Bed Bug Rash – What they Look Like and How to Get Rid of Them

Last Updated on 23/10/2024 by Tony Abrahams

There’s nothing quite like the comfort of your own bed, but that comfort can be compromised by bed bugs. If your bedroom becomes infested with bed bugs it can lead to all manner of issues, with one of the major ones being bedbug rash, caused by bites that the bugs leave on your body when feeding.

Bed bugs feed on your blood, which means once your room becomes infested, bites from bed bugs are not uncommon. Bed bug bites aren’t just uncomfortable because of their itchiness and irritation, but they can also create a sense of anxiety and fear associated with the bedroom and sleep overall. With sleep being such an essential part of living a healthy life, bed bug rashes getting in the way of it is something that you can’t simply ignore.

We’ve put together this blog to explore bed bug rash in more detail, so you can know exactly what to look out for, along with how to treat it properly if you fall victim to it. Hopefully, by the end of this blog, you should be totally prepared for bed bug bites if it shows its ugly face in your bedroom!

What Does a Bed Bug Rash Look Like?

A bed bug rash is the result of bites, meaning the visual and physical results can also be known as bed bug bites, bumps, or pimples. The visual profile of bites is easy to identify, but can also easily be mistaken for other bug bites, natural marks, and skin conditions.

On paler skin, bed bug bites takes the form of small, raised, and red bumps, generally found in small clusters, lines, or even zig-zag patterns across the skin. On much darker skin, a bed bug rash might appear closer to a purple shade, which can make it a little harder to identify.

There are some other conditions that can be mistaken for bed bug rashes, such as flea bites, scabies, hives, heat, or even stress. The definitive features of bed bug rash (at least on pale skin) are that the marks will always be red and there will be no blistering, along with their presence mostly being found on the upper body. If bed bug bites develop further, your skin has a more adverse reaction to them, or if you scratch around the area a lot, the area around the bites can become redder and spread out.

Another important step in determining whether your itchiness is a result of bed bugs is by checking your bedsheets for stains. When bed bugs occupy your bed, they will often leave behind small traces of fecal matter. Along with this, they also fill up on blood and can often be squashed by your body while you’re sleeping, which will leave small blood stains. If you’re having trouble identifying the rash itself, follow the trail of stains.

Bed Bug Bites vs Rash

In literal terms, a bed bug rash is just another phrase to describe the effects of bed bug bites, which can look like many common skin issues that you might find on your body. However, bed bug rash does have defining factors that make it distinct from other reactions.

As stated before, not all bed bug bites will necessarily become a “bed bug rash”, as the spread of the reaction depends on your skin sensitivity, the degree to which you scratch around the bites, and how many bites you sustain.

Heat vs Bed Bug Rash

A rash that’s easy to mistake for the work of bed bugs is heat, which is usually caused by excessive sweating. The way to tell the difference is that heat rash generally appears in larger red patches and welts, which are dotted with small blisters and pimples, while a bed bug rash is more centered around the individual, and small clusters of bites, and is free from blisters.

How to Get Rid of a Bed Bug Rash

Once you notice bites, your primary prerogative needs to be getting rid of the bugs themselves, but for the time being it’s important to deal with the irritation and discomfort from the bites. When considering a treatment, there are various directions you can go in, ranging from the soothing of symptoms to treating the bite more permanently with chemicals.

The easiest ways to control rashes are to simply avoid scratching and to keep the area as clean as possible. To reduce the symptoms, you can cover the area with a wet, cool towel or piece of fabric, soothing the irritation in real time.

If you’re looking for medication, then perhaps a topical steroid bed bug cream is what you need, as it will help in real time and ease the effects of the bites. If your rash is more severe, it could be indicative of an allergic reaction, in which case you should take an antihistamine.

How Long Do The Bites Last?

This is a fairly complex question in a sense because there’s actually no guarantee that bedbug rash will ever be alleviated until the bed bugs themselves are eradicated. In the most literal terms, bedbug rash and bites will generally hang around on the body for around a week or two, but this is only from the freshest of new bites.

If you don’t deal with the problem at the source, i.e. the bugs themselves, then you could find yourself in a long and painful cycle of dealing with irritation from bites. A large infestation of bed bugs will feed every night, meaning a new week to two-week cycle of irritation from the bites could start every day that you allow them to remain in your home. With the treatments we’ve described above, bedbug rash could be eliminated sooner, but deal with the infestation directly to really solve the problem.

Bed Bug Bites Pictures

If you’re still unsure of what you should be looking for, you can view a bed bug rash picture from this collection below to get a stronger vision of the problem.

Are Bed Bugs Rashes Contagious?

While it may not be comfortable and can make your sleeping arrangements fairly complicated, bedbug rash and bites are not contagious. The only way to sustain these marks and bites is by getting bitten.

In a sense, if you plan on sharing an infested bed with a second party then you’re essentially creating a contagious environment in which the bites can spread, but you’re not going to pass on the marks to someone by giving them a hug.

Similarly, if you don’t deal with the infestation as soon as possible, there’s a good chance that the bed bugs will spread further throughout the house. which, if there’s more than one bedroom, means that other rooms will become infested. This is also a kind of contagious effect, as it will result in more bites and rashes amongst the residents of the home.

Bed Bug Bites Symptoms

While it’s almost impossible to feel a bed bug bite at the time, due to a natural anesthetic delivered by the bugs, you will certainly feel the symptoms of bedbug rash which are:

• Red bumps and bite marks
• Red patches around said bite marks
• Itchiness and discomfort
• Sleep anxiety and insomnia (as a result of association with the bugs and your bed)
• Serious illness (in severe allergic reactions)

While some of the treatments that we’ve described above can help with these symptoms, the most important thing is to eradicate the bugs themselves, ideally with a non-toxic bed bug treatment so as to not disrupt your home life too much.

What Next?

If you’re suffering from a bedbug rash or feel that your home might be infested, don’t waste any more time in solving the problem at the source. You can hire an exterminator, but we recommend using DIY solutions, as they’ll deal with the problem in a less disruptive manner. Non-toxic bed bug spray, powder, or heat treatment for bed bugs may well be all that you need to deal with the infestation without exposing yourself to harmful chemicals or making your home uninhabitable.

For the best organic DIY treatment, check out our bed bug products now.

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