Bedbugs May Be More Harmful To Human Health Than Previously Thought
Bedbugs May Be More Harmful To Human Health Than Previously Thought
Bedbug-related fiascos are being reported everyday. Any avid internet surfer can tell you that bedbug-related stories can be found everywhere on the internet. Most of the time these stories involve bedbug attacks that happen in unusual or particularly inconvenient locations, like airplanes or movie theaters. Many bedbug-related incidents that are reported by online “news” outlets are humorous in nature. But every once in awhile, a new study is released that sheds more light on the horror of bedbugs. One such recent study on bedbugs has claimed that these annoying pests can cause anemia.
Although bedbugs cannot spread disease, they can cause unpleasant physical symptoms, such as severe itching, lethargy caused by sleep deprivation, and stress related symptoms. If that is not bad enough, doctors have learned that bedbugs can definitely cause anemia in certain high-risk groups.
The National Institute of Health reported one particular case that serves as an example of an individual who is at high-risk for developing bedbug-induced anemia. A sixty year old man visited his doctor complaining of lethargy, severe fatigue and a few other problems. This particular man had a history of drug abuse, alcoholism, depression and diabetes. This man also shared his home with bedbugs. Every day the man would find bedbugs crawling on his skin. Lab tests showed that this man also had an iron deficiency, also known as anemia. The man was given supplements, but they did not improve his symptoms of anemia. In fact, the man even required an eventual hospital stay.
The doctor hypothesized that bedbugs were responsible for the man’s anemia. In response to the doctor’s orders the man hired a pest control professional to rid his home of bedbugs. Soon after, the man’s anemia disappeared. The doctor believes that people suffering from depression or drug addiction are more likely to develop anemia from bedbugs since these groups of people tend to clean their homes less often than most people. This allows bedbugs to proliferate, as they have more places to hide. Since bedbugs feed on blood, having a severe infestation can cause anemia. Older people are also at greater risk of developing anemia because their bodies cannot maintain proper levels of iron very well. So basically, bedbugs can suck all of the iron out of your blood. I guess bedbugs suck more than we all thought.
Do you think that you are at risk for developing bedbug-induced anemia? Will you make an effort to keep a cleaner living space after reading this?
