Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Bed bug bites, skin, etc.
Do the welts have black dot in center
(26 posts)-
Notsolucky
junior member
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 41offline
Posted 4 years ago
Sat Aug 2 2008 22:25:36
#
Login to Send PM
While still trying to figure out what is biting us I have recently noticed that when the swelling goes down from the larger welts(dime to quarter size)they have a tiny black dot in the center. Using the search function I have seen anyone describe the bites that way ? Would that be unusual for BB's ?
-
Itchy-Scratchy
senior member
Joined: Jul '08
Posts: 483offline
Posted 4 years ago
Sun Aug 3 2008 18:52:05
#
Login to Send PM
Hi Notsolucky:
Since nobody has responded to you, I thought I would, even though I'm no expert. My daughter are both being bitten and neither of us have that black dot in the centre. When the swelling goes down, our bites look like red dots -- a few of them have a white dot in the centre.Our of curiosity, do your beds have any of the other signs? Dots of blood on the sheets? Black bits (bug sheathing) showing up on the mattress, boxspring or around the bed?
In our case, we rarely see actual bugs. If it weren't for the bites, the blood, the sheathing and poppy-seed feces, you'd never know we had bedbugs.
Best of luck to you .... I'll keep my fingers crossed that you DON'T have BB, and it is something easier to solve.
Itchy-Scratchy -
old timer
Joined: Apr '07
Posts: 595offline
Posted 4 years ago
Sun Aug 3 2008 22:27:37
#
Login to Send PM
A black dot would most likely be a puncture mark. Bed bugs typically do not leave a puncture mark.
Fleas do. Ants can (stinger).
-
Notsolucky
junior member
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 41offline
Posted 4 years ago
Sun Aug 3 2008 23:33:29
#
Login to Send PM
Thanks both. Sean, pardon my stupidity but can one actually get fleas if they dont have any pets? Also I had read that fleas typically bite on the legs, most of my bites have been chest, face and arms . Based on those 2 things we had discounted fleas but I'm sending hubby out for flea traps tommorrow just in case(nothing to lose :). With all the glue traps we've had out we only caught one lowly ant(and 2 spiders and 1 knat or fruit fly)) in the entire house so I doubt that would be it but hey I'm willing to search for anything at this point.
-
oldtimer
Joined: Mar '08
Posts: 2,553offline
Posted 4 years ago
Sun Aug 3 2008 23:46:43
#
Login to Send PM
If you can give me some more history I may be able to help.
1. Where do you live?
2. How long has this been going on?
3. Any pets of any kind?
4. What type of structure do you live in?
5. Any recent changes in the structure outside or in? (New mulch? plantings? stone work? Sheet rock? etc.)
6. Is everyone getting bit?
7. Where are the bites?
8. Do you live near any fields?
9. Have you had any rodent, raccoon, squirrel, or bird problems in the past?
10. What time of day are you getting bit? Do you wake up with the bites?
11. Have you taken any trips in the last 2 months?
12. Do you have plants in the home?
I could go on but let’s start with these and then I could ask for more info if needed. -
Notsolucky
junior member
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 41offline
Posted 4 years ago
Mon Aug 4 2008 2:34:35
#
Login to Send PM
Thanks
1. An hour outside Toronto
2. since Beginning of April- 3 weeks after we got back from a trip to the Caribbean
3. No pets
4. 2 storey single family home with a basement
5. Fresh mulch in the front garden but the bites started before that. Nothing else. Large open fron and back yard and not alot of trees.
6. Husband has had just a few bites, which could be totally unrelated(in other words we wouldnt have been concerned since they could be outdoor bites). I am the one who seems to be getting the variety of bites. Some very tiny, some are welts(between the size of a dime and a quarter that take weeks to go away..and when they start to go away they leave a dark almost bruise like mark). As I mentioned in the original post, I've recently noticed little black dots in the center of 3 of these welts when the swelling has gone down.
