Help! Im being eaten alive!

[HoloD]

So i need help. Last summer around June i started getting bitten at night on only my arms and hands. I'd wake up maybe once or twice a month with a big swollen very itchy red mark that would stay for over a week. In the begginning i wasn't sure they were bites and assumed they were a reaction to something like fabric softener as sometimes the swelling is so severe i cant see the tiny red bump in the middle. so i kept changing different varibles but it didnt stop. Then by last month i was being bitten every night. I'd have inturpted sleep as i was constantly worrying about covering my arms and checking for anything. I have been to my GP who said bugs aren't really a doctor problem and i should look for pest control. But ive deep cleaned my room and my sheets and ive never seen a flying insect in my room. There's no signs of bed bugs in or around my mattress except once seeing a 'bedbug like' insect on my headboard. I took apart my headboard and checked everything again but nothing else. Im still waking up with bites. My arms are constantly aching from the swelling and im exhausted with the entire situation. Anyone that can think of anything that may help or any ideas of the insect it could be id appreciate it so much!!

Google bed bugs.

I’m having this trouble at the moment, just moved into a new house and bites every night. I think it’s probably fleas from a previous tenants pets, the only thing that’s stopped it is I sprinkled salt, bicarbonate of soda, peppermint essential oil and lemon shake and vac mixed alltogether, over every floor in the house and left it overnight, and now I hoover every second day, I also put all our clothes, bed sheets and curtains on a boil wash, and hoovered our mattresses, not had a problem since. Antihistamines (Piriton) will help you with the bites, I had to take it cause the bites were so annoying!

Have you washed your duvet, pillows and treated your mattress?

Does it happen if you sleep somewhere else?

Do you have any pets?

Don't worry it's not bed bugs. Bed bugs bite you on your side and thighs ie where you're pressed into the mattress. They're not crawling around outside the covers on your hands and arms.

What's the pattern of the bites?

Oh sorry no pattern, just seen it's one big bite. Again that's different from bed bugs and fleas too, you don't just get bitten once

The thing is i sleep face down, my head on my hands. Its a couple big bites a night but its haed to monitor different variables because it doesn't necessarily happen every single night.

Bed bugs. Everything lines up towards that being the case. They are really really hard to find unless you have a really severe case. It’s totally possible to not find them even if they are there. Google for info on how to find bed begs.
You’re going to have to do a lot of googling to eradicate them. It’s very hard but possible.

Ex hotel worker.

Bed bugs usually bite hands

I am a complete expert on bed bugs as seeing them in hotel terrified me. Life was never the same again 😂 however all my expertise came from internet. Get ready to feel itchier than you’ve ever felt! I still jump at bits of fluff now 😂

How about starting the process of deduction with a new pillow? Pillows can contain mites that you may have a reaction to. In the meantime I'd get as much air and sunlight as possible every day on the bare mattress and use completely different bedding (a new cheap duvet?) for a few nights just to see what makes a difference.

Bed bugs bite in lines of threes

No they don’t. That’s a myth. They can occasionally do that.

We still have bed bugs after starting treatment a year ago. DD gets her bits on face/neck/arms and hands so you absolutely get bitten there.

Do you have any blood spots or black spots that look like ink on your bedding/mattress/headboard?

Bed bugs usually bite in a row of 3 [breakfast, lunch and dinner]
they do hands and face as well.
You can get sticky cardboard traps on e-bay so you can see what you're dealing with.

Oh no sorry seems that's a myth.
But you can see their .. erm .. deposits on the sheets. Have you got white sheets OP?

I sleep with hands and arms outside of the duvet and often have huge bites appearing. It's honestly mosquitoes or something very similar and I've actually killed a couple hiding in corners of my bedroom in the evening. When they've been splatted they ooze blood so I know they're the culprits from the previous night. I've googled and it seems it's impossible to have these in the winter in the UK but I've blooming well seen them! I'm very attractive to insects of all types and have terrible over reactions to bites. I put it down to an extremely mild winter and lots of rain

IMO, diatomaceous earth is better than all the harsh chemicals but it won’t get rid of them immediately. Buy an enormous bucket from Amazon but do read all the do’s and dont’s before starting. So much you need to do to treat correctly. Don’t move rooms etc. Good luck.

Ive googled all the signs, over a week of just researching and there's no other signs of bed bugs. My mattress is spotless in all the crevices and my sheets are white but no sign of dark spots or shedding

A few years ago I was getting bites at night as well. Not every night but once a week at least. Mostly around the ankles/lower legs. Then one day I found a carpet bug climbing up the wall, I caught it tossed out of the window. I havent been bitten since.

I realised the bites started happening not that long after i bough a new carpet. Hard to imagine one single tiny bug was the cause of all those bites.

Get a credit card and slide it between every crack / joining under bed and headboard

Sharing on the off chance this may match your symptoms.

celiac.org/about-celiac-disease/related-conditions/dermatitis-herpetiformis/