Students living in dorms and rental homes might find themselves itching to get rid of scabies, staph infections or bed bugs.
Whether it is from skin-to-skin contact, hidden critters in your house, or poor hygiene, contracting a skin infection while in college is easier than one might think.
Communal living, such as in dorms or houses off campus, with ever-changing residents, allows infections to spread easily.
It can cause quite a nuisance to people affected.
After waking up confused and itchy, people can identify the problem and get rid of it. Seeking medical attention to get prescribed treatment or using extermination methods to rid the crawlers from off-campus houses or dorm rooms are steps to ensure being a one-time victim.
Bed bugs
Cimex lectularius — bed bugs — may be lurking in campus houses and dorms, searching for their late night meals.
Bed bugs are parasites that satisfy their late-night munchies with sleeping human hosts, according to Go Ask Alice, Columbia University’s Q&A service.
Emily Gibson, Western’s medical director at the Student Health Center, said they have seen about six cases of bed bugs per quarter. This is partly because of students traveling to foreign countries and returning with more than knowledge: hidden pests that got a free ride.
“They hitchhike in luggage and clothing and set up housekeeping wherever they land, as long as they have a human host,” Gibson said in an email.
Places where residents are constantly changing, such as dorms on campus or off-campus rental houses, are prime real estate for bed bugs. No matter how clean students' houses or dorms are, and no matter how strong their immune systems, everywhere and anywhere is susceptible to these pests, according to Go Ask Alice.
No bigger than an apple seed, these bugs typically thrive in cracks and crevices in walls, wood trims, mattresses and bedding, Gibson said.
Paul Cocke, Western’s director of university communications, is in contact with the Health Center about recent cases.
Four bed bug cases occurred this year, he said. One in Fairhaven, one in Highland Hall and two in Nash.
Cocke wanted to assure the university that the cases aren’t “significant.” Cocke said people who have a rash shouldn’t assume it’s a bed bug.
Resolving the problem hasn’t been any different than in the past, he said.
Want to know if these critters are setting up camp in your house and how to get rid of those unwelcome guests? Identifying them on your body is the first step.
Bed bug symptoms include hordes of small welts with dark red centers mainly found on the upper body, according to Go Ask Alice.
Unlike skin conditions that can be cured with a prescription, there is no medication to cure bud bug infections, although the bumps may fade, Gibson said.
Extermination is the only way the Health Center suggests to rid these nasty bugs from your home.
“If they see a bed bug or tell-tale streaks of blood on sheets or mattress, then bring in an exterminator for appropriate treatment,” Gibson said.
She said extermination using heat and chemical methods is the only fix. No medications can help.
Sealing all potentially infested clothing and bedding into plastic bags, dumping them into a washing machine with hot water, drying them on a hot setting and resealing them is a method to prevent bed bugs from re-invading those items, Cocke said.
If a student is living on campus dorms and encounters an infestation problem, the student should contact University Residences to start the cleaning process, Cocke said.
Scabies
Although borrowing clothing may be a fun way to spice up your wardrobe, students might want to be aware of the risk of scabies due to sharing clothing or bedding with others, according to the Western Health Center.
Scabies are caused by mites that take comfort in the lining of their host’s skin. They are very contagious but treatable with prescription ointment.
Scabies bites are like that of bed bugs, but seen mostly on the lower body, the male genital area and often seen first on their prey’s hands and between their fingers, according to the Student Health Center.
A Western senior recalls her experience with scabies while living off campus. Even with a prescribed ointment offered by the Western Health Center, the student still couldn’t cure the bumps.
“My best friend slept in my bed one night, and for a while we thought it was fleas,” the student said. “But after they spread all over my body, between my hands, my feet, behind my knees, elbows, I attempted to get rid of it, but it didn’t work.”
After a second try at the same ointment, and one useless $30 flea bombing, the student decided to take different measures to rid her living space of the burrowing creatures.
“I put bags of my belongings in my basement, vacuumed the carpets, disinfected the mattress and they eventually went away,” the student said.
When students are treated, they are advised to wash all clothing, bedding and towels used in the previous 48 hours in hot water, according to the Student Health Center.
“I couldn’t focus on school, because I was itching all the time,” the student said.
Staph Infections
Poor hygiene, crowded living conditions, or shared household items, such as towels or soap, can lead to a staph infection, according to the Western’s Health Center.
Tell-tale signs of this bacterial skin condition include boils or pimple-like bumps, typically causing swelling and pain.
Upon visiting the Western Health Center, students with staph-like symptoms are typically treated with antibiotics or by draining the bumps, according to the Western’s Health Center.
The source of Western sophomore Michaela Kiral’s staph infection in December of 2011 was a crowded living situation.
“I live in a college house,” Kiral said. “That’s probably where I got it.”
She was sharing razors and towels with her roommates, something she advises not to do.
Kiral was diagnosed with MRSA — known as antibiotic resistant staph infection. She dealt with a swelling cyst under her arm for a month before she decided it was a big enough nuisance to finally get it checked by a professional.
“It caused me a month and a half of pain,” Kiral said. “Basically, I felt awful. I was in a lot of pain, as well as exhausted. “
Staph bacteria is one of the most common causes of skin infections in the U.S., and without treatment it can turn deadly, according to the Student Health Center electronic information on staph infection.
When the cyst failed to heal after the first round of the Health Center draining it, Kiral said she had to see a surgical consult.
“I talked to a surgeon, and he told me he could remove what was left of the bump,” Kiral said.
The next time students crawl into bed after a late night out, they might want to make sure they're the only ones doing the crawling. Scabies, bed bugs and bacteria could be lurking between the sheets, waiting for their next meal.
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