7. The bites have been on my face, chest and arms.
8. No
9. No rodent, racoon squirrels etc. About 5 years ago we did have a problem with birds nesting in our range hood of all places, but after that we had screens placed over all outdoor vents and chimney. We havent found any nests around the outside of our house.
10. I notice the bites generally in the morning after I've showered, sometimes I've noticed them during the afternoon when Im at my office. I never feel anything biting nor do I see insects of any significance(we have found a couple of spider webs in the basement and one room upstairs, a couple of dead beetles on the carpet edge and another few bugs all of which we've been told wouldnt cause this problem.. I dont get bit everyday. When it first started it was about once every 2- 3 weeks and then I'd have a few bites when I woke up, then it went down to every few days, then we encased the mattress and box springs and sprayed for clovermites(which the PCO saw on our 2nd floor ledges...havent seen any since the spraying). Didnt get bit for a couple of weeks, then the bites seemed to increase again to every 5- 7 days. (Could be getting even more that I'm not noticing since I'm on Ibuprophen for a medical condition which acc'd to the dermatologist is why I'm not itching too badly or noticing any bites when they happen?) I do get a burning sensation around the time I notice some of the bites but not a strong itch. Went away for about 6 days about 3 weeks ago, and no bites. I've been avoiding the outdoors , and havent been going anywhere on a regular basis that would account for getting bit somewhere else.
11. see 2.
12. NoWe've had a BB dog come to the house 2x(and to our office 1x), who didnt detect anything, we've had our ducts cleaned, we've checked the mattress and box springs , we've encased both, we checked the bedroom furniture as best we could,(very difficult since we have a huge 4 poster knig size bed with more wood and cracks and crevices that you cant possibly see into but the set doesnt come apart, and a 6 foot high dresser that goes with it with about 10 compartments)we've placed glue boards round the house, have 2 sided tape all over the place, been to the dermatologist twice who honestly says he cant say for sure what these are but has ruled out medical conditions from blood work etc. and says he does believe they are bites. I've collected more junk ie, black specks, rust specks, things I thought were castings, all which turned out to be nothing. If I sound frustrated it's because I am. The PCO who came with the dog has been supportive but doesnt have any other solutions(and feels strongly that if we had BB's the dog would have detected something after 2 tries) which I can understand but it still doesnt make these things go away. The ultimate frustration came for me about 2 weeks ago when I woke up with a welt that grew to the size of a quarter on my face and I had a number of colleagues asking me what bit me and I would have loved to have been able to answer them :(. It is only now just starting to go away leaving the dark mark in it's place. Any suggestions would be welcomed.
-
lieutenantdan
oldtimer
Joined: Apr '07
Posts: 1,222offline
Posted 4 years ago
Mon Aug 4 2008 11:18:14
#
Login to Send PM
Can you take some pictures and post them?
-
lieutenantdan
oldtimer
Joined: Apr '07
Posts: 1,222offline
Posted 4 years ago
Mon Aug 4 2008 12:40:08
#
Login to Send PM
Just found this but the images are disgusting so view at your own risk please.
I would see a doctor.
http://www.dermnet.com/thumbnailIndex.cfm?moduleID=10&moduleGroupID=260&groupIndex=0&numcols=0
-
kj
newbite
Joined: Aug '08
Posts: 3offline
Posted 4 years ago
Mon Aug 4 2008 13:04:17
#
Login to Send PM
the first time I had them... after a couple of months i found live ones... and was verified by an exterminator that did a cleaning treatment as i am allergic to pesticides...
the bites... most of them... had 2 small black dots that looked alot like punctures...and remained after the swelling... some for months... the info on the internet at that time said that was typical... but people here know their stuff, too... so that's all i can say...now 2 years later i'm getting bit again... but almost no reaction but a red swelling light itching and a red spot at the end...see no bugs, see no remainders....but i'm concerned...
...posted in another thread that after the treatment the first time I coincidentally started using a lotion for very dry skin... the bites dropped markedly and eventually no more... no more bugs... nothing.... so i use it now.... see the marks but the itching is minimal and last for a short time...
it's called Corn Huskers Lotion... cheap and available at major drug stores... i'm convinced critter(s) don't like it... maybe it even harms them...
-
your host
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 13,738offline
Posted 4 years ago
Mon Aug 4 2008 13:08:48
#
Login to Send PM
Dan,
I think that you are being unnecessarily alarmist. Did you actually look into Myiasis, the condition you linked to images of?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MyiasisThe OP did not say the bites were appearing in open wounds. There are no reports of maggots present in the wounds.
She only said there were black dots in some of the welts. Otherwise they sound like insect bites of some kind. (I suppose scabies is a possibility that a doctor should rule out with a skin scraping, as I hear you can sometimes see a black speck which is the mite burrowing.)
I think it is irresponsible to post suggestions like this without good cause. People on Bedbugger are already freaked out and do not need to be thinking about creepy, disgusting conditions they are really unlikely to have, and have not described having.
-
lieutenantdan
oldtimer
Joined: Apr '07
Posts: 1,222offline
Posted 4 years ago
Mon Aug 4 2008 15:07:19
#
Login to Send PM
When the first reports on Bedlam killing eighty something percent of bb eggs if sprayed directly came out and I reported it you were skeptical and now Bedlam is being used by PCOs for killing bbs and their eggs, and the reports on Bedlam are good. I think that your recent steam post has a positive report on Bedlam.
For months I suggest to steam, and what is mentioned today in this sites headlines. I understood long ago that the pesticides of today are not doing the trick and even with PCOs expensive treatments we still have to DE and steam and vacuum etc... which is 99% of the battle and work. One could purchase Bedlam and even if one were not all that bright one could do as good of a job with bed bugs and not have to pay for expensive PCO treatments. Maybe hiring a PCO is old school logic so it seems like the right thing to do but that idea may also be intrepertated as being unnecessarily alarmist.Once not too long ago if I told a person that one day they maybe down on their knees looking for bugs with a magnifier and strong flashlight and buying plastic bins and researching chemicals etc... you could have called me an unnecessary alarmist.
Did you check out the number 9 jpeg in that site. A little black dot. Now I am not a doctor and no I am not going to spend my time researching Myiasis but if I had little black dots on me than maybe I would check this option out.
We have spent much time discussing mystery bites and through the last 15 months nothing has changed. If I put something out I believe it interesting and informative even thought the possibility that a person may not have this, it is good to be aware that this does exist. If you check search the CDC site you will find that CDC has information on this happening in the Caribbean and I do believe that notsolucky had been to the Caribbean.
Recently, a friend of a friend was having health problems and after many tests doctors find an internal parasite and this person has not traveled out of the country for a few years. This is still under investigation.
The news took us all by surprise. -
Notsolucky
junior member
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 41offline
Posted 4 years ago
Mon Aug 4 2008 15:19:49
#
Login to Send PM
I'm actually past freaking out....I was about 3 months ago but now I'm just p----- off and frustrated. I've already had both my family Dr and a dermatologist look at the bites. Other than the black dot they look very similiar to some of the bite photos posted on this site. My understanding is that with an internal insect the bites dont "come and go" from different locations but regardless they dont look anything like the ones in the photos. I had taken a couple of photos back in April of the original bites for the PCO which if I still have on my computer and I can figure out how to do a flickr acct I'll post a link to. The rest of the bites are pretty much the same as these except that on a close up look they have this tiny black dot. The original ones may have as well..at that point I wasnt looking as closely as I am now.
-
Notsolucky
junior member
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 41offline
Posted 4 years ago
Mon Aug 4 2008 15:29:17
#
Login to Send PM
Here is the link :http://www.flickr.com/photos/luckybee13/
-
lieutenantdan
oldtimer
Joined: Apr '07
Posts: 1,222offline
Posted 4 years ago
Mon Aug 4 2008 15:39:25
#
Login to Send PM
Hi Notsolucky,
Not able to use the link.
Glad that I did not make you freak out. Curious, did you once think that you may have had a parasite especially being that you were in the Caribbean?
-
your host
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 13,738offline
Posted 4 years ago
Mon Aug 4 2008 16:11:54
#
Login to Send PM
Dan,
I stand behind what I said.Don't try and create a smokescreen by pointing out times you have provided information about other issues. I am skeptical for good reason and once I have solid information on something, I go with it. I acknowledged the Bedlam information when research was done, Dan.
If you are not willing to research a condition and find out what the OTHER symptoms are, then please do not tell people they may have it. If you read the basic info provided at wikipedia you'd see this was NOT applicable.
Suggesting people have Myiasis, or delusional parasitosis and Moregellons (in other threads) is not helpful. Suggesting this reader has Myiasis when you have not read the symptoms is really bad news.
Please don't do this.
-
Notsolucky
junior member
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 41offline
Posted 4 years ago
Mon Aug 4 2008 16:24:15
#
Login to Send PM
Honestly Dan not really but perhaps that is because I do know someone who had picked up a parasite under the skin in Africa a few years ago. They had a number of symptoms along with a feeling of crawling sensations none of which I have been getting(although I do get sharp little tingly sensations but when I look nothing is there matter of fact I dont even know when im being bit). I have however tried to research everything and I am keeping an open mind to any possibility including a medical cause. Husband and I are both in a profession where we are expected to look at things logically and consider evidence. A tad harder to do in this scenario but I'm trying to keep that in mind. Problem is the only thing that seems to fit overall is insect bite of some kind. I say of some kind because we do have the negative dog 2x which diminishes the BB possibility as well. But until either the bites stop, or we figure out what is doing this I'm not going to discount any possibility completely.
-
Anonymous
Unregistered
Posts: 1,455offline
Posted 4 years ago
Mon Aug 4 2008 16:46:55
#
Login to Send PM
Notsolucky, I would do two things if I were you, and sorry but it's not clear if you have already.
1) honestly, I would get another PCO inspection (choose another company, find one with experience, and make sure it's a human inspector); and
2) a skin biopsy--has your dermatologist suggested one? A skin biopsy can determine, although I'm not sure of the degree of certainty, if there is an arthropod involved.
-
Notsolucky
junior member
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 41offline
Posted 4 years ago
Mon Aug 4 2008 18:21:59
#
Login to Send PM
Hopelessnomo I've sent you a pm
-
itchynscratchy
junior member
Joined: May '08
Posts: 67offline
Posted 4 years ago
Mon Aug 4 2008 19:59:46
#
Login to Send PM
i must say lieutenantdan is doing exactly what every else should spend more time doing. research. we know what temperature heat kills bedbugs, we know that DE can be dangerous and must be applied correctly, we know to live our lives out of ziplocs. but those of us with mystery bites can confirm they are one of the worst torments of this nightmare. it's the not knowing that kills you. if someone could tell me today that the red bumps that don't itch on my right leg are bedbug bites, i would at least be able to be proactive. but why bring more pesticide into my apartment with small children if i am not positive? so instead, i sit and wonder what to do. and i poke and prod the red marks searching for clues. what do you do when bedbugs bites can look different on different ares of your body? what do you do when your reaction to bites can change over time? what can you do when the doctors can't tell you squat? research. everything and anything reputable you can get your hands on. is it likely it is an internal parasite? no. is it possible? yes. leave no stone unturned. truth is, i would rather have an internal parasite than bedbugs - as long as there was a treatment/cure. i wouldn't have to worry every time i sat on an airplane, took out a book at a public library, visited a friend's house, sat on subway bench. i wouldn't have to worry about living the rest of my life as a paranoid nutso. i would take the drug to kill the thing and move on with my life.
-
oldtimer
Joined: Mar '08
Posts: 2,553offline
Posted 4 years ago
Tue Aug 5 2008 0:15:38
#
Login to Send PM
I have to say after looking over your pictures I'm at a loss. I zoomed in very very very close and I don't really see the black don't you are talking about. I do see a small center area raised a bit. I can't be sure 100% that what you describe is an insect bite. But I don't think it is if that’s worth anything.
I would lean more towards the medical field, second and third opinions if need be. I was trying to help by browsing the net for info on hives. I found some but nothing detailing directly about what you mention. Have a look here http://www.aafa.org/display.cfm?id=9&sub=22&cont=319 maybe this site can point to some leads. I'm sorry I can't provide any better info. Best of luck with this, please keep me posted.
-
lieutenantdan
oldtimer
Joined: Apr '07
Posts: 1,222offline
Posted 4 years ago
Tue Aug 5 2008 10:42:23
#
Login to Send PM
itchynscratchy,
You words are encouraging to me and I thank you. You are exactly right about research.Mystery bites have been going on with many people who have suffered from a bed bug infestation and no one has an answer to this. We are told to hire a PCO and dog to inspect or see a doctor. I am sorry but I do not have too much faith in the extermination business or doctors these days as far as bed bugs are concerned. We are reading time and time again how PCOs are treating with pesticides over and over and over again and still the bed bug lives.
Is it not obvious that our pesticides are not doing the trick?If I put some information out it is because I have wondered about my own rash/mystery bites and I would like to see what others think. Maybe I should take being called an alarmist as a complement. History has many examples of what some have called alarmist views which time has proven those views as having valid significance and the alarmist actually had ideas and insight to situations that others had not. Example: The erosion of civil liberties and the greenhouse gases that may be contributing to global warming.
I am not suggesting that anyone has a parasite or DP etc... I am only making people who may not be aware of this information aware and I leave it for the individual to look at this information and make their own call. I leave it open to discussion. If some people find it foolish so be it but instead of disagreeing with an intelligent reply they feel as if they should reprimand and scold the individual, this is not only unprofessional it is insensitive.Notsolucky, I wish you and your family the best of luck. If you find out what is causing your rash please let me know because I would like to hear of some answers also.
My skin had never looked as it did after bed bugs and the PCO pesticide treatments, DE etc... and the stress involved. It would be nice to find an answer to the puzzle and I am open minded to reviewing information no matter how alarmist that information may appear to some others. -
your host
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 13,738offline
Posted 4 years ago
Tue Aug 5 2008 11:20:26
#
Login to Send PM
Dan, please read your PMs.
-
Notsolucky
junior member
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 41offline
Posted 4 years ago
Wed Aug 6 2008 1:14:38
#
Login to Send PM
Well, I woke up this morning with 3 new bites. i'm taking some advice and checking with yet another dermatologist on Thurs...I've now learned whining will get you in faster
I'll let you know what he says.
-
glmillan
newbite
Joined: Sep '08
Posts: 7offline
Posted 4 years ago
Thu Sep 4 2008 19:42:50
#
Login to Send PM
hey notsolucky,
Mt very first bites looked like what you are describing. The were bigger, raised and with a black center. I picked at some and removed the center...2 tiny little dots were left...
I also asked the forum and had not encountered anybody who have had bites like that yet. I also did go to the caribbean and 2 weeks later had the crawly feeling, followed by the bites about a week later.
However, only those first couple bites looked like that. The new ones were like everybody else's.
I have picked bedbugs off my body...i am pretty sure the were bed bugs. Could the be different in the caribbean? could we have been bitten there?
after a month and a half and 2 treatments i have tiny bites and that crawling sensation..... -
hatebedbugs
Banned
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 21offline
Posted 4 years ago
Thu Sep 4 2008 21:05:36
#
Login to Send PM
I think you need to be evaluated for scabies Go google scabies and look at some pictures. Go to a different doctor or seek out an entomologist.
Reply
You must log in to post.
