Angella Alston of Cincinnati says she was in Arlington Heights this weekend for a funeral staying at the Sheraton northwest hotel when she woke up to see her body full of bites. She stripped the bed and found three bed bugs on the sheet.
"Her and her assistant flipped the bed over, and they put two off the bed and put them in a cup," said Angella Alston, bed bug victim.
Bed bugs usually bite people at night while they are sleeping. They feed by piercing the skin with an elongated beak through which they withdraw blood. Alston says she was treated at northwest community hospital. She showed us several bites on her leg.
"I have nine bites on my right leg. I have nine on my right arm. I have like 12 on my left leg. And about eight on the inner of my left arm," said Alston.
"First thing is not to scratch it. Scratching it can lead to worsening the irritation or infection to the area. We usually treat these with oral anti-histamines as well as topical court cal steroids," said Dr. Vincent Savier, Northwest Community Hospital.
The health department confirmed pest control found bed bug activity in the Sheraton northwest room that Mrs. Alston stayed in.
"There are some specialized steps that you have to take to make sure you eradicate this," said James McCalister, Arlington Heights Health Department.
Antoinette DeLauro Smith, spokesperson for the Sheraton, said, "We have the room sealed as well as the nine surrounding it and ur partners with Ecolabs, a pest control company, are on site doing the fumigating and sanitizing. The rooms will be closed for four to six weeks."
McCalister says they have received other complaints this year about bed bugs.
