Cockroach bites on a person: how they look, danger, than treatment

Good day! I am regularly asked about all aspects of the dangers of domestic parasites, and cockroaches are one of the leaders in the number of questions.

Relatively recently I received a question, they say, how to distinguish bites from cockroaches in humans from other insects or even allergies. I suggest starting with the basics! Do cockroaches bite in principle? And what do cockroaches eat?

I’ll calm down right away, with the risk of being eaten by cockroaches, no one speaks alive! Nevertheless, one must be able to recognize cockroach bites in order to do something about them in time.

Cockroach bite

Greetings, dear readers. In today's article, let's talk about the ability of cockroaches to bite people. The debate around this issue does not subside as much as arthropods live next to humans.

Someone thinks that red-haired ancestors do not bite, someone is sure that at night they leave their shelters in order to profit from human skin. Who is right?

I will tell you whether cockroaches bite people, how, when, and why they do it. You will learn how the bite of a cockroach looks, what troubles it can cause to a person, and also how to avoid these troubles if you are still bitten.

At the same time I will tell you how to protect yourself from arthropod cannibals if they still settled in your apartment.

Why cockroaches bite people

If you still do not know for sure whether the Prusak can bite a person, I will tell you how else he can. But why are they doing this?

Fortunately, this rarely happens, and for an insect to leave the kitchen and decide to crawl into your bed there must be several good reasons. The Prussians are nimble and fearful creatures; they rarely purposefully go out to a person. Only hunger or thirst can make them do this.

• In conditions of insufficient food in the apartment, cockroaches in search of food crawl into bed with a sleeping person and gnaw at the skin on their fingertips and ears. It is at these places that the skin is soft and delicate and easily succumb to cockroach jaws.
• The Prussians can live without food, but not without water. The lack of fluid in the usual places forces arthropods to look for it in other locations. An alternative source of moisture can be the mucous membranes of the lips and nose, which insects bite while a person is sleeping.

It sounds pretty creepy and implausible, because a cockroach is a small and seemingly weak creature. In fact, cockroach mandibles can tear a piece from almost any material - it is not for nothing that they can eat wallpaper glue, shoe leather, binding or book pages during a shortage of normal food.

If necessary, arthropods can profit from the skin of an adult, but they prefer the delicate and soft skin of babies.

If you are still not particularly worried about the presence of insects in the apartment and cannot find a single weighty argument in favor of disinfestation, think about this: regular bites in the same places turn into unhealed wounds, and this is a kind of portal for all kinds of infections, which abound on the legs of the Prussians.

How to recognize a cockroach bite

Many thousands of insect species live on our planet, and many of them are potentially dangerous to humans just because they know how to bite.

Cockroaches also belong to the group of arthropod-cannibals (of course, this is a comic designation), however, few know about it. I will tell you what a cockroach bite looks like, so you can draw the right conclusions and take the necessary measures.

1. Most often, bites are located on the neck, eyelids, skin of the fingers, around the nose and lips. If a child is bitten, the trace can be anywhere - all parts of the body of the babies are equally tender.
2. The bitten skin turns red, thickens, begins to itch and peel.
3. A crimson spot with a diameter of several centimeters is formed around the bite, while it can be somewhat hard to the touch or slightly warmer than other areas of the skin.
4. In the center of this spot there is a crust - it is formed in the process of wound healing.
5. When you click on the bite, the victim experiences pain.
6. Bites are localized in one area - it is extremely rare that they are distributed, most often in one place the skin is bitten several times.

What are dangerous cockroach bites?

As you probably know, the Prussians do not enter our apartments by air. They come from basements, climb from ventilation shafts and sewer risers.

It’s scary to imagine what this creature ate and what it touched before settling in your kitchen. Cockroaches are carriers of many bacteria and infections, including:

• helminthiasis;
• salmonellosis;
• dysentery;
• enterovirus;
• tuberculosis;
• gastroenteritis.

I have listed only a small percentage of all the surprises that the Prussians can do for you. It’s one thing if they live behind the baseboard and eat leftover food in the bin, and another thing is a prolific colony that crawls around your products, dishes, cutlery, toothbrush and you yourself.

So, cockroach bites are dangerous for the following reasons:

1. The bite site becomes red, swollen and inflamed. A person experiences discomfort, itching and even pain, scratches the wound, which injures the skin and opens the gate to new infections.
2. A cockroach moves in the dirtiest places, so it can easily infect its victim with typhoid or helminths.
3. A bite can provoke a severe allergic reaction, especially in a child.
4. An insect can creep into the ear or nose of a sleeping person, and the consequences for this can be most unpredictable - up to complete hearing loss

Can a cockroach really creep into the ear of a sleeping person?

