by Diane Quinn

Created on: December 22, 2009   Last Updated: July 24, 2010

Bedbug bites are a secret fear for people who travel and a risk they take when sleeping away from home.  The possibility that tiny, flat, blood-sucking and wingless insects could feast on our body at night usually brings to mind sleazy hotels or homeless shelters with unsanitary sleeping conditions.  This scenario is no longer the case because times have changed.  With increased international travel, these tiny invaders are popping up in posh hotels and even homes all over North America.

How to identify bedbug bites

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), look for:

•Red marks on your arm that itch

•A cluster of smooth, elevated, tiny bites

•Bites around your arms or shoulder areas

Confirmation of a bedbug bite

Since there are other bugs that can leave similar marks on your skin, bedbug bites are sometimes difficult to identify.  Consider approaching identification like a team from one of those “CSI” television shows.  If your bites correspond with the basic description of a bedbug bite, look for any guilty bugs around the area where you are sleeping.  If none can be found, check for blood evidence stains around your mattress seams, or dark spots of insect waste in hiding places.  These signs will help to prove that you have bedbugs.

Bedbug bite treatment

While there is no definitive research to prove that bed bugs carry infectious disease, researchers have connected bed bug bites to trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease).  People who suffer allergy reactions to a bed bug bite, should seek medical treatment immediately.  For minor problems, some people find the use of a local antiseptic lotion or antibiotic cream helpful.  For severe cases with masses of bites a doctor should be consulted.  He may prescribe corticosteroid creams and oral antihistamines for allergic reactions.

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.

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