About a week ago, I asked a friend if I could stay in his unused apartment while mine was being renovated, and he agreed without hesitation. At first, everything felt normal, but within days I noticed “small, itchy red bumps” appearing on my legs and back. They kept spreading, even though nothing in my routine had changed, which made me suspect the apartment itself might be the cause rather than anything I was doing.

Since I couldn’t visit a doctor right away, I searched online for answers. One explanation kept coming up—bed bugs. The apartment was old, and the mattress didn’t look new, so I checked carefully for stains or signs of insects but “couldn’t find anything obvious.” Despite the lack of visible evidence, the discomfort made me uneasy enough to try fixing the issue myself.

I moved the mattress onto the balcony and left it under direct sunlight all day, hoping heat would kill anything inside. That night, I layered it with sheets and blankets to create a barrier. Still, nothing changed. The bites continued, and with no other place to go, I had to keep sleeping there, dealing with the irritation and uncertainty.

According to the NHS, bed bugs are tiny insects that hide in furniture and bedding. They don’t spread disease, but their bites cause itching and discomfort. They are hard to detect because “many people don’t react to their bites,” symptoms can appear later, and they’re often mistaken for other insect bites, allowing infestations to go unnoticed.

Not every rash means bed bugs, but “persistent symptoms—particularly in older or unfamiliar living spaces—should not be ignored.” If unexplained itching appears, especially in a new environment, it’s important to seek medical advice. Sometimes the problem isn’t your habits—it’s where you’re staying.