Ticks are small insects that suck blood. They belong to the order of arachnids. Forest ticks are the most dangerous . Beware of their bites should be due to the transmission of the infection that they carry. A person may not feel the introduction of a tick into his skin due to the anesthetic substance that he secretes. What are the consequences of an encephalitis tick bite in humans?
How to recognize an encephalitis tick?
The appearance of the tick can not determine whether it is contagious or not. You can find out if he is a carrier of encephalitis if you conduct an examination of an insect in a laboratory. The virus can be detected in the tick itself, its larvae and nymphs. After all, the infection of an insect occurs in the process of its life on a sick animal.
Can a tick bite?
What are the consequences of an encephalitis tick bite? An insect can bite a person, because it is introduced into the skin by screwing the proboscis. On it are the teeth with which the insect can stay on the body for a long time. This method of getting a tick is called its bite.
Adult insects wait a long time for their prey in the grass or shrub, and then attach to clothing or a part of the body. Ticks do not jump and do not fall from trees, so they have to travel a long way to reach the site of introduction. They are soft or warm areas of the human body.
The tick bite itself is not felt by a person. At the time of contact with the skin, the insect secretes an anesthetic substance, which helps it to gain a foothold on the body.
A person has places in which a tick has traditionally been introduced:
- zone of ears and head;
- neck area;
- elbow and knee bends;
- groin area;
- axillary hollows.
Many are interested in the consequences of an encephalitis tick bite in humans (a photo of the insect itself will help distinguish it from other arachnids).
It is impossible to notice the bite initially, because the insect continues to remain on the body. The detected tick must be immediately removed from the body. Doctors should do this in a hospital. The likelihood of a person becoming infected with encephalitis depends on the time the tick spends in the human body and the amount of virus that has entered the bloodstream.
However, not all people approach tick bites responsibly, many go to the doctor when the disease begins to show unpleasant symptoms.
Why is an encephalitis tick dangerous?
What are the consequences after being bitten by an encephalitis tick? The main danger posed by ticks is the bites through which they transmit serious diseases. It is these insects that pose a threat to people living in the territory of the former Soviet Union.
Encephalitis or borreliosis can infect humans only with a tick. These diseases are dangerous because they lead to serious consequences, and sometimes to death. Most often, people have neurological or mental disorders.
Infection occurs in 2 ways:
- First, the virus appears in the body due to an insect bite.
- The second - poison enters the bloodstream of a person along with milk or other products that are obtained from infected: cows, goats or sheep. It is better to buy such products from sellers who monitor the safety of their goods.
In the case of transmission of the virus through the blood, infection cannot be avoided. After all, with a bite, the causative agent of the disease enters the bloodstream of a person, and it is impossible to remove it.
What to do with a bite of an encephalitis tick?
The main task when a tick enters is to remove it. To do this, seek the help of a doctor. If not possible, then this procedure must be done independently.
You can remove the insect painlessly. Wrap the fingers with gauze and gently sway the tick, and then twist counterclockwise. Do not force pull, and use sharp tools. Otherwise, the head of the tick may remain under the skin.
Some experts recommend lubricating the site of introduction of the insect with alcohol.
What to do with the effects of an encephalitis tick bite? It is worth noting that a large dose of the virus in the blood of a person can be obtained if the tick is unscrewed correctly. This is especially true for removing the insect with oil or vinegar. In this case, the tick suffocates and injects a lot of saliva into the blood.
After removal, grease the wounds with iodine and observe the bite site. A safe reaction of the body is the appearance of a pink spot, which should disappear from the skin after a while.
The recovered insect must be returned to the laboratory to determine if it has an infection. The reason for contacting a specialist may be a pink spot that does not disappear after removal of the insect, but increases in diameter. General deterioration or rash also occurs.
How do ticks infect encephalitis?
You can observe some precautions so as not to deal with the consequences of an encephalitis tick bite. In humans, infection occurs in the same way as in animals. For ticks, it makes no difference which victim to choose.
Ixodic insects act as a reservoir for storing the virus and transmit it through the bite.
Encephalitis virus is present in more than 130 species of warm-blooded birds and animals that transmit the disease through ticks.
Symptoms of tick-borne encephalitis in humans
Encephalitis is seasonal in nature and is tied to a period of tick activity. Infection of insects largely depends on the season, in some areas up to 70% of individuals are infected.
What are the consequences after being bitten by an encephalitis tick in humans? When a bite occurs, the virus multiplies at the place where the insect enters the human skin. Initially, no signs of infection occur. Later, lymph nodes are affected and the virus enters the bloodstream. Propagating in blood cells, it spreads throughout the body with blood flow.
A serious danger of the disease lies in the fact that its symptoms become visible some time after a tick bite. It depends on the human immunity and the amount of poison that has managed to get into the blood. If the body's defenses are weakened, then the first symptoms of the disease may appear 2 days after the bite. On average, deterioration is observed on the 10th day from infection.