Surely you know about the addiction of the Prussians to dark and secluded places, so what is worse than our ears? It is not exactly clear why arthropods crawl into the auditory canals, the most likely versions are as follows:

• the Prussians love to feast on earwax;
• try to find shelter and hide;
• freezing and looking for a warm secluded place

For whatever reason, the cockroach did not crawl into the ear canal, it will not be able to get out on its own - inside it is too cramped for the insect to turn around, and they cannot back off.

When a living creature is in the ear and moves, the person experiences severe pain.A panicking cockroach bites and starts trying to get out of a dangerous place, and since it cannot move back, it tries to climb even deeper.

It is difficult and dangerous to independently extract an insect from the ear - you can do even more harm to yourself. The best solution would be to contact a specialist - this may be an ENT doctor in a clinic or even an emergency trauma surgeon.

The doctor will get an insect and prescribe antibacterial therapy to prevent the development of inflammation. Observe the destination regardless of whether you feel disturbing symptoms or not.

What to do if you are bitten by cockroaches

Firstly, you need to add to your list of cases the purchase of an insecticidal agent and measures to destroy the Prussians. Secondly, wounds need to be healed. Do this as follows:

1. The bite site is generously treated with any antiseptic drug: iodine, hydrogen peroxide, a special liquid.
2. A suitable agent is applied to the wound that can remove the tooth, swelling and redness.
3. If the victim is prone to allergies, it will be useful to give him an antihistamine - this will save the poor man from the dangerous consequences of a bite.

It happens that all of the above manipulations do not help and the bite site does not heal for several days. This happens because of our individual characteristics - immunity, a tendency to allergies and more. In such a situation, a visit to the doctor will be the best solution, he will select the drugs and prescribe treatment.

How to protect yourself from bites

Many encounter cockroaches in their apartments. If this happens, it is necessary to take measures to kill insects as soon as possible.

Different means have different validity periods, and until the Prussians are completely exterminated, it makes sense to do everything possible to protect themselves and households from bites.

Cockroaches have a very developed sense of smell, and there are smells that these creatures simply cannot stand:

• anise;
• mint;
• eucalyptus;
• laurel noble;
• tea tree;
• cedar.

The aroma of these plants will scare away insects - they will not even step one step where it smells like mint or anise. You can scent a room in several ways, but all of them are somehow connected with the use of essential oils. Choose any of these odors based on your personal preferences.

1. Use pure essential oil. It can be bought at a pharmacy or cosmetics store. A few drops are applied to the legs and the head of the bed, near the doors, on the windowsill, etc.
2. Prepare a fragrant spray and treat the room. To do this, add a few drops of smelling oil to a glass of water at room temperature, pour the solution into a spray bottle and spray it around the room.
3. A good way to fill the apartment with a light aroma of essential oils is to use a home aroma lamp. This device is a construction from a bowl where oil is poured, and places for a candle. A burning candle heats the bowl, and the oil gives off the aroma faster, filling the apartment with a pleasant smell, disgusting for insects, for humans.

This is a good way to prevent the bite of the Prussians at night. The only caveat is that all oils in one way or another affect a person’s well-being: some smells relax, others, on the contrary, excite the nervous system.

Someone aromatherapy provokes a headache. So monitor your well-being and pick up a smell that will not cause you discomfort.

How cockroaches bite

Fleas and bedbugs after a bite on a person’s body leave a bloody spot around which the skin is inflamed. Cockroaches do not bite, but gnaw at human skin and leave behind wounds with slightly torn edges.

Insect tissues, harmful dust particles and pathogens present on the pest's oral apparatus can cause infection and an allergic reaction if they enter the wound during a bite.

During and after a bite, a person feels discomfort and a slight tingling sensation. When viewed under a microscope, a deep bite covered with a crust can be recorded.

Bruising and fragments of dried lymph are observed inside the wound. Cockroach bites are painful, the appearance of itching after a bite indicates infection of the wound.

Regeneration after a cockroach bite is a rather lengthy process, since the upper layer of the epidermis is affected. To quickly restore the integrity of the skin, it is necessary to treat the wound with an antiseptic solution.

