What’s more exciting than waking up and finding some unidentifiable bites on your person? Well, OK, a lot of things but chances are you will want to know what is making you want to scratch your skin off and how to avoid it ever happening again. Begin the investigations here with this brief guide to three things that go chomp in the night, Bedbugs, scabies, and fleas.
Bedbugs
What the bites look like:
The distinguishing feature of bedbug bites is that they run in a line that looks almost like sewing. They are raised and itchy.
How to treat them:
Antihistamine creams and anti-itch lotions. The good thing is that bedbugs do not transmit disease.
How to avoid further bites:
Although bedbugs can also live in other types of furniture, most bites will occur when the target meal (that’s you) is sleeping. Move beds away from the wall and check inside any panels on the headboard or in the joins of wooden bedframes. You might also like to check the mattress and sheets for any signs such as tiny dots of blood. If possible, request a new room. Be aware that bedbugs can also get into your bags so try not to place them on the bed or carpeted floor. If there is a luggage rack (yeah, right) you’ll be best off to use it. In the very least you can keep your bags in the bathroom where there are often fewer places for the bugs to hide, particularly in the bathtub.
Scabies
Long misdiagnosed as a sexually transmitted disease, the small mites known as scabies are something that can affect anyone. True, they are spread through close physical contact but you certainly don’t need to have sex with someone to become infested with the mites. Skin to skin contact is the most likely route of transmission, however, so it is very common that if one family or group member gets scabies, the rest of the group will too. For that reason, everyone must be treated even if bites marks are not present.
What the bites look like:
Remarkably like flea bites! The difference is that scabies will travel along a trail and infect areas that are covered by clothing as well as those that are not. Common areas are in between the fingers, on the wrists and in the groin and legs, but they can show up anywhere. Most likely, you will find a few and then wake up each day to another outbreak as the mites move along under your skin in burrows to find some lovely new real estate.
How to treat them:
Although there are other lesser used treatments in various parts of the world, typically a lotion of 5% Premetherin (yes, that eye-watering poison in your impregnated mosquito net) is applied to the entire body overnight and hot water is used to wash all clothing and bedding.
How to avoid further bites:
Avoid prolonged skin contact with anyone who can be identified as having scabies including sex and big-time cuddles. Some severe strains can also be transmitted with brief contact. Further, do not share bedding or towels with infected persons.
Fleas
What the bites look like:
Red, usually raised, often with a tiny visible entry mark. They can be in clusters if a flea has settled down to dinner without moving too far, but you can also get rogue, solo bites.
How to treat them:
There are over the counter bite creams, some of which have steroids in them. But you can also use milder remedies such as Tiger Balm or a paste of baking soda and water if the itching is not too bad.
How to avoid further bites:
Search and destroy! If you’ve only got a bite or two, spend a bit of time searching the seams, nooks and crannies of your bedding or wherever you were when you got the bites (eg. furniture cushions). If you have a lot of bites, you will probably need to fumigate the room with a flea bomb. These are usually premetherin-based and can be found in hardware shops or at your local general store. If you can’t find flea bombs, you may have to resort to wearing insect repellant when you sleep if they are in your bed.
P.S. Don’t forget that I am not a doctor and my advice should not be used in place of a visit to a properly qualified physician.
Tell us your bite stories!
I have a question! Can you get Scabies from flea bites?
No, you can’t. Scabies are a mite, a little organism all on its own, as opposed to a flea. Having said that, scabies can often look like flea bites so get a doctor to have a look if you can’t work out what you’ve got. Good luck!