What is a tick bite dangerous for a person, how to provide first aid and what symptoms to look for

why a tick bite is dangerous for a person
What is a tick bite dangerous for humans?

Hello! I sometimes shudder at the mere thought of how carelessly some people relate to their health.

For example, Gregory from our village has already been bitten ten times by a tick over the past two years. Never went to the hospital.

Itself removed ticks and lived quietly further. But he was just lucky that he did not catch serious consequences. Want to find out what a tick bite is dangerous for a person? What measures should be taken after a bite? I want to share relevant information with you.

What is a tick dangerous

Ticks are very small in size, and it is usually difficult to notice until they are pumped with blood. But then it is too late. Getting on the human body, the tick does not immediately dig into his skin, but creeps for a long time, looking for the most tender places (where there is thin skin).

Important!
Most often, it bites into the groin, under the armpits, on the neck, in the clavicle, on the stomach and back. His bite is completely insensitive, because the tick saliva contains an anesthetic substance. Ticks are sucked on for three to four days.

From the drunk blood, the mites greatly swell, increasing in size three to four times, and only then disappear. Ticks are dangerous not by their bite, but by the fact that they suck blood from various animals, and from each animal microbes are collected. Then these microbes are introduced into the blood of the victim.

The most common is a forest tick. It is a carrier of tick-borne encephalitis - the most serious disease of the central nervous system. Also, ticks can transmit other serious illnesses, including plague, tularemia, borreliosis, brucellosis, and typhoid.

Even if the tick bite was briefly temporary, the risk of contracting tick-borne infections is not excluded. However, one must understand that the presence of an infection in a tick does not mean that a person will become ill.

When he is dangerous

The tick is most dangerous in the spring-summer period, in August the risk of infection decreases sharply, and in September-October it practically disappears.

Ticks are most active in the morning and in the evening, like shaded, moist places with dense undergrowth. In bright places they usually do not happen. Ticks like to be near trails along which animals (including mice) walk.

They love places where cattle graze, various clearings and deaf places. In heat or rain, ticks hide and do not attack. Do not forget that ticks crawl from bottom to top.

It is a misconception that ticks attack from trees or tall bushes. They lie in wait for their "prey" among the vegetation of the lower tier of the forest (usually no more than 1 m high).

In tall grass, ticks have better sun protection and are more likely to attack.

Advice!
The tick bite is painless, only after a day or two there is a feeling of light pulling pain, since a local inflammatory reaction develops at the suction site, sometimes with suppuration.

A bite wound usually itches severely and heals very slowly. Having noticed a bite, you can remove the tick yourself or go to the clinic.

How to delete

You can pull out the ticks yourself with tweezers, a loop from a strong thread (for this method you need dexterity) or with your fingers, preferably with a disinfected alcohol solution.

If the tick has already deeply dug into the body, on the bliss you can drip with vegetable oil, Vaseline with something enveloping and blocking the access of air. You need to pull out the tick by slightly shaking it from side to side, and then gradually pulling it out.

If the proboscis comes off and remains in the skin, then it is removed by a calcined flame and a cooled needle like a splinter. Even if you do not completely remove the parasite, and there remains a proboscis under the skin, intoxication with the virus will be slower.

When providing first aid for a tick bite, avoid any contact with the parasite, since the risk of transmission of infection exists and is real. Try not to allow the places where the tick sucked in with the mucous membranes of the eyes, mouth and nose.

What to do after removal

It is important to know that it is impossible to destroy the removed mites by crushing them with fingers, since accidentally crushing the mite can result in infection by rubbing into the skin or mucous membranes with saliva or tick tissues of the pathogen.

Attention!
After removing the tick, the suction site should be treated with iodine, brilliant green or washed thoroughly with soap.

The insect itself must be taken for examination for infection with tick-borne infections. If you definitely cannot take the tick for analysis, burn it or pour boiling water over it. A tick analysis is needed for calm in case of a negative result and vigilance in the case of a positive.

How and where to take the tick for analysis

The tick should be placed in a small glass bottle with a piece of cotton wool slightly moistened with water. Be sure to close the bottle with a tight lid and store it in the refrigerator. If this is not possible, simply place the tick in a box or wrap in gauze and try to keep it alive.

For microscopic diagnosis, the tick must be delivered to the laboratory alive. Even individual fragments of the tick are suitable for PCR diagnostics. The surest way to determine the presence of a disease is to take a blood test.

Donate blood immediately after a tick bite is not necessary, tests will not show anything.

Not earlier than 10 days later, blood can be examined for tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis by PCR. Two weeks after a tick bite - on antibodies (IgM) to tick-borne encephalitis virus. For antibodies (IgM) to Borrelia (tick-borne borreliosis) - after three weeks.

Bite Prevention

One of the means of preventing tick-borne encephalitis is vaccination. Subject to the vaccination schedule, diseases are extremely rare and, as a rule, occur in a mild form. However, vaccinations must be done on time - a few months before the start of the season or before the proposed walk through the forests.

Likbez. Why are ticks dangerous?

How to properly remove ticks, whether there is an emergency vaccination, as well as other answers to important questions about ticks.

What kind of ticks are we talking about? In the world there are more than 40 thousand species of ticks. Despite this diversity, not all are dangerous, but only some of them. The carriers of dangerous diseases are ixodid ticks - they lead a parasitic lifestyle and feed on the blood of animals.

In Russia, the taiga tick, found mainly in the Asian part of the country, and the European forest tick, prevailing in the European part, live.

Important!
Female ticks are much more dangerous than males - they can suck and feed on blood for a whole week. However, both males and nymphs and tick larvae are dangerous.

Where do ticks live? Contrary to popular belief, in order to become infected with tick-borne encephalitis or another disease that they may transmit, it is not necessary to go to the taiga (although there the probability of infection is much higher).

Ticks are found in urban parks and in summer cottages. They prefer well-moistened places overgrown with grass.

Many believe that ticks await their prey, and then jump on top of it. However, more often the tick sits on top of a blade of grass or a short bush and just clings to the one who passes by. He begins to climb from bottom to top - a tick can reach an adult's head in 15 minutes.

What is a tick bite dangerous? If a tick bit me, will I get sick? Ticks can infect with various diseases. They can cause not only tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis, which many have heard of, but also recurrent tick-borne typhus, ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis and other diseases. The probability of infection depends on the region of the tick.

The virus enters the bloodstream immediately after a bite, but the first symptoms of the disease may not appear immediately, but after a few days or even weeks. It is not necessary that you become ill after a bite. Firstly, not all ticks are infected, and secondly, only about 5% of those who have been bitten by infected ticks get sick.

Diseases caused by ticks, in rare cases, can be asymptomatic, but more often a febrile state occurs: the temperature rises, headaches, fatigue, joint pain appear.

In addition, paralysis, hearing problems, and vision problems may develop. Many residual effects can persist for several years after a disease.

Advice!
What should I do if I find a tick on myself? The tick must be removed as soon as possible - the longer it is on the body and feeds on blood, the greater the likelihood of infection. It is best to go to the emergency room, where a specialist will pull out the tick.

If this is not possible, then you have to act on your own. You need to grab the tick as close to the skin as possible - you can try to pull it out with your fingers, tweezers or thread. It is worth trying to pull out the whole tick. If the head of the arthropod remains inside the skin - do not panic, it can be removed like a regular splinter.

Smear the tick with oil or something else is not worth it - this will make it suck blood more intensively and will only increase the likelihood of infection. But the wound remaining after the bite, it is better to disinfect.

And what to do with the tick itself? The tick should be put in a jar in which to put a moist cotton swab or gauze, and then be sure to take it to the analysis - where exactly, they can tell you in the emergency room or the ambulance service by phone 03.

10 days after a tick bite, it is necessary to donate blood for the detection of tick-borne encephalitis by PCR, after 2 weeks - to be tested for the detection of IgM antibodies to tick-borne encephalitis virus, and another week later - for the detection of IgM antibodies to borreliosis. Remember that ticks can cause mixed infections, the doctor will prescribe tests for their detection.

And how to protect yourself for the future? The most effective way to prevent tick-borne encephalitis is vaccination.

You can be vaccinated at any time of the year, but you need to remember that vaccination consists of several stages - at least two weeks must pass between the second vaccination and a possible encounter with a tick. The standard vaccination schedule takes at least 45 days, and the emergency vaccine takes at least 21. The exact timing depends on the chosen vaccine.

In the event that you are not vaccinated, but emergency vaccination is necessary (or if you have already been bitten by a tick), they are prescribed immunization with a specific immunoglobulin against tick-borne encephalitis.

And if there is no way to graft that, do not go to the forest and do not go to the cottage?

Attention!
However, you can try to minimize the risk of a bite. Going into the woods, it is worth filling up your pants with shoes, and a T-shirt or shirt with pants. You need to tie a scarf around your neck, and put a hood on your head. You need to examine yourself and your comrades at least once every 15-20 minutes.

