Where do bed parasites live: species
After a hard day, problems and unsolved problems, we go to our beloved bed, wrap ourselves in our blanket … We are all in the safest and most comfortable place. “But no! – says Olga Egorova, a dermatologist. – There is no better habitat for parasites than a human bed. There, among the warmth, dust and moisture from human sweat in the circle of lush feather pillows, soft springy mattresses and warm woolen blankets, the vital activity of these parasites takes place.
It turns out that by clinging to a person’s clothes, parasites can move not only from object to object, from room to room, but also from apartment to apartment or to a public place. They are invisibly present everywhere: on the fibers of the carpet, stuffed toys, curtains, on airplanes, trains, tourist tents, public fitting rooms. Their habitat is so vast that no one can say with 100% certainty: “There are no parasites in my apartment.”
Bedbugs – the most terrible creatures of the existing bed parasites. These insects have a rather elastic translucent chitinous cover. If they are hungry, then gray or brown flat shape. The well-fed, eaten with your blood, instantly transform: they become round and scarlet. But, despite the periodic fatness, the bugs are quite agile and active. They often change their place of deployment. The peculiarity of these insects is that they feed 1-2 times a week, and then, when they are full, they do not feel hunger for several days. And if you are bitten every night, then do not make hasty conclusions: these are not the most voracious bugs in the world, there are simply so many of them that they have built dinner schedules among themselves and alternate. And it’s not surprising at all if you didn’t sound the alarm right away. After all, bed bugs are masters of sports in terms of reproduction rate. Just one female can provide the foundations of an entire bedbug in an apartment in a matter of weeks. After fertilized once, she is able to bear offspring for the rest of her life.
The complexity of their extermination lies in the fact that bedbugs are difficult to “catch red-handed.” The fact is that they go out to eat from 3 to 7 in the morning, when you are sound asleep. In addition, an anesthetic substance is injected along with saliva, so the bite is not at all sensitive. But, one way or another, these parasites cannot remain unnoticed at all. After their bites, traces remain on the body in the form of several tracks from separate spots, which swell, itch strongly and pass slowly.
Such marks not only cause itching and unaesthetic skin problems, but can also lead to serious pathological problems, causing allergies. A person who has become a victim of this parasite may have a sharp increase in body temperature, headache, shortness of breath, palpitations, dizziness, difficulty breathing and choking.
Lice – these are tiny gray parasites up to 3 mm in diameter, having a long elongated body with a small head. They cannot jump and fly, move slowly, but they have claws with which they cling to a person’s clothes or hair, where they spend most of their lives, periodically (once every few hours) going down to the victim’s skin to drink blood. Bed lice are a particular danger, as they are carriers of such terrible diseases as typhus and relapsing fever. However, not a single case of infection was officially registered.
pliers so small (0,2) that it is almost impossible to see them without a magnifying glass or microscope. And if you look at them under a magnifying glass, you immediately want to erase this picture from your memory. After all, the tick is so nasty. He has three pairs of legs with suction cups, thanks to which he can firmly cling to our things. These insects do harm “in a quiet way: they don’t bite and don’t drink blood. “And what do they eat then?” – you ask. They find their food in the form of skin flakes and dandruff. It is in them that a favorable “edible” microflora for mites is created: fungi and bacteria.
It can be concluded that if this insect does not bite, then there is absolutely no harm from it. However, this would be a big misconception. The danger from ticks is found in their excrement. They are so small that they easily enter the respiratory tract of a person as a result of breathing. As a result, various diseases appear: skin (dermatitis); vascular (headache, dizziness); allergies (irritating cough, rhinitis; asthma), etc. Thus, ticks cause an even greater allergic reaction than the previously named parasites.
Fleas – insects with a flattened body on all sides and elongated upward. Their hind legs are much longer than the rest, due to which they have the ability to jump up to 1,5 m in height and up to 2 m in length.These parasites bite only open areas of the body, as a result of which red spots with caked blood appear on the body in the center which create unbearable itching.
It is quite difficult to get rid of the parasites that have appeared and multiplied, but it is simply necessary to reduce their number and minimize their negative impact on humans.
In case of a bite of one of these insects, the patient needs to thoroughly and promptly wash the body under a hot shower, treat the wounds with soda raster or aloe juice and lubricate the wounds with a special ointment (“Star”, “Cream for bites of bloodsucking”, etc.). Treatment is carried out with strong antiparasitic and anti-allergenic drugs. For sensitive people who are highly susceptible to an allergic reaction, antihistamines may be needed, and in the event of a secondary infection, antibiotics may be needed.
How do they get to our house?
Infection with bed parasites occurs as a result of everyday activities: going to visit (even without spending the night), moving on public transport, outdoor recreation, caring for pets, trying on new things in a store, visiting public places and much more.
Since we are not able in real life to give up all this, to lock ourselves in a room and not communicate with anyone, so as not to meet a carrier of any parasite, it is necessary to adhere to minimum precautions at least.
1. Carefully monitor the hygiene of your own, your pets and communicate as little as possible with people whose neatness leaves much to be desired.
2. When traveling, do not skimp on your comfort and, therefore, safety: choose hotels with high-quality service, and not hostels with suspicious people and their “animals”.
3. When in a public place or transport, remember that it is more important how you feel, and not what others think of you. Nowadays, more and more often in buses and gyms, people use napkins, hanging them between the chair and their head; do the same!
4. If a parasite is found at home, do not waste time, immediately sound the alarm, then it will be too late!
To sleep well:
– wash all bedding at temperatures above 65 degrees Celsius, or even better, boil;
– always try to iron bed linen with a hot steam iron;
– ventilate your mattress more often – leave it for a day without bedding in a room where the sun is shining and the windows are open;
– sometimes put pillows on the windowsill in bright sunlight;
– take pillows with feather filling at least once a year to dry-cleaner, and it is better to replace them with products with bamboo or synthetic filling;
– if you have registered the presence of parasites, treat the bed with a special spray from blood-sucking insects;
– ventilate the room more often;
– periodically carry out general cleaning of the apartment and washing the floors with a 10% solution of vinegar, detergent and ammonia;
– grease the doors with lavender essential oil – parasites do not like this smell.