Welcome to the pages of my blog! If you have ever taken a pet home from the street, then you are probably familiar with all the procedures for treating it from parasites. Of course, each animal must first be treated for worms and fleas.
And in this regard, many people have a question whether a person may have fleas: suddenly they decide to “move” from a dog or a cat to its new owner. The fear is justified, which means that this point needs to be explained in detail. All the nuances are in my article!
The content of the article:
Do fleas live in humans
Fleas in pets are not unpredictable. If your pet is free to walk outside and in contact with other cats or dogs, then he will most likely bring bloodsucking insects home.
Do they pose a potential danger to humans? Most will say no. In fact, any warm-blooded can be bitten, especially if fleas are hungry. Today we’ll talk about whether fleas live in humans, in more detail.
Varieties
It is believed that these insects are transmitted from cats and dogs to other pets, and people bite only by accident. Let's get it together. Today, there are only two varieties of the human flea:
- Tunga penetrans (this species, fortunately, practically does not occur here) - a serious disease develops when representatives attack. The fact is that the female lays offspring, biting under the skin.
- Pulex irritans - These fleas can live almost everywhere.
In addition to them, there are about 30 varieties that can live in an apartment for a long time.
- These are rat, European, which most often parasitize on domestic mice.
- Southern rats carry the plague. They live on rodents, but bite a person.
- Dogs, unlike everyone else, constantly live on their master. Most of you are well aware of these representatives of the species, as they are often seen on pets.
Do fleas live in humans? No, they do not live. Why are people periodically attacked by these insects and suffer from their bites? The answers to these questions lie in the biology of the blood-sucking creature.
Parasite biology
In nature, they live on the earth and visit their owners only at the time of feeding. Bloodsuckers can use a person as a source of food, but they will not live on it.
If fleas have chosen an apartment, they will lay eggs in separate corners that they like. From them appear larvae that feed on organic debris.
In uncleaned dog litter there are usually more of them than necessary. The larva turns into a chrysalis, from which an adult emerges.
It is she who, getting out in search of food, can in passing bite anyone. It becomes clear whether fleas live in humans. They cannot spend a long time on the human body.
Unlike a dog or cat, he does not have hair, and she simply has nowhere to hide.The longest they can linger on the head in the hair, but can not live like that.
Usually, having bitten their victim and received a dose of fresh blood, they leave their temporary “master” and return to the floor, to the bedding or to a nook.
Flea bites
If you still have doubts about whether fleas live on people, then you can safely forget about them. They do not have suction cups or hooks with which insects could be held on the body.
They will bite anyone. The only selection criterion is warm-bloodedness. Therefore, the question of whether fleas pass to humans can be considered in two ways.
They will not live on it, but they will not refuse to feast on blood. Only availability matters. By the way, bloodsuckers are always more active in the warm season, in hot weather.
What you should know about
In order to understand in time what you are dealing with, you need to know what flea bites look like in a person. Only in this way you can distinguish them from mosquito bites, bedbugs or allergic reactions to food.
Its intensity will depend on the individual characteristics and inclinations of a person. In addition to the fact that the affected area itches, it also hurts a lot.
Since flea bites in humans look like mosquitoes, it is the painfulness of the bitten area that makes it possible to understand that this is a trace from another insect.
Unlike mosquitoes, these bloodsuckers do not inject an anesthetic. Instead, only irritating saliva enters the body.
Individual characteristics
Of course, each person will have a reaction. There are people completely insensitive. They simply will not notice the bite and will claim that their fleas did not bite. Other family members who do not possess this property of the body may notice mild discomfort.
The worst for allergy sufferers. On their body, each bite will turn into a huge bladder that will itch and hurt. Antihistamines will help to improve the condition, but the problem will not go away completely.
The dangers
But in itself, redness of the skin area does not pose any threat to life and health. What are fleas dangerous to humans? The fact is that these bloodsuckers are carriers of terrible diseases.
The probability of meeting such a person in your home is negligible. But we must not forget the danger of fleas for humans. Every year, thousands of cases are recorded in the world when a flea bite became the cause of a dangerous ailment. The next danger is the appearance of an allergy to flea enzymes.
