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Creepy Crawly
Student life often requires living on the frugal side.
Students have expanded their resources to second hand clothing,
furniture and goods. A bargain is a bargain except when
it carries excess baggage which will create havoc in your
life.
The baggage can be bed bugs, small parasitic insects that
are increasingly becoming a problem in Canada. NSAC students
are no exception. These pests are at near epidemic proportion.
Beware of apartments, second hand furniture, mattresses
especially. The find on the street corner being thrown out,
may lead to a lot of headaches. Look in the crevices, joints,
loose wallpaper and small spaces. Look for fecal spots and
cast-off skins. They can be found inside clothes not regularly
washed (jackets, coats).
Bed Bug Basics
So what are bed bugs, anyway? Everyone has heard of them.
They're essentially little bugs that are nocturnal and feed
off human blood. There are actually a lot of different kinds,
including some that feed off certain types of animals like
chickens, but the ones most people are worried about live
mainly off humans. They usually live inside of mattresses,
where they have convenient access to a food source - you.
They crawl out just before dawn and bite you, sucking out
blood for about five minutes. You don't feel anything until
after the bed bug is already safely back in its home.
How did I get bed bugs in my house?
Lots of people who find that they have bedbugs wonder where
the heck they got them from. There are a couple of common
ways you can get an infestation:
1) Living in an apartment. Bed bugs often live or crawl
in the spaces in between walls as well, and if your neighbors
have them, you could as well. That also can make it harder
for you to permanently get rid of them, since you've got
a potential source until your neighbors take care of their
own infestation.
2) Travel. Many hotels have infestations. With international
travel, this is even more likely. Bed bugs will often crawl
into your luggage and get carried back into your home, and
all it takes is one to get an infestation started there,
too.
3) Clothing. Sometimes they could get into your house by
crawling onto your clothes randomly - but this is actually
pretty rare.
4) Used furniture or clothing. This is more common - if
you buy used clothes or used furniture, sometimes there
can be bed bugs in them (they don't just live in beds, but
anywhere near where people sleep). If you bought something
used and bring it into your house, that could be where you
picked up your own set of bugs.
5) Guests. If someone stays at your house, they could bring
them over with them. One big source of this is students
coming home for the holidays - the dorm rooms could easily
pick up an infestation given how many people are coming
in and out all the time from all over.
Treating Bedbug Bites
This is the thing people are usually most concerned about
when they find out they've got bed bugs:
How do they stop that itching, and are the bites dangerous?
First of all, it's important to know that not everybody
reacts to the bites in the same way. A lot of people don't
feel or notice them at all - you're bitten when you're asleep,
and the bed bug will inject a chemical into the bite that
stops the blood from clotting and keeps you from feeling
it. Many people are allergic to this chemical - if you're
itching, or seeing a reaction on your skin, then you're
one of them. Most people's allergies are mild in the sense
that they aren't dangerous. It's highly annoying, and your
skin will itch like crazy, but it is extremely rare for
anyone to have a serious health problem based on a bed bug
bite.
How do I know for sure that what's on my skin is
a bed bug bite?
It's actually pretty hard to tell, because they can look
like little bumps, a rash, or just reddish skin. There's
nothing really distinctive about them, and many doctors
misdiagnose them as some other skin condition. They're basically
just an allergic reaction, so they could look like a lot
of different skin conditions. They just look like little
bumps or welts, and are more pink than red.
How do I stop the itching?
You'll need to get rid of the bed bugs,. You should focus
on trying to keep from getting bitten and using products
that will alleviate the itchy feeling. If you experience
allergic reactions or severe skin reactions to your bed
bug bites, see the nurses/doctor through Health Services.
Most bed bug bites require no medical treatment. Bed bugs
don’t care if their environment is clean or dirty.
All they need is a warm host and plenty of hiding places.
When are these bites going to go away?
That could take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.
It depends on how allergic you are to them. Some people
are really allergic and will have them for a lot longer.
Most of the time, the itching will stop first and the bite
mark will gradually disappear.
Sources and Useful Links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfKCcSPCOQo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bed_bug
http://www.afpmb.org/pubs/tims/TG44/TG44.htm
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pubs/pest/_pnotes/bedbugs-punaises-lits/index-eng.php
http://www.toronto.ca/health/bedbugs/pdf/mythsandfacts.pdf
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