Singapore doctor’s advice on what to do about bedbug bites
SINGAPORE – Bedbugs are tiny reddish-brown nocturnal insects that come out at night to feed on blood.
They live in the crevices of mattresses, furniture, wooden floorboards or walls. Clutter in the home provides hiding places for them. Signs of bedbug infestation include the bedbugs, their faecal material and blood-stained bed linen.
Bedbug bites are painless as their saliva contains an anaesthetic (skin-numbing) substance.
But this, and an anticoagulant (blood-thinning) substance in the bedbug’s saliva, cause most people to develop an allergic reaction in the skin.
The reaction can be mild or severe, depending on several factors, such as the individual’s immune response and prior exposure to bedbug bites.
The skin becomes itchy and develops red bumps, wheals or blisters.
These often appear on the exposed parts of the body, such as the face, neck, arms and legs. Where infestation is severe, these may appear all over the body.
People often scratch at the itchy spots and the excoriated skin may become infected.
These wounds may heal with scarring or increased skin pigmentation, appearing as “black marks”.
Steroid cream and oral antihistamines can help alleviate the itch and other skin reactions.
Topical or oral antibiotics can be used to treat any skin infection.
Early treatment of bites and not scratching the skin will help to prevent and reduce skin pigmentation and scarring.
Skin pigmentation can be treated with sunscreen, lightening cream, such as tretinoin and hydroquinone, and laser therapy. The appearance of scars often improves with time.
The long-term solution is to eradicate the bedbugs. You may want to seek the help of a licensed pest-control company.
Source: Mind Your Body, The Straits Times
Category: Features, Wellness and Complementary Therapies
