How to Treat Flea Bites on Humans

How to Treat Flea Bites on Humans

Humans can be targets of flea attacks just as easily as dogs. Fleas use their powerful jaws to cut through human skin and pump in anticoagulant chemicals through their saliva to keep the blood flowing. Fleas are capable of jumping over a foot and don’t care what they bite as long as it draws blood. Fleas are capable of transmitting disease, from typhus to bubonic plague as well as the larvae of tapeworm and other parasites. These flea bites itch — and scratching that itch can easily lead to a serious infection.

Flea bites on dogs are notorious for causing repetitive scratching and biting — the dog is miserable and will do anything to get relief, often scratching themselves so much they cause bleeding or abrasions. Flea bites are just as ugly on humans, causing redness, irritation, burning, and even infection or the transmission of parasites and other dangerous organisms.

So how do you recognize flea bites on a human being?

Symptoms of Flea Bites on People

How to Treat Flea Bites on Humans

Flea bites on a human usually take the form of a small bump surrounded by a red “halo” of skin. The spot itches on a human just as much as it does on a dog, of course. Each bump has a tiny hole in the center where the flea’s jaws pierced the skin. You will most often find flea bites and bumps on the lower legs and around your waist, or anywhere clothing is very tight. Fleas are excellent climbers because of the tiny bristles that exist on their legs, pointing backwards, enabling them to climb up your leg hair or the material of your pants.

Different bodies react to flea bites in different ways — some people are incredible sensitive to flea bites while other may be completely unaware of them. In general, adults have a milder reaction to flea bites than children.

So — to determine if a mark is a flea bite, determine three things. Does it itch? Does it have a “red halo”? Is it on the lower extremities or near the waist? If all three are true, it is probably a flea bite.

Treating a Flea Bite on a Human

If you find yourself covered in flea bites, there’s only one course of action to protect yourself from infection or severe itching. Here’s the seven step process for treating a flea bite on a human being.

1. Medicate

Take an oral antihistamine or apply an appropriate amount of antihistamine cream to get ride of the patient’s urge to scratch their bites. You can often find these medications with cooling agents or other additives to help comfort the flea bite victim.

2. Wash

Wash the specific areas affected by flea bites with antiseptic lotion or soap. You should wash each affected bite area with cool water, as warm water can cause a person’s itching to feel worse. After the specific areas of the body affected by fleas have been washed, an overall body wash can help relax the patient and protect them from infection. Again, use cool water in your shower to stop the itching.

3. Soak

Yes, I know, you’ve already showered. But soaking for a while in an oatmeal bath is the best way to get long-term relief from itching. A warm tub is very soothing and can promote healing.

4. Disinfect

Using tea tree oil and a cotton swab, clean the flea-bitten areas. Tea tree oil is a natural antiseptic and won’t irritate your flea bites while it protects from infection.

5. Itch Treatment

If you didn’t use it in step one, it is time to apply an external hydrocortisone cream to the area that is bitten to further reduce itching. Make sure and read the directions on the cream to see how often you can apply lotion and any possible dr