Reasons for attacking a person

The reasons why cockroaches attack people are starvation, lack of access to water and an increase in pest populations. Cockroaches without water can survive no longer than 2 days.

The reason for the attack of cockroaches on humans can also be a shortage of food, due to the large number of insects in this room, when food and water are not enough for everyone.

What to do with bites, first aid

The secret of cockroaches contains a special protein that, when bitten, enters the human body and can cause a severe allergic reaction.

Allergies can occur in different ways, depending on the resistance of a person's immunity to protein. In the early days, an allergy may look like hives, after which lead to asthmatic attacks.

An insect bite can also cause:

• Numerous inflammatory foci at the site of skin damage. On the surface of the inflammation, crusts form, and as a result, scars. A bite can provoke the development of dermatitis, accompanied by redness and irritation. Such consequences are caused by the bites of red cockroaches that live at home and bite a person in a dream.
• The development of serious diseases like dysentery, tuberculosis. Red cockroaches are the carrier of bacteria of these pathologies.
• The occurrence of erosion, papules, blisters. Such consequences appear after a bite of American and Egyptian cockroaches. The bites of these pests are painful, often after a bite purulent crusts form. If the victim has weakened immunity, the bite site heals for a long time, turning into a form of ulcers.

A cockroach bite requires quick and immediate treatment. A dermatologist is involved in the treatment. If a cockroach bite is found, it is urgent to provide first aid.

It is necessary to treat the wound with an antiseptic to prevent infection. To soften the skin and relieve irritation, ointment or moisturizer is recommended. If the victim is prone to allergies, any antihistamine should be given to him.

Favorite Bites

Cockroaches can bite any part of the body, but especially often they bite their hands and face. Since the task of the pest is to find water and food debris, those parts of the body that come into contact with food are at risk.

More often than other sites, cockroaches bite the area of ​​the fingers, around the nail, the corners of the mouth, the area of ​​the cheeks and lower jaw, lips. The wounds on the lips heal for a long time, constant contact with food irritates the wound and creates conditions that inhibit the regeneration process.

Food residues often contribute to the development of infectious processes in the tissues of the lips. Cockroaches are often chosen as a victim of infants, due to the abundance of infant formula or breast milk in the baby's mouth.

The child reacts to discomfort with a loud cry.A cockroach bite is especially dangerous for newborns, since their immune system is not fully formed and the likelihood of an allergic reaction is high. To prevent attacks of cockroaches on children, timely hygiene procedures are required.

What is the danger of a bite?

The danger of bites lies in the possible penetration of a serious infection. Under a dried crust, an inflammatory process often develops.

Cockroaches are a carrier of various parasitic, fungal and intestinal infections. The latter can develop as a result of eating foods with pest excrement.

Rarely, but there is a likelihood of a dangerous disease - myiasis. The disease consists in the penetration of the cockroach larva into the thickness of the skin and its further development.

They treat myiasis operatively, drying out a larva with healthy tissue structures and applying an antiseptic dressing. Often a bite wound becomes infected as a result of scratching or the presence of pathogens on the legs of a cockroach. Cockroach saliva contains toxic components that can cause a severe allergic reaction.

Myths about cockroach bites

Opinions about cockroaches are common, which are often not true.

1. The first myth. Many believe that since the radiation that they accumulate in themselves is not harmful to cockroaches, their bites can cause mutations. The truth is that these mustachioed pests withstand radiation that exceeds the permissible amount for humans by 15 times. But the accumulation and mutation as a result of a bite is from a series of fantasies.
2. The second myth. There is an opinion that cockroaches like to eat earwax, nails and human hair. In fact, cockroaches are omnivorous, and can bite a sleeping person in any place. They can creep into the ears of a person, creating a serious danger to health and life.
3. Third myth. It is often said that a cockroach bite can cause anaphylactic shock. The appearance of such a pathological condition is possible in rare cases. Most often, an allergic reaction occurs in a person affected by a bite of a cockroach, which manifests itself in the form of itching, lacrimation and shortness of breath.

Cockroach Prevention

The destruction of cockroaches is the main condition for the prevention of their bites. A radical way to solve the problem is disinfection, which can be organized both independently and with the help of special organizations.

To prevent pest bites, you must:

• Keep the bed clean and avoid crumbs and grease on sheets;
• Take a shower before going to bed and do not eat after water procedures;
• Spray with an insect spray or use creams with a similar effect;
• To process the walls, the floor near the bed with a special insecticidal pencil.

