I am a school nurse and about 2 1/2 weeks ago I was notified that a student had bed bugs at home. I began taking precautions to decrease the chances of transmission at the school and had the student begin coming into my office in the morning and changing her clothes. I inspected her shoes. I put her clothes and backpack in a sealed large ziploc bag and then took the things to the laundry room to be dried. I left her backpack in the ziploc bag without drying it because of all the items she had in it, but felt comfortable because it was sealed.
Fast forward 2 days and I found 2 dead bed bugs after drying her items AND realized there was a small hole in the ziploc bag I had been storing her backpack in.
Now I am petrified that somehow I may have inadvertently brought one home to my bed and family. I now change my clothes daily before coming home and isolate my bag/purse, but I was not being quite so careful in the two days before I found the hole in the bag.
About 12-13 days after this I woke up with several welts on my hip - right under my underwear line, which I realize would be a weird place to be bitten by a bed bug. The welts did not itch and disappeared within a few hours. I have not had anything since.
I am obsessively checking my sheets, mattress, curtains, nightstand, picture frames and baseboards for any signs of bugs. I even get up in the middle of the night and shine a flashlight under my covers. I have also checked my kids beds. So far, nothing. No skins, no blood, no fecal stains, no bugs.
It has now been about 16 days since first exposure. With diligent checking, how long before I should notice something if it is here? I am about to lose my mind and drive my husband crazy in the process.