You can also use repellents - there are products that need to be applied to exposed areas of the body, and there are acaricides sprays based on permethrin and alfamethrin sprayed directly onto clothing. The effect of this treatment lasts for a week.

However, it must be remembered that neither special clothing, nor anti-mite remedies, nor even vaccination gives 100% protection.

What is a tick bite dangerous? Memo for the public

The ixodid tick is a small arachnid up to 3 mm in length, living in different places of our Earth. Ticks are located in places not higher than undersized shrubs.

Favorable living conditions are moist, dark places of forests, parks. Unfortunately, there are no special signs by which a tick can be distinguished with pathogens.

The peak of the highest activity of ticks appears from the beginning of April and decreases at the end of June. Their maximum number is recorded in the month of May. In early July, many ticks die out. Insects are inactive, cannot fly and move quickly.

They expect their victim (human or animal) sitting motionless on the grass, squat branches. The approach of a person changes the behavior of the tick: it spreads its legs and tries to catch.

When a person is bitten by a tick, no painful symptoms are felt, since the bite is completely painless. This is due to a special substance that has the properties of anesthetic, which is contained in saliva.

Important!
After a bite, a tick with a proboscis, on which there are teeth, gropes a blood vessel and safely sticks to it, absorbing the blood of its victim.

A strong manifestation of signs of a bite should be expected in older people or children who have a history of chronic diseases, allergies, immunodeficiency.

“Favorite” places of the tick: scalp, ears, armpits, inguinal region, inner part of elbow bends and knees - where the skin is thinner and closer to vessels.

The first signs of a tick bite can appear in a person 2-3 hours after a bite: weakness, drowsiness; chills; joint aches; photophobia.

Then other symptoms appear: hyperthermia up to 37–38 degrees against the background of lowering pressure and tachycardia; itching and rashes; lymphadenopathy (an increase in regional lymph nodes).

The strong response of the human body to a tick bite is manifested in the form of a headache; nausea and vomiting labored, hoarse breathing; nerve manifestations in the form of hallucinations and more.

On the human body, the tick is clearly visible - it resembles a mole. Tick ​​paws are similar to hair outgrowths. In a sucked state, it can be for a long time.

What to do if you are bitten by a tick? The main goal of all further manipulations with the tick is to remove it. It is necessary to seek first aid from a specialist. If not possible, then you should try to extract the insect yourself.

Advice!
Tick ​​removal is a painless procedure for humans. For this, it is most convenient to use curved tweezers. Grab the tick as close to the proboscis as possible, begin to sip and rotate it around its axis. You can’t jerk sharply - you can break the tick in half. After 2-3 turns, you will remove it whole together with the proboscis.

If you don’t have tweezers, then make a loop from a strong thread, grab the tick and gently pull it out, while you need to stagger it in different directions. Loop a tick closer to the skin.

If there is no tweezers or thread, wrap your fingers with a clean bandage, grab the tick as close to the skin as possible and gently pull it with rotational movements.

Treat the wound with iodine or alcohol. Handle carefully, do not burn the skin. Be sure to wash your hands and tweezers after this procedure. Remove the tick, put it in a wet bandage, cotton wool, put it in a small jar or other container and take it to a medical institution for analysis.

You can’t take the tick with your bare hands: put on gloves or use tweezers. The tick can be stored for no more than 2 days.

Take the antihistamine in the maximum permissible norm, according to the instructions attached to the drug. This will reduce the body’s allergic reaction to the bite.

Almost always, as a result of such manipulations, the tick is able to be removed intact. A further tactic after its removal is the treatment of the wound with iodine solution and observation of the bite site.

The appearance of a small pink spot, which should disappear after a few days, is considered a normal reaction. If there is a rupture of the tick and the antennae remain in the skin - do not panic, after 5-10 days the skin will “push” them out like a foreign body.

Attention!
The reason for contacting a health care facility is an increase in the spot at the site of the bite in diameter, the appearance of a rash, and a deterioration in overall well-being.

Remember: although not all ticks are infectious and pose a risk of infection for humans, the earlier the tick was removed, the less likely it is to get one of these infections: tick-borne encephalitis, borreliosis (Lyme disease), hemorrhagic fever.

Etiotropic treatment consists in the appointment of antiviral drugs, as well as a solution of glucose, vitamins (K, P), which strengthen the vessel wall. With timely contact with a specialist, the prognosis of treatment is favorable.

How to prevent a tick bite? To do this, you just need to follow simple recommendations:

Ticks are not able to bite through clothing. They need an open area of ​​skin. That is why clothing is a reliable means of protection against ticks.

