Diseases & Conditions

Bedbugs

How many times have you heard, "Sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite"? This lighthearted rhyme doesn't diminish the creep factor of bedbugs, tiny six-legged insects that hide during the day and feast on your blood at night.

The common bedbug is a reddish-brown insect that doesn't grow much longer than 0.2 inches (0.5 centimeters). Bedbugs inject an anticoagulant to keep your blood flowing as they suck, along with a numbing agent to keep you from feeling them when they're at work.

Bedbugs aren't known to spread disease to humans, although they may be host to the organisms that cause hepatitis B and Chagas' disease. Treatment of bedbug bites usually involves self care, but in more severe cases you may need to see your doctor.

Bedbugs will feed on any mammal, including cows and dogs. In North America, migratory birds and bats have been sources of infestation.

More recently, as world travel has increased, bedbugs are finding their way into the home through luggage and clothing worn abroad.

Another contributor to the resurgence of bedbugs in the West is changing pest-control practices. Sixty years ago the common use of DDT — which kills most insects — nearly eliminated bedbugs in the United States.

Today the use of DDT is being phased out due to human toxicity concerns. Further, current extermination practices are more insect-specific — what's toxic to a cockroach may not kill a bedbug.

If you experience allergic reactions or severe skin reactions to your bedbug bites, see your doctor for treatment.

You're likely to experience only the itchy skin welts that bedbugs cause while feeding. However, some people develop more complicated reactions to bedbug bites, such as clusters of inflamed red bumps, dilation of the capillaries under the skin, formation of pus-filled blisters and hives up to 8 inches across.

A rare possibility exists that anaphylactic shock may occur as an allergic reaction to the substances the bedbug injects while feeding.

Treatment of bedbug bites is aimed at relieving symptoms. Bites usually resolve within one to two weeks.

• Apply a topical cream, such as cortisone, to relieve itching.
• Avoid scratching to prevent infection.
• Consult your doctor if you have severe reactions. An oral antibiotic may be recommended if infection occurs. Oral corticosteroids may be recommended for severe allergic reaction.
• Take antihistamines if needed to help relieve allergic reactions.

Once your symptoms are treated, you must tackle the infestation. First, you'll need to freeze pajamas, sheets and other bedclothes for at least 24 hours or launder them in hot water of at least 97 F (36 C). Vacuum the area of infestation daily and freeze the vacuum bags for 24 hours. Insecticide sprays such as dichlorvos, permethrin and malathion must be used around cracks and crevices in your home. Lawn and garden insect control sprays may contain these insecticides, and garden stores may have permethrin. However, this difficult task likely requires a professional inspection of the bedbug habitat and subsequent extermination.

Self-care during a bedbug infestation primarily involves comfort care for bites.

However, you may experience psychological effects due to a bedbug infestation, such as imagined itching. This is normal. And understand that a bedbug infestation is nothing to be embarrassed about. Even the cleanest, most meticulous individual can experience a bedbug problem in the home.

Should you suspect bedbugs in your home, treat any bites quickly and take immediate steps to eliminate the infestation.