Anybody who has thought about bed bugs gets goosebumps. These micro, night-dwelling creatures are infamous for invading the most private places of our homes – the beds – and dining on our blood when we are asleep. The effects of bed bugs go well beyond the bites, even though the outward symptoms of an infestation – itchy red welts to the skin and tiny blood spots on your linens – are pretty obvious many times.
That’s because these pests are more than capable of causing negative repercussions on both your physical and mental health and general well-being. We will discuss how bed bugs can affect your health and why eliminating them is essential in order to get your peace of mind back.
Bed Bug Bite Effects on the Body
First of all, let’s start with the most obvious thing – the bites. Bed bug bites show up on the skin as small, red, itchy welts, often in a line or cluster. However, such bites bring along a few physical health problems other than acting as simple inconveniences.
Itching Skin and Infection
Bites from bed bugs can cause very severe itching, which could be followed by scratching that breaks the skin. Cellulitis or impetigo could result from this, which is a type of secondary skin infection.
In some cases, an individual may have a very bad allergic reaction to the bites, which is characterised by the formation of blisters, swelling, or even anaphylaxis in some rare cases. Bed bug bites can also aggravate some pre-existing skin conditions, such as eczema, making them very difficult to treat.
Sleep Disturbances
The psychological effects of being aware that one has bed bugs are nearly as pesky as the bites themselves. Stress and anxiety from an infestation can cause huge sleep disturbances.
People have a hard time sleeping when they think about sharing their bed with such pests, and poor sleep has been linked to health issues like headaches, moodiness, impaired cognitive function, lowered immunity, and higher stress levels.
Anemia
This is a very rare consequence, but severe infestation will also cause blood loss in the long term due to the constant biting by bed bugs. In serious cases, this can lead to anaemia, especially in certain vulnerable individuals like the elderly or bedridden patients.
This illness, characterised by weakness and fatigue, is caused by the body’s insufficient supply of red blood cells carrying oxygen to the tissues. It is, however, not likely that most people would reach such an advanced degree of infection. Still, it does illustrate just how critical it is to treat bed bug issues immediately after an infestation is detected.
The Psychological Effects of Bed Bugs
Although the physical impacts of bed bugs are very well known, their effects on the psychological state often go unnoticed. If bed bugs are left untreated, they can cause huge psychological discomfort and long-term damage.
Anxiety and Stress – Any person would be expected to feel anxious at the mere thought of bed bugs crawling all over them while asleep. This will then become too much to handle if an infestation is not cleaned out as soon as possible. People might have persistent concerns about being bitten, spread of the infestation, or even feeling too embarrassed to have visitors at home. Handling a bed bug infestation could cause extreme amounts of stress that affect all areas of a person’s life.
Insomnia – Fears of bed bugs typically result in insomnia and related sleep disorders. One might stay awake all night for fear of being bitten, eventually developing into chronic sleep deprivation. This sleep deprivation may lead to some serious issues, like memory loss, a lack of concentration, and an increased risk of accidents, all of which may develop over time. This kind of insomnia might further fuel anxiety and depression, spiralling into a vicious cycle from which there seems to be no apparent way of escape without bed bug treatment.
PTSD – It could well be a result of extreme cases for those who have had to deal with a bed bug infestation. This is especially true for those who already suffer from anxiety disorders or have had severe infestations. Dealing with bed bugs and fearing the possibility of re-infestation can lead to long-lasting psychological impacts, such as hypervigilance, nightmares, flashbacks, and heightened anxiety at bedtime and during sleep.
The Societal and Psychological Impact
Apart from the individual’s physical and emotional health, bed bugs can create some hard-to-handle societal and psychological outcomes.
Social Stigma
Bed bugs continue to carry a stigma for homeowners. Many worry that others will think they live in unclean conditions and feel too embarrassed to seek help for a bedbug infestation. Another controversial reason is that people fear social events and strangers entering their homes, leading to a drop in self-esteem. When people refuse help or keep their bedbug issue a secret out of fear of judgment, it only adds to their emotional burden.
Interpersonal Relationship Stress
Bed bugs can cause tension in interpersonal relationships, especially with people who live in the same premises. The kind of behaviour each person portrays regarding an attack on bed bugs is significantly different from that of others, and the stress can cause petty conflicts. Disagreements regarding the best method to be followed, the financial burden incurred by the cost of the treatment, and the duration of getting rid of the vermin completely could all lead to disputes. High infestations of bed bugs have even been associated with the breakage of a marriage.
Impact on Work and Productivity
The bed bug infestation can create a depressing psychological and physical effect, which is reflected in people’s workplaces. Bed bug infestations can cause anxiety in people; one may lose sleep over a bed bug problem and miss work due to absenteeism or tardiness resulting from exhaustion. Anyone undergoing an infestation can become tired during the day, get easily distracted, or be in the mood to pick quarrels – all of which adversely affect job performance. This can, in extreme cases, result in you losing your job, or you might need to take a long time off from work to get rid of the infestation and its effects.
The Significance of Effective Bed Bug Treatment
Bed bug elimination is a daunting task, and most attempts at DIY treatment hardly seem to prove effective. Many times, professional pest control is necessary to get rid of bedbugs for good and prevent consequent challenges.
For bed bug infestation, hiring professional exterminators is by far the best option. With their knowledge and equipment, as well as numerous remedies to get rid of bed bugs at all stages of development, they can be of enormous help. They also offer helpful advice on ways one can safeguard their abode from bed bugs and prevent their re-infestation. Even though seeing an expert can be costly, it’s often a good investment in your well-being and mental stability.
Conclusion
Although small in size, bed bugs hold within themselves the power to completely devastate your health and well-being. In order to protect your physical and mental health, effective bed bug pest control is of absolute importance. Addressing a current infestation or taking the needed steps to prevent one is a call for paying full-blown attention to the situation upfront.
In doing so, you can prevent the bed bugs from taking charge of your life and, in the end, your home, truthfully claiming what is rightfully yours in the name of health and safety.