*&#* - bed bugs ?!

[smartyjones]

you gotta be kiddin'! we got home from vaca, which included some hotel rooms and camping cabins, along with our own tent camping and staying at a relatives. the first morning we were home, I noticed a rash on the back of ds9's left upper arm. it has a demarcated line just above where a short sleeved shirt ends down to his elbow. at first, I wasn't too concerned. he has an allergic reaction to sunscreen. the day before, dh sunscreened him and I thought maybe he mixed them up or something along those lines.

 

since wasn't troublesome to him, I didn't want to freak out about it. I guess other things to deal with too -- new permanent retainer in mouth making him miserable and school starting next week.

 

it has not been itching him but looks terrible. i'm putting a cream on it that it seems to be getting better. but past couple days has been concerning me more. today I see a couple similar bumps on ds11's right arm, but only a few.

 

I start thinking it is bizarre they have it on upper vs. lower arm, right vs. left. so I think -- omg - could it be bed bugs??!! I looked up pics and it does look like ds9's arm. he doesn't seem to be getting anything new.

 

how is this kid the lighting rod for everything??!!! I have nothing and am very reactive to mosquito bites. dh has nothing.

 

anyone know much about bed bugs?

 

another thought -- he is on a new antiparasitic regime -- took 2 weeks and one week off -- the day i first saw the rash, was day 14 -- to be first day off. I wonder if this has anything to do with it. curious b/c the bumps don't itch. I don't really think a reaction to the regime would produce the bumps looking just like the bites though ---- ???

Edited August 20, 2013 by smartyjones

[911RN]

Bug bites typically don't itch- they hurt! The are normally pretty good size---not like a mosquito bite. Get "welt-like" and red. I have seen them on several folks coming to ER. If it looks like photos of similar on internet as you said- you can google the photos- I would be concerned. Make sure you did not bring them home in your luggage. Look on sides of mattresses for evidence of bed bugs, look between mattress and box springs for bugs.

[nicklemama]

Ditto above. Make sure you didn't bring them in your luggage. Get all your luggage outside and fumigate it. Wash bedding and clothes in hot water. Bed bugs feed and then you won't see bites for a few days until they feed again. Bites are typically in a line. They walk in a straight line and bite.

 

A friend of mine had bed bugs. Luckily a small case. She hired a lady who had a bed bug sniffing dog. No, I'm not making this up. The dog alerted on a a piece of luggage her husband had taken on a business trip. They threw it out. Bed bug experts came to look in her house but never found any. They set out traps. Bed bugs feed at night and rest during the day under mattresses and in nooks and crannies like the moulding on your wall near the floor, in drawers and the like. It took about a month before they got no more bites. The exterminator told her they must have picked up only a few males. When they died out, no more bed bugs. That's not usually how it happens though. The females lay eggs and the infestation grows.

[LNN]

If you do become concerned about them getting into your mattress, you can get matress and box spring allergen encasements. The little suckers wouldn't be able to feed and would die. Wouldn't address the nooks and crannies nicklemama mentions but I know it'd help me sleep better!

[Crunchfly]

Bed bug bites look different in everyone. Some look like small red pimples, others are large mosquito-like bites, etc. And from the experiences my friends and family have had, they itch like crazy, although some people don't even react to the bites. I would be most concerned about the possibility of bringing them home. A mattress cover won't help save anything but the mattress, since they are happy to live in baseboards, furniture, or other cracks and crevasses. I would start by washing everything you brought with you and drying it on high-heat for a long time.

[beeskneesmommy]

I do not know much about bed bugs except that they are awful. When I worked doing home visits for Medicaid, I ran across them. I had my husband meet me at the back door with a trash bag and stripped off my clothes in the back yard, put them and my brief case into the trash in the alley. I just want to say I am so darned sorry! Sometimes it does feel like a "magnet" situation. I remember asking Dr. L.: "C'mon, Strep infections > PANDAS, then Myco after the T&A and Lyme on top of it all? What are the odds"! Unfortunately, she explained why the odds were good. Hang in there and know that you have a huge amount of sympathy from me!! Ugh!!

[smartyjones]

well -- went over ds's bed and room today with a fine-toothed magnifying glass. no evidence of bed bugs -- no bugs, no exoskeletons, no excrement marks. but, mattresses are encased and all bed linens washed and dried in hot. maybe the mattress covers will either suffocate what may be there or make it easier to not have that hiding place. no visible evidence in any suitcase or bag we took.

 

ds9's rash showed up last week with entire back of one upper arm as rash. ds11 has a few marks in many places. he's been outside a lot -- maybe could just be mosquitos.

 

the bed bug sniffing dog sounds interesting. apparently, bed bugs emit a sweet, musty smell. in a bad infestation, a person can smell. but they can train a dog to smell it.

 

thanks for the suggestions and sympathy!!

[T_Anna]

My friend works at a hospital and they had bed bugs. She said that these dogs were amazing.

 

T.Anna