What on earth am I being bitten by? (Pics included)

[elm26]

Every day I’m waking up to more and more itchy bites. We sleep with our bedroom window open because it’s stuffy if not and I’m going insane, DH doesn’t get bitten at all.

DD who’s 2 is in the bedroom next door with a window open on the safety lock and hasn’t any bites either.

I’m 33 weeks pregnant and uncomfortable enough as it is 😩 what can I do? Other than dousing myself in deet to sleep in 🤢

Being pregnant can cause all sorts of weird skin things so its possible its not bites at all but maybe a reaction or something? Get yourself to the doctor! Good luck 👍🏻

Have you tried applying Avon skin so soft? It’s a natural oily spray type product that prevents mosquito bites. Might be worth a try as it doesn’t contain horrible chemicals and is moisturising so even if it doesn’t help, it’s not unpleasant and feels nice on your skin.

Are you taking antihistamines? It’s really helpful.

Unfortunately skin chemistry makes us more or less attractive to biting beasties. I suffer far less these days.

I used to get bitten by fish in the sea. Judging by the number of people paddling on a tropical island, and only two of us intermittently squealing, it is about 1 in 500 😂 similarly afflicted!

They look like bed bug bites. Bed bug bites are often in clusters like this where as other insect and flea bites are usually found one on their own spaced apart. Obviously we can’t be sure from pictures online but I do see bed bug bites lots because of my job and they do look like that.
Doesn’t make sense that your dh and dd have not been bitten though as bed bugs spread like wildfire. Have a look in the crevices/seams of your mattress for little black specks.

Either way don’t worry or freak out. People do when it’s suspected bed bugs but it is manageable with careful treatment of the house. As I say I come across them all the time at work, as well as other things like scabies and cockroaches, you get used to it.

I’d say just mossie bites we have matching arms!

Thank you, it’s definitely bugs of some sort as I keep waking myself up smacking my arm after feeling them on me ☹️

I’ve actually ordered some on Amazon this morning, I put a post on our estate group chat asking if anyone else is having the same problem and a few people replied recommending this. Thank you!

I’m terrible abroad, when we visit family in Miami I end up looking like I’ve got measles but never been this bad before in the UK! I take 120mg Fexofenadine a day as prescribed by my consultant for the past 5 years because I suffer urticaria randomly!

They look like mozzie bites to me. Many, many moon ago my parents had bed bugs in a bed they’d inherited from a relative - Mum was covered in bites, not so much Dad, but I seem to remember them looking a lot smaller than yours, more of a flea bite appearance as I remember.

My go-to critter repellant is this:

https://www.nealsyardremedies.com/products/citronella-formula-100ml?variant=43034457374940&country=GB&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=22182585506&utm_term=&utm_content=__m__shopify_GB_7709988192476_43034457374940&st_source=google&st_medium=paid&st_campaign=%7B22182585506%7D&st_content=%7B%7D&st_term=%7B%7D&st_adid=%7B%7D&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22176177534&gbraid=0AAAAAD2cULiuEc9ZjZiG702-PIfzHUD44&gclid=Cj0KCQjwkILEBhDeARIsAL--pjzv6r12ZMa5-8JgvzUKBOXs9QJrJmePtOxf4-2pJ6hJk90TgFbl9wAaAtbeEALw_wcB

Mosquitos.

I did have a panic that it’s bed bugs so when I stripped our bed on Sunday, I inspected the mattress, got my DH to flip it and see if there were any underneath and couldn’t see anything at all. Do you know what causes them? I sprinkle bicarbonate all over the mattresses in the house every 8-10 weeks, leave and hoover them off, bedsheets are washed on 60 and changed weekly for all of us too. Our mattresses were brand new 18 months ago so don’t have any second hand that could have come with them.

I don't think bedbugs discriminate, so I would expect your husband to have been bitten too.

Mosquitoes have their favourites - I'm their preference too.

So I googled mosquitoes and their bites do look similar to bed bugs so it is probably mosquitoes then. Especially with no evidence of bedbugs on the mattress and dh not being bit. Bed bugs can be brought in from hotels etc and brought home unknown. But don’t worry it doesn’t sound like it’s them.
As it happens bugs prefer me over dh too. I get stung by wasps all the time and they don’t go near dh, also any flies etc always come round me rather then him. I think maybe it’s our perfume or body creams that attract them. We must have a nicer taste.
When I go camping I use a Spanish baby cologne from Amazon, it’s the he most effective thing I have found and it’s not a bad smell compared to other specific products. All the babies in Spain have their own perfume, it’s sold in chemists there, makes sense for the bugs they have.

Bedbugs do not actually live in the mattress, although you might see evidence of them, they live in walls and cupboards and the bed frame and just come out at night to feed in response to your CO2. Everyone gets bitten but only certain people react to the bites

They do look like bedbeg bites tbh

Be careful with the Avon stuff, I got bitten to buggery the only time I used it

Also think bed bugs. I shared a bed with my daughter that had bed bugs. They were definitely bed bugs. I had bites like you, she had nothing visible.

Update: it is bed bugs and I’m losing my mind 😖

Oh no! I really hope you get it sorted ASAP, this is stress you don't need while pregnant x

I’ve just started a new thread on it @WickWoodi am pacing and crying and so stressed

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5383074-bed-bugs-help?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=app_share

AT least you know now for sure what it is and the steps to follow to get rid.
REally sorry to hear this, btw !!

Thank you @WickWood& @lljkkx