Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Psychological and Health problems caused by bed bugs (besides bites)
Venting about phobia.
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KitKat
newbite
Joined: Jun '11
Posts: 1offline
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Jun 1 2011 4:38:41
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I recently have developed a phobia of bed bugs. It started after I had some pretty bad bites on my "booty". After this healed, I got no more bites for a month. Now, I get one or 2 bites a day that develop at random times. I never am really sure if they are bites or from the stress of thinking I have bugs.
I have no signs of bed bugs other then small, itchy bumps. These bumps have no pattern really. Sometimes are singular and other times are grouped. The itching really only last a few hours at the most and then the bump is almost undetectable. I really am starting to think I am making all this up.
I check my mattress constantly. I have lifted it up as best I could by myself to look under it. I check the seams and pillows everytime I go in my bedroom. I work nightshift, so when I am up during the night I even go and check at the designated 3-5 a.m. bed bug feeding time. Never any fecal matter or blood spots. I just got done looking under and around my bed with a flashlight. Nothing.
I talk about it with my friends on a regular basis. No one seems to think I have bed bugs. They all know I am normally an anxious person and just attribute to anxiety. This new phobia has finally made my anxiety so bad that I have made a psychiatrist appointment. I know, I sound crazy!
I'm thinking all the media hype, living in a city where bed bugs are common, and the initial bites I had are all messing with my head. If I keep worrying so much about this I am going to call the local "bed bug dog" to come and sniff around my apartment. $150 dollars would be worth some piece of mind! I think if I could just distract myself, this issue would go away and I would find something new to obsess about.
Really thinking all I need is xanax and prozac...:)
If anyone else has a similar phobia..I would love feedback.
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rAVENSFAN99
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Joined: Nov '10
Posts: 274offline
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Jun 1 2011 9:42:27
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Many people have your phobia. I have OCD, and have dealt with an active, confirmed infestation. Bed bug bites do not go away the same day. It sounds like you have hives or some kind of skin irritation.
$150 sounds really cheap for a bed bug sniffing dog inspection. . . and often times, they'll "find" a bug, but the handler won't be able to actually spot one, because it's a false positive. Then you'll be even more anxious, and out $150.
The best thing you can do is be proactive but not panicked--get some Climb-Up interceptors for your bed and maybe some passive monitors. Then thank your lucky stars that you probably don't have an infestation.
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buggingoutbigtime
newbite
Joined: Jul '11
Posts: 9offline
Posted 1 year ago
Thu Aug 11 2011 20:06:36
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Just want you to know I relate! I have had a similar experience and am now in anxiety and OCD overdrive, worrying and checking constantly, despite any real lack of evidence thus far.
Sorry you are going through this--you aren't the only one.
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g14classified05
newbite
Joined: Aug '11
Posts: 6offline
Posted 1 year ago
Thu Aug 11 2011 20:38:26
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lol im hoping i have the same problem, i have OCD bad when it comes to being clean, and any bug in my house is not clean. i got two groups of what appears to me to be bug bites too, but ever since the idea that i might have bed bugs in my house i constantly itch in random spots through out the day, so i dont know. i looked up a "home made" bed bug trap im going to make one tomorrow.
heres a link if you want to try. would do that before a dog
http://lancaster.unl.edu/pest/resources/338BedBugTrap.pdfhaha im glad im not the only ocd person dealing with this, it sucks! i constantly check the bed, if im sleeping and i randomly wake up at night, ill pause for a second think how stupid what im about to do is, then jump up real fast and turn the lights on and check again hoping to see something, never do though. im pretty sure most of my random itching is from anxiety i guess? i dont know that i have it, but right now just writing this is making me itch more so thats probably the case for most of it.
only evidence i have found of anything is one bed post close to my closet has transparent clear spots all over it that wipe off, they look like fly droppings, but they are clear. but i have no clue what that could be from. ill probably come back and post if i get anywhere with the "home made" trap, my room is constantly dark so it should work during the day.
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your host
Joined: Mar '07
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Posted 1 year ago
Fri Aug 12 2011 3:13:00
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I would recommend a good passive bed bug monitoring system. If you use as directed and check regularly, this might help you become alerted quickly if a problem ever does develop.
