How Does a Sand Flea Bite?
What is a Sand Flea?
Sand fleas, or sand flies, are scientifically known as Ceratopogonidaes, but are also often called no-see-ums or biting midges. Ceratopogonidaes are found in almost every area with lakes, oceans or ponds. However, the species that causes the most trouble, the hematophagic species, is usually found at the beach. Hematophagic Ceratopogonidaes are blood-sucking flies that are small enough to fit through the holes in a window screen. Sand flea bites affect not only humans, but also horses. When sand fleas bite horses, it is called "sweet itch." Sand flea bites can be avoided by wearing long clothing, bug spray, or placing very thin mesh over the windows in your home or tent.
How Does a Sand Flea Bite?
Female sand fleas are usually the gender that tend to bite. They do this by by sucking blood from a narrow, long biting apparatus projecting from the head. The saliva of the sand flea is what causes the bite to become infected. Sand flea saliva, similar to mosquito saliva, has an inflammatory and anti-blood clotting agent in it that causes skin afflicted with it to swell and itch. The more you scratch a sand flea bite, the more irritated and red the bite will become. Sand fleas find subjects to bite by detecting their body heat. Sand fleas will bite any warm-blooded mammal that their heat sensors are attracted to.
Treating Sand Flea Bites
Sand flea bites can be treated by using calamine lotion or an antihistamine, like Benadryl. Like mosquito bites, a sand flea bite can enlarge to the size of a quarter or larger if agitated. Do not scratch sand flea bites, or they will swell. The bites last slightly longer than mosquito bites, up to two weeks. If you are staying in a beach area with a large population of sand fleas, stay covered and indoors as much as possible. If a sand flea bite swells and becomes larger than the size of a quarter, go to the emergency room or see a doctor immediately. He will give you prescription medication or an injection to reduce the swelling.
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