Bed Bug Bites
Bed bug bites can itch and it persistently scratched, can become infected. Bed Bugs are actually very picky eaters, choosing to draw blood from areas of your body where blood flows abundantly. When a bed bug is done feasting on your blood, their bodies can become so bloated, their weight doesn’t just double it goes up as much as seven times their body weight. Bed bugs are drawn to warm bodies and carbon dioxide. To reach their source of nourishment, bed bugs thrust two hollow tubes into your flesh and siphon your blood. Their saliva is enriched with anesthetics that let them get away with sucking up your blood for several minutes, or until they have had their fill. When bed bugs go back to their clever hiding places they are ready to breed once again.
After intense itching, a Bed beg rash can appear on any part of the body. The rash can swell and is pink to red in color just as a mosquito bite tends to be. Bed bug rashes take a long time to go away and the urge to itch is worse than if you were just bitten by a mosquito. When you are bitten by a mosquito, you can feel it, and at times go to swat the annoying insect. Bed bugs are long gone by the time you notice the bites and or inflamed areas on your body. The red inflamed area will gradually go away after two or three days. Bed bug bites differ too from mosquito bites in that their bites are arranged in a particular order, unlike mosquito bites that have no order. As soon as you discover bed bug bites they should be cleansed with warm soapy water. Try very hard not to scratch the bites; this is what causes the area of your skin to become infected.
Bed bugs that haven’t sucked the blood from an unknowing victim appear different from a bed bug that has just had plenty of blood to feed upon. Baby bed bugs commonly referred to as nymphs, are translucent to yellow in color. A nymph can progress into a mature bed bug in as little as 30 days, if they are able to consume an adequate amount of blood. Bed bugs do not travel to a food source unless they are ravenous.
Luckily, bed bugs have not been associated with transmitting any diseases, whereas mosquitoes have been known to spread disease. Bed bugs are annoying, but they do not present any medical risks. Researchers have discovered that the lining in their stomachs contain peptides that will not permit bacteria, fungi, or viruses to develop. But, as mentioned previously, if you scratch your bites frequently, you may get an infection and scarring may occur. Children are particularly susceptible to infection because they have a tendency to scratch more.
By: Bradley Skierkowski