Symptoms that occur after infection:
- The first signs of the disease appear within 1-2 weeks after the bite.
- After 2-4 days, a high fever occurs, muscle pains, nausea, and sometimes vomiting appear.
- Within a week, the patient feels the onset of relief.
- 10-12 days after a tick bite in a person, disturbances in the functioning of the nervous system are observed, severe migraines, convulsions and confused consciousness occur .
The consequences of an encephalitis tick bite are different. With any form of the disease, a high temperature occurs, which sometimes reaches 40 degrees. General weakness and vomiting join. This condition continues for 10 days, because during this period the virus spreads throughout the body.
If after a febrile condition all the signs of the disease go away, then the patient is affected by a febrile form of encephalitis.
If new symptoms, including disorders of the nervous system, are added to the existing symptoms, then the disease has grown into a more complex form. Sometimes with encephalitis after a temperature that lasted seven days, relief may come.
However, this may not always mean recovery, because with a fever a meningeal form of the disease may appear. It is manifested by fever, fear of light and muscle soreness.
The poliomyelitis form of the disease can cause paralysis of the limbs, which rivets a person to a wheelchair.
What are the consequences of an encephalitis tick bite? They can be different: from minor malaise to serious (disability, death) if timely medical care is not available.
Treatment after a tick bite
We can proceed to the next question, when it became clear to us what are the consequences of an encephalitis tick bite in humans. In this case, how are patients treated, what methods are used? If a person has certain symptoms after an insect bite, then he needs to seek help in a hospital. Monitoring of the patient’s health continues for a month.
Treatment includes the following steps:
- The most effective tool is a tick-borne immunoglobulin. The drug has a high cost, because it includes the blood of donors who are immune to this disease.
- The patient is prescribed medications that strengthen the immune system.
- As a prevention, you can use a strengthening diet.
- In case of suspected inflammation of the brain and polio, steroid hormones must be taken.
- If an epileptic seizure appears, the doctor prescribes drugs that block their occurrence.
Treatment for adults and children should be done only in the infectious diseases department of the hospital. In this case, each symptom of the disease is monitored by a specialist who will take measures when new complications occur.
The patient will not be able to permanently get rid of the effects of a tick bite, and he will need to be regularly observed by a doctor.
What are the consequences of an encephalitis tick bite in a child?
After a walk, parents should inspect the child's body for the presence of a tick on it. Most often, the insect can be located in the scalp.
The tick bite is insidious in that it cannot be detected immediately. The salivary glands of the insect have anesthetic properties, and it does not bite right away, but is looking for a place to penetrate where the skin is thinner and vessels can be easily reached.
After removing the tick, events can develop as follows:
- If the insect was not infected, then in this case the child does not need to do anything.
- A baby who is prone to allergies may experience slight redness, swelling, and itching at the site of the bite. Mild discomfort in the child will disappear after some time without harm.
- If the tick is infected, then various symptoms may occur: fever, headache, loss of appetite, lethargy, and more.
What are the consequences of an encephalitis tick bite in a child? The consequences of an insect bite in children are unpredictable: in each case, the severity of the condition of the child will depend on the amount of virus that has entered the bloodstream, as well as the individual characteristics of the body and the timeliness of treatment. Among the serious consequences that arise, we can distinguish:
- flaccid paralysis, usually of the hands;
- muscle twitching;
- in 9% there is a fatal outcome that occurs within a week after infection;
- chronic carriage of the virus.
Parents should protect their children from tick-borne encephalitis, because insects can overtake a child in parks and malls.
Tick Bite Prevention
So, in order to avoid the consequences after a bite of an encephalitis tick, it is necessary to carry out preventive measures against infection with the virus, which are limited contact with this insect. To protect yourself from a tick bite:
- During hiking in the forest, minimize the number of open areas on the human body. Clothing should be worn with long sleeves and trousers tucked into boots. A headdress must be present on the head.
- Heading into the forest, it is necessary to apply special anti-mite preparations to the skin.
- When moving through the forest, it is better to choose the middle of the path and avoid tall plants and shrubs.
- After returning from a walk, check all clothing for ticks. After all, the insect does not immediately penetrate the skin, but searches for the best place for several hours. In this way, a tick bite can be prevented.
- All clothes in which a person was on a walk must be cleaned.
- As a preventive measure, you can be vaccinated, especially before visiting hazardous areas.
- Before going to the forest, take with you everything you need, which you may need with a tick bite. In pharmacies, kits are sold, which include: tweezers, means for disinfecting the bite site and more.
Performing preventive measures in a complex, a person can protect themselves and their loved ones from the onset of a disease that can cause an encephalitis tick.
Tips and Tips
The consequences of an encephalitis tick bite can be avoided by following these tips:
- Before a picnic, you can treat your clothes with a special tool with acