The kissing bug is an infectious disease that affects more than 200,000 Americans each year. It is rare in the United States, but it can still occur. When a person is bitten, it gets into the blood, which can affect the heart and digestive tract. It is a condition that can be cured, but if left untreated it causes serious digestive and heart problems. When it comes to symptoms, there is an acute and chronic phase.
During the acute phase, the symptoms last for a few weeks or months, but it goes away eventually. Chronic symptoms may not happen right away. They may appear 10 to 20 years later, but when they occur, they are serious.
The kissing bug can be caught soon if you get a yearly physical examination because blood is usually drawn. Your doctor can tell you what diseases you may or may not have.
Here are the eight most common symptoms of the kissing bug.
1. Swelling at the site of infection is a common symptom.
Since the kissing bug can occur anywhere on the body, it can even occur on the eyelid. Some people are prone to have swollen eyelids, especially if they sleep on a certain side for a long period of time. When this happens, the swelling goes away in a day. With the kissing bug, the swelling will go away, but not in a day. In order to help the swelling, place an icepack over the area a few times a day for 15 to 20 minutes.
For women, if the infection site is on the eyelid, don’t put makeup on it until it heals. You could make the swelling even worse by doing so. With any swelling, it is a good idea to place a bandage over the site because this will allow the swelling to go down quicker.