It is also important to monitor the cleanliness of the room, the health of the sewer. It is necessary to close all the cracks in the floor, walls and ceiling, install fine-mesh gratings on the ventilation, and regularly take out the trash.

Food should be kept closed, dishes should be washed immediately after eating. Cockroaches are synatropic parasites.

To prevent their occurrence and further troubles, it is important to monitor household sanitary conditions. If signs of the presence of pests are detected, the premises should be treated with special means in a timely manner.

Danger in the house or why a cockroach bite is dangerous

For a simple layman, cockroaches are ordinary cohabitants of a person who cause tangible discomfort with their presence.However, biologists know more than 4.5 thousand species of these arthropods (in Russia - 55).

In addition to hygienic harm, these arthropods pose a threat to health, and not only indirectly, but also directly.

In this article, the reader will learn about the danger of a cockroach bite, and what negative consequences can be. A hungry red cockroach is able to bite through human skin.

general information

Most often, cockroaches, or, as they are often called, Prusaks, live in old houses, especially a lot of them in those buildings where there are garbage chutes. Wooden buildings also create good conditions for these insects.

Cockroaches are very tenacious and fertile, and the warmer, the more and more intensively their population multiplies. Any organic matter, such as cardboard or wooden products, can serve as food, so they cannot be starved to death. The main condition is the presence of fluid, without which the individual dies.

The note. Domestic and other types of cockroaches can not do without water for more than a day, which is an indispensable condition for their life.

It would seem that it is not difficult to solve the problem with insects - you just need to block access to the liquid and they will die of thirst, however, it is not so simple, because even a small amount of condensate, which they easily find in their shelters, is enough for them.

Insects are so ecoplastic that they can live in any conditions where the temperature is above 10 ° C, withstand ionizing radiation and eat any food.

To do this, they have strong mandibles - powerful upper jaws that can crack wood, as well as specific intestinal microflora, which helps to decompose and digest cellulose.

Can a cockroach bite a person

These insects are rather shy and are not predators, but rather saprophytic or saprophytic-parasitic insects.

However, they can bite an immobile person, as a rule, this happens during sleep, when the insect crawled into bed and was next to open skin.

A person will not feel anything if the dream is deep, but may wake up from unpleasant sensations. Then the cockroach runs away, and you can not understand the cause of the damage.

The role of teeth is performed by sharp, transformed lips and serrated lower jaws. All these organs are covered with a solid chitinous layer, which can easily damage the human epithelium.

Cockroach bites most often occur when their indoor population is quite large, so the fault lies primarily with the person who allowed the spread of parasitic insects in their own home. Most often, people living in dormitories, small families and cheap hotels suffer.

Most often, bites occur in those places where there are thinner layers of the skin:

1. earlobes;
2. on the fingers along the edges of the nails;
3. neck and lips;
4. nasolabial folds;
5. under the arms and under the knees;
6. may damage eyebrows and eyelashes.

After a person detects traces of contact with insects, it is important to determine the type of culprit of the incident. A cockroach bite is different from a flea or bug.

Particularly sensitive people develop puffiness or a blister, but no more than a few centimeters, since the insect saliva does not contain any toxins, and the traces of cockroach bites differ from invasions caused by other parasites.

Causes of Bites

The bite of a home cockroach is a rare occurrence, however, similar cases do occur. Below are a few factors that provoke insects:

• leftover food in bed, such as crumbs, traces of sweets or chips;
• inaccessibility to food resources or water, encourages arthropods to crawl out of shelters and seek food in unusual places;
• the multiplicity of individuals inhabiting a limited space.

However, most cases are sporadic and do not have a systemic nature, for example, as in blood-sucking insects. Just when a cockroach on its way comes across an acceptable food object, it tries to feast on it.

The danger of cockroach bites

These insects transmit many foodborne infections, such as dysentery. Previously, when there were epidemics of typhoid and cholera, they played an important role in the spread of dangerous pathogens.

The bites of red pests, although less dangerous due to the relief of pandemics, can still pose a certain threat to human health. Their saliva contains the tropomyosin protein, which causes the manifestation of allergic reactions.

The most that will happen is urticaria and tissue swelling, but anaphylactic shock is unlikely. Bacteria, viruses and helminth eggs can enter the wound through the oral apparatus.

