For most people, bed bugs are more of an annoyance rather than an actual health hazard, that too a serious one.  

Bed bug infestations have recently become a rapidly rising epidemic in the United States and can be harmful to you and your family’s health. Bed bugs can cause health problems that range from itchiness to severe allergic reactions in some people. Regardless of you or your family’s susceptibility to these reactions, you should take the necessary steps to prevent bed bugs from infiltrating your home and work towards exterminating them. Don’t put yourself at risk of various health problems by allowing an infestation to develop in your home.

Can Bed Bugs Cause Health Problems

No, bed bugs are not known to spread disease. While their presence can be annoying and cause itching and sleep loss, they do not transmit diseases. However, excessive scratching due to itching can sometimes lead to secondary skin infections.

Although bed bugs don’t transmit diseases the same way the other parasites do, they pose numerous health risks associated with bed bug bites and infestation.

Bed Bug Health Problems

Here are 6 health problems that are caused by bed bugs:

• Allergy

Bed bugs can elicit allergic reactions in some people. This is somewhat similar to what people who are allergic to bees experience when bitten. Don’t delay seeking medical attention if you are allergic to bees.

• Infections

It is rare for a bite from a bed bug to cause an infection but it has been known to occur occasionally. This usually happens when a bed bug bites a human who tends to scratch the bite after which germs and other pathogens are introduced to the wound. Make sure to monitor any bed bug bites that either you or your family may have; better still is to prevent bed bug infestations from happening in your home in the first place.

• Insomnia

Bed bugs are nocturnal, so they wait until you fall asleep before coming out to feed. The bites themselves may not be that painful but they can cause you a lot of irritation at any time of the day. You may wake up in the middle of the night to scratch at the affected areas. This leads to sleepless nights which can usually be connected to various health problems such as anxiety, loss of appetite, irritability, depression and difficulty in focusing and psychosis in extreme cases.

• Stress and Depression

Constantly being deprived of sleep mixed with itchiness, ugly red bumps and scabs on your skin leads to excessive stress which can lead to depression and the weakening of your immune system.

• Latent Illness

This is a direct repercussion of the weakening of your immune system which can lead to the manifestation of other latent illnesses being in remission.

• Social Isolation

Your friends and family may be afraid of visiting your place or sending their children to come and play due to the fear of these bed bugs coming to their place. You may also naturally start to avoid going to other people’s places as you feel guilty of the chances of unintentionally contaminating any unsuspecting people’s homes. Bed bugs can spread very easily as all that they have to do is attach themselves to clothing which makes it pretty easy for them to spread through a town quite easily.

Bear in mind that when bed bug infestations occur, it’s not going to be a random one-time bite attack, they will work towards “eating” you very methodically, each night. There is no place to hide in this type of situation and the only way to treat this problem is by complete extermination.

If bed bugs have invaded your home and you want a long-term solution to your problem, give us a call at Take Care Termite and Pest Control in Tracy, CA today!