The New Bed Bug: Watch out for the Kiss of Death
There is a new bed bug on the scene and it crawls onto your face and bites your lips and eyes at night during sleep. The Triatomines, affectionately known as “kissing bugs have made headlines lately. According to U.S. health officials, disease caused by these insects is on the rise, and in the long term can be quite serious causing an infection leading to Chagas disease
The Triatomines are 100 times more dangerous than the common bed bug because in the bug’s digestive system, live a nasty infectious parasite. and with every bite, it delivers a payload of deadly parasites into its host responsible for the onset of Chagas disease.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 300,000 Americans have Chagas disease, including 40,000 pregnant women, and prevalence is believed to be on the rise. The disease was initially reported in Texas in 2010, but has since been identified in 28 states.
Disturbingly, a 2014 study revealed 1 in 6,500 blood donors tested positive for Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite responsible for Chagas. In April 2010, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved two screening tests to screen blood, tissue and organ donations for the presence of Trypanosoma cruzi antibodies11 to prevent the spread of the disease.
Chagas often has no symptoms at first, according to the CDC, but it can lurk in the body for years and eventually cause serious problems such as an enlarged heart, enlarged colon, heart attacks and more.
Chagas disease can be transmitted to humans and animals alike. In humans, the disease has two manifestation phases: an acute phase, which can last for a few weeks or months, and a chronic phase, which can manifest up to 20 years.
While many have no symptoms at all during the acute phase, some may experience Fever, body aches, skin rash, diarrhea, local swelling, swollen glands and headaches. 30% of those infected will develop Chronic Chagas symptoms include Cardiac signs include enlarged heart, heart failure, altered heart rate, and/or cardiac arrest. Intestinal signs include an enlarged esophagus or colon, which can cause difficulties with digestion.
The Triatomines AKA kissing bug is nocturnal and like to hide in crevasses in your wall and other hideaway areas in and around your bed or couch and they like to go on the attack at night when you are sleep. Remember Kissing bugs feed on blood during the night, and they are called kissing bugs because they prefer to bite humans around the mouth or eyes.
Can you prevent the triatomines from biting you or make yourself less of a target at night during sleep? Citronella oil appears to be a promising potential repellent to prevent sleeping people from being bitten by kissing bugs. .. Remember bed bugs have become a growing problem and can pose a danger to your health, however, an ounce of prevention may be all you need to keep these nasty little kissers off you at night.
