This is being written with hindsight. After operating for many months with what a dermatologist-read biopsy identified as eczema and trying every cream known to pharmacies, I visited my regular doctor. He referred me to a different dermatologist.who did another biopsy of the strange little recurring bumps and determined that it was a reaction to a bite. The dermatologist asked if we traveled much and upon my affirmative answer, said to check all bedding and upholstered items in our bedroom. It seems that in the post DDT era, bedbugs have become world travelers--and epidemic. In fact the first "bumps" had occurred while on a trip we made to Spain where we walked among old 1000-year-old ruins and towers and stayed in some out-of-the way lodging.
I immediately turned into a paranoid whirling dervish of a bug hunter and found what the Terminix Man called a "small infestation" of critters on the underside of the bed skirt at the head of our bed. We moved out of our bedroom on April 1 and took 2 1/2 weeks to prepare for the extermination treatment--which began yesterday. We had to completely empty all drawers in our bedroom and the linen closet that shared a wall with it. All clean clothes had to be heated for 40 minutes on high heat and then bagged and sealed in plastic bags until the treatment is.over. All dirty clothes must be washed in hot water and dried on high heat and bagged as well. We--animals and people--had to be out of the house for 5 hours after the treatment. We are currently living in our guest room and commuting to any hanging clothes in our closets. What a pain!
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