The presence of bed bugs can make the few hours of sleep that a person is able to get in a hectic daily schedule quite unbearable and traumatic. The bites from bed bugs may be a little hard to identify correctly when they first appear as they resemble either little bumps or rashes or might even manifest as simply a reddish skin. As a result, most doctors may misdiagnose it to be some other skin condition. The bed bugs that cause this to occur feed on human blood and since the bites don’t really hurt all that much, few victims realize that they have been bitten until some time later – when the itching starts to take effect. Most bed bugs are small and measure only about 5 to 7 mm in length with reduced wings. The female bed bugs are slightly larger than their male counterparts and deposit fertilized eggs in cracks or crevices with newborns emerging in about 5 days. The variations of the skin injuries sustained from bed bug bites will largely differ depending on the structure of the mouthparts. They live primarily in wooden boards, bed frames, furniture, and mattresses as well as behind peeling paint. They grasp onto human skin with their forelegs and pierce the skin before injecting saliva containing anti coagulant and anesthetic properties. They are known to feed around an hour before dawn and each meal would normally take about 3 to 12 minutes.
When treating bed bug bites, the primary initial focus will be on reducing the amount of itching experienced. Calamine lotion is known to help significantly in achieving this while it will not prevent any actual resistance to the bite itself. Avoid scratching the bite as much as possible as it would only serve to damage the already irritated skin tissue. Washing the bite area with a little soap and water would help soothe the skin while the application of an ice pack over the site of the bite will prove to be extremely beneficial. The main step in prevention of bed bug bites is the adequate removal of bed bugs from your bedding. Always make it a point to wash your bedding in very hot water as this would help kill any bed bugs that hide in the fabric. Make sure to thoroughly vacuum the mattress and upholstered furniture as well as drapes. While this will not guarantee the removal of all bed bugs and larvae, it will at least reduce them by a considerable amount.