What are these?

[CareerChange24]

I change my sheets every week. No signs of any bugs. Other than - I feel what feel like grains of sand, quite a few of them on my sheets. I’ve taken a few of the grains and put them under my phone to zoom in. Can someone reassure me these aren’t the eggs of a beg bug or flea or something? It is my one phobia in life and is really bothering me. The first one is how tiny they look from a distance. And the others are zoomed in on my phone. The last one is one squashed

The third one especially does look like bed bug eggs, with what looks like the eye spot. Size, shape and colour also seem to match.

Do you have any bites at all? Usually females feed on blood to sustain their egg laying. And where on your sheets are these? Bed bugs tend to lay eggs in more hidden spots. Are there any other marks, like small black dots anywhere?

I’m actually crying.

no black dots or any other signs. They are on top of the fitted sheet

How would I check for definite if I have them? I’m freaking out I feel sick it’s my one phobia.

Looks like nothing to me. If you had active bedbugs you'd know about it, you'd be bitten

I have what I thought was acne on my back but now I’m questioning it. Although on my back I get lumps. Not so much bites. I’m sat in tears do you really think they aren’t anything? I have a real fear of bugs infesting the house

Are they soft?

looks like bobbling from the bedding to me

They aren’t soft or hard. They aren’t cotton though

Any chance you could have worms? If you sleep naked, and these are half way down the sheets, could be dead worms. NHS has symptoms to look out for.

Not everyone reacts to bed bug bites. My issue is more with the position of the eggs and the lack of other marks; bed bugs leave distinctive black spot trails in the crevices of mattresses and around seams.

Bed bug eggs are really tiny, about 1mm, and the adults typically lay them somewhere hidden such as the seams of a mattress, gaps in furniture or behind wallpaper, not on top of fitted sheets. I'd also expect to see black dots on the sheets or mattress from spots of blood or bed bug poop.

Bed bug eggs look like this:

https://www.instagram.com/p/C04FMqytUCi/?igsh=MTE2OXBramkyZzJxbw==

Look down the seams of your mattress for bed bug evidence. Lots of pics on Google but don’t let them freak you out.

I agree with @Sogrossineedtonamechange any chance they could be worms?

How would I know if I had worms? I do sleep naked. God I feel sick I can’t stress how them being anything would send my head into a real spin I’m really ocd. How do you get worms?

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/worms-in-humans/

this makes it sound like it’s rare but it’s common, especially if you do a lot of gardening, spend lots of time outdoors etc. Nail biting makes it more likely.

Kids pick them up and pass them on. Gross but totally normal and easily fixed.

They look like pilled bedding to me. Too big to be parasite eggs.

If there are tiny strands of cotton or fluff that have clumped together and been rolled about they would look like this.

Could you try pulling one apart with a pin to see if it separates in to fibres?

Try not to worry, there would be other signs if it was a parasite like blood spots or itching etc.

How likely is this threadworm’s? That’s worse than bed bugs.

I’m literally feeling sick and really unwell that it may be worms? I don’t have children and never around children. Is there an easy way I could tell if it is worms? Check my poo?

Why do you think worms? Are they really common? I’ve never heard of anyone having them

It just looks like bits of cotton off your bedding.

That's what I thought.

Really unlikely to be worms. Your bum and vulva would be itchy if you had them.

I man I have the odd itch like anyone else but this has got me really worried!

*I mean

You'd be very itchy if it was worms, you would know about it!

Threadworm are not worse than bedbugs, they are easily treatable by getting some ovex from boots (you can order online if you don't want to go in to ask) and take a second dose two weeks later.

Saying that it looks like bedding piling to me (balled up bits of cotton). If it was worms they look more like single threads and bed bugs, even if you don't react to bites, you'd get the characteristic black dots (as pp said)

Do you think? I really need someone to calm me down and I’m not normally irrational like this. But I really couldn’t take worms or bugs. It’s something about the home being dirty or me being dirty that triggers a really nauseous, panicked response.