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makoto06
newbite
Joined: Aug '11
Posts: 11offline
Posted 1 year ago
Sun Aug 14 2011 0:22:27
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Hi! I just wanted to say I relate to you completely! I had bed bugs 3 times, once in a hotel, I moved into an infested apartment and 2 years later (in a different apartment) I got them randomly. They really take a toll on you mentally. I am currently prescribed klonopin due to my phobia. The last time I had an encounter with bed bugs was 2 years ago. About 3 weeks ago I got 3 bites in a line on my back. I know what bed bug bites look like on me (since I have had the pleasure of encountering them several times) but these are different, and there are black dots in the middle that look like scabs, not sure if they are, and those dots hurt!!! I know it must be something else, but my paranoia is kicking in again big time!
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ericab
newbite
Joined: May '12
Posts: 5offline
Posted 11 months ago
Thu May 31 2012 22:36:54
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OMG i read your story, and I have never in MY LIFE seen something that did NOT come from me yet described me to the T ! I am very glad to know that I am not the only one....I SUSPECT a "friend" of mines might have bed bugs because she wakes up every morning at home with bites all over her skin....as soon as i realized that she had been in my home, on my bed/couch, with her kids in my kids' room, (and once she made an early morning visit to my place IN THE PAJAMAS SHE WORE TO BED THE NIGHT BEFORE) my phobia was sent into overdrive.... Obsessive worrying is something that i always believed was hereditary for me (my mother has it bad) but I always managed to keep it together and not let it get to me UNTIL THE THOUGHT OF BUGS IN MY BED LEAKED INTO MY MIND!!! Now i cant sleep at night....tore my house/bedroom apart looking for signs because i had started to wake up with a bite here or there (it really did seem to start right after i thought about the possibility that they were here now) i mean i really went hard...i bought a handheld steamer and steamed my beds, sprayed them down with alcohol, put the mattresses in encasements, the whole 9 yards and during this whole process, i didnt see a single REAL sign of them yet im worried to death. i have an 8 month old baby so when she wakes for a feeding IM UP... brushing at the sheets and trying to figure how to wrap myself up COMPLETELY as if that would help anyways...thought about getting the dogs to come out....thought about SEEING A THERAPIST big time! I would loke to know how any of you guys are doing? Is treatment helping? anyone eventually find a REAL infestation???? please respond...it would really help...
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ohnotooks
junior member
Joined: Nov '11
Posts: 37offline
Posted 11 months ago
Fri Jun 1 2012 9:19:41
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This thread made my day! I have been battling OCD my entire life. But when OCD met Bedbugs in my mind, it became a tragic love affair. This time of year my phobia is terrible because its mosquito season.
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mindoverbbs
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Joined: Feb '12
Posts: 141offline
Posted 11 months ago
Fri Jun 1 2012 12:27:31
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Hi guys,
I have had chronic OCD my whole life as well, along with entomophobia, depressive episodes, and most recently PTSD (from events unrelated to BBs) with intermittent panic attacks. Bedbugs have been my most difficult, paralyzing, and debilitating trigger to date, so I'm highly motivated to overcome it. I have been taking an integrated approach to my treatment and have made some substantial progress toward recovery. I've been at it for awhile now, and I have learned a lot from this process. I would be happy to discuss details privately via PM should any fellow sufferers need a sounding board.
Ohno, I agree. Mosquito season is tricky and I suspect I'll have more than a few setbacks over the coming months. Unexplained bites and skin reactions are my primary triggers, with unexplained stains coming a very close second. I've been very fortunate to have had a kind, experienced, and very smart friend help me sort through the latter and teach me a few things.
Ericab, you might want to get some passive monitors, in addition to starting to address your anxiety.
Hang in there. You guys are not alone.
-Mindover
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ohnotooks
junior member
Joined: Nov '11
Posts: 37offline
Posted 11 months ago
Sat Jun 2 2012 12:14:06
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Mindover, I tried to send you a PM but I don't know how. LoL. I myself have never had BB, but like you the have been the hardest of my phobias to overcome. I also had really bad PTSD last year when the BB fear started. My PTSD was not related to the Bugs or combat but I injury that I suffered. If you can send me a PM. I will figure out how to get it.
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mindoverbbs
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Joined: Feb '12
Posts: 141offline
Posted 11 months ago
Sun Jun 3 2012 18:42:18
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Hi, Ohnotooks,
To send a PM, look in the left column of this post when you are logged in. The final link should say "PM this user".
To check your PMs, log on and look in the far right column under the first two advertisements. Right under the "hello" and welcome message, you'll see a link that says "You have x new messages". Click there to get to your personal mailbox.
-Mindover
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