Bites and Infestations: All You Need to Know

Introduction

Arachnids (joint-legged invertebrate animals) and insects are creatures within the arthropods. They cause the majority of bites and infestations. The arthropods always feast on humans, causing itchiness, scratching, discomfort, and skin reactions. An animal bite creates a wound. The insects bite by making a hole in the skin to feed. But not all insects bite. Some insects have a unique structure called a sting, by which they inject venom into the skin for defense.

Most bites and infestations only require supportive care and fade away after a few days. However, some are more painful, lead to severe complications, and trigger allergic reactions. Therefore, they require treatment from dermatologists.

What Causes Bites and Infestations?

The most common insects causing bites and infestations include the following.

• Biting Insects - Mosquitoes.

• Parasites - Bed bugs, lice, mites, ticks, fleas.

• Stings - Bees, wasps, and hornets.

• Non-biting Insects - Beetles, locusts, moths, and butterflies. These cause allergic reactions to the body parts.

What Are the Signs of Insect Infestation?

Each type of insect has different signs of infestation or inhabitation of a particular area. The following are some of the symptoms of insect or pest infestations.

• It takes a long time to notice droppings in case of insect infestations. Regular and thorough cleaning of the place helps to detect them early.

• Wasps, bees, and ant nests are easy to identify.

• Foul or unusual odor.

• Signs of ant infestation include sawdust trails and piles of soil or dirt.

• Signs of fly infestation include dead flies and maggots (fly larvae).

Who Are Susceptible for the Insect Bites?

The following factors influence the susceptibility of individuals to insect bites.

• Environmental factors include poor hygiene, overcrowding, dilapidated housing, persons living in tropical areas, and spending more time in the garden.

• Host factors include human sweat, skin flora, body odor, body heat, and carbon dioxide in exhaled air.

What Are the Diseases and Symptoms Caused by the Different Insect Bites?

The different insect bites cause various symptoms and diseases, which are listed below.

Bed Bugs:

• Bed bugs are small parasitic insects that feed on the blood of people and animals. They usually infest the area where people sleep.

• They inject anesthetic and anticoagulant when they bite. So most people will only realize once the bite mark appears.

• They target the arms, face, neck, back, and legs.

• Symptoms include swelling, itching, redness, irritation, burning sensation, and mild pain.

• Rarely, bed bugs cause severe anaphylactic reactions such as difficulty breathing, swollen tongue, blisters, fever, and irregular heartbeat.

Mosquito:

• They are small insects with piercing mouthpieces to pierce the skin and consume blood.

• Some mosquito bites carry dangerous diseases, and others are harmless.

• The symptoms of a mosquito bite include bruising, swelling, redness, small blisters, hives, and fever.

• Mosquitoes can cause harmful infections, such as malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, and chikungunya.

Ticks:

• Ticks are stubborn insects that hang out on the leaves of plants mostly.

• Tick bites are not harmful and cause rashes that resolve within one or two days.

• Ticks can transmit Lyme disease, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, tick-borne relapsing fever, tularemia, Q fever, and anaplasmosis.

• The deer tick, Ixodes Scapularis, is the most common vector of Lyme disease.

• Lyme disease progress through three stages - The early localized stage (with symptoms like erythema migrans, headache, fatigue, myalgia, and fever), the early disseminated stage (neurological symptoms such as neck stiffness, headache, bell’s palsy), and the late disseminated stage (chronic arthritis and neurological symptoms).

Mites:

• Mites are not insects that feed on dead plants, animal material, and other insects.

• A few mites that bite people are chiggers, scabies, and rat and bird mites.

• The chigger species of mite bites during its larval developmental stage, causing skin lumps and itching.

• A mite, Sarcoptes scabies var hominis, causes scabies. These mites infest primarily on the person’s skin to lay eggs and feed.

• The symptoms include a pimply red rash, itchiness, papules, vesicles, pustules, or nodules on the head, neck, and feet.

• Medical treatments such as creams or lotions are vital to kill scabies.

Lice:

• Human lice are wingless, bloodsucking insects that infest and feed on humankind.

• The three types of pediculosis are head lice, pubic lice (crab), and body lice.

• Head lice infest hair for survival and reproduction are the most common type.

• Pubic lice infest pubic hair, scalp, eyebrows, mustache, beard, and axillae.

• The body lice are giant, living on the clothing to lay eggs, and they feed on humans.

Fleas:

• Fleas can bite humans and non-humans and trigger allergic reactions.

• The symptoms include red spots and scabs surrounded by a red halo, swelling, and itching.

• Having a pet at home increases the risk of flea infestation.

Ants:

• Fire ant bites cause itchy red lesions and may develop into blisters.

• Fire ant stings cause redness, swelling, pain, macules, bumps, and papules.

What Are the Diseases Caused by Infected Insect Bites?

The following are the diseases caused by the various infected insect bites.

• Impetigo.

• Cellulitis.

• Lymphangitis.

• Lyme disease.

• Eosinophilia.

• Typhus fever.

• Powassan.

• Tick-borne relapsing fever.

• Skeeter syndrome.

How to Treat the Insect Bites?

The treatments for insect bites include the following.

1. Soap and water to clean the affected area.

2. Cold compression with a cloth soaked in cold water reduces swelling.

3. Painkillers (Paracetamol or Ibuprofen) reduce pain.

4. Spray and creams containing local anesthetics or mild Hydrocortisone reduce itching and swelling.

5. Antihistamine tablets reduce swelling.

6. Oral antibiotics treat bacterial infections.

7. Ivermectin, Permethrin, Lindane, and Malathion treat head lice.

8. Adrenaline or antihistamine injection to treat emergency conditions of anaphylaxis.

How to Prevent the Bites and Infestation of Insects?

The following steps are necessary to prevent the bite and infestation of insects.

1. Structural barriers such as nets and screens for windows.

2. Avoid bushy, grassy, and wooded areas.

3. Insect repellants that contain diethyltoluamide prevent insect infestations.

4. Remove stagnant water in which the mosquitoes breed.

5. Wearing full-hand shirts, pants, and socks prevent bites from insects.

6. Cut down the clutter in the home and vacuum frequently to prevent bug infestations.

Conclusions

The severity of insect stings and bites varies depending on the insect involved and the person’s sensitivity. Dizziness, wheezing, difficulty swallowing, confusion, and anaphylactic allergic reactions followed by the bites require immediate medical attention. Preventive measures should be taken to prevent insect bites and infestations around the living place.