Flea Bites Vs Bed Bug Bites
Both flea bites and bedbug bites present as small dots on the skin, it can at times be difficult to distinguish between the bites. Bedbug bites are mainly seen in upper half of a person’s body in areas around the arms, neck, and face while flea bites are seen on lower half of an individual’s body and in parts of the body that are warm and moist, for example the bends of knees and elbows.17
To help figure out if you have bed bugs bites or flea bites it is important to look at how they appear. Even that, you want to know that bite marks may depend on the individual and they can be very situational. Examining flea bites, they look like clusters of mosquito bites. The bites are randomly placed often appearing in form of dots having a dark red center. The dark red center is the location where the puncture by the bite forms.
Bedbug bites look like raised, flat red welts and this occurs because of the allergy reaction people have from the anesthesia as well as anticoagulants present in the saliva of the bug. The bites from bed bugs form a straight line or row, often consisting of four or three bites, but this may not always be so. When you have a flea bite, a red bump or flea wheal is swollen within an hour following the bite, but the itching begins immediately and persistently. Sometimes, the bite may turn to become a blister or open sore within a day or two.
Bed bug bites may take a couple of days sometimes even a week for them to show up. The bites gradually start itching as the saliva begins wearing off. It is important to understand that bed bugs will come out to suck blood after every seven to about 10 days and it happens when you are asleep or sometimes it can happen during the day when the room is dark. Adult female bed bugs usually feed several times and during the day and night. 18
How to Get Rid of Flea Bites?
If you have flea bites, unless they are severe or they have caused an allergy reaction, you may not need any special treatment. Sometimes, the itching can be so intense, so you want to reduce the irritation and swelling. You can use the following to get rid of the flea bites symptoms:19
Calamite or hydrocortisone lotion
These work to stop the itching, they help the bites to heal faster. Hydrocortisone cream has some mild steroid while calamine lotions have ferric oxide which help to sooth itching and reduce swelling.
Lavender oil
This has both anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties that help to reduce swelling and irritation. It helps keep itching at minimal, and the antiseptic helps to prevent an infection occurring in the area of the bite. If you are treating a child who has flea bites, you should use lavender oils cautiously because babies are very sensitive to essential oils.
Aloe vera
This natural remedy for treating flea bites has soothing property, and it’s the reason aloe vera is used to treat sunburns. Aloe vera is a great ingredient for the health of the skin, it contains a great number of amino acids and other active compounds that treat and nourish the skin- it has 34 amino acids in addition to 130 active compounds.
Peppermint
It has soothing, calming properties that help to reduce itching and promote healing of the flea bites.
Hot and cold compresses
Both hot and cold compresses can help to sooth itching and promote healing of the bites. Allow the cold or warm compresses to sit on the area of bite for about 10 minutes. If you are using heat ensure that the temperatures don’t get too high. In case of cold compresses, don’t apply directly onto the skin to prevent ice burns. You can place the ice in a towel to prevent it from coming directly in contact with the skin.
In case you have an allergy reaction, you can consider using an antihistamine to help minimize the allergy. Washing the flea bites with some soapy water can also help. You can do this before you apply any anti-itching cream or lotion. A lukewarm bath containing oatmeal may also help to reduce itching. A word of caution is that bathing or showering with hot water may make the itching to worsen. So if you are applying hot compresses, make sure it is not too hot, keep it lukewarm.
References:
See the references here – https://doctorcastle.com/fleabites-symptoms-treatment-remedies#References