#BED BUG BITES NOT ITCHY SKIN#

Other potential complications of bed bug bites are emerging in the literature. Or oral cetirizine or doxepin, while infections may require topical mupirocin or systemic Or prescription agents such as topical paroxime or intermediate-potency corticosteroids

#BED BUG BITES NOT ITCHY SKIN#

Skin until they can get cellulitis.” Basic treatment includes over-the-counter While the pest treatment is under way, medical treatment may be required as well. Service to come in and provide advice,” said Dr. “The most important thing to do is to get a licensed, reputable pest control Once a diagnosis is confirmed, the key referral is to the experts: exterminators. They are a little smaller thanįleas and they defecate along the cord of the mattress blood that they have processed,” “If you have a bed bug infestation, any lay person can usually pick that up.Īll you have to do is go to bed, pull back your mattress cover and look along theĬords of the mattress. Occasionally, patients may bring in a bed bug specimen, but typically, the next step Unless there's an extreme infestation in their home,” said Dr. “Bed bugs are almost never found on the patient's body or clothing The only way to be absolutely certain of diagnosis is to spot a bug, which is rare You been around someone who has traveled?’” said Dr. Key questions to ask are, ‘Have you traveled recently?’ or ‘Have Recent travel is also a clue, since the bugs can be picked up in hotels. Wake up in the middle of the night itching, then you want to put this in your differential “If someone has a generalized dermatitis, chronic itching or if they In some patients who are sensitive, in others it might be a small pruritic papule,Īnd in others it might be almost nothing.”Įven in cases where the bites leave no visible trace, patients may be feeling theirĮffects. “The reaction may be quite widespread urticaria Said Stephen Hwang, MD, FACP, an associate professor of medicine and public healthĪt the University of Toronto. “It's sometimes difficult because the appearance of the bites is nonspecific,” Out that he had picked up bed bugs while on tour in Europe, which is where the currentĪ rash is a common clue to a bed bug diagnosis, but not a perfect one. The patient was a musician, and it turned Multiple physicians and nobody could figure out what was going on. “ came into my clinic with this strange rash. Medical Center in Jackson, has since published several research papers about bed bugs,īut he missed the first case to visit his office. deShazo, a professor of medicine and pediatrics at the University of Mississippi The resurgence of bed bugs in the last several years took even experts by surprise.ĭr. “Most of these people, doctors think they have psychosomatic problems on theįirst go-round,” said immunologist/rheumatologist Richard deShazo, MD, FACP. The resultĪ rash is a common but not definitive clue to the presence of bed bugs. More severe consequences of bed bug bites, may come to internists for help. Patients with unexplained itching, as well as those with exterminators for the first time, moreĬommon than roaches and termites, said entomologist Rajeev Vaidyanathan, PhD, associateĭirector of vector biology and zoonotic disease at nonprofit research institute SRIĮxterminators and entomologists are not the only experts being called upon to deal In 2010, bed bugs, or Cimex lectularius, topped the list of problems faced by U.S. “Don't let the bed bugs bite” is an old adage, but one that the American peopleĪre having increasing trouble following.

Bed bug bites not itchy