Bed Bugs (cont.)
What about bed bugs in hotels?
Many news reports in recent years have focused on the discovery of bed bugs in upscale hotels, and a number of lawsuits have been filed by guests in these fashionable hotels who awoke to find hundreds of bed bug bites covering their skin. Searching on Tripadvisor and other travel-review
Web sites regularly reveals information and even photos confirming the presence of bed bugs in numerous hotels.
Since the bed bugs can arrive on the clothing or in the suitcases of guests from infested homes or other hotels harboring the pests, hotels can be an easy target for bed bug infestations.
How are bed bugs spread?
Bed bugs live in any articles of furniture, clothing, or bedding, so they or their eggs may be present in used furniture or clothing. They spread by crawling and may contaminate multiple rooms in a home or even multiple dwellings in apartment buildings. They may also be present in boxes, suitcases, or other goods that are moved from residence to residence or from a hotel to home. Bed bugs can live on clothing from infested homes and may be spread by a person unknowingly wearing infested clothing.
What are the symptoms of bed bug bites?
Bed bugs bite and suck blood from humans. Bed bugs are most active at night
and bite any exposed areas of skin while an individual is sleeping. The face,
neck, hands, and arms are common sites for bed bug bites. The bite itself is
painless and is not noticed. Small, flat, or raised bumps on the skin are the
most common sign; redness, swelling, and itching commonly occur. If scratched,
the bite areas can become infected. A peculiarity of bed bug bites is the
tendency to find several bites lined up in a row. Infectious disease specialists
refer to this as the "breakfast, lunch, and dinner" sign signifying the
sequential feeding that occurs from site to site.
Bed bug bites may go unnoticed or be mistaken for flea or mosquito bites or
other types of rash or skin conditions. Bed bugs also have glands whose
secretions may leave odors, and they also may leave dark fecal spots on bed
sheets and around their hiding places (in crevices or protected areas around the
bed or anywhere in the room).
Bed bugs have not been conclusively proven to carry infectious microbes;
however, researchers have implicated bed bugs as possible vectors of American
trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease), and studies are ongoing to determine whether
bed bugs may serve as disease carriers.
Next: How are bed bug bites treated? »
- Rash - Learn about rash causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. Common skin rashes include poison ivy, hives, shingles, eczema, contact dermatitis, ringworm, psoriasis and impetigo.
- Itching - Learn the causes and treatments for itching (itch). Dry skin, fungus, sunburn and bites may cause itching. Excessive scratching may lead to thickened skin (lichenification).
- Spider Bites (Including Black Widow and Brown Recluse) - Learn about spider bites symptoms including the black widow and brown recluse spiders. Picture of the black widow and brown recluse spider is included in the information.
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