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Immunity to bed bug bites
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Plagued in NYC
newbite
Joined: Dec '08
Posts: 1
Posted 1 year ago
Sun Nov 30 2008 21:06:11
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I had a terrible infestation in August of this year. I was not really aware of any problem, I just thought a few mosquitoes must be getting in at night.
Then all of a sudden I broke out with these awful bites, all over my body, and learned about this new and terrible plague of the 21st century.
So my initial response must have been delayed somewhat.
Then, I started getting even more sensitive to them, and would wake up with the bites rather than "break out" with them at a later timepoint; moreover, the bites were much larger, itchier, and awful. So that must have been some kind of hypersensitivity.
I moved out and threw away all of my belongings. And I mean, EVERYTHING, right down to family albums, and entire medical library, even original artwork and my own thesis! Anything for peace of mind!
Since I have moved into my new place in Harlem, I notice what I believe to be bites. They surface and itch like the "original" ones did, but much smaller, and not as bad. They tend to just go away by the next day, unlike that horrible crop in August which itched for weeks and whose scars still scatter my body.
They are right on the vein. They are in groups of three. They appear at the same time the "original" ones did. The only difference is that they are much smaller, and resolve rapidly.
I've taken my bed apart once already, then had to force myself to stop looking for bugs in my bed a 2 in the morning like a damn crackhead.
But still these "mini bites" appear. Am I becoming immune? Because at this point, I would welcome it. As far as I'm concerned, they won a long time ago!
Anyone else have this strange "diet coke" variety of bite?
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bitten123
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Joined: Sep '08
Posts: 343
Posted 1 year ago
Sun Nov 30 2008 22:05:10
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Hi plagued, so sorry you are here, but you are welcome here among friends!
Since your last bad bites were only in August, is it possible that these old bites are the ones reacting? Many people on here have reported that their old bites will flare up again, and if they had not known for sure these were old bites, they would have thought they were being bitten again.
I do know that from reading here, it is possible to have different reactions to the bites practically from day to day, week to week, month to month. We have some on here who have reacted horribly, stopped reacting for months, and then started reacting again. Are you taking any allergy medicines? they might be making the reaction less ...
Hopefully those with more bite experience will answer...
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toughgetsgoing
newbite
Joined: Nov '08
Posts: 5
Posted 1 year ago
Sun Nov 30 2008 23:37:47
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Hi! I have the same kind of bites - small, itchy only a little, goes away by next day, and sometimes in 2s but most of the time just one here and there. I always had these since the beginning. And mine are definitely bedbug bites. And as you said, they are not so bad...except I still don't invite anyone over.
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Hi,
The subject of bites and morphology is a complex one at the best of time. I have said for a long time that there is no such thing as a classic bed bug bite they vary from person and are very much dependent upon your immune system and environment.
I have also noted on a number of occasions that some people have a trigger that starts the bites reaction. For example a few years ago I visited a property with an infestation that had been present from 12+ months and yet the occupant only reported bites for 3 days. In this case the change of job and thus commute brought environmental factors into play and they started to respond.
Other times I have seen people not respond until a critical level of bug activity occurred, some it was 20+ others 100+ so there also appears to be a threshold effect.
However in all these cases evidence was apparent if you searched, namely:
- Faecal traces
- Live samples
- cast skins
I have also seen people become hypersensitive following a bed bug encounter so that other things that would not usually be classified as pests can become an issue. I have to date seen this effect with:
- Carpet beetles
- Dust Mites
- Confused flour beetles
The best advise we can give you is to keep an accurate activity log, if you are getting 20+ bites / reactions per night then it is an indication that you should be able to see the signs of bed bugs if it is them. If you cant find the signs then it might be that you have an issue that is not directly related to bed bugs and thus a dermatologist is more likely to be of help than a pest controller.
Although they are one of the more obvious and distressing signs if you have an issue they are not the most accurate thing to diagnose from. In fact I have seen bed bugs break just about every one of the supposed "golden" rules.
Hope that helps.
David Cain
Bed Bugs Limited
www.Bed-Bugs.co.uk -
SleeplessinChicago
junior member
Joined: Jul '07
Posts: 60
Posted 1 year ago
Mon Dec 1 2008 8:45:50
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I also experienced huge very itchy bites at the first part of my infestation, and have since been exposed and have not reacted in any noticeable way. Its been about a year since that exposure and I've seen nothing in my living spaces, so I am assuming that I am not infested, but I do still get tiny little bumps that itch briefly and disappear at times. I think my skin is very sensitive now, and I usually get them when my skin is dry/if I'm quite cold. The number of these has not increased at all in the past year, usually about 5 a month.
Try not to freak out. If you aren't getting big bites like you used to, then just keep searching your bed/environment and assume you don't have them until you have more concrete proof. Otherwise you'll just go nuts for potentially no good reason. -
bklynbugs
newbite
Joined: Jul '08
Posts: 6
Posted 1 year ago
Mon Dec 1 2008 16:44:16
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I was getting small, itchy bumps when I was first bitten, but now I seem to have no reaction. The other night I awoke to being fed upon, and killed a bug while it was still on my arm. I turned on the lights, and found and killed 6 more on my mattress and bed frame, one of which was a ball full of blood. I had no bumps or irritations after wards, even though I had been bitten at least once. I had been gauging whether or not they were gone by whether or not I had any welts, but apparently I have stopped reacting to their bites.
Has anyone else gone from getting slightly itchy welts to not having any reaction to the bites?
-Aaron.
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bitten123
member
Joined: Sep '08
Posts: 343
Posted 1 year ago
Mon Dec 1 2008 17:12:17
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bed-bugscouk - 9 hours ago »
Other times I have seen people not respond until a critical level of bug activity occurred, some it was 20+ others 100+ so there also appears to be a threshold effect.
However in all these cases evidence was apparent if you searched, namely:
[list]
David Cain
Bed Bugs Limited
www.Bed-Bugs.co.ukDavid, when you refer to activity, do you mean 20 bites or 20 bugs?
just curious. -
Hi bitten,
It can be either or, and sometimes both.
The point is not to draw a line in the sand and call it a threshold because for each person it is different. Some respond at 20 bugs present, others at 20 bites in a single night.
I have even met a few with a few hundred thousand bed bugs and not a single bite.
David
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bitten123
member
Joined: Sep '08
Posts: 343
Posted 1 year ago
Mon Dec 1 2008 17:21:03
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Thanks David, your continual education is really appreciated. I can not imagine being in a space occupied by thousands of bed bugs...horror of horrors.
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thousands is fine, its when it gets to the hundreds of thousands and there is literally not a square foot of wall , floor or ceiling space that they have not marked that it gets a little difficult to bear.
I will PM you a link, only open it if you think it will not induce nightmares, its a very bad case that we documented to show how bad things can get.
David
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MyWorstFear
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Joined: Sep '08
Posts: 324
Posted 1 year ago
Mon Dec 1 2008 21:36:06
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David, can I bother you to send me that link as well? I want to show my husband what could happen if I just subscribe to his philosophy of "it's just a bug". Thanks so much!
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F@ Bed Bugs
junior member
Joined: Oct '08
Posts: 42
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Dec 3 2008 22:48:50
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Its hard for me to tell whether or not I am still being bitten, and if so to what extent. My first encounter with the bugs was in a highly infested motel room. I didn't react at all until about 12 hours later and with over 150 bites, the bitten areas swelled and it resembled a bad case of hives. For weeks after I was finding small itchy bumps, nothing like the originals. I hoped my skin was still sensitive from such a traumatizing experience and I was optimistic that I didn't bring any home. But I am still finding these bumps and they itch. They are small and don't swell at all unless I scratch them a lot.
My optimism has faded and I am getting the house sprayed for a second time on Saturday. I would love to keep making excuses and believe they are not here, but I can see how only a few bites a week wouldn't react the same as 150 bites in one night. What threw me is that after that horrible night, even in areas of my body where I only had two or three bites (one calf and my hip), those few itched and swelled as badly as the areas with 40-50 bites (back and arms). My face broke out with little bumps (10 or so) about two days later and they didn't itch very much and went away quickly. I am still yet to see a bite that resembles or itches as much as the originals, yet as I said before; 5 should feel different from 150. Our bodies are complex so it is hard to say if we can build immunity to them. After 23 years of mosquitos bites, they still itch and swell the same every time. I hope with an epidemic spreading more research and studies will be done to figure these bastards out.
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MyWorstFear - 2 days ago »
David, can I bother you to send me that link as well? I want to show my husband what could happen if I just subscribe to his philosophy of "it's just a bug". Thanks so much!Feel free to post it here too, David.
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F@ Bed Bugs - 9 minutes ago »
For weeks after I was finding small itchy bumps, nothing like the originals. I hoped my skin was still sensitive from such a traumatizing experience and I was optimistic that I didn't bring any home. But I am still finding these bumps and they itch. They are small and don't swell at all unless I scratch them a lot.
My optimism has faded and I am getting the house sprayed for a second time on Saturday.It can be hard. A bed bug sniffing k9 might help, though they are not 100% accurate, a good one (and a good handler) can help you figure out if you have them in your home.
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buggela
junior member
Joined: Dec '08
Posts: 36
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Dec 3 2008 23:17:47
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Back in Sept and Aug. my bites were at first huge welts and now they are tiny but still itchy....I have seen the signs...dead bedbugs and excrement so I know I still have the buggers...but the bite reaction has definitely changed.
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F@ Bed Bugs
junior member
Joined: Oct '08
Posts: 42
Posted 1 year ago
Sat Dec 6 2008 17:43:26
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I am assuming the same at this point as well. The house was sprayed again today, this time a thorough job of preparing the house was done, unlike last time. I am going to consider bringing a dog here if I continue to find bumps and continue to not find any traces of them. A local PC company has the only two in Ontario and offer a 70% success rate. Fingers crossed they will all be dead in a couple weeks starting today.
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