Heading into the forest, care should be taken to protect exposed parts of the body, especially the skin of the legs. Socks should be worn over the pants, the sleeves of the sweater should fit snugly against the wrist.

It is advisable to wear light-colored clothing. It is on it that ticks are more noticeable. Effective tick repellents are effective. They are recommended to be applied to places where the tick can penetrate: collar, shirt sleeves, belt, socks, etc.

It is important to regularly inspect body areas after visiting a park or forest. The tick moves slowly to the surface of the body it needs, therefore, before the bite it can be found and removed.

If a tick is found on the body, it is necessary to contact a health facility.

What is a tick bite dangerous?

Now is the time when city dwellers choose to relax in nature, and work is already in full swing on garden plots. However, despite the pleasant spring sun, you should not lose vigilance.

Important!
Even in the early spring after the winter "hibernation", ixodid ticks wake up and become active - blood-sucking arthropods that live in the forest and forest park zones. At least 12 species of these small "predators" live on the territory of our country.

They pose a considerable danger to humans and animals, since they are a natural reservoir and carriers of a number of bacterial and viral infections and can cause the development of serious diseases - tick-borne encephalitis and Lyme borreliosis.

Infection of a person occurs most often after sucking an infected tick or when it is crushed by fingers.

Clinging to a person’s clothes with the help of claws and suction cups on the legs, the tick moves to parts of the body with more delicate skin - most often to the neck, chest, stomach, scalp, axillary and inguinal areas.

Tick-borne encephalitis is a disease that affects mainly the nervous system (meninges) and begins with a rise in body temperature, headache in the frontal and temporal areas. Usually, the rapid course of the disease is accompanied by the appearance of seizures, severe headache and even loss of consciousness.

With the development of the "classical" clinical picture of Lyme borreliosis, a red spot (erythema) with a diameter of three or more centimeters is formed at the site of tick suction in 7-14 days.

In addition, the disease is accompanied by fever, muscle pain, swollen lymph nodes, damage to the joints, heart and nervous system. If treatment is started late, the disease often becomes chronic and intractable and causes disability.

The best prevention of tick-borne infections is compliance with the rules of protection against tick bites. When going to the forest, take care of appropriate clothing and shoes to prevent ticks from creeping under the clothes. Trousers are tucked into shoes, and the shirt into trousers, tighten the collar and sleeve cuffs tightly.

Advice!
Wear light and plain clothing so that bloodsuckers - “passengers” can be better seen. Shoes should be high-toped, and apply repellents to clothing - chemicals that repel ticks. Wearing a hat is a must.

Go around thick, tall grass and shrubs wherever possible. While in the forest for a long time, every hour or two, inspect open areas of the body for timely detection and removal of crawling ticks.

Upon returning from the forest, do not be too lazy to once again examine your body and clothes, as well as pets that you took with you, take a shower. Try not to bring home bouquets of wildflowers and forest flowers or carefully examine them.

Having discovered that a tick has sucked on you, you should not immediately panic - after all, not all ticks are infectious. In 80% of cases, a tick bite is not dangerous if you get rid of it in time.

If the tick is attached to the skin, it must be carefully removed with twisting movements of the head with tweezers or thread, so as not to break the proboscis. After removing it, you must thoroughly wash your hands with soap, and treat the wound with a solution of iodine or an alcohol-containing agent.

The appearance of the tick can not determine whether it is infected or not. In order for the tick to be suitable for subsequent laboratory research, you can not apply any oil, cream, petroleum jelly, etc. to the bite site.

The removed tick should be placed in a clean dish (vial, test tube) with a cotton swab or paper moistened with water, and taken to the laboratory for examination.

A victim of a tick bite must necessarily consult an infectious disease specialist or a local therapist who will prescribe appropriate preventive treatment and monitoring if necessary.

After a bite for at least 30 days, you must listen to your health - in case of an inexplicable increase in temperature or the appearance of a red spot at the site of the bite, you should immediately consult a doctor!

How dangerous is a tick bite to human health and how to avoid it?

Many mistakenly believe that ticks fall from trees. In fact, ticks are born in the ground and rise on the grass, maximum - on the bush. Climbing onto a stalk or branch, the tick spreads its legs in different directions and waits for its victim.

Attention!
It is for this reason that the danger of being bitten threatens more children than adults. It must be remembered that ticks live not only in the forest, but also in parks, along paths along rivers, etc.

Ticks that are dangerous for people attack at certain times of the year: most often it is April - May, then they have a break and a new surge of "appetite" is observed in September - October. However, if the winter is warm enough, and the tick did not have enough time to eat enough in the fall, it can attack in December.

The most active ticks behave at a temperature of about 20 degrees. above zero and humidity 90 - 95%. Particularly careful should be on cloudy days. In the daytime in the very heat and with minimal humidity, the ticks "rest".

The ideal “prey” for a tick is an animal with thick hair. When the tick hits the "owner", it crawls from 20 minutes to several hours in search of a suitable place.Its purpose is the “corner”, which is difficult to detect, with an abundance of small capillaries: behind the ears, between the fingers, under the armpits, in the perineum.

Interestingly, men and women have “tidbits” of places. For the fair sex, ticks choose the popliteal fold, and for the strong - the back, nape, arms and legs.

There are simple rules that will help you not get sick after a tick bite.
Firstly, from April to May, be sure to inspect yourself after forest and park walks.

If you find a tick and pull it out correctly during the first day, then the risk of getting sick is equal to zero. If more than a day has passed, a visit to the doctor is required!

European forest tick (the most common in our latitudes) suffers encephalitis and Lyme disease, but these diseases usually occur without fatal cases and serious consequences for human health. Of course, tick-borne infections do not pass without a trace: a person receives a powerful blow to the immune system.

What danger is a tick bite for a person?

When traveling to nature, people wonder what a tick bite is dangerous for a person. It is almost impossible to avoid contact with this arthropod, especially in spring. It is difficult to notice a tiny parasite in time to prevent its attack. Acquaintance with him may end in tragedy.

Why is infection dangerous?

The arthropod bite itself is not dangerous to humans. But biting the skin, the parasite releases a portion of its saliva into the bloodstream. If the parasite is not a carrier of infection, its bite will not cause any unpleasant consequences for human health.

Important!
The saliva of an infected tick is a danger. It is impossible to distinguish an infected parasite from a healthy one by external signs.

The tick becomes infected after contact with a sick animal. If the victim of a tick bite was infected with dangerous infections, the parasite will be their carrier.

Pathogens enter the arthropod during a bite through saliva. Once obtained, the infection persists in the body of the tick throughout his life.

Why are ticks dangerous? Due to the anesthetic properties of the saliva of the parasite, it is impossible to feel bitten. Unfortunately, very often ticks are discovered by chance when their body multiplies in size.

The tick can drink the victim’s blood for up to 10 days. All this time he is constantly increasing in size. Arthropod can reach the size of a large wart 3-4 days after a bite.

In the first hours after a bite, the parasite injects substances into the skin tissue that cause a rush of blood to the bite site. After that, he intensively sucks blood for 12-15 hours. After drinking blood, the tick injects toxins into the victim’s body.

If there were dangerous pathogens in his body, it was at that moment that they would enter the human blood. Bloodsucker saliva tends to lower local immunity at the site of a bite, increasing the risk of infection.

Thus, the longer the tick is on the skin, the higher the chance of infection. For humans, female ticks are more dangerous.

They drink more blood and stay on the body longer than males. Males fall away from the victim, usually in an hour.

If you remove the infected parasite within the first 24 hours after the bite, the likelihood of human infection will be minimal.

When does the risk of parasite attack increase?

Dangerous to humans are ticks of the ixodidae family. In the regions of the middle zone, one should beware of the tick of the taiga and forest European.

Contrary to the names, bloodsucking parasites are found not only in the taiga or in the forest. They live on grass in urban park areas, on roadsides and in ravines with abundant vegetation.

Attention!
Ticks are most active in early spring, from April to the end of June. After hibernation, the parasites are very hungry, and the concentration of toxic substances in their saliva is very high.While there is no grass, they hide in trees and in fallen leaves.

Ticks prefer deciduous forests. In dense coniferous forests, poorly transmitting sunlight, without grass and shrubs, parasites are difficult to meet. What is dangerous encephalitis tick for people?

Sitting on a twig or blade of grass, the parasite is waiting for its victim. Ticks have no eyes, but they have excellent sense of smell and thermoreceptors. They respond to heat from warm-blooded animals, as well as the smell of sweat. They can smell their victim at a distance of 10 m.

Ticks cling to a warm-blooded object passing by and look for a suitable place for a bite. They try to crawl under clothes in an inconspicuous, warm and humid place where the skin is thin and delicate. Bloodsuckers are usually found under the arms, in the groin, on the inner thighs, on the stomach, on the sides, on the scalp and behind the ears.

In August and September there is a repeated surge in the activity of bloodsuckers. When the air temperature drops to + 5 ° C, parasites enter a state of stupor.

Pets literally attract ticks to themselves, running in the grass and among the bushes. Their warmth and active movements serve as a good bait for parasites. A domestic dog can become not only a victim, but also a vehicle for a bloodsucker.

Clinging to the animal’s hair, a tick can “drive” into a living room and bite a person in his house. What is the danger of a tick bite for a person?

What diseases can be infected from bloodsucking?

Tick-borne infections include those diseases that a person can catch after a tick bite.

Important!
These are tick-borne encephalitis, tick-borne borreliosis (Lyme disease), Q-fever, hemorrhagic fever, human monocytic and granulocytic ehrlichiosis.

A taiga tick bite can cause tick-borne typhus. This disease is often found in some regions of Siberia, in the Primorsky, Krasnoyarsk and Khabarovsk territories.

In landscapes of the temperate climatic zone of the Northern Hemisphere, ticks are carriers of bacteria that cause tularemia.

Tick-borne infections are insidious. In the first days after a bite, a person may not be aware of infection. Especially if the bite of an arthropod goes unnoticed. Sometimes mild ailments appear, reminiscent of a starting cold or flu.

Unpleasant sensations do not force a person to immediately consult a doctor and the moment when it is possible to prevent the development of a serious disease is often missed.

The most common diseases that are transmitted after a tick bite are tick-borne encephalitis and Lyme disease.

Signs of tick-borne encephalitis

The disease develops 2-3 weeks after the bite. The virus infects the brain and nervous system. After infection, the bitten cramps and paralysis of certain muscle groups or limbs.

Sensitivity disappears in some areas of the skin. The patient is tormented by severe headaches and vomiting. He may periodically lose consciousness or fall into a coma.

Advice!
Another manifestation of the disease is excessive excitation of the nervous system. A person loses orientation in space and time. Damage to the cardiovascular system leads to the development of myocarditis. Arrhythmia and cardiovascular failure occurs.

The virus attacks the gastrointestinal tract, causing an increase in the liver and spleen. The patient has a delayed stool or diarrhea. Body temperature rises to 39-40 ° C. If medical care is not provided on time, death is possible.

Borreliosis, or Lyme disease

The incubation period of the disease can last from several days to 80. However, most often the first symptoms appear after 1-2 weeks. The disease has three characteristic stages of development:

At the first stage, a slight redness appears around the bite site. It has the form of large red circles embedded in one another. Gradually increasing in size, the stain can reach 50 cm in diameter.The skin at the site of redness becomes hot. Sometimes a painful red seal appears on the swollen skin.

At this stage, the patient develops weakness, chills, headache and vomiting. The lymph nodes closest to the site of the bite increase in size and can cause pain. If you do not start treatment at this stage, the disease goes to the second stage of its development.

At the second stage, various organs are affected. A person develops serous meningitis. Encephalitis and encephalomyelitis may also occur. Diseases are accompanied by mild paralysis of only the lower or all limbs.

The virus often causes inflammation of the oculomotor, cranial and auditory nerves. The patient develops severe vomiting and headache, and body temperature rises. A look up delivers pain. There is intolerance to light and sounds.

The third stage develops several months after the bite in the absence of treatment of the first two stages. The patient is affected by the joints. They increase in size and become painful. Movement is limited. Pathologies of the cardiovascular, nervous system and skin integument develop.

Preventive actions

After going to nature, you need to take off your clothes and shake it over the bath. It is recommended to take a shower and carefully examine the entire skin, including the scalp. If a tick has been detected, it must be removed as soon as possible.

Attention!
It is best to use a mosquito clip, anti-mite loop or special tweezers with a curved nose to remove a bloodsucker. You can use ordinary tweezers. In the field, when there is not even tweezers, the tick must be carefully removed with the nails.

When the parasite is absorbed into the skin, it partially immerses in it and firmly compresses its jaws on the tissues. Therefore, when removing a tick, there is a risk of leaving its head under the skin. In this case, the likelihood of infection will continue.

To avoid such a development of events, the bite site is covered with oil. The oil blocks the tick from accessing the air, and it opens the jaw. After applying the oil, wait a few minutes. After this, the arthropod can be removed.

It is impossible to pull the swollen body, since the leathery shell may burst. In this case, the liquid contained in the body will surely fall into the wound, and infection will occur with a high probability.

Holding the tick near the skin itself, it must be slowly and carefully removed.

The wound must be disinfected, and the parasite should be taken to a medical institution for research. If the tick was infected, drugs will be introduced to the person to prevent the development of the disease.

A human bite with a tick, what is dangerous and what may be the consequences

A tick is a small arthropod of the arachnid class, which feeds on the blood of animals and humans. The peak of parasite activity is late spring and early summer.

The danger of a tick bite for humans is known to many - an animal can be a carrier of various diseases that pose a serious threat to health, and in some cases even death.

general description

Ticks are classified as animals, because, unlike insects, they have 4 pairs of legs, the body is divided into the cephalothorax and abdomen, which greatly swells when filled with blood, and the antennae are completely absent. The size of arthropods varies from 0.2 to 5 mm.

Important!
On the legs there are claws and stalked suckers, with the help of which the tick is firmly fixed on the victim’s body.

In Russia, the most popular ixodid ticks, preferring a warm and humid climate. Most often, people are attacked in parks and forests - parasites climb on tall grass, a tree or deciduous deposits and wait for a person or animal.

A dangerous arthropod can feel the victim even at a distance of 10 m.When a person comes close enough, the tick jumps and clings to it.

During the piercing of the epidermis, the victim does not feel pain, since the arachnid produces a special anesthetic substance, but when the parasite crawls on the skin, it is much easier to detect.

Therefore, coming home from a walk, it is necessary to carefully examine the skin, especially the groin, the bends of the elbows and armpits.

Activity period

The period of tick activity occurs in late spring - early summer
The activity of parasites is manifested from the end of April to September, but they pose the greatest danger in the first 2-3 months of this period.

The fact is that in the spring a lot of poison accumulates in their salivary glands, so at this very moment the probability of catching an infection increases greatly. In May, the number of individuals is rapidly increasing.

In early June, female ticks begin to actively attack animals and people in order to get enough and begin to breed and lay eggs. By the end of the summer period, the activity of arthropods decreases, as the parasites are already saturated, and the poison in the salivary glands has become much less.

Tick ​​activity is most weak in September, if autumn is warm, a bite can be obtained even in October. Arachnids hibernate when the mark on the thermometer drops below + 4 ° heat.

Males and females

The most dangerous are females, since they stick to the skin longer, and contact with saliva is delayed.

Advice!
An animal can drink blood for several days, becoming more and more until it falls off. At one time, the female manages to drink an amount of blood ten times greater than her own size.

Also, the infection can be transmitted through the male, but usually they feed no more than one hour, and they suck in much faster. After a bloody meal, the female lays eggs and dies. Male throughout life can feed on the blood of several hosts.

It is worth noting that it is the adults that should be feared, the larvae will not bring serious harm to health.

Are ticks dangerous

In nature, there are more than 40 thousand species of ticks that can live in any climatic zone. Many animals feed on plants and mushrooms, but some of them do not mind eating human blood.

Puncture of the skin itself does not pose a particular threat, the situation is much worse if the tick is a carrier of a dangerous disease - in this case, the pathology is transmitted to a person through arthropod saliva.

In turn, the tick becomes infected with the virus from other animals, it can be various squirrels, voles, cats or dogs, also through a bite.

An infection obtained in this way can seriously undermine the health of the victim - most often the disease is cured, but in some cases a person can remain disabled or die. Especially often lethal outcomes occur with tick-borne encephalitis.

Also, a person can catch an infection when a parasite is removed from a pet or after drinking milk from an infected cow or goat.

The danger of a tick bite is that the insect is a carrier of dangerous diseases

The most serious diseases caused by the parasite

The most serious diseases that can be transmitted from ticks to humans are:

Monocytic ehrlichiosis. The first symptoms of the disease are fever, fatigue and joint pain. After that, failures in the central nervous system occur, the state of the blood vessels worsens, and the musculoskeletal system is disturbed.

Attention!
Encephalitis. Usually, the incubation period lasts from 7 to 20 days, the first signs of this dangerous disease can be easily confused with acute respiratory viral infections - this is an increase in temperature, joint pain and migraine.

After a few days, the temperature rises sharply to 39-40 °, vomiting, photophobia are added.The patient feels lethargic and depressed, a plaque appears on the tongue.

If you do not start treatment of tick-borne encephalitis on time, the result may be brain damage, impaired memory and speech apparatus, and mental disorders. Often, the disease leads to epilepsy and disability, in some cases to death.

Brain damage can be a consequence of encephalitis.

Tick-borne borreliosis. On the skin site where the bite occurred, a papule appears, having the shape of a ring with a diameter of 10 to 60 cm. The formation begins to itch, swell and hurt. Also, the disease is accompanied by sore throat, cough and rhinitis.

Hemorrhagic fever. Most often, the primary source of the disease is animals - when saturated with blood, the tick becomes infected itself, and after a logical chain the fever reaches the person.

Infection affects the walls of blood vessels, violating their integrity. As some vessels become clogged, an excess amount of blood builds up in others. Often the disease is fatal.

Bite symptoms

Detecting arthropods is not always easy, the fact is that during penetration into the skin, the tick produces a special anesthetic substance so that the victim does not feel pain and does not have time to take action.

Important!
That is why ticks prefer more closed places: behind the ears, on the lower back or armpits.

The first symptoms of a tick bite are easily confused with a common malaise, these are:

  • An increase in body temperature from 37.5 ° to 38.5 °.
  • Sleepy state, chills, severe fatigue.
  • Joint pain, muscle pain.
  • Enlarged lymph nodes.
  • Headaches.
  • Itching of the affected area, the appearance of rashes on the skin.

How to pull out a tick

When a tick is not found on the body, a bitten person seeks to pull it out as soon as possible. Of course, it is advisable to contact the nearest emergency room or SES, but if this is not possible, you can use the following methods:

  • Unscrew the arthropod with your index finger and thumb counterclockwise, as the tick bites into the skin in the opposite direction. Care must be taken to control the force of pressure, if the animal bursts, the wound can begin to fester and become inflamed. Hands before the procedure should be washed and treated with an antiseptic.
  • Make a loop on the thread, wrap the head of the tick and tighten, then slowly pull it out of the skin. The method can be suitable only if the arachnid will have large or medium sizes, while the thread must be strong.
  • Lubricate the damaged area with alcohol solution or hydrogen peroxide, clamp the head of the tick with tweezers and pull it out of the skin with light rotational movements.
  • Take the insulin syringe and cut off its lower part, cover the parasite so that it is inside the medical instrument. For the best effect, you can lubricate the affected area with oil or water, pull the piston up. Thanks to the vacuum, the parasite will be removed from the skin quickly enough.
  • Burn the sewing needle until dark, treat the damaged area with an antiseptic. Guide the needle under the head of the arthropod and lifting the proboscis from under the skin.

After removing the arachnid from the skin, the affected area should be thoroughly disinfected with iodine or an alcohol-containing solution. The animal must be urgently taken to the laboratory to find out if it is a carrier of a dangerous disease.

Some experts recommend dripping on arachnid oil, the tick will begin to choke and pull out its head.

But on the other hand, such actions can do even more harm, if the animal splashes out its internal contents into the wound, the risk of infection is significantly increased.

Security methods

There are several methods to protect against bloodsucking parasites:

  1. Special aerosols that need to be sprayed onto clothes before walking.
  2. A vaccine that can help prevent tick-borne encephalitis infection. Vaccination is carried out in three stages.
  3. Emergency protection. Within three days after the suction of the arthropod, an injection of immunoglobulin is necessary. It is highly recommended that this be done on the first day, as the efficiency will rapidly decline in the next day.

When traveling to nature, you need to bring along a special aerosol, antiseptic and tweezers, as well as find out where the nearest emergency room is.

Prevention methods

To avoid a tick bite and infection through it, precautions should be followed, namely:

  • Be extremely attentive during the period of parasite activity, do not wander around tall grasses and large clusters of trees.
  • Wearing tight-fitting closed clothing, it is desirable that it be white - it is much easier to see the animal on you. Always wear a hat - finding the arthropod in your hair is the same as finding a needle in a haystack, it's hard.
  • Carefully examine yourself after each walk, especially in hard-to-reach places, such as armpits, back, or groin.
  • Before going out, treat the body and clothing with special mites.
  • Find out what the tick looks like and how to eliminate it from the skin, so that you can easily find it out when you meet it and shake it off your clothes or body as soon as possible.
  • To be vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis to prevent the disease.
  • It is more often to examine the animal’s hair during the activity of ticks, often they are carriers of parasites.
  • After each walk, examine yourself and the animal for ticks.

The tick bite itself does not pose a particular threat, its danger is that, along with saliva, an infection can penetrate the human body, which often leads to serious health problems and even death.

Advice!
The most serious diseases are: ehrlichiosis, borreliosis, tick-borne encephalitis and hemorrhagic fever.

To protect yourself from infection, you need to be vaccinated on time, wear closed clothing, use tick sprays and carefully inspect the body after each walk.

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