What should you know about bed bug stomach?

A bed bug bite is an itchy, raised skin mark that may occur in a cluster or line. A stomach bug, often called gastroenteritis, affects the digestive system and may present with nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, fever, or loss of appetite. A bite does not cause these digestive symptoms, and a rash cannot confirm gastroenteritis.

For an itchy mark, wash gently, use a cool compress, and keep fingernails short to limit skin damage from scratching. Launder bedding and clothing and address the room or home source. If you have stomach symptoms, sip fluids often, choose light foods as tolerated, and rest. Avoid preparing food for other people while you have diarrhoea or vomiting.

Contact a clinician if the rash becomes hot, painful, increasingly red, or produces pus. Seek prompt care for persistent vomiting, bloody diarrhoea, severe abdominal pain, fever with marked weakness, or dehydration signs such as faintness and very little urine. Breathing difficulty or swelling of the lips or tongue needs emergency help.

Ask whether the skin change needs treatment, whether your digestive symptoms fit gastroenteritis, and which fluids or medicines are appropriate for your age and health conditions.