If the affected area is swollen and itchy, it is worth being wary. Therefore, if you suspect that parasites are wound up in the house, start fighting them immediately.
Fleas multiply rapidly, and the more insects that live near you, the higher the chance of being bitten.
Transmission Methods
There are many myths around these insects. Until now, animal lovers argue among themselves whether cat fleas can pass to humans. Contrary to popular belief, these parasites are not transmitted to humans from animals.
But from the latter they settle on the bedding, in the cracks of the wooden floor, and from there they attack the master of the house. And even if there are no pets at home, this does not mean that a person will not be attacked by parasites.
They make their way to the apartment through basements, attics or through rodents.Fleas feel great in crevices and secluded places. That is wherever it is warm and humid.
For insects, warm-blooded animals matter not only as a source of fresh blood, but also as a transport. They transport bloodsuckers from place to place.
What to do
How to get rid of fleas in an apartment? This is a complex and multifaceted question. Today, with the advent of modern insecticides, humans can defeat parasites in the shortest possible time, but there is no guarantee that insects will not return again soon.
Since you can get rid of fleas in an apartment only by discovering all the places of their reproduction, you will have to work hard and wipe all the corners.
Plain water may not be enough. In order for the treatment to be successful, all surfaces must be treated with a solution of Butoks or Neostomazana or their analogues. They are sold in veterinary pharmacies without a prescription and are provided with detailed instructions.
Instruction for action
You can get rid of insects in the apartment with the help of various drugs that are freely available today. This "Raptor" and "Raid", "Combat" and a number of analogues.
Throw away all the garbage at once, because insect larvae can remain in the dust. Just in case, process an apartment or a house twice. If fleas settled in a person’s hair, be sure to treat them with a special shampoo.
Pet protection
Dogs and cats must wear collars with deterrent components or use special drops. If you do not allow the appearance of insects in your pets, then the chances of being bitten by a person are much less.
Cat fleas in humans in most cases appear when their pets go for a walk to visit less well-groomed representatives of the genus.
To understand if pets have parasites, it is enough to observe their behavior. A flea allergy in humans is expressed as scratching on the body, redness on the skin.
In animals, in principle, everything is the same. Due to dermatitis, they have a “flea triangle”, that is, a zone of baldness on the croup. If, in addition to the parasites themselves, such a reaction is observed, then glucocorticoids are additionally prescribed.
Conclusion
There are no separate ways to get rid of fleas in humans. But this is understandable, because bloodsuckers do not live on our body. It is simply not recommended to comb the wounds so that they do not get infection.
It is better to treat bites with any disinfectant solution. When itching, you may need to use any soothing ointment.
And in any case, it is much easier to prevent them from appearing in your home. If prevention has not yielded results, it will be necessary to make every effort so that the treatment is single and effective.
Fleas in humans
Most of us naively believe that fleas only bother animals, live in their hair and, biting them, feed on the host’s blood, without touching people.
But man is also a mammal, therefore he is not deprived of flea attention either. Moreover, science knows precisely the human flea under the name “Pulex irritans”.
Worse, not only is it capable of taking a fancy to the human body for its constant nutrition, but also fleas of other species that usually live on rodents, birds, dogs and cats.
Fleas of cattle and small cattle, chickens, geese, rabbits brought from the courtyard into the house, having left their previous owners, successfully rebuild and settle for a long time in the people's dwelling, now feeding on their blood.
What do fleas bite a person look like
Many, suspecting a parasite bite on their body, begin to look for the culprit, while not knowing how the fleas actually look in people.
Having caught the parasite, it is necessary to carefully consider it in order to understand whether it is a flea or another insect. It is interesting that fleas in humans are almost indistinguishable from fleas in other warm-blooded animals and look similar. Only a specialist armed with a magnifying glass or a microscope can determine the specific type of pest.
Evolution served the parasite, providing a wonderful body structure so that the pest virtuously jumped, held tightly, bit through the skin and instantly hid after blood saturation, remaining almost elusive to the host.
