How to Get Rid of Fleas at Home and the Symptoms and Treatment After Being Bitten

Once fleas appear at home, people's skin suffers, especially in households with children; flea bites may cause various diseases and harm to a child's body. So how do you get rid of fleas at home? What symptoms appear after being bitten?

What are fleas?

Fleas belong to the order Siphonaptera and are holometabolous insects. Commonly known as "gezi," fleas are small, wingless, jumping parasitic insects. Adults usually live on mammals, and a few live on birds.

Fleas are a type of parasite. If you have ever been bitten by a flea, you probably know that the moment a flea bites, it feels like a light prick from a needle. You will react and clearly feel that something has bitten you, and then the itching begins. The more you scratch, the itchier it gets, and the skin quickly becomes red, swollen, and irritated. If there are many fleas on your body, it is advisable to go to a hospital for cleaning, as prolonged exposure can cause skin disease.

How do you get rid of fleas at home?

1. The 84 disinfectant method

84 disinfectant is a common disinfectant in daily life. Even if you do not have it at home, it is available in supermarkets and is cheap. Dilute the disinfectant with water at a ratio of 30:1, then use the diluted disinfectant to clean the house. Pay special attention to hard-to-reach spots, such as under beds and sofas, and some inconspicuous wall corners. In this way, fleas naturally will not hide in the house.

2. The insecticide method

This method is similar to the above method, except that the 84 disinfectant is replaced with insecticide. You can choose specifically according to your home conditions, and try to keep it simple and convenient.

3. The bedding and clothing cleaning method

Fleas often also hide on bedding and clothing, so these need to be washed and placed under the hot sun to dry. The former achieves the purpose of cleaning, and the latter achieves the purpose of sterilization. If convenient, it is best to scald them with boiling water, as this helps sterilization even more.

4. The pet cleaning method

If you have pets at home, that is also something you must pay attention to. Pets can be a cozy little padded jacket, but they can also be the root of trouble in life. It must be admitted that fleas really like to stay on pets. Therefore, pets need to be bathed and sunned frequently, so as to effectively remove the fleas and insect eggs hiding on them.

5. The ventilation method

Open doors and windows frequently to ventilate the home. This helps keep the home environment fresh, and in such a good environment, fleas naturally have nowhere to hide, right?

6. The floral water method

You can apply some floral water to the body, especially for children, because their resistance is poor and they are easily infected by the germs carried by fleas, causing disease. Therefore, applying some floral water can play a preventive role, and also keep the baby refreshed through the summer.

Precautions

1. Carry out extermination regularly

Eliminating fleas is not something done once and for all; it needs to be done regularly. It is recommended to exterminate once every 10 days.

2. Bathe pets regularly if you have them

For those with pets at home, be sure to bathe and clean the pets regularly, and do not let fleas stay on the pets' bodies.

3. Do not miss any corner of the home

In the process of killing fleas, do not miss any corner of the home. Also, fleas may jump onto the human body during the killing process, so protective measures should be taken first.

4. Clean beds and bedding regularly

Be sure to clean beds and bedding regularly, and on days with strong sunlight, let the bedding dry in the sun for a long time. This can effectively kill some fleas and other insects.

5. Do not neglect corners and gaps when cleaning the home

When cleaning the home, do not neglect corners and gaps. Those places are also very likely to hide fleas, so only by cleaning thoroughly can fleas be removed.

6. Completely eliminate fleas

To kill fleas, professional flea-killing agents should be used, and the effect is much better than ordinary insecticides. In addition, you can ask the street disinfection team for help, or hire professionals to help kill them, so that all fleas can be eliminated more thoroughly.

What symptoms appear after a flea bite?

At the bitten area, macules of varying sizes will appear, raised above the skin, generally 0.5 cm in size. In people with skin allergies, the area will be larger, dark red, with an obvious red spot in the center (the imprint of the flea's mouthparts). The itching is unbearable and lasts for several days. Flea bites may lead to some skin diseases, especially in summer. If there are cats, dogs, and other pets at home, and the pets are not clean, parasites such as fleas will breed, and after biting the human body they can easily cause seasonal eczema.

How should flea bites be treated afterward?

1. The flea's mouthparts secrete an organic acid, formic acid, and this substance can cause a sour, itchy sensation in the muscles. Soap contains the sodium salt of higher fatty acids. After hydrolysis, this sodium salt of fatty acids is alkaline and can quickly relieve itching.

2. Immediately change out of all the clothes on your body and soak the clothes in water (the water should preferably cover the clothes; fleas are most afraid of water, so this can drown the fleas and avoid being bitten again).

3. You can first spray Liushen itch-relieving floral water, and then apply fluocinolone acetonide acetate cream.

4. Apply soap to relieve itching. When a flea bites, its mouthparts secrete an organic acid———formic acid, and this substance can cause muscle soreness and itching. Soap contains the sodium salt of higher fatty acids. After hydrolysis, this sodium salt of fatty acids is alkaline and can quickly relieve pain and itching.

5. Use laundry detergent to relieve itching. Rinse the bitten area with clean water, do not wipe it dry, then use a wet fingertip to dip a little laundry detergent and apply it to the bitten area. This can immediately stop the itching and the redness and swelling will disappear quickly. After the redness and swelling disappear, rinse off the laundry detergent with clean water.

6. Take a small amount of fresh purslane stems and leaves, rub them in your hands until juice comes out, then apply it to the affected area. It has an itch-relieving and swelling-reducing effect.

7. Chloramphenicol eye drops relieve itching. After being bitten by fleas, you can immediately apply 1 to 2 drops of chloramphenicol eye drops to stop pain and itching. Because chloramphenicol eye drops have an anti-inflammatory effect, if the flea bite has already been scratched open and has mild infection and inflammation, applying them can also reduce inflammation.

8. Use a sliced garlic clove to repeatedly rub the flea-bitten area for one minute, and there will be an obvious pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory effect. Even if the bitten area has a large swelling or ulceration, garlic can still be applied. Generally, after 12 hours the inflammation and swelling can be reduced, and the ulcerated wound area can heal after 24 hours. However, patients with skin allergies should use this method with caution.

The reason fleas appear is simply poor hygiene. In daily life, pay attention to your own hygiene. If fleas are found, deal with them promptly. Fleas reproduce very quickly, so once found, they must be dealt with promptly. Do not wait until fleas have multiplied in large numbers before taking action.