Page 20 - Florida Sentinel 12-1-17

Health
DON’T LET THE BEDBUGS BITE
Bedbugs, those pests from the old bedtime rhyme are making a comeback. More of a nuisance than a health hazard, they’re showing up in hotels, college dorms, and hospitals. Take an informative look at bedbugs: what they are, where they lurk, and how to spot them before they get you.
Odors can affect the quality of your dreams.
You'll dream better if you smell something lovely rather than something foul. Researchers tested this in a study. The people who were in a room that smelled of roses had more good dreams. The unlucky ones in a room that reeked of rotten eggs said they had more bad dreams. The reason may be a connection between the sense of smell and parts of the brain linked to dreams.
Dreams may help your brain store
While some researchers be- lieve dreams are merely a quirk of sleep, others think they help you save memo-
ries, solve problems, and manage emotions.
Some medications can cause nightmares.
Some meds can affect the central nervous sys- tem and cause bad dreams. These include antide- pressants, narcotics, and sleeping aids such as Ambien.
Women report having more night-
mares than men.
In sleep studies, women tend to say they have more scary dreams than men. It's un- clear, though, if women are just better at recall-
memories.
ing their dreams than men or if they, in fact, have more nightmares.
It’s not easy to tell what your dreams mean.
Some dreams seem pretty straightforward, showing how you feel about someone or how stressed you are. But others are trickier. There's no one-size-fits-all meaning for dreams, even though there are books on the topic. Ask yourself what the dream means to you.
Some people don't dream.
Everyone dreams, although you may not al- ways remember it. Dreams mainly fade by morning, so it's common not to recall yours.
KNOW THE ENEMY
Bedbugs are small, flat, wingless in- sects with six legs that, like mosquitoes, feed on blood from animals or people. They range in color from almost white to brown, but they turn rusty red after feed- ing. The common bedbug doesn't grow much longer than 0.2 inches (0.5 cen- timeters) and can be seen by the naked eye to the astute observer. Bedbugs get their name because they like to hide in bedding and mattresses.
AM I AT RISK FOR INFESTATION?
Bedbugs are most often found in ho- tels, hostels, shelters, and apartment complexes where lots of people come and go. Because bedbugs hide in small crevices, they can hitch a ride into your home on luggage, pets, furniture, cloth- ing and other objects. Bedbugs are found worldwide, but are most common in de- veloping countries. Once rare in North America, they may be on the rise due, in part, to increases in international travel.
FEEDING HABITS
These nocturnal creatures can hide in beds, floors, furniture, wood, and paper trash during the day. We humans usually become their dinner during the night, with peak biting activity just before dawn. They can obtain their meal in as little as three minutes, after which they are engorged and drop off the host, then crawl into a hiding place to digest their meal. Bedbugs can live for 10 months, and can go weeks without food.
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF BEDBUG BITES
Amazingly, these sneaky little bloodsuckers dine on you without waking you. You don't feel their stealthy bite because they inject a numbing agent into your body, along with an anticoagulant to keep your blood flowing as they suck. The first sign of bedbugs may be itchy, red bites on the skin, usually on the arms or shoulders. Bedbugs tend to leave straight rows of bites.
TREATING BITES
Bedbug bites do not usually re- quire treatment. If a secondary in- fection occurs (usually from scratching), apply a local antiseptic lotion or antibiotic cream or oint- ment. Creams with corticosteroids and oral antihistamines may be ad- vised in the presence of allergic re- action or larger skin reactions. In these more severe cases, you may need to see your doctor.
BITE BACK AGAINST BEDBUGS
Get rid of infested mattresses and box springs or cover them with a plastic mattress bag to trap the bugs. Wash clothes and bedding in hot water, and dry on high heat. Clean furniture and vacuum cracks in wood floors and doors where bugs may hide. Shake out suitcases. Use an insecticide in the cracks of floors or bed frames, but read the label; do not apply to areas that come in direct contact with skin. If you still can't get rid of them, call an exterminator.
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