Flea Diseases – Sickness from fleas – Diseases that fleas spread

A lot of folks know that fleas are a real nuisance to pets and even to the people who live in a house or apartment that is infested with fleas. But a lot of people are unaware that fleas can carry and spread sickness and life threatening diseases to both pets and people.

Can Flea Bites Make You Sick

Fleas crawl and bite, and these actions alone can make a person or pet, scratch at their skin a lot. This scratching can easily lead to open wounds and sores and infection. This is just the simplest problem that fleas can cause pets and people, it gets a lot worse.

Fleas often are like hitchhikers, in that they may live on one host or creature for awhile then, hop and travel until they find another. A flea that finds it’s way to your pet or you, may have fed on the blood of a raccoon, opossum or even a rat. Now if that flea bites you or a pet, it can spread the same disease the rat or other animal was carrying.

Types Of Flea Diseases

Credit: cats.lovetoknow.com

Cat Scratch Fever – Fleas that are living on a neighbors cat that has cat scratch fever, can pick up the disease from the animals blood. Then they travel to your cat and feed on it’s blood, giving them the same disease. Later when your cat licks your mouth, or if it scratches or bites you, you may find youself with cat scratch fever. Fleas that live on the cat and are infected, leave their poop in the cats fur. When you pet your handle the cat, your fingers and hands become contaminated, then when you rub your eyes or pick your nose, etc, it’s possible to spread the disease to yourself.

 

Credit: http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/

Typhus – Fleas that feed on rats that have Typhus, travel to pets and feed off them and humans. The poop from these infected fleas gets into the mouths and wounds of humans, from petting their pets, and getting bit by the fleas themselves, and having the flea poop get into open scratches and sores, infecting the person with typhus. Typhus can also be gotten by a human, who is even exploring or living in an area where there are lots of dead fleas, or even old cat feces.

 

 

Bubonic Plague – When a flea feeds on an infected animal that has the plague, it can transfer this serious disease to humans when it bites. The fleas can also infect pets, and in turn these pets can transfer the plague to humans.

 

 

 

 

 

Credit: Medical News Today

Tapeworms – Another nasty disease or condition that fleas can give to humans and pets, is Tapeworms. Fleas act like the hosts of tapeworms, and infected fleas can pass these tapeworms to humans when they feed off their blood.

 

 

 

Flea Diseases in Humans Symptoms

Fleas are able to carry dozens of viral and bacterial diseases as well as parasites, and are though to have helped introduce the bubonic plague to humans by transferring it to them from rodents.

For this reason, if you begin to show symptoms beyond a moderate rash, you should seek medical attention.

Flea bite symptoms may include the following:

itchiness – the fleabite is known to be very itchy and often needs to be treated with aloe vera gel to ease the itchiness. This is attributed to the flea saliva as it injects into the wound when it bites its victim.
red swelling– the bitten spot in most cases turns into a swollen red spot moments after being bitten
Tiny wounds– after scratching the bite bumps; they burst and develop into small open wounds.
Itchy legs and feet– the fleas are flightless but hop from place to place. They, therefore, find low targets such as legs and feet very lucrative.
Hypersensitivity– this is after scratching the affected areas until they become sore and highly sensitive to touch.
Secondary infections– the person may suffer from secondary infections due to excessive scratching and wound exposure to external environments.

30 thoughts on “Flea Diseases – Sickness from fleas – Diseases that fleas spread

  1. nancy Reply

    What’s the best way to get rid of them and to cure the bites

  2. Cindy Reply

    The best way to get rid of the Bites to mix honey,viniger and water it will take the itch right out

  3. Cindy Reply

    The best way to get rid of the Bites to mix honey,viniger and water it will take the itch right out

  4. kellie Reply

    Are these bad for me to catch how would i know if i have contacted any of the above and how is it treated for me and my kids

  5. shelby Reply

    I was bitten by a flea moving a dead mole in the yard, killed by the dogs. Felt strange since, been to the dr’s twice, this last time he scheduled bloodwork to pinpoint the bacteria (if any). Fleas are horrible, always get checked if you are bitten! So many bacterial infections, it is rediculous.

  6. daniel Reply

    If you live in or around Missouri, God help you!I have personally considered burning them out of my home.Here’s what I’ve tried and it didn’t work.House professionally “bombed”, pets to the vet for treatment, we stayed out of house 2days.When we got home flea collars and drops. carpets steam cleaned.After dry carpets sprinkled with boric acid.All bedding washed and dried at high temp.All pillows and stuffed toys thrown out.Souls of shoes sprayed.Out side home treated.Did I mention the animals were shaved hairless at vet!Nothing worked.Moved animals to Oregon.Flea free in two days.Had house bombed again in and out.No one lived there for two weeks.Moved back.Fleas within an hour.Missouri is just a bad state for all known pest.Fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, and all diseases they carry.plague, Catscratch, typhoid, you name it.

  7. Mason Reply

    I think i got a flea in my eye what will happen?

  8. lee fowler Reply

    salt. dries up. fleas,roaches.best defense against creatures is a vacumme cleaner. empty into bag sprayed woth insect killer close. Burn

  9. Nancy Reply

    The bites have to heal on their own, however a good home remedy is to get regular table salt, grind into powder and spread it everywhere you have an infestation in your home (with carpet). Let it sit for a couple of hours and the fleas will start to surface. Then vacuum them up! Make sure you dispose of them in a sealed garbage bag as they will still be alive. You may have to do this daily for about a week,but it worked for us! Fleas are disgusting,and even more so when you don’t own any pets,lime us. Good luck!

  10. Dawynn Reply

    Old time remedy
    Straight Listerine to get rid of them.

  11. Levy b Reply

    Your information has really helped. Thanks.

  12. LR Reply

    Rickettsia usually gets lumped together with typhus– but this one I’m naming isn’t technically typhus.You might want to add this to your list: Rickettsia felis, an emerging flea-transmitted human pathogen

  13. Pen Hernandez Reply

    What are the symptoms of these diseases? My husband is living with a flea problem and gets bitten every single day all over his body. Hes going on week 2 with chills, cold and hot flashes, fever, fatigue and sweating.

  14. Gary Reply

    No body knows as evidenced by the replies. Sadly it is a pain in the arm as I am sure you know by now.

  15. Bob Reply

    Dawn dish soap

  16. trina Reply

    Omg this is crazy I didn’t know fleas could be so dangerous.

  17. Jane Best Reply

    Keep the bites moisturized so that they don’t dry out and so itch a little less, apply a bite cream although, I didn’t find that helped much.Take anti-histamine to help reduce the itching; I was bitten so much that I had a bit of an infection and had a course of anti-histamine called Fexofenadine Hydorchloride; normal anti-histamine are about 5mg, whereas these ones are 180mg!

    Applying lemon juice can help reduce scarring although I am now using Bio-Oil.

    Get a really good flea killer spray and spray all your carpets and also furniture and curtains if need be; I bought Indorex from a Veterinary surgery as brands bought from veterinary surgeries tend to be the most potent.Remove plants and pets, including fish and anything living from the room.After spraying as directed, close the doors for however long it says on the canister.

    Vacuum the carpets afterwards, and then vacuum every day for seven days.The vibration from the vacuum disturbs any eggs waiting to hatch.It is important to get the eggs out of your carpets etc. as I have read that the only thing that will kill them is fire.

    If still having trouble, get in a Professional.

    Of course, treat your pet / the animal with good quality anti-flea drops.

  18. Jane Best Reply

    Altered slightely; Keep the bites moisturized so that they don’t dry out and so itch a little less, apply a bite cream although, I didn’t find that helped much.Take anti-histamine to help reduce the itching; I was bitten so much that I had a bit of an infection and anti-histamines called Fexofenadine Hydorchloride; normal anti-histamine are about 5mg, whereas these ones are 180mg!I also had a course of anti-biotics.

    Applying lemon juice can help reduce scarring although I am now using Bio-Oil.

    Get a really good flea killer spray and spray all your carpets and also furniture and curtains if need be; I bought Indorex from a Veterinary surgery as brands bought from veterinary surgeries tend to be the most potent.Remove plants and pets, including fish and anything living from the room.After spraying as directed, close the doors for however long it says on the canister.

