When I said the hotel we stayed in was a dive, I was thinking more of the tired decor, the worn carpets, the torn curtains, the cracked tiles in the bathroom, and the clogged up toilet 'for hotel guests only' off the lobby downstairs...but it seems there was something I overlooked while I was there.
I had noticed I'd been a little itchy lately, but it wasn't until I went into a department store dressing room this afternoon to try on a new outfit for work, that I saw the numerous red bitemarks on my arms, legs, neck and back that I started to put two and two together. I don't know why I didn't see it earlier, but I think I've been offering myself up as an all-you-can-eat buffet for bed bugs in recent days.
And now I just can't stop scratching. It's driving me mad!
I had noticed I'd been a little itchy lately, but it wasn't until I went into a department store dressing room this afternoon to try on a new outfit for work, that I saw the numerous red bitemarks on my arms, legs, neck and back that I started to put two and two together. I don't know why I didn't see it earlier, but I think I've been offering myself up as an all-you-can-eat buffet for bed bugs in recent days.
And now I just can't stop scratching. It's driving me mad!
- Current Mood:
itchy/scratchy
Comments
make sure you review this dive on tripadvisor.com!
Any cream with a local anaesthetic in it will help, but I found icing them gave the most relief (thanks Mum for that suggestion). I ended up at the doctors' though (I saw three) and taking prednislone and applying a very strong cortisone and antibiotic cream to the bites. I have very bad scarring now in places because the scratching just made the reaction under the skin multiply!! So DON'T SCRATCH!
Further, you might want to consider the possibility that you may have brought a few of the buggers home with you. O_O
On the advice of a pest controller, I had to wash everything I took with me in HOT HOT water (my machine went up to 90C and I used it), then dried them for an hour (I think) in an industrial dryer (the big ones like you get at a laudromat). I also included the bedding I was using when I got home just in case I had some eggs on my actual person when I got home. And then, called out the pest controller just to be sure, and had my room, bed, mattress and wardrobe sprayed. And I threw out the luggage I'd used. I'm not sure whether that was overkill or not, but I was so unwell with those bites, I did NOT want a revisit.
Now I NEVER stay in budget hotels, no matter what country I'm in.
Good luck, I hope you fine relief soon.
Edited at 2008-10-31 09:34 am (UTC)
That's what I'm most worried about. I chucked all the clothes I'd brought with me in the laundry basket as soon as I got home, but I slept in the pyjamas for a night before I saw my skin erupt in angry red splotches. I wasted no time in changing the bedding and washing everything after that, but I'm still really worried. I guess I'll know for a fact if I'd brought home any infestation if my rash doesn't clear but gets worse over the next few days.
As I said, good luck with it. *hug*
Up until now, my worst experience had been a sleepless night in a fleabag b&b in Ireland -- but at least those flea bites went away pretty quickly. After reading up on bed bugs on the Internet, it seems I can look forward to at least another week of discomfort from these bites. :(
The worst thing is though, the worry that I may have brought some of the critters or their eggs home with me.