The Phantom Bloodsuckers: Bed bugs and some small tips about them.

The bloodsucker you will never like, even if it sparkles in the sunlight. (Picture is taken off from Google Image)

Just not too long ago, a sudden announcement regarding a visit with some relatives to a small town of Indonesia prompted me do pack a couple of insect repellents, as my family are to stay in a cheap and small hotel.

All was fine until we reached home, where my sister and I, who haven’t stopped itching at the feet, realised that we had been bitten by bed bugs. Frighteningly, the torment didn’t end there, as my sister developed an allergic reaction and her foot had swelled to half its usual size, making walking difficult.

I had a terrible experience with bed bugs, and noted a comparison between the ones from Singapore and Indonesia; apparently, the Indonesian bugs had a deadlier bite.

So, as a fellow budget traveller, I’m going to offer some small tips, which I hope, prove valuable to budget travelers around:

• These little red devils attack when their prey are at their most vulnerable, which is during your deepest slumber, and bites at any exposed areas of your skin, so it might be better to wear something that covers up as much as possible.

• These flat little oval redcoats live in dark cracks of furniture, but most commonly in areas where people sleep, like the linings mattresses and bed frames.

Here’s another picture found on Google Image for reference. (I found my first bed bug on the curtain near my bed, so their hiding spots are not limited to the bed.)

*So, make a point to check these places when you explore the hotel room, just don’t offend the hotel staffs in the process (like making rude remarks about how disgusting it is). You can always ask for a change of room later.

• Their saliva contains a form of an anaesthetic agent to prevent the victim from feeling the bite, so it takes awhile till the bite becomes obvious.

• A way of identifying a bed bug bite from a mosquito bite is to look for a small red dot in the centre of the swelling.

• Bed bug bites also follows a particular linear pattern of 3s, known as the ‘breakfast, lunch, dinner sign, but there can be more. I usually notice that the third bite is a little further than the first and second.

Took about a month or so just for it to fade this much... I don't have pictures of my bed bug bites except this one that I took for this post, so feel free to Google Image them, but be warned. It's not a pretty sight at all...

• The main rule is never to scratch the bites, no matter how painful it is. Scratching the bites provides a temporary relief, but it delays the recovery & even worsens the conditions. Aggravating the bites might also cause permanent scarring.

• If the affected areas are rapidly getting worse or showing signs of abnormality, especially after near a week, do seek immediate medical attention as it could be an allergic reaction, which can prove fatal.

Experiences with bed bug bites are always painful and annoying. What is worrying isn’t the bite, but rather what happens to the victims afterwards that decides the severity of the problem. Unless it’s an infestation, it would generally be difficult to prevent a small number of bed bugs from attacking, so the least that can be done is to minimise the after-effects. That’s all for this post. I hope that this will be useful, and if there’s anything about bed bugs that you’ll like to share, please do.