They sleep at crappy hotels!!!
Ivanka Trump flew commercial last weekend to the Aspen Food & Wine Classic, but her plane was delayed overnight in Salt Lake City due to storms. Ever the commoner, Ivanka crashed at the Quality Inn and ate Little Caesars for dinner with the $18 stipend from the airline.
You know, I used to think there was really not much difference between fancy hotels and standard motels. In my book, as long as I have an Internet connection, TV and a bed, I’m a happy camper. In fact, in my experience, the cheap motels offer free breakfast and free WiFi, whereas the expensive hotels want you to pay $17/day for Internet and $25 for breakfast. I think that’s dumb and I’ve always preferred motels. However, that was before I woke up at the Best Western in Twin Falls with seventeen bug bites. They are still there, by the way, and several of them are expanding and leaving very large, dark bruises on my arms and legs. I took pictures. (Side note: In thumbnail form, the bites totally look like nipples and they appear inappropriate. I assure you, though, that there are no naughty bits of me in these photos, so don’t bother hunting.)
This can’t be healthy. I can’t help thinking that this wouldn’t have happened if I’d stayed at a fancy hotel. Not that fancy hotels exist in Twin Falls, but still. I now officially have a fear of motels, and I’m worried about what I’m going to do about the drive back to Seattle. I seriously had a little panic attack tonight. I’m not sure if it’s the Arizona heat (it is 157 degrees here right now) or the fact that I met with a CPA to file my 2007 taxes today (yes, in June 2008) or being plucked out of my little Seattle routine (I actually miss going to my trainer) or the growing concern that I can’t properly give love to both my three cats and my dog (I am taking tips from Jon & Kate and plan to give them each “special days” with me) or the fear that I’m going to have to stay in motels again soon and possibly get new bedbug bites, but I am a walking, talking embodiment of generalized anxiety disorder tonight. I’m just a freakin’ mess right now. Vacations are supposed to be relaxing, but I really can’t wait to get back to Seattle and get back to my life and my routine. Unstructured environments are not good for me.
What the hell was I talking about?
Oh, right Ivanka.
She may have stayed at the Quality Inn, but I guaran-fucking-tee you that chick did not eat Little Caesars. Unless you consider a bottled water to be food.
Are you putting antibiotic ointment on those bites? Seriously, some people can develop a secondary infection from bed bug bites. Don’t scratch! You might also want to try an OTC antihistamine. Go and find an insecticide with permethrin and when you check into the motel, spray the sheets, pillows, and comforter and allow it to dry before sleeping on the bed.
BTW, Ivanka actually looks cute in this photo. I doubt she ate Little Caesars and her publicist should get the $18 stipend for coming up with that story.
BEET: Bring. Your. Own. Sheets. The first thing you should do upon entering ANY hotel room is to remove the long tongs from your bag and immediately dispose of the linens they’ve provided for you.
lol i love how they love to tell these stories as if staying somewhere with less that 5 stars is such a feat for these individuals. . . GET OVER YOURSELVES!
Beet, I hope for your sake that those aren’t bedbug bites.
Check your suitcase to make sure they’re not traveling with you.
Seriously- wash all of your clothes on HOT and consider just chucking your luggage. Or take it to a dry-cleaners and explain there may be bed bugs in it. The clothes need to be raised to a certain temperature to ensure any eggs or bugs are killed. (Do all this before you return to your house or the house of someone you care about.)
You’ve now scared me regarding my own cross-country trip where
it could cost your hundreds of dollars to get someone to come in and get rid of bed bugs in your house!!! throw everything away!!!
OOOO my poor Beet! I had bedbugs once, when the crack hooker (yes you read that right) moved out from next door her fucking bed bugs moved into MY partment and I woke up with aty least 5 of the same HUGE ITCHY AS FUCK bites every day for a month (thats how long my super took to get pest control to my apartment the effing bastard) anyway it sucks big time, go cet some cortizone cream from the pharmacy it’s the only thing that helps.
Those definitely look like bed bug bites. I got attacked by them once in Vancouver, Canada hotel. I’ve been scared of them every since and ritually tear apart hotel beds before I’ll get into them.
The bites are going to last way longer than the worst mosquito bites you’ve ever had and to echo other posters – make sure you wash everything you have with you – especially if you put any of your luggage on the bed. If you did put your luggage on the bed, you might want to throw things away. If bed bugs get into your house, I’ve heard it’s an absolute nightmare to get them exterminated.
Beet-you need to see a dr. and get some prescription ointment. That is the only way to kill it. It looks like bedbugs or scabies. And you definatly need to let the hotel know what happened. That is gross!
I pretty much agree with everyone & what they’ve said. Wash everything in crazy hot water. GO TO THE DR’S!!!! And I think you need to call that motel & tell them you are sending them the bill. And they need to know th get rid of that mattress so this doesn’t happen to anyone else.
Opps -know so they get rid…..
What about pictures of Leo and his first road trip? You haven’t mentioned anything about him for a week!
I would see a doctor and make sure they are not spider bites–they can be very serious!
I’m with Jennykay – those could also be spider bites I’m afraid. Get thee to a doctor, girlie. And notify the motel…but, if you search on bed bugs and hotels, I think you’ll find that even 4 stars have this problem. It’s the scourge of the lodging industry (read about the critters and how they hide & then slip out & feed on you, how they travel…go to a doctor please!)
Ew. Def bed bug bites. Scary.
Hey Beet- I’d call your doc or drop in a clinic for an antibiotic if I were you. I’m reminded of tick bites that turned septic on me when I look at those pictures. It’s not what you can see on the outside, it’s what those assholes leave inside you you have to be worried about- lyme disease!
Get them checked out!
I’d also consider sending a letter or email to the health department in the city where you got all of these bites, along with your doctor’s statment of cause/treatment, and these photos. The city should be made aware of the health danger.
You clearly got bed bugs. That’s fucking nasty as HELL. I’d sue.
hate to break it to ya kiddo, you got bit by bed bugs! i didn’t know they were real until i got bit like CRAZY in australia. I looked like i had the chicken pox! whenever at a hotel/motel look UNDER the sheets around the edge of the matress…they look like ticks. GROSSSSSSSSSS good luck!
1st Doctor, next call corp headquarters and file a complaint. Luckily you filed a completely documented the whole story on the interwebs. You should get some consideration from the company. They will be pleased at how many people read this blog and know the story. You will get a settlement offer of some kind. But do see a doctor.
Last year I was in NYC and most of the city was infested with bed bugs even the Four Seasons. It is gross though.
You should definitely get some money out of this!! I hope that clears up soon.
You need to get those bites looked at. Those could easily turn into an infection (if they haven’t already)…Seriously, get those looked at stat.
Beet- as many posters above have stated, you are the victim of bedbugs. These little critters are parasites like mosquitos- they used you to chow down. You are having a reaction to all of the goodies they injected into you that work as anti-coagulants. Go to the store/pharmacy and buy some Benedryl or another antihistamine. You can also put some cortisone cream over the bites to help with the itching.
You don’t need to go to the docotor unless the swelling doesn’t go away, or unless you have signs of an obvious infection (really, really red or pus is a sure sign…) DO NOT scratch them open- people who do this can easily get impetigo. You don’t want that.
Look on the bright side- you’ll match Paris for the next few days…
ointments, antihistaminics of course
and probably semisynthetic penicillin orally if there is no allergy to this antibiotic
they look really upsetting
and btw
5 star is usually safer
I’d rather skip breakfast and pay for WiFi
than getting bugs around me
although honestly I guess bugs usually run away from me
mamba you are my favorite poster <3
That’s disgusting. Didn’t know bed bugs were this visible and this nasty:
http://bedbugger.files.wordpress.com/2006/10/common_bed_bug_lifecycle.jpg
DAMMIT!! Now I’m itching!
Gross! I see why people are freaking out after looking at this model of a bed bug burrowed in skin:
http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/744/167420.JPG
I had bug bites like that- You might be having a super bad allergic reaction. I paid 200 to have a doctor tell me they were hives, which I had figured out. But they looked just like that.
I agree that they look like bedbug bites Beet, and also i agree that you should see a Dr asap..
I hope you get better soon!
ACK! Seriously, listen to the posters telling you to wash everything you had with you before going back into your own home. Including having your pets groomed before taking them inside. Bed bugs will hop a ride on anything you have, including your pets if they were in the motel room. And bug bomb the car too if it’s yours, if not, be nice and tell the rental place you ran into bed bugs at a hotel you stayed in.
And if you have to stay in another hotel, changing the sheets doesn’t matter. They don’t live in the sheets. They live in the matress and bed frame. Pull the sheets off and check the seams of the mattress for a reddish residue or brown like flaking. Look behind the headboard or on any seam of the bed that has light enough wood that you can see any black trails. These are marks left by bed bugs. Have you ever given a bath to a dog that has alot of fleas and hasn’t been bathed in awhile? The water turns a reddish brown and that’s the same sorta color bed bugs will leave behind in the seams of a mattress or headboard. Search the web for photos if you want to make sure what your seeing is bed bugs or not.
Good luck!
<3 lollylicious <3
That may be MRSA if the bites don’t go away or keep growing go to the emergency room. It starts like a bite keeps getting bigger and red. Most MRSA infections look like bug bites when they start out.