With the arrival of spring, not only leaves and flowers bloom, but also various insects and mites wake up and become active. Ticks are arthropods; the bite of infected individuals can cause various diseases. Fortunately, no more than 20% of ticks are infected. But still, everyone should know where these pests are found, how to scare them away and what to do if the pest bites.
Where do ticks live?
The largest number of bites by these pests is recorded in the central, Ural, and Siberian regions, the smallest in the south and North Caucasus. They wake up at an average daily temperature above 0-3 °C and live until late autumn.
Habitat forest tick- These are damp and dark wooded places. Ticks live in dry grass or bushes in damp and dark wooded areas. They cannot jump or fly, but they cling very tightly to clothing and then crawl to open areas skin. Ticks sense their approaching prey even tens of meters away, so special means protections with a strong odor help in the fight against bites by interrupting a person’s odor.
How a tick bites
Most often, pests choose a place to bite in the armpits, neck, head, lower legs, abdomen, and other folded areas. They may not bite immediately, but instead crawl on the skin for several hours. When a tick bites, it pierces the skin and attaches to it using a specific organ called the hypostome. The organ is a kind of outgrowth that performs the functions of sucking blood and attaching to the human body.
While sucking blood, the volume of the pest increases many times over. In this case, males become sated in 1-1.5 hours. Females can remain in this state for up to 10 days; they are insatiable.
Signs of a tick bite
A person practically cannot feel that he has been bitten by a tick. The pest has a very small size; in addition, during the sucking process, it injects its saliva, which plays the role of an anesthetic and makes the bite invisible. After puncturing the skin, it attaches to the capillaries and draws blood. As a result, his body increases in size, and it is no longer difficult to see him.
The site of the bite will also have characteristic signs corresponding to the type and health of the tick and the duration of its attachment. If a sterile individual that is not a carrier of diseases has bitten, then at the site of suction there will be a small red spot with a bite mark inside.
As a result of an allergy to substances contained in the pest’s saliva, swelling may occur on the body near the bite. If the body reacts strongly, the area of redness may be more than 100 mm in diameter, and severe swelling may be observed.
Additional signs are:
- the appearance of causeless drowsiness, fatigue;
- aches and pain in the joints, accompanied by chills;
- the appearance of photophobia.
As a rule, a stronger reaction occurs in weak and sick people, children, elderly people with chronic diseases. It is for them that it is very important to quickly detect the site of a tick bite and take preventive measures.
Tick bite - symptoms
Symptoms of a bite sometimes do not appear immediately, it depends on the state of the victim’s immune system. A slight increase in body temperature and blood pressure may indicate other diseases. But in combination with the appearance of rashes that itch, enlarged regional lymph nodes, and increased heart rate - these are clear symptoms of a tick bite.
If a person is in poor health, the reaction can be very strong, for example:
- nausea or vomiting will appear,
- wheezing will occur, it will be difficult to breathe,
- headaches will appear
- a state of nervous excitement may occur, up to the appearance of hallucinations.
It is very important to monitor the condition of the victim not only immediately after the bite, but also for several days. If in the first hours an elevated temperature indicates an allergy to tick saliva, then in the subsequent hours it indicates the onset of an infectious disease.
For each infectious disease there are characteristic changes in body temperature:
- Tick-borne encephalitis. When infected, the victim's temperature rises 2-4 days after infection. The febrile state lasts 2-3 days, then the temperature returns to normal. A week later the cycle repeats.
- Lyme Borreliosis is accompanied by a slight increase in the victim’s body temperature, always in combination with other symptoms: chills, joint pain, headache.
- Monocytic ehrlichiosis causes an increase in temperature 8-14 days after infection, fever lasts about 3 weeks.
- Granulocytic anaplasmosis causes an increase in temperature on the 14th day after infection.
The occurrence of at least one of the above symptoms is a reason to consult a doctor.
How to remove a tick
If you find an attached tick, you must quickly remove it, while trying not to damage its belly. Otherwise, the risk of infection from it increases significantly. It is not easy to tear off the pest; when sucking, it releases a special substance that glues the proboscis to the skin.
- First of all, you need to shake the tick’s body a little, this will destroy the adhesive layer between it and human skin.
- Using tweezers, a special device, or a loop of thread, you need to grab the pest as close to the head as possible and gently pull. Hand movements should be perpendicular to the surface of the skin at the site of the bite.
The most important thing is not to damage the pest’s belly. Otherwise, the sucked blood with possible pathogens will go directly into the wound. It is also not recommended to touch the tick with your hands; you should use gloves and a handkerchief.
Prevention after a tick bite
After removing the pest, the wound is washed with soap and then treated with iodine or brilliant green. If the head remains in the skin, then it can be removed, acting similarly to the principle of removing splinters, using a sterile needle.
There will be redness around the wound for several days, which will disappear within a week. This is a normal reaction of the body. But if the mark does not pass, but increases in size, then the likelihood of infection is high. And you need to get tested.
Tick bite - treatment
A live tick can be tested to rule out the possibility of infection, but a more accurate result will be obtained from a blood test of the victim. If the test results confirm the presence of one of the dangerous diseases, then you must immediately contact a medical institution for the administration of immunoglobulin and other treatment procedures. The earlier the disease is detected, the greater the likelihood of a mild course of the disease.
Timely vaccination, which is carried out, including the recommendation to wear light-colored, closed clothing and use special sprays and ointments, helps to minimize the likelihood of infection even when bitten by a pest. various types pests.
Typical bite areas are areas of skin hidden under clothing:
- bending of the elbow area;
- limbs;
- groin area.
The mechanism of formation of spots on the skin
The suction zone after a bite is manifested by painful discomfort and the formation of redness with a rounded shape and pronounced borders of hyperemia. With normal recovery, these phenomena disappear spontaneously within a few days after the bite. When using antihistamine drugs, the redness disappears much faster.
Specific features of the spot
Features of the skin reaction upon penetration of the causative agent of Lyme pathology have the following differences:
- Infection with borreliosis (erythema) is characterized by the formation of a spot after a tick bite, which does not appear immediately, but only a week after the incident;
- The bite site has characteristic differences, representing the formation of specific erythema in the form of a spot that systematically grows in size, reaching a circumference of up to 60 cm in diameter.
- The outline of the spot is round, oval, or it may have irregular and unclear boundaries.
- After some time, the contours of the spot begin to gradually rise above the surface of the integument, and their hue becomes intensely red.
- When the spot after a tick bite stops enlarging, its central area turns blue or gradually turns white.
- After a day, it becomes in the form of an oval elevation or, and a scar and a cortical layer of tissue form on its covers.
- After two weeks, the bite marks completely disappear.
Characteristic signs and atypical outcome of the stain
If the spot after a tick bite does not go away on its own, this may indicate the addition of an infection in the affected area and the development of local inflammation with a complication in the form of a purulent process. In this case, it is necessary to consult with a specialized specialist to avoid the development of aggravating consequences.
Danger of conditions after infection
In the most unfortunate case, when an infected insect bite occurs, the person has a very high risk of developing a serious illness. One of them is the tick-borne form of encephalitis. With a rapid process, it leads to damage to the nervous network and the development of an inflammatory process affecting brain tissue. In this case, the consequences may be disability or complete cessation of a person’s life.
Lyme pathologies, ehrlichiosis, and anaplasmosis are much less common as complications of a bite. Borreliosis causes damage to the nervous, cardiac, immune and propulsion systems organism, while the pathogen is not always determined by laboratory methods. In the absence of timely therapeutic measures, the damage process goes into a protracted, sluggish form, provoking the development of irreparable consequences for the body.
Mid-spring is the beginning of the peak season for the activation of ticks, from whose attacks no one is immune, so it is important to know the signs of a tick bite on a person in order to carry out emergency prevention or preventive treatment. Everything you need to know about the signs of a bite, consequences, methods of treatment and prevention is in our article.
- taiga Ixodes Persulcatus;
- European forest Ixodes Ricinus.
The absence of eyes is compensated by a highly developed sense of smell and touch; the increased sensitivity of these organs allows the animal to react with lightning speed to the proximity of the prey. During feeding, the rear part of the female's body stretches, allowing it to absorb a volume of blood many times greater than the body weight of the hungry individual. Males are less bloodthirsty: males attach for a short time, replenishing the deficiency of nutrients.
VIDEO: How ixodid fauna representatives attack
Pincer attacks: features
If you are bitten by a tick, characteristic symptoms in humans they appear only after a certain time. How serious the consequences of an attack by a blood-sucking relative of insects can be is determined by a number of key points:
The reaction to a tick bite depends on the combination of the conditions described above. The consequences of attacks by arthropods are diseases of natural focality, including infection:
- encephalitis;
- borreliosis - neurological syndrome of Lyme disease;
- typhus, relapsing fever;
- hemorrhagic fever;
- Q-fever;
- tularemia;
- monocytic erchiliosis.
An attack by a female or a male is equally dangerous. The attack by a male is short-lived and painless, so the wound is difficult to notice immediately. Cases of encephalitis infection, when victims deny the possibility of contact, are a clear example of a male attack.
Ticks suck blood from humans, plunging their heads into the skin, first cutting the layers of the dermis, simultaneously injecting an anesthetic, and fixing themselves inside by means of a hypostomome - a special outgrowth resembling an anchor.
- belly;
- neck/back of the head/ears;
- lower back/back;
- chest;
- armpits;
- groin
The result of a tick attack is microtrauma of the skin. A tick bite, symptoms are manifested by the development of an inflammatory process caused by the action of the components of the animal’s saliva. The most “harmless” consequences are local allergic reactions, accompanied by redness of the suction area. When the effect of the anesthetic wears off, the skin begins to itch.
After an attack by a borreliosis carrier, the bite site acquires a pronounced reddish tint, caused by intense expansion of the capillaries. After a while, an additional bright red border appears around the round or oval spot, and the area inside turns blue or white.
A tumor after a tick bite or the formation of a lump-shaped seal is explained by two reasons:
- allergy to the composition secreted by the salivary glands. Signs of a tick bite in an allergic person are determined by the degree of aggressiveness of the allergens secreted by the animal’s saliva plus the individual immune response;
- improper removal of the arthropod - part of the proboscis remains inside. The immune system recognizes a foreign protein compound, including a defense mechanism, the body reacts with swelling of the affected area, and an abscess may occur.
Even when you are sure that the attacked tick is 100% a carrier of pathogens, the first signs appear only after a certain period of time.
Symptoms of arthropod damage
Externally, the first signs of a tick bite appear:
- headache;
- chills, fever;
- development of tachycardia, decreased blood pressure;
- gagging;
- deterioration of general health, apathy;
- swelling of the affected area;
- muscle weakness, numbness of the limbs;
- difficulty breathing;
- decreased/loss of appetite;
- photophobia - painful perception of bright light by the eyes.
Rare cases of allergic reactions are accompanied by angioedema and temporary paralysis.
The latent period of borreliosis, ehrlichiosis, encephalitis, and anaplasmosis is a month. The swelling after a tick bite may persist long time. The absence of fever is a favorable sign. The onset of the inflammatory process and the formation of an abscess becomes a reason to see a doctor. Independent manipulations - cauterization, heating, use of ointments are fraught with complications; consultation with a specialist is necessary.
VIDEO: Tick bite, what to do and how to prevent
Encephalitis: alarming symptoms
There are no characteristic signs of a tick bite on a person confirming 100% infection with the disease. Only laboratory staff can confirm or deny the fact that the bloodsucker is infected. An attack by infected arthropods implies a gradual proliferation of pathogens, given the absence of pronounced manifestations of the disease. The first signs of an encephalitis tick bite in a person will appear after 8-10 days. The presence of immunodeficiencies and chronic diseases can accelerate the development of symptoms of the disease, so health worsens after 3-4 days.
The onset of any form of pathology manifests itself similarly to the flu:
- febrile condition, accompanied by high temperature up to 39.9°;
- body aches - muscle/joint pain;
- decreased vitality of the body;
- headache.
Active reproduction of pathogenic bacteria provokes fever, the duration of the period is 6-10 days. Possible various options developments of events. A mild course of the disease implies recovery, rapid restoration of the body, and the production of antibodies that prevent re-infection. A rare occurrence is the change from a febrile form to a chronic course of the disease.
After the fever stage, a short remission may also occur, then the viral attack resumes, accompanied by similar symptoms of fever. Overcoming the blood-brain barrier by the virus causes damage to cells of the nervous system. This stage of encephalitis is characterized by the appearance of symptoms of meningitis. Viral attacks alternately disrupt the functioning of internal organs.
Certain signs are characteristic of different lesions:
- The meningoencephalitic form is characterized by the appearance of hallucinations, pronounced changes mental disorders, paralysis, paresis, epileptic seizures.
- The polio form is distinguished by a number of signs characteristic of polio, which causes loss of the ability of the muscles of the neck and arms to move (paralysis).
- The polyradiculoneurotic form is accompanied by damage to the peripheral nerves, loss of sensitivity of the leg muscles, and the development of severe pain affecting the groin area.
An unfavorable outcome implies a significant reduction in the patient's quality of life. The result may be dysfunction of the musculoskeletal system. Progressive symptoms cause epilepsy of varying severity, hyperkinesis, severe mental disorders, severe asthenia - the person becomes disabled.
First aid
It is forbidden to pull the bloodsucker, use gasoline, kerosene, oil, vinegar, pouring chemicals into the affected area. Such manipulations are fraught with the death of the animal, relaxation oral apparatus, the entry of the full volume of dangerous microbes into the blood, increasing the risk of developing diseases.
The wound will need to be treated with an antiseptic composition, minimizing the intensity of the manifestation of characteristic signs of damage. Swelling has appeared, breathing has become difficult - it is advisable to give an intramuscular injection of Prednisolone.
The ideal option is to examine a living individual through microscopy, finding out whether the victim was attacked by a sterile or infected individual. The damaged body is also covered with ice and delivered to laboratory specialists. The research is carried out by employees of Rospotrebnadzor, the lists of addresses contain relevant websites.
Prevention and treatment of infections caused by blood-sucking arachnids
Symptoms and treatment of encephalitis exclude antibiotic therapy, meaning:
- mandatory hospitalization in a hospital;
- compliance with bed rest, including the period of fever plus the entire subsequent week, after the disappearance of acute influenza symptoms;
- prescription of prednisolone, ribonuclease, rheopolyglucin, polyglucin, hemodez;
- the manifestation of signs of meningitis is eliminated by increased dosages of drugs containing vitamin B, ascorbic acid;
- breathing difficulties are alleviated by the use of mechanical ventilation methods - intensive ventilation of the lungs;
- restorative treatment measures include courses of anabolic steroids, nootropic drugs, and transquilizers.
Treatment of Lyme borreliosis requires the mandatory use of antibiotics that help stop the negative consequences of infection by quickly reducing the activity of spirochetes, the main causative agents of the disease. When an infection provokes dysfunction of the nervous system, the patient requires mandatory hospitalization.
VIDEO: How to properly remove a tick from a person
Basic principles of drug therapy
- To prevent the initial signs - the formation of a characteristic reddish spot, tetracycline drugs are intended - antimicrobial agents that allow you to effectively treat infections of various origins. The use of bacteriostatic agents helps to minimize late-stage complications.
- The development of neurological syndrome of tick-borne borreliosis is stopped by courses of intravenous injections of antibiotics of the penicillin group, cephalosporins.
- The disturbed water balance is restored by using saline solutions, vitamins, prednisolone, agents that stabilize blood circulation in the brain, and taking anabolic steroids.
You need to know the following facts:
- Vaccination against encephalitis is guaranteed to protect against the disease.
- After 10 days, the blood is tested using PCR methods. Polymerase chain reaction identifies microorganisms that provoke the development of encephalitis and Lyme borreliosis.
- Two weeks later, a test is performed to determine the presence of antibodies that prevent infection with encephalitis.
- After a month, the presence of Lyme borreliosis antibodies can be detected.
The choice of antigenic material for vaccination, indicated for any person who is a resident of a disadvantaged region, who has a profession that requires frequent stay in forest areas, includes several types of vaccines produced by Russia, Switzerland, and Germany.
Vaccination with human immunoglobulin - payable service. Free administration of gamma globulin is indicated for individuals, in accordance with the terms of the encephalitis treatment program provided for by the voluntary health insurance policy.
Russian-made vaccines
- The use of concentrated culture purified inactivated dry vaccine is indicated for children over four years of age. The developer is the M.P. Chumakov Institute.
- The administration of the drug Encevir, produced by the Microgen research and production association, is permitted from the age of 18 years.
Vaccines from the Austrian manufacturer BaxterVaccine AG
- the use of FSME-IMMUN Inject is indicated for the age category 1-16 years;
- The drug FSME-IMMUN Junior is used in a similar way.
German drugs
- Encepur vaccine for children, approved from the first years of life;
- use of Encepur for adults, indicated from 12 years of age
Vaccinations are given to everyone interested, given the absence of contraindications. Primary vaccination can be given to children during the first year of life, preferably using imported drugs. A timely vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis is an effective preventive measure that allows you to minimize the symptoms and consequences of a tick-borne attack.
VIDEO: What to do if bitten by a tick
Which are common in central Russia, in the forest among the foliage and on garden plots, i.e. wherever there are any plantings. They belong to the order of small arachnids (lat. Acarina), a subclass of arthropods. before the bite is usually 0.4-0.5 mm, occasionally it can reach 3 mm.
Lyme disease or borreliosis
The disease is transmitted by bacteria that cause intoxication of the body. Incubation period: 5-14 days, the disease passes through several stages, the primary symptoms are similar to a cold, and then a latent form occurs, lasting several months, during which joints and important human organs are damaged.
Signs of infection are expressed as follows:
- a sharp increase in temperature;
- headaches, constant fatigue;
- the site of the tick bite is swollen and red, then a specific erythema 10-20 cm in size appears, which gradually swells and transforms from a red spot into a ring with a diameter of up to 60 cm, in the center its color changes to light bluish;
- After a few days, a crust or scar forms, which disappears after 12-14 days.
Such a disease after a tick bite causes damage to the nervous, cardiovascular and motor systems, which can lead to disability.
Hemorrhagic fever
The disease is transmitted by a virus, the main symptoms of which are: a sharp increase in temperature and incipient fever, hemorrhages in upper layers skin, changes in the composition of the victim’s blood. Experts divide the disease into 2 types: Omsk and Crimean fever. Timely diagnosis and treatment of a tick bite (antiviral drugs, vitamins for blood vessels) help to successfully cope with this disease.
On a note!
Not all “bloodsuckers” who encroach on human blood are carriers of the listed diseases, but only 10-20% of them. But some specimens can become carriers of several infections at once, the most common of which is tick-borne encephalitis.
Symptoms of other infectious diseases
- surges in blood pressure, tachycardia (rapid heartbeat);
- coating on the tongue, runny nose, sore throat;
- nausea and vomiting;
- enlarged lymph nodes and the appearance of rashes on the face are signs of typhus;
- nosebleeds, diarrhea and abdominal pain indicate infection with tularemia;
- increased sweating, chills, pain in the lumbar region, loss of consciousness are signs of hemorrhagic fever.
It is impossible to recognize a tick and determine by eye whether it is contagious or not. To clarify the diagnosis, it is necessary or a sanitary and epidemiological station to determine the presence of pathogenic pathogens. If the test is positive, then you should urgently consult a doctor about treatment.
If any unpleasant symptoms appear and your health deteriorates during or after a tick bite, you must contact a general practitioner or infectious disease doctor at a clinic, or if your condition is severe, call an ambulance.
What to do if bitten by a tick - instructions
After returning from a walk in the woods or at your dacha, you must inspect yourself, your family and friends so as not to miss a tick that has settled on your leg or other parts of the body. If found, it must be done quickly.
The site of a tick bite is usually painted in pink-red shades, which depends on the individual reaction of the victim’s body. There is a small depression in the center in which you can find a tick embedded in a person’s body. It holds on very tightly, so it is impossible to remove it in the usual way without tearing off the head or proboscis. If any parts of it remain under the skin, an inflammatory process may begin in the damaged area and the bite will take a long time to heal.
The following steps will be helpful for this:
- Wash your hands with soap.
- Treat the wound with a disinfectant: alcohol, hydrogen peroxide.
- It is not recommended to apply coloring agents (brilliant paint or iodine) so as not to change the appearance of the affected area.
- If an allergic reaction is likely to occur, apply any soothing ointment: Fenistil-gel, Panthenol, Rescuer cream, etc.
- If there is a rash after a tick bite or another individual reaction, then you should take an antihistamine: Diazolin, Tavegil, Loratadine, Erius, Cetrin, etc.
- Drink plenty of fluids; bed rest is recommended in the first days.
Tick bites in children
All of these actions increase the risk of human infection with bacteria and infectious diseases and lead to purulent processes in the epidermis.
Prevention of bites
In order not to think while visiting a forest, park or cottage about whether a tick has bitten or not, and what consequences this may lead to, preventive measures should be taken to protect children and adults from this problem:
