Their actual name is triatomines, but humans nickname them “kissing bugs” for a fairly terrible reason - they tend to bite humans on the face. These insects contain a parasite called Trypanosoma cruzi. They become infected with this parasite by eating on an infected human or animal. The parasite then resides in the intestines and excrement of the kissing insect. You become infected if feces carrying this parasite enter your body. Chagas disease is the name given to the infection. Kissing bugs are active at night. This suggests they come out to eat at night. The bite usually doesn't pain since the individual is asleep. You might not even realize you've been bitten. Kissing bugs sting by injecting saliva with anesthetic properties into the skin. A bug's feeding time is usually between 20 and 30 minutes. The insect may bite between 2 and 15 times. The insect will typically bite a person on the face.
The members of the Triatominae /traɪ.əˈtɒmɪniː/, a subfamily of the Reduviidae, are also known as conenose bugs, kissing bugs (so-called from their habit of feeding on around the mouths of people), "blood suckers" or vampire bugs. Other local names for them used in Latin America include barbeiros, vinchucas, pitos, chipos, and chinches. Most of the 130 or more species of this subfamily feed on vertebrate blood; a very few species feed on invertebrates. They are mainly found and widespread in the Americas, with a few species present in Asia, Africa, and Australia. These bugs usually share shelter with nesting vertebrates, from which they suck blood. In areas where Chagas disease occurs (from the southern United States to northern Argentina), all triatomine species are potential vectors of the Chagas disease parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, but only those species (such as Triatoma infestans and Rhodnius prolixus) that are well adapted to living with humans are considered important vectors. Also, proteins released from their bites have been known to induce anaphylaxis in sensitive and sensitized individuals.
What does a kissing bug bite look like?
Most people don’t have a skin reaction when a kissing bug bites them. The bite looks like any other bug bite except there’s usually a cluster of bites together in one spot.
People who are sensitive to the bug’s saliva may experience a reaction to the bite. This is usually only mild itching, redness, and swelling, but occasionally, a kissing bug bite causes a severe allergic reaction.
If you’ve been infected with the Trypanosoma cruzi parasite, a small area of redness and swelling that feels hard, called a chagoma, may form at the bite site a week or two after being bitten. If the bug’s feces are accidentally rubbed into the eye or the bite is near one, a distinctive swelling around that eye, known as Romaña’s sign, can occur.
Risks from kissing bug bites
Severe allergic reaction
Some people experience anaphylaxis after being bitten. This is a life-threatening allergic reaction that comes on suddenly. It can make it hard to breathe and lower blood pressure to dangerous levels. It requires immediate treatment.
Chagas disease
Chagas disease is a severe complication of a kissing bug’s bite. It’s caused by being infected with a parasite called Trypanosoma cruzi that lives in a kissing bug’s intestines and feces. Not all people bitten by kissing bugs get Chagas disease. This is because you only get the disease if infected feces from the parasite get into your body.
After the kissing bug bites and feeds on a person’s blood, kissing bugs defecate. An infection can occur if the feces enter the body through the mouth nose or eyes or any opening in the skin. This can happen if you scratch or touch the bite and accidentally transfer the feces. Feces can also get in through the bite. Scratching or rubbing the bite increases the chances of this happening.
The first few weeks of the infection are what’s known as the acute phase. Most people have no symptoms or only very mild flu-like symptoms. These can include fever, body aches, a rash, and swollen glands. The symptoms are a reaction to the high number of parasites circulating in the blood.
The symptoms improve without treatment as the number of parasites in the bloodstream decreases. This is the chronic phase. The parasite is still in the body, but most people don’t have any more symptoms.
However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)Trusted Source, an estimated 20 to 30 percent of people with Chagas disease experience symptoms 10 to 25 years later. The symptoms are severe and can be life-threatening. They can include:
irregular heart rhythms that can lead to sudden death
cardiomyopathy or an enlarged heart
dilation of the esophagus (megaesophagus) and colon (megacolon).
If treated early, the chronic phase can be avoided. It’s important to seek treatment early if you think a kissing bug has bitten you because there’s no cure for Chagas disease once it becomes chronic.