    Vacuum the carpets afterwards, and then vacuum every day for seven days.The vibration from the vacuum disturbs any eggs waiting to hatch.It is important to get the eggs out of your carpets etc. as I have read that the only thing that will kill them is fire.

    If still having trouble, get in a Professional.

    Of course, treat your pet / the animal with good quality anti-flea drops.

  19. Cass Reply

    I used spray, had my carpets cleaned and then put flea powder made for carpets in the dried carpet.
    WebMD said the best way to stop the itch is to use Benadryl cream or lotion. It worked really well.
    The internet also suggested that fleas do not like the smell of lemon or peppermint. I lathered on a lemon-scented soap and that stopped any stragglers from biting. Now all I am left with are the bite marks.

  20. Wilhelmina mshone Reply

    I worked in a flea infested apt. The patient is paralyzed from his neck Dow and he has a dog that is infected with fleas till the whole house is infected as well. U can see the fleas on my white uniform like black dots.. A million black dots. The poor dog scratch till he bleeds. My whole skin are bitten with red marks all over my skin. What do I do?

  21. Wilhelmina mshone Reply

    Please. Help

  22. Lauren lago Reply

    Do u have a pet we’ll make sure ur pet don’t have anymore fleasby taking it a warm shower and checking skin u can even buy a shampoo for fleas it will help a lot make sure u take a bath and wash ur clothes with warms water and then they will die if they are on ur bed take the sheets and put it seperate from the clothes and other items u use in bed that u didn’t use when u got the fleas hope this helped it helped me

  23. andrew langham research' Reply

    fleas are capable of transferringall types of viral diseaseand they certainly do’ there are hundreds of different types of fleas and can carry virus particles ie virions that can pass to humans and reproduce’

  24. Tony meadows Reply

    I would like to know about humans getting sick from the bites from the repetive bites of a flea please. Thanks

  25. Sharron hogan Reply

    I tried flea traps (bowl of water with dawn in it under a night light) killed a lot of them but there still in my house which fogged will work the best?

  26. weno Reply

    Dawn dish washing soap will kill them on your pet – just bathe them with luke warm water and the blue dawn dishwashing dish soap- then follow up with a flea medicine applied to the cat or dog. Be sure to get the Medicine specifically for your type of animal- cat or dog because treating a cat with a dog flea med will kill it and visa versa the dog. also wash and dry your pets bedding on hot water and high heat this will kill the flea eggs – spary with a pet friendly fleabreeze type spray . you will have to repeat this everyweekfor about a month and you should see improvement in the flea problem .vacumning helps and saltsprinkled in the rugs keeps the moisture out so the flea eggs will desicate and die. you can also place a pan of soapy water wher your pets cant reach it under furniture and the fleas will hop in it and die.

  27. Frances King Ward Reply

    The black fleasare not biting my other family members but they bite me .My doctor gave me pills and cream but its not helping.. Had my house sprayed did not help.I need to go to the hopatalfor help..

  28. Dawn Reply

    What about an anemia?Can a flea infestation cause anemia so bad that the dog is tired, walking sideways…?

  29. JEN Reply

    misdiagnosed FOR FOUR YEARS.hAD SORES ALL OVER MY BODY. WENT TO A VETERARIAN AFTER 20 DOCTORS SAID I WAS PSYCHO PICKING MY SKIN,HE SAID I HAD FLEAS AND TAPEWORM IN MY BLOOD.INFESTED AND SICK THE PILL FOR HUMANS IS $800/PILLNOW HAVE AN INFECTED EYE/RETINA.IT CONSUMED MY LIFE FOR 4 YEARS AM NOW TAKING
    PRAZIQUANTEL AND ALBENZA.ALBENZA COSTS $800/PILL INSANITY i BUY HORSE AND DOG MEDS

  30. Hanna gabriel Reply

    I’m also in the same boat I have found a spray to help with any itch on facebook its called wondercide it’s all natural they sell all products and they work pretty well and have a pleasant scent, good luck I’m going for number 2 in fogging my house

Leave a Reply to nancy Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *