# Imaginary bed bugs...

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imaginary-bed-bugs/234675>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [March 16, 2004, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imaginary-bed-bugs/234675 "2004-03-16T18:12:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Madness2MyMethod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Madness2MyMethod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madness2MyMethod)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imaginary-bed-bugs/234675/1 "2004-03-16T18:12:05Z")

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I read a topic in the general questions forum a couple weeks ago. I hate bugs, and I’d especially hate bed bugs. I hate them so much that I couldn’t help imagine what it’d be like if I had a bed bug infestation in my own home, which made it difficult to sleep. Anyways, I read about one of the tell tale signs of bed bugs, which were little itchy sores on your body… Almost the next day after reading that post, little itchy red sores starting showing up on my body. I checked over and over, and I have no signs of bed bugs… Do you think my hate for bugs could manifest these little sores?? I still think of the bed bugs each night… yargh.

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**Author:** ![Madness2MyMethod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Madness2MyMethod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madness2MyMethod)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imaginary-bed-bugs/234675/2 "2004-03-16T18:41:12Z")

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oh come on this is good shit! Someone give me some feedback ☹

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**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imaginary-bed-bugs/234675/3 "2004-03-16T20:31:26Z")

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There’s a disease called “delusory parasitosis,” in which people are absolutely convinced that they’re infested by or being bitten by bugs when they’re not. But, since you know that you don’t have bedbugs, you probably don’t have this disorder.

IANAPsychologist, but is it possible that you’re scratching yourself in your sleep? If you keep dreaming about being bitten by bedbugs, you could be scratching at these imaginary parasites and their bites at night. Or is there something you might be allergic to that just happened to show up at the same time you started having the willies about bedbugs?

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**Author:** ![Madness2MyMethod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Madness2MyMethod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madness2MyMethod)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imaginary-bed-bugs/234675/4 "2004-03-16T21:04:14Z")

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> [@Scribble](#):
>
> There’s a disease called “delusory parasitosis,” in which people are absolutely convinced that they’re infested by or being bitten by bugs when they’re not. But, since you know that you don’t have bedbugs, you probably don’t have this disorder.
> 
> IANAPsychologist, but is it possible that you’re scratching yourself in your sleep? If you keep dreaming about being bitten by bedbugs, you could be scratching at these imaginary parasites and their bites at night. Or is there something you might be allergic to that just happened to show up at the same time you started having the willies about bedbugs?

Thing is these little sores don’t look like scratch marks at all. And I doubt allergies because the only variable in my daily routine was researching bed bugs. Same sheets as before, same detergent, same diet, etc.