How do you treat bed bug bites?
- Wash with soap and water
- Apply a cold towel or ice pack
- Use an anti-itch cream or calamine lotion
- Take an oral antihistamine
- Take over-the-counter painkillers
- Go to the doctor
Bed bugs are small pests that like to bite people when they sleep. If you have itchy marks on your skin, there’s a chance that these bugs are responsible. They like to hide around the area of your bed: the mattress, your sheets, the headboard, and others. As you sleep, they crawl out, bite your skin, and drink your blood. Unpleasant as it sounds, you wouldn’t feel anything right away because it takes some time before the bites show. When they do, you have to know how to treat bed bug bites.
The bites usually present as red, itchy marks on your skin. They are generally low-risk, but there are rare times when an allergic reaction or infection may happen. What should you do when you find bed bug bites on your skin? Keep reading to find out!
Wash with soap and water
Since bed bugs drink blood, it’s easy to figure out that their bites make a break in the skin. That’s why the first thing you need to do is to wash it with soap and water. Just like any other wound, a bed bug bite can become infected. Washing the affected areas would not only prevent infections but also soothe the symptoms slightly.
If you have a persistent bed bug problem, make sure you wash the affected areas regularly until you get rid of the bed bugs for good. You wouldn’t know if you’re getting bitten because of the bug’s anesthetic, so it’s best to be safe.
Apply a cold towel or ice pack
Bed bug bites are rarely serious injuries and are even less likely to be life-threatening. But they are incredibly itchy! The bites will heal in around 1-2 weeks, but the itchiness will make it really uncomfortable. Thankfully, there are ways to alleviate this.
Applying a cold towel or cloth, or an ice pack to the affected area will help with the itchiness.
Use an anti-itch cream or calamine lotion
If you can, using an anti-itch cream or calamine lotion would reduce the itching better than ice. Make sure you use only over-the-counter anti-itch cream to avoid any other complications. Otherwise, follow the advice of your dermatologist for a stronger dose. It’s also important to remember that they won’t cure the bites themselves but only reduce the itching. To avoid any further damage, it’s better to take care of the infestation itself.
Take an oral antihistamine
Another way to stop the itching is by taking an oral antihistamine. For this, it’s best to get a prescription from your doctor first. Antihistamines can control allergic reactions and itching. But they can’t control the severity of the bed bug infestation you have.
Take over-the-counter painkillers
Sometimes, bed bug bites can swell and become painful. The combination of being itchy and painful at the same time is really annoying. Scratching the bites will hurt and make the problem worse. If your bed bug bites have become painful, then you should take over-the-counter pain relievers to ease the pain. Just take the usual ones like paracetamol to keep safe.
Go to the doctor
Keep observing yourself to catch any signs of worsening in the bites. There are rare cases when bed bugs cause an allergic reaction. If it’s a severe one, you’ll need an emergency dose of antihistamines or an EpiPen. It’s better to go to the doctor right away.
Infections don’t happen often too, but unlike allergic reactions, they can happen to anyone. You know the infection has gotten bad when you start getting chills and a fever. For these instances, you should go to the doctor as soon as possible.
Key Takeaway
Bed bugs can turn really bad quickly if not taken care of. It’s good to know how to treat bed bug bites, but you wouldn’t need that information if you didn’t have bed bugs in the first place. There are several natural bed bug repellents that you can use, but they won’t be enough to get rid of the infestation.
Do you want to clear your home of any bed bug infestations? Then it’s time to call a professional pest control service! Topbest is the leading pest control solutions provider in the Philippines. Just click here to get a free consultation from us, and start the process of beating that infestation!