Bedbugs -- Back and Biting

Ivanhoe Newswire

By Heather Kohn, Ivanhoe Health Correspondent

PHILADELPHIA (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- The pests your mother may have warned you about are more reality than urban legend.

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There has been a resurgence of bedbug bites, and researchers presenting at the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology annual meeting in Philadelphia say they're often misdiagnosed as "allergic reactions."

Bedbugs, officially known as Cimex lectularius, are nocturnal bloodsucking parasites. Patients usually get itchy rashes or lesions from bites.

Researchers out of Brooklyn Saturday presented six cases of bedbug rashes. In one case, bedbugs were found under a patient's mattress, and another patient who had early morning rashes found a live bedbug in her workplace.

Fumigating patients' living spaces and getting rid of mattresses and bedding was usually the solution.

Researchers say health care practitioners should be vigilant to screen for bedbug bites in patients with a new refractory rash, particularly in patients traveling from developing countries.

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

SOURCE: Heather Kohn at the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology annual meeting in Philadelphia, Nov. 9-15, 2006