- Fleas that can bite people look rather flattened from the sides, so it’s very difficult to catch and crush the bloodsucker. This form promotes easy movement in a fleecy environment.
- The apparatus of the extremities, consisting of 3 pairs of paws covered with bristles, is formed in such a way that the pest can jump up to half a meter and a height of up to 30 cm, hold well in wool, hair, feathers, on clothes, move easily and quickly, changing as you like angle of inclination and movement.
- The body is small, only 5 mm long, depending on the species, in all shades of brown, devoid of wings, covered with bristles, ridges and spikes. In females, during egg laying due to an increase in the abdomen, the body can lengthen.
- A powerful stabbing and sucking apparatus is superbly developed and adapted to a parasitic lifestyle.
- Outwardly, with the naked eye, pests resemble brown grains, and only incredible mobility gives them away.
The larvae, eggs and pupa of the parasite look quite different, but it will also be useful to arm themselves with these ideas.
- The eggs are very small, whitish and translucent, when viewed through a magnifying glass they look like rice grains.
- The larvae resemble worms, white after exiting an egg and with a black strip of a dark, food-filled esophagus. Active and mobile.
- Pupa of the parasite changes size during maturation. If at first it is very small, then by the end it becomes the size of an adult. Motionless. In a state of cocoon, it is able to wait through difficult times for a long time, demonstrating the wonders of survival.
If larvae, cocoons or eggs are found within the home, this is a sure sign that pests have settled in the house.
Bloodsuckers move so rapidly that they can be seen on the body of people only at the time of a bite and blood saturation.
Symptoms of flea bites
Unlike some other bloodsuckers, which, when bitten, inject anesthetic into the victim’s body, the flea does not have this property. Therefore, a flea bite in a person causes a number of obvious symptoms and consequences.
Subjective sensations during a flea attack.
- Pain during a bite.
- Severe itching immediately after it, lasting from an hour to several hours.
- External signs of flea bites.
- Swelling at the site of the prokus.
- A small internal hemorrhage under the wound, which is noticeable for several days.
The consequences of flea bites.
- Allergic manifestations.
- Pulicosis (skin lesion after a bite exclusively by a human flea).
- Infiltration of bite sites, suppuration.
- Dermatitis.
Threat to humans with flea bites.
- Helminth infection.
- Infection with dangerous infections (their science at the moment has already counted about 200).
In order not to confuse the flea attack with other skin lesions, it must be taken into account that this bloodsucker bites mainly at the feet no higher than the knees, and only if a person is sleeping, then the localization of bites can spread to the whole body. As a rule, the parasite makes 2 - 3 punctures not far from each other.
Causes of a Flea Attack
Not only human fleas, but also other species, can attack a person. The only difference between them is that the human parasite prefers human blood from all types of mammals as a source of constant food.
In fact, the parasite only jumps on the owner to bite him and get enough blood, after which he quickly leaves the affected area and tries to hide in hard-to-reach places, but closer to the owner. Here, in the immediate vicinity of the source of their food, bloodsuckers breed and lay offspring.
The appearance of fleas in a house or apartment is not uncommon, especially if there are pets. But even in their absence, an insect can enter the house with shoes or clothes. In the same way, eggs, larvae and cocoons of fleas enter the human home.
Flea Bite Treatment
Immediately after detecting a wound from a bite, the affected area must be treated with an antiseptic:
- iodine;
- greens;
- alcohol
- hydrogen peroxide.
If there are signs of an allergy, then you need to take antihistamines and sedatives. The best way out for serious symptoms is to see a doctor.
For prevention in hiking, camping, staying on a farm or in the field, hunting, it is best to use special creams and sprays with repellent and wear trousers to protect your legs. And of course, a set of measures will be needed to completely eradicate fleas in the home.
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Fleas in humans
Fleas have been “accompanying” a person’s life since the very time when his first pet appeared. Usually these blood-sucking insects parasitize on our pets - cats and dogs, and therefore we inevitably encounter them.
Although they adapt to specific animals, with a lack of food, human blood is also suitable for parasites. Therefore, our article is about what an insect is and how it spreads, what harm it does to a person and whether it is possible to get rid of fleas once and for all.