Instructions on the algorithm for actions in case of a bite:

1. If a wound is found in the morning, a crust has formed on it and there is no inflammation, then nothing special needs to be done, except to monitor its safety.
2. Treat fresh damage with any antiseptic available at hand, such as raster alcohol (70%) or hydrogen peroxide.
3. After the treated surface dries, apply a bactericidal patch to it.
4. In case of local allergies or itching, you can use special ointments designed to treat bite sites (Psilobalzam, Rescuer and others).
5. With the development of urticaria or edema, take an antihistamine (Suprastin, Desloratadine, Citrine, etc.). If the situation does not worsen or does not go away within three days, you need to go to the hospital.

If there is an itch, the bite site cannot be combed, as this will aggravate the situation, and pathogenic bacteria penetrate through skin lesions.

Cockroaches can cause bronchial asthma or exacerbate bronchospasm in people suffering from this disease. The feces of insects contain harmful components that provoke the development of an asthmatic component.

Preventative measures

Prevention of bites is more than banal - you can not allow the presence of cockroaches in the living room. You need to deal with them by any means.

To do this, you can use disinfectant sprays or aerosols, poisoned bait, folk remedies - any methods are good. One of the safe methods of elimination is the use of boric acid - a reliable and proven method of combating parasites that have not been able to adapt to this chemical component.

It is enough to mix it with egg yolk (cooked or raw) and spread in places of accumulation. The price of the ingredients is more than affordable, but the method is effective. The kitchens should be clean and the products protected from insects.

Do cockroaches bite and what does the bite look like

As a rule, many owners regularly encounter such an unpleasant problem as the appearance of cockroaches in a house or apartment. Do not delay with their breeding, because they breed very quickly.

Moreover, many people are afraid of cockroach bites. In this article we will figure out whether cockroaches bite or not and how to prevent this insect from harming you.

Do cockroaches bite and what does the bite look like

Some time ago, the fact that a cockroach could bite was denied. But today we can safely say: fear is justified.

These insects usually have a well-developed mouth. If we consider it as a whole, it consists of small, but strong jaws.

Of course, under normal conditions, insects feed on food debris. This includes both slop and waste. You need to understand that if all this does not happen, cockroaches will want to switch to another food, and it can be solid.

The oral apparatus of insects easily eats paper, and various solid objects. And human skin will also become soft food for insects, despite the fact that it is considered quite dense. Now you are well aware that cockroaches can actually bite.

Causes of a cockroach attack on a person

One of the main reasons an insect can bite a person is because of a lack of food. This is due to the fact that food is required by all living organisms for a full existence.

And if it doesn’t exist, then the cockroaches will have no choice but to begin the search for other sources of food, which, in extreme cases, can become people.

If the cockroach cannot find moisture in an accessible place, such as in a sink or in a bowl, it will have to look for other sources, such as human saliva, located in the corners of the mouth.

This happens when a person is sleeping, especially often it happens to people leading a wandering life. Do not be alarmed. If cockroaches are wound up in your apartment, this does not mean that they will climb you at night.

They are rather cautious and timid, trying to avoid contact with a person. It should be noted that cockroaches are very active in the dark, when the light is turned off, and during the day they hide under various inaccessible places, becoming almost invisible.

They love the dark and just at that time they go out in search of food, they can bite a person. Indeed, at night a person sleeps soundly, and parasites will not interfere with anything to climb to the surface of the body, crawling without obstacles and restrictions.

It should be noted that mainly children become victims of such insects. After all, they smell pleasant, and the baby’s skin is thin and delicate, so it’s easier to bite through than the skin of an adult.

In most cases, a person calmly tolerates a cockroach bite, especially if he likes to sleep soundly. If the victim does not sleep, she may feel discomfort, a slight tingling sensation. In the daytime, it’s simply impossible not to notice that a cockroach is approaching.

What to do if bitten by a cockroach

We figured out that cockroaches bite, but only in very rare cases. If this happens, you need to know how to handle the bite site. It is first of all necessary to disinfect the wound with an antiseptic solution - hydrogen peroxide, brilliant green, iodine or alcohol.

An allergy can occur due to a bite of a cockroach, in this case the affected area must be thoroughly disinfected, treated with a special ointment or cream, and an antihistamine should be taken.

Then be sure to contact a qualified specialist for help to avoid dangerous consequences. Try to remember these tips to know how to act in case of a bite.

And of course, the best thing is to get rid of the cockroaches in the apartment once and for all. Remember that there are a lot of ways for this, because now the market for the means to destroy these insects is very well developed.