The Return of the Common Bedbug

A child with a recurrent pruritic eruption of urticarial, erythematous papules on the face, neck, and extremities is described and the etiology of her cutaneous lesions was discovered to be a bedbug infestation in the home.

Abstract

The incidence of skin disease secondary to infestation with the human bedbug, Cimex lectularius, has increased dramatically in the United States and in the United Kingdom. We describe a child with a recurrent pruritic eruption of urticarial, erythematous papules on the face, neck, and extremities. The etiology of her cutaneous lesions was discovered to be a bedbug infestation in the home. The epidemiology, entomology, presentation, and treatment of bedbugs and their bites are discussed.