Flea appearance
These are small insects, so it is not always possible to immediately notice them. Flea bites are painful, and the bite site is “indicated” by a pink spot.
The fertilized female reaches a large size - up to 1.5 cm. The body is divided into the head and abdomen, protected by a chitinous membrane. Under a microscope, a flea resembles a shrimp.
This is the most convenient body shape, because it helps to move faster on wool or feathers, to hide in secluded places.
Three pairs of strong limbs allow her to jump. There are claws on the limbs so that you can cling to the coat or any surface.
The life span of the parasite is from several months to 3 years. How long an insect will live is related to the ambient temperature.
High temperatures shorten life expectancy, low temperatures prolong it, since in cool conditions the life cycle proceeds slowly.
The eyes are on the head, above which are the antennae. They are needed so that the male can hold the female during mating.
The rest of the time they do not fulfill any role. Spikes and bristles covering the skin are a kind of protection, thanks to which it is almost impossible to comb out a flea.
It injects saliva into the flea’s wound so that blood does not clot. She penetrates her whole body in search of a blood vessel. The parasite in one bite is fully saturated, increasing in size.
Fleas have a special sensory organ - the pygidium, located on the abdomen, in the back of it. The pygidium is covered with hairs that are sensitive and react to any fluctuations in air, giving a warning signal of danger.
Types of fleas and their danger to humans
We will only talk about those types of fleas that live in our homes. This is a cat, dog and human flea. What is their difference?
- Cat flea: most common among the flea kingdom. On an animal, it looks like small lumps of dirt. Dark secretions (excrement) also remain on the coat. Eggs resembling white grains are laid by the female in the crevices of the floors, in the upholstery of upholstered furniture, under carpets. It differs from the rest in a flat body and a tiny head. Are cat fleas dangerous to humans? They feed on his blood when there is no main host nearby.
- Dog flea: parasitizes on dogs, but cats, horses. The body is slightly flattened on the sides. It does not often visit a person, but with severe hunger it does not disdain human blood. She jumps far enough: three times further than she sees. The bristles allow a good hold on the hair of the owner.
- Human flea: Most often it feeds on a person’s expense, especially if a characteristic odor emanates from him and the hairline is quite rich. Fleas on a person may not be long, moving to cats or dogs. Signs of an “attack” are the presence of small wounds that are very itchy. You can also notice a small dark dot on the body, this is a sucking parasite, which absorbs blood with pleasure.
Flea lives without food for 1-3 months. In this case, the insect does not fall into suspended animation, but simply becomes less active and does not multiply.
When favorable conditions arise, the parasite comes to life and begins to feed on those warm-blooded that are nearby.
Are fleas dangerous to humans? A bite is not always dangerous, only in some cases it leads to sad consequences. The real threat is that having bitten another animal, and then a person, a flea is capable of transmitting infections, infecting all its potential victims.
Signs of a Parasite
Do fleas live in humans? Constantly - no, parasites live on pet hair for a long time. They visit a person to eat a hearty and satisfying meal, and then they can move to a cat or to the pile of a carpet. These are not lice that constantly inhabit the body.
Vampire fleas only quench their thirst, after which the female can hide in a secluded, dark and moist place for laying eggs. Males can live in animal litter or litter.
Therefore, contaminated bedding, basements, garbage cans can be a source of danger, where the attack will come from.
All the nooks where annoying blood-sucking animals are hiding are located close to warm-blooded animals and humans. They remain invisible and disappear after a bite.
How fleas bite has been described before. If the skin is sensitive, then the bite can be painful and small reddish spots appear on the body. Fleas will attack constantly, so you need to know where they live:
- in the crevices of the floor between the boards,
- under the baseboard or threshold
- in pile of carpets and upholstered furniture,
- in linen and bedspreads, especially fluffy,
- in pantries and basements,
- in the litter of pets.
Here they can breed by laying eggs and attack their potential victims.
If this happens en masse, then large colonies develop. Up to 200 individuals can “live” in the hair of one animal.
What are fleas dangerous to humans?
The bite is sensitive, because an enzyme gets into the wound with the saliva of a small vampire, thanks to which the blood does not clot. Therefore, a flea can get enough of it.
A small spot of pink color remains at the site of the bite, which causes severe itching. Most often, bites are clearly visible on the legs.
They are located in bulk, in the form of medium-sized pink dots a few centimeters apart. Flea bites are noticeable in other parts of the body: most often on the arms, neck and armpits.
If flea bites are actually present on a person, then there is tar tar and flea shampoo intended for people. If pink wounds are found on the child’s body, consult a doctor.
Depending on the individual characteristics, various lesions occur on the skin:
- allergies of varying severity,
- tumors at the site of the bite,
- edema occurs and internal hemorrhages are possible,
- wounds become infected and ulcers form,
- dermatitis develops.
Before fleas bite people, they can parasitize on other animals, transmitting infections and becoming pathogens of diseases: plague, typhoid, tularemia, salmonellosis, hepatitis B and C. They can also transmit helminth eggs, which also leads to the development of parasites inside the body .
In 20-50 days, under favorable conditions, the flea turns into an adult. At low humidity, the larva dies.
How to get rid of fleas and whether they can be destroyed
It is impossible to defend oneself from bites; pets and housing should be cleaned of “uninvited guests”. The first thing to start is to check cats and dogs for fleas.
They can not be seen, but insect excrement is clearly visible on the wool. From wool they are perfectly removed. You only need to purchase special sprays or gels, shampoos, flea collars from pet stores. Having treated with a spray, you should put on a collar so that your pet does not become infected again.
It is especially necessary to process fleecy fabrics: carpets, rugs, bedspreads. Litter on which pets slept is better to destroy.
You should pay attention to any cracks, skirting boards, holes in the walls where annoying insects can hide. To begin with, you should thoroughly vacuum the house, and then proceed to pickling.
You should turn off the heaters, take out pets, carefully pack food, and it is advisable for the owners of the apartment to leave the house for a couple of days, since most of the funds for fleas are toxic. Treatment should be repeated after 2 weeks, since the larval stage of the flea is quite long.
Remedies for fleas in humans
The choice of tools for processing the home is relatively small due to the food specialization of insects. They will not eat the poisoned bait, their food is blood. If fleas in a person settled in an apartment, then they are destroyed using two substances that have different effects:
- Sprays and aerosols that penetrate the body of the parasite with air. Due to the quick action, getting rid of fleas will not be difficult.
- Powders and suspensions penetrating insect chitinous coatings. They do not act so fast, he thoroughly, destroying all parasites.
The most popular flea spray is Raptor. Also used for disinfection are Sulfac, Chlorpyrimark, Tetrix, Effektiv ultra. After treatment, the apartment should be thoroughly washed to destroy the remnants of toxic drugs.
It is not necessary to use any poisonous agents that have fallen on hand. This will not only fail to produce results, but can also lead to flea mutations and it will be even more difficult to remove them later.
After processing, security officials will explain how to clean the room of toxic substances, give guarantees, and if necessary, re-process.
After processing and cleaning the apartment for the purpose of prevention, we place in the corners, along the baseboards, under the carpets, fresh or dry wormwood with inflorescences.
Spraying the room and tincture of tansy will help. They can not only scare away, but also partially destroy insects.
Bite treatment
The general sequence of actions after you have been bitten by fleas is as follows:
- disinfection of the wound with an antiseptic,
- removal of inflammation with a cold compress,
- applying funds to stop itching and irritation.
If bitten places are very itchy and inflamed, then first aid is necessary:
- Wipe the bite with water using soap. You can use Boro-plus antiseptics or Calamine Lotion.
- We remove the inflammation with a solution of apple cider vinegar with water (1: 1) or ice cubes wrapped in a napkin and attached to the bite site.
- To remove itching, we treat the place of combing with a solution of baking soda of a weak concentration. To do this, add 1 tsp in 200 ml of water. soda and periodically wipe the wounds.
- If necessary, use pharmacy creams, which indicate that they are intended for insect bites. For the use of other medicines, a doctor's consultation is necessary.
- We use traditional medicine. We make lotions from dandelion juice, calendula, parsley, plantain (each separately). Good help from inflammation and a strong decoction of green tea.
Usually these measures help well, and no further assistance is required. But with a strong allergic reaction or intoxication, you can not do without the help of a doctor. If the wounds began to fester, the temperature rose, urticaria appeared, then you need to call an ambulance.
But such cases are the exception rather than the rule. The answer to the question of whether fleas bite people is obvious. This is a fact you cannot argue with. But you should not be scared.
Modern means of controlling insect parasites are quite effective, and bites most often pass through a short time.
The main thing is to keep your apartment and pets clean, observing preventive measures. And then acquaintance with vampire fleas can be avoided.
Can fleas live on humans
Flea is the most famous parasite, the carrier of which is mainly animals and birds. The objects of their attack can be any warm-blooded creatures.
And people are no exception. However, the opinion that fleas can live on a person does not give many rest. Let's see if this is wrong or not.
In what conditions do fleas live?
The main way of moving these insects is with powerful paws, which allow them to strongly repel, moving at lightning speed to another part of the body or other carrier. And the answer to the question of whether fleas jump on people is quite obvious - yes.
Man serves them exclusively as a source of food. Therefore, if an insect is hungry, it begins to search for food.
In this case, fleas jump on any animal or bird that is within their reach. If there are none, then they can be replaced by people.
This explains the cases when fleas are found in the hair of a person or on the body. Woolen and feather cover - the optimal environment for their habitat.
The objects of the deployment of fleas are:
- places of keeping / living animals and birds (in wild conditions, parasites settle in bird nests, burrows of rodents and other mammals, in domestic ones - directly on the litter of pets or in places of their frequent stay);
- basement and attic rooms, pantries and other areas where there is a large accumulation of dust, as well as objects having fabric upholstery (upholstered furniture, carpets with dense pile, etc.);
- animal hairline.
Do people have fleas? No, they don’t. They can bite a person, but constant stay on the body is excluded. This is due to the lack of optimal conditions for their habitation, namely, an extensive and dense hairline, where you can hide.
Most often, the insects that settled on the pet do not react at all to the proximity of a person, since they have an abundance of food.
For the same reason, they do not leave the object of their comfortable stay. The attack is carried out only by hungry individuals, which can be brought into the home from the street.
Do fleas live in humans
Cases where parasites start where animals are absent are not uncommon. Fleas on the human body appear periodically only when the insect is hungry.
There is no big difference between the types of parasites. The priority food of the human flea is, accordingly, human blood.
However, in the absence of a suitable object nearby, the parasite will attack the animal. And vice versa. Dog, cat, rat and other varieties of insects in the absence of the required food source will bite people.
So, constantly fleas on a person can not be. Parasites make periodic raids to satisfy their hunger. The situation is different with animals.
If insects have found a comfortable habitat, they will remain there. Therefore, it is very important to take timely measures to eliminate them, both from the animal and from all the territory close to it. Ideally, even if the fleas are only on the pet, it is better to carry out insecticidal treatment throughout the house.
Why don't fleas live in humans? Because:
- human body temperature is slightly lower than in animals;
- people lack the necessary external cover in which insects could hide and stay for a long time (human hair does not have the density and density inherent in animals);
- regular hygiene procedures make prolonged exposure of the parasite to the skin impossible.
Given the above facts, the question of whether fleas can live in human hair can be considered a rhetorical one. Can not. However, they jump well, so it is not difficult for them to be in public at any time.
Another thing is whether flea bites are dangerous for humans. And here the answer is clear - yes. Since insects parasitize on various carriers, they are carriers of a wide variety of diseases, ranging from encephalitis and hepatitis, and ending with plague, anthrax and typhoid. Of particular danger are rat and chicken species.
It is worth noting that the possibility of the appearance of other species of fleas in domestic animals is minimal. Especially in the city. The situation is more complicated for villagers who livestock and poultry, as well as owners of private houses.
In order to prevent the occurrence of insects, experts recommend that preventive treatment of the residential and surrounding areas (livestock) is carried out.
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