Question
child with bite marks
We stayed in a hotel recently and when we woke up we had strange insect bite marks on us (mine and my husbands were on our torso). My daughter particularly on her face. It was very cold outside, the windows were closed and there were no mosquitos at this time of year. I have seen fleas before, from my cat, and there were none on the bed and the bite marks did not look like a flea bite. I have been bitten by fleas before and there was a dark dot in the center. These bites looked more like mosquito bites. They started to fade after about a week and my husbands and mine were a little itchy but not terrible and my daughter didn't seem bothered by them. We saw no insects in the room. The white bottom sheet was too small for the matress and underneath was a 1970's style matress in a dark colored uhholstery so it was difficuilt to see. Any information you can give would be helpful. Since we returned from our trip we haven't experienced the problem again.
Do you have an idea what they could be and should we be concerned?
I have attached a picture that shows a few of the bites.
AnswerAlison,
What you describe is entirely consistent with bed bug bites (bite appearance, bite locations, recent stay in hotel). See http://www.livingwithbugs.com/bed_bug.html for general information about bed bugs. Bed bugs do not carry any diseases and the bites will heal on their own. Bed bugs can move from place to place on belongings (follow the link on the page cited above) so you'll want to check your home to make sure none hitched a ride. Also, contact the hotel in question and let them know what you suspect.
Post a follow up if you have questions.
Jack DeAngelis
http://www.livingwithbugs.com
http://livingwithbugs.blogspot.com/index.html
