, bloodsuckers choose women and children, those who sleep without pajamas, as victims. Parasites bite exposed areas of skin (neck, arms, legs; bites appear on the back of those who sleep in underwear). Bedbugs bite several times; they cannot feed from one wound. The bites themselves look like red spots.
Such punctures can easily be confused with the bites of other insects; experts identify several distinctive signs by which you suspect the presence of bed mites in the house:
- from bites of mosquitoes, midges, fleas, and other insects, traces from bedbugs are distinguished by a large number, the presence of groups of red spots, the presence of trouble on open areas of the body that were not under the blanket. Also, the bites of bed parasites are painful and have a distinct red tint;
- Compared to tick bites, bedbug wounds are smaller and brighter in color. Also, ticks are most often seen during a meal, the head remains in the wound, the bug manages to escape before it is caught;
- Bedbug bites itch very much, but not as much as from “acquaintance” with stinging insects (wasps, bees).
What does a tick bite look like? It is possible to distinguish parasite bites from various infections and rashes by the presence of a red bump, a small puncture hole through which the parasite fed. Also consider the timing of the red spots.
Note! Ticks are active only at night and bite in the house. If bites appear after a walk in the fresh air or other activities, then you are dealing with a different parasite.
Consequences of an encephalitis tick bite - symptoms of tick-borne encephalitis
The latent period is 5-25 days, but most often symptoms appear in the period 7-14 days after the tick bite. The general symptoms characteristic of this infection begin acutely and vividly, i.e. The patient can clearly indicate the start time of the clinic:
- heat;
- chills;
- Pain in the eyes;
- photophobia;
- pain in muscles, bones and joints;
- headache;
- vomit;
- lethargy and drowsiness;
- seizures (in children);
- redness of the sclera of the eyes, skin of the face, neck, upper body.
Why are bloodsucker bites dangerous for humans?
Despite the fact that many viruses, causative agents of dangerous diseases, were found in bedbug droppings, scientists were unable to prove that pests are capable of infecting humans with various ailments. Apparently, nature has taken care of constant food for the bloodsuckers, because if the owner dies, the bug will have nothing to eat.
Bloodsucker bites are not so harmless:
- Serious allergic reactions, itching, and rashes on the body often occur. In sensitive people, Quincke's edema occurs, which is life-threatening (risk of suffocation). An allergic reaction to varying degrees has been detected in 80% of all inhabitants of the planet to the bites of these insects;
- Many people scratch very itchy wounds, opening the way for various infections, which leads to suppuration;
- Iron deficiency anemia is extremely rare and manifests itself when there are a huge number of pests in the house. This problem is also typical for young children;
- many people lose normal sleep and mental peace. After all, no one will be pleased to know that every night little bloodsuckers feast on your blood.
Do microscopic parasites bite?
Some people, having learned about the existence of these saprophytes, begin to fear their bites. Feather arachnids don't actually bite. If someone says that they have suffered from a tick bite and even show marks from its jaws, these words should be taken as nothing other than the figment of such a person’s imagination. The saprophyte is so small that it is not able to bite through human skin, and since it does not bite, it is not a carrier of dangerous infections, as many people think.
As for skin rashes, these are not bites of linen mites, but the body’s reaction to an allergen, which is the cuticle shed by these arachnids after molting, the substances they secrete and feces. The rashes, itching and burning sensations that appear on the skin from a dust mite bite can only be called conditionally to indicate what exactly we are talking about. The parasite does not cause bites as such.
Effective treatments
For many people, bites go unnoticed and heal on their own after a few days. In some cases, urgent medical attention is required. First steps if a nonspecific reaction to a tick bite occurs:
- thoroughly wash the bite area with soapy water or soda (take a tablespoon of the product per glass of water), then rinse under running water;
- disinfect the bite site. For these purposes, regular alcohol or vodka is suitable;
- If the wounds are very itchy, then most likely it is an allergy. Use folk remedies to eliminate unpleasant symptoms; in advanced cases, use pharmaceuticals.
Folk remedies and recipes
Proven recipes:
- wipe the bitten area with pure vinegar, no need to rinse;
- apply a luda cube or any product from the freezer to the sore spot;
- use a simple method that will get rid of the trouble: apply a used bag of green or black tea, leave for half an hour;
- It is allowed to make lotions based on medicinal herbs. The most effective is St. John's wort: pour a tablespoon of the herb with a glass of boiling water, soak a cotton pad in the resulting product, apply to the wound, hold for half an hour. A similar method can be used to use decoctions of chamomile and calendula;
- folk healing ointment: combine aloe and plantain juice, mix thoroughly. Apply the finished product to the affected areas of the skin several times a day, at least five times. The juices of these products relieve swelling, cope with itching, and destroy pathogenic bacteria;
- Squeeze the juice from onion or garlic, apply the resulting product to the bed bug bites, you don’t have to rinse it off. The aroma of vegetables will repel parasites for a long time, relieve itching and inflammation;
- Take five tablets of activated carbon to remove accumulated toxins in the body.
In most cases, folk remedies completely relieve unpleasant symptoms; if they do not help, use pharmaceutical drugs. Many people recommend using essential oils in their pure form, which have an anti-inflammatory effect and cope well with itching.
Essential oils are used against parasite bites:
- lemon;
- orange;
- lavender;
- geraniums;
- tea tree;
- pine needles;
- juniper;
- cypress;
- lavender;
- mint and wormwood.
Medications
No specific remedies have been invented for tick bites, but there are many medications that cope with the task. After all, treatment is difficult if the patient suffers from a serious allergic reaction to bloodsucker bites.
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Medicines against parasite bites:
- ointment Fenistil, Rescuer. These gels immediately alleviate the patient’s condition, relieve swelling and itching;
- Vietnamese Star helps destroy pathogenic bacteria;
- Afloderm copes with severe itching;
- Propolis tincture is an effective remedy against the bites of any parasites;
- Ofloderm ointment. It is used with Tavegil, which relieves the symptoms of an allergic reaction;
- Dermatologists will help dry the wounds with Tsindol;
- Akriderm copes well with the inflammatory process.
Preventing home infestation
You can avoid being close to pests by following some rules:
- when purchasing new furniture and household appliances, carefully check them for the presence of bloodsuckers;
- carefully seal all the cracks in the house, cover the ventilation ducts with a fine mesh;
- place dry tansy and mint leaves under the bed;
- When traveling, stay in hotels that comply with hygiene standards and are not infested with bedbugs.
It is quite possible to cope with bed tick bites at home. The main thing is to get rid of the source of the problem, otherwise constant itching will accompany you for a long period of time.
In the following video you can see what bed mite bites look like:
