Why bedbugs are dangerous to humans - diseases that bedbugs carry. How dangerous are bedbugs and what are the consequences of their bites? Why are bedbugs harmful to humans?

The danger of bedbugs lies in the damage to large areas of skin. The bite sites become inflamed, itchy, and the skin turns red. For severe scratching, especially by children, into wounds
secondary infection occurs. Then pustules, scratches, and abrasions appear on the skin. The skin does not recover for a long time, along with itching there is pain.

Traditional methods and pharmaceutical preparations help relieve itching and reduce inflammation. You can cope with bites in 1 week. In the case of a secondary infection, you will have to undergo full treatment with antibacterial drugs - local antibiotics.

Why are bed bugs dangerous for people with allergies?

A severe allergic reaction worsens a person’s general condition. Especially if a whole colony of bedbugs was eating. Signs of a severe allergy, in addition to skin damage, are:

• temperature increase;
• headache;
• dry cough;
• dyspnea;
• nausea;
• cardiopalmus;
• weakness;
• dizziness;
• swelling of the larynx;
• lack of oxygen.

It is urgent to call an ambulance. Since such a reaction of the body to insect bites can result in asphyxia.

Definitely yes! In addition to damaging the skin, bedbugs can cause other unwanted effects.

Bed bugs infect the skin, and at the same time deteriorate the quality of life. The situation with bedbugs in young children is especially dangerous. They become afraid. The child is afraid to fall asleep. He doesn’t fully understand what’s what. Prolonged stay in this state causes severe nervous disorders. The help of specialists and long-term observation by neurologists and psychiatrists will be required. Often, against this background, children develop hysterics and depression, which entails a series of other troubles.

What harm does it cause to human health?

What diseases do bedbugs carry?

• typhus;
• tuleryamii;
• tuberculosis;
• leprosy;
• yellow fever;
• hepatitis A;
• AIDS.

Fortunately, the suspicions were not confirmed. It is currently known that bedbugs do not spread disease. Their main harm is local damage to the skin, provoking an allergic reaction. As a result of scratching, a secondary infection occurs. Bed bugs do not carry any blood-related diseases.

The danger of bedbug bites for the health of a pregnant woman

A woman’s body during pregnancy is compared to that of a child’s. Significant hormonal changes change the normal rhythm of work of internal organs and systems. Immunity decreases and the risk of an allergic reaction increases. It is difficult to predict how the body will react to insect bites. Maybe it's okay. Or a severe allergy may occur.

During pregnancy, the skin becomes more sensitive due to changes in hormones; bites remain for a long time and do not heal. You can use pharmaceutical products on the recommendation of a doctor. Most of them are contraindicated during pregnancy. An irritated nervous system has a bad effect on the metabolism in the body of the expectant mother. The fetus is also nervous and worried.

How to improve your health after bedbugs

It will work out if new bites appear every night. They choose their own methods of struggle. Concentrated insecticidal emulsions have the strongest and fastest effect. You can use the SES services, then the procedure will take a minimum of time.

The affected skin is treated with folk remedies and pharmaceutical preparations.

Mild bites

• The affected areas of the skin should be washed in cold or hot water. Treat with alcohol, tincture of medicinal plants in alcohol. Calendula helps a lot.
• Soda paste is good for disinfecting wounds. Baking soda is mixed with a small amount of water and applied to the wound. Baking soda relieves itching, among other things.
• Ice and cold meat from the freezer are applied to the wounds.
• Treat bite marks with aloe juice several times a day.

Within a few days of intensive therapy, the marks will completely disappear. The skin will be completely restored.

Moderate bites

You can help your skin recover with pharmaceutical medications:

• Balm Star;
• Bepanten;
• Fenistil-gel.

If pustules or weeping wounds appear on the body, it is necessary to continue treatment with disinfectants. Local antibiotics – Levomekol, Tetracycline ointment.

Bites with severe allergic reaction

Antihistamines are taken orally - Elcet, Loratadine, Diazolin - every day for 10 days. Advantan, Elokom, Lorinden, Triacutan, etc. are applied to the skin in a thin layer. They switch to antibiotics if a secondary infection occurs. Antihistamines continue to be taken.

Restoration of the nervous system

Initially, it is necessary to eliminate the irritant. Do not be afraid that bedbugs will appear again at night,
will start biting. A full rash is good medicine for the nervous system. You can help your nerves recover with herbal teas. Brew each separately or mix:

• chamomile;
• lemon balm;
• mint;
• thyme.

If your nerves are very tense, you can take tablets or tincture of valerian, motherwort, or glod. Glycine tablets and Nova-Passit tincture help to calm down.

Boosting immunity

You can increase the body's resistance to adverse factors with the help of proper nutrition and regimen.

• take vitamins;
• replenish nutrients with vegetables and fruits;
• get enough sleep;
• to walk outside;
• take walks;
• exercise;
• Be less nervous and avoid stress.

It is not uncommon to have to turn to a psychologist, because systematic night attacks of bedbugs lead to serious psychological disorders. Itching, nervousness, loss of energy, worsening mood, stress, weakened immunity, insomnia - this is only a small part of what an encounter with bed bugs promises.

Therefore, if you find “uninvited guests” in your home, take immediate action if your health is important to you. Let's take a closer look at how bedbugs pose a danger to humans.

How dangerous are bedbugs to humans?

Bedbugs are dangerous because they feed on human blood, and their bites can cause various disorders and diseases. The number of insects in the room also plays an important role; the more there are, the more dangerous they are.

The bite is almost imperceptible, but when sucking blood, the bug injects saliva containing anticoagulants into the wound, which prevents blood clotting. It is because of the chemical composition of the insect's saliva that a person begins to experience severe itching and subcutaneous burning at the site of the bite within a couple of minutes.

Depending on the sensitivity of the skin, the itching can last up to several days, and sometimes a blister forms at the site of the bite.

The diameter of the wound left by a bedbug after a bite is 500 times smaller than the diameter of the smallest medical needle.

How dangerous are bedbugs for children?

Bed bugs pose a particular danger to children, whose skin is delicate, thin and sensitive. Children who are unable to tolerate the unbearable itching scratch the bite sites and open wounds appear, into which various pathogenic bacteria can enter, causing pustular inflammation on the skin.

In children, allergic reactions to bedbug bites are usually protracted and deep. If the living space is heavily infested with insects, the child may develop iron deficiency anemia caused by constant blood loss.

One insect can drink up to 7 μl of human blood.

If an infection gets into the scratched area, the following symptoms are possible: deterioration in health and increased temperature of the skin in the area of ​​the bite. If these symptoms occur, you should immediately seek medical help.

What diseases do bedbugs carry?

Since bedbugs feed on human blood and can bite healthy people after sick people, they are potential carriers of blood-borne pathogens. During the study of bedbugs by infectious disease doctors, pathogens of the following infections were identified in insects: syphilis, plague, hepatitis B, typhoid, tularemia, leprosy, yellow fever, tuberculosis, anthrax, AIDS. But to date, there have been no recorded cases of disease transmission through an insect bite.

Bloodsuckers cannot transmit viral diseases through a bite. This is explained by the fact that the virus is not able to reproduce in the internal environment of the bug’s body. The pathogen is excreted from the insect’s body along with excrement, so it is not transmitted to another person.

Scientists conducted a study and found that in areas with a large number of HIV-infected people and a considerable number of premises infested with bedbugs, no cases of infection with viral diseases from insects were identified.

However, a person can still “catch” dangerous diseases from bedbugs. The fact is that some infectious viruses can survive for several days in insect excrement and a person can become infected through contact or inhalation. With the contact method of infection, a person accidentally comes into contact with the waste products of an insect. By inhalation - inhaling dust with particles of excrement that contain the virus. But both of these methods of infection are relevant only for premises where there is a large concentration (flow) of people, usually these are: cheap hotels, hostels, refugee camps and places where sanitary and epidemiological standards are not observed.

From all of the above we can conclude: bedbugs do not transmit infectious diseases through bites, however, they can cause considerable harm to a person even without this.

For the first time, seeing traces of a nightly feast of insects on your skin, a person will probably ask the question: How dangerous are bedbugs for humans and can there be any consequences of their bites? Let's try to give a comprehensive answer to this burning question.

What danger do bedbugs pose?

Consequences of bites

Bedbug bites bring physical and psychological suffering to people. Night bloodsuckers prevent you from getting a good night's sleep, thereby reducing your performance and immunity.

Crawling from place to place in search of an area with thin skin, the bug can inflict up to 10 punctures on the skin per night. Swarms of these insatiable bloodsuckers are capable of biting a person so much that there is literally no living space left on his body. The consequences of such massive invasions do not have the most favorable effect on our health.

Consequences of bed bug bites:

• itchy skin;
• lack of sleep;
• decreased performance;
• psychological suffering due to disfiguring red marks;
• allergic skin reactions.

In severe cases, a severe pathological condition of an allergic nature – anaphylactic shock – may develop. Possible consequence is death from suffocation.

However, such cases are extremely rare. For the most part, people do not notice bites until their attacks become widespread. In this case, multiple skin lesions will certainly affect your overall health.

Are bedbug bites dangerous for humans?

Frequent consequences of multiple bedbug bites are:

• skin bacterial infections;
• anemia;
• nervous exhaustion;
• depression.

Skin infection occurs when scratching the bite site. The itching can be so severe that it sometimes leads to scalping of individual areas of the skin. The resulting wounds are an open gate for any bacterial infection.

Important! Young children suffer especially hard from bedbug bites. Bloodsuckers primarily choose them as their victims.

The skin of babies is thin and delicate, so bloodsuckers most often attack them. After their raid, huge bright red blisters remain on the children’s bodies, bringing unbearable suffering to their owners.

Anemia occurs due to prolonged daily attacks by bedbugs. One insect can drink up to 7 μl of human blood. Such daily “bleeding”, combined with the general weakened state of the body, leads to the fact that the total volume of blood in the human body decreases and anemia develops.

Against the background of debilitating itching and chronic lack of sleep, diseases of a neurotic nature can develop. As a result, the nervous system cannot withstand such stress and nervous exhaustion occurs, the result of which is a complete loss of vitality and depression.

Can bedbugs carry diseases?

We have all heard about blood-borne diseases. Can blood-sucking insects be carriers of these infections? Are bedbugs dangerous for humans in this regard?

Cases of transmission of infections are extremely rare. However, they do exist. The insect drinks the blood of a sick person, and then can crawl onto a healthy person and, with a bite, transmit the causative agent of the disease to him. Diseases do not become epidemic in nature for only one reason - bedbugs do not like to crawl far from the nest. They rarely venture outside the corner they inhabit, preferring to stay close to their food - humans.

Diseases that can be transmitted by bed bugs:

• hepatitis B;
• tularemia;
• plague;
• smallpox;
• leprosy;
• AIDS;
• anthrax.

These and similar diseases can be transmitted both by a bug bite and by contact.

The bug is a killer

A comprehensive answer to the question of why bedbugs are dangerous to humans can be obtained from the example of their American relative, the triatomine bug. Outwardly similar to a bed bug, it is a carrier of the most dangerous disease for humans called Chagas disease. There are currently more than 300,000 victims of this silent killer, nicknamed the kisser for its fatal bite.

To paraphrase a well-known advertisement, we can say: not all bedbugs are equally dangerous! After all, this order of insects has tens of thousands of species, many of which do not pose any threat to humans. By the way, the well-known soldier beetles are actually also... bedbugs. Want to know more about the different types of these insects? Then read our article, in which you will also find photos of some of them.

You can also learn about the threat bedbugs pose to humans from the video:

The larvae do not have glands that produce enzymes. The proboscis, which injects liquid into the skin puncture, is not developed. Their bites are sensitive and often lead to the death of bloodsuckers, which is associated with a human reflex reaction.

At one time, an adult drinks 7 ml of blood - 2 times its weight. This may seem like a microscopic fraction, considering that the average adult body contains 3000 ml of blood. The danger of a bug bite occurs:

• itching;
• inflammation of the skin around the bite;
• the appearance of open wounds when scratching;
• blood thinning.

With each bite, the bed vampire injects a substance that thins the blood so that it does not clot and makes it easy to drink. When it accumulates in the human body, allergies and problems with wound healing, hematomas, and blood clotting occur.

A child suffers from bedbug bites

Children are usually the first to be attacked by bedbugs due to the thinness and tenderness of their skin. The child’s body is not able to cope with the effects of injected substances. With a regular attack on the baby, the danger is loss of blood.

In addition to allergies, children experience anemia - a decrease in hemoglobin levels. As a result of intoxication of the body, malfunctions in the gastrointestinal tract and disorders of the nervous system appear. If the child:

• cries at night;
• sleeps restlessly;
• eats poorly;
• is capricious.

It is necessary to examine his body to see if there are any red spots with watery or scratched pimples in the center. The itching is especially disturbing in the evening, and the baby begins to itch.

Danger for pregnant women

Why are bedbug bites dangerous for pregnant women? Changes in hormonal levels and increased stress on a woman’s body provoke nervous breakdowns from the knowledge that there are insects in her bed. Increased sensitivity leads to lack of sleep, fatigue, and weakness.

The danger of a bite is the occurrence of allergies and anemia. Thinning and analgesic fluids affect the development of the fetus through the blood. A pregnant woman may develop:

• allergy;
• anemia;
• secondary infection;
• breakdown.

When there are a large number of harmful insects, their bites affect the normal course of pregnancy. If suspicious pimples and redness appear on the body, you should immediately contact a dermatologist and gynecologist.

Scratch bites are wounds open to bacteria and germs. For a pregnant woman, even a cold creates problems. Many medications have a negative effect on the fetus. Treatment of a disease resulting from secondary infection threatens to inhibit the development of the child and the inheritance of the mother's disease in a chronic form.

How to detect bedbugs in the house in time

Other types of bedbugs

In the nature of the middle zone, there are a large number of bedbugs that live outside a person’s home. The reputation of a killer was created by the water smoothie. The flat body reaches a length of 15 mm. He constantly hunts fish and other inhabitants of water bodies. A female with a clutch of eggs on her back looks fantastic and intimidating. But these are just future larvae that leave the mother at birth and do not maintain contact with her. However, aquatic inhabitants have nothing in common with the true carrier of Chagas disease.

Water striders, which many people like to watch, belong to the same type of insect. The entire class injects a liquid into their victim when they bite, which dissolves the insides. And then it sucks everything out. They are not interested in people and animals as food.

What danger do water bugs pose to humans: when they meet, the insects try to move away. If pressed or stepped on, they may bite in defense. The most powerful poison of representatives of the middle zone is similar to a wasp sting and does not cause severe harm to health.

Is the grass bug dangerous for humans - only in one case, if you take the raspberry on which it sits in your mouth, it will burn for some time. Their main food is grass, berries and leaves, and their juice. When danger arises, they release a strong-smelling liquid, warning enemies.

Among the blood-sucking creatures, we should especially highlight bedbugs - small insects that love to settle in our apartments and exist at the expense of humans. In our article we will tell you in detail why bedbugs are dangerous to humans, and we will separately focus on methods of combating these pests.

Description of the insect

The bedbug is an insect of the order Hemiptera. The term “coleoptera” does not mean anything to most, so it would be better to describe how it looks visually. In simple terms, this is a very small (from 3 to 8 mm) bug (although “bug” and “bug” are, of course, completely different things), whose body is very flattened horizontally. Its abdomen is segmented, and the insect itself is most often brown in color. Before discussing why bedbugs are dangerous, let’s consider the style of their behavior, the characteristics and habits of these insects.

Resistance of insects to mechanical damage

Bedbugs are very nimble insects. They run excellently, and when trying to catch them, they show miracles of resourcefulness. Even when squeezed between your fingers, they slip out of the trap with amazing agility. Hungry creatures are especially difficult to catch. If the insect is relatively light and flat, it means it has been feeding for a long time, and its level of mobility is maximum. A bug with a darker color and a swollen abdomen has recently fed, and its resourcefulness is an order of magnitude less.

If you try to squash a hungry representative, you will most likely fail. The constitution of the body structure of bedbugs can withstand significant deformations, and if they receive even critical damage, they quickly regenerate. It will only be possible to crush a bug that has fed relatively recently. In this case, its abdomen bursts, from where a small amount of blood, caked and undigested by the insect, flows out. Even in this case, the bug will remain alive and make an attempt to escape.

The only way to inflict a fatal injury on an insect is to dismember its body in two or flatten it so that what remains of it is a “herbarium,” that is, with a hammer. But since sleeping in bed with a hammer and anvil is problematic, bedbugs are fought with other methods, which we will discuss a little later.

Features, reproduction

Since the insect is very small, it will be difficult to discern its structure even with a magnifying glass. But with significant magnification, it is clear that a proboscis grows from the front part of the head segment of the bug, with which it pierces human skin and with the help of which it sucks blood. At its base there are piercing jaws consisting of a pair of sharp bristles. The jaws are “equipped” with a pair of channels, one of which, the wider one, serves to receive blood, and the second to supply anesthetic saliva into the hole made by the bug in the skin of the victim. Read below about the dangers of bedbug bites.

Their legs are small, but relatively strong, allowing them to develop excellent speed. Males are usually much smaller than females. Their mating occurs according to a traumatic principle. Essentially, to inject sperm into the female's abdomen, the male literally pierces her body with his genitals. The female can lay up to 5 eggs at a time, after which she is again ready for fertilization. At first, a nymph hatches from the egg - also a fairly mobile blood-sucking creature, which after another molt turns into an imago - an adult. The development period of an insect from egg to adult is about 40 days. The average lifespan of an adult varies around a year.

A distinctive feature of these insects is their ability to hibernate, which is somewhat akin to suspended animation. Under unfavorable conditions (low temperature, lack of food), they can “fall asleep” for a period of more than one year, only to wake up when the bug’s senses detect an increase in temperature or the proximity of a warm-blooded mammal. What makes bedbugs dangerous is that, of all animals, they prefer to feast on human blood. Human skin is not protected by fur, and therefore is most accessible. But in rare cases, bedbugs can also attack domestic animals, as well as rodents that live in human homes.

Life style, behavior

Bedbugs do not create “dens” or nests as such. They lead a crepuscular lifestyle and go out to “hunt” in the dark, preferring to attack their victims during sleep. When the light is on, they quickly scatter, hiding in hard-to-reach cracks, folds or radio equipment. There they wait for the daylight hours. During the day, only the hungriest representatives go hunting, forced to crawl out by necessity.

Where do bedbugs come from?

Often, bedbugs themselves can travel long distances from one home to another. All are extremely sensitive to warm-blooded mammals and can smell “fresh blood” from a great distance. They travel on both mice and rats. So sometimes, no matter how you defend yourself, an attack can take you by surprise, despite all the precautions.

Damage caused by bedbugs

Finally, we got to the most important question: why are bedbugs dangerous for a person in an apartment or in any other home? We list them in order:

1. Bedbug bites cause a lot of inconvenience. They are very itchy and can cause an allergic reaction in some people.
2. Bedbugs are carriers of dangerous infections such as brucellosis, tularemia, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, hepatitis B and even anthrax. What does peddler mean? This means that his body has a strong immunity to the transmitted disease, but for those who are bitten by the insect, these diseases pose an immediate danger. These diseases are not transmitted through a bite. It is the insect excrement that poses the danger. If they get on a fresh wound, expect trouble.
3. The very knowledge that you have blood-sucking creatures living in your house can plunge some people into real depression and cause emotional distress.

How to recognize the presence of bedbugs in an apartment and how to distinguish bedbug bites from mosquito bites?

Why are bedbugs dangerous in an apartment? First of all, with its bites. But how to distinguish these bites? Are they any different from regular mosquito bites? Undoubtedly yes. A mosquito bite is a single “pimple on the body.” While the bug, while feeding, pierces the skin not in one place, but in several places in turn. Therefore, after bedbug bites, several “pimples” appear in one place at once, which itch almost the same as from mosquito bites. In addition, often the skin around each affected area becomes inflamed and extensive redness occurs throughout the body at the site of the bites. And if there are several such foci throughout the body, then you should think twice and check your home for the presence of bedbugs.

Fighting methods

All things should be processed. Particularly cunning representatives may be lurking in the closet, on the hanger, or in items of personal clothing. To ensure that there is not a single pest left in the house, spray and spray the repellent composition everywhere.

Why are bed bugs dangerous? Also because sprays have no effect on their eggs. Therefore, after some time, sanitation should be carried out again in order to destroy the brood that emerged from the eggs, remaining in the seams of mattresses, upholstered furniture, etc. Only then can we say with complete confidence that you have gotten rid of all the bedbugs in the house.

To prevent bedbugs from infesting your home, you should do a thorough cleaning every month. Treat all cracks with a repellent solution. Don’t be lazy and carefully iron things after washing, especially the seams of bed linen. And, of course, avoid visiting the above-mentioned questionable dwellings, hotels, homeless shelters, etc. And then everything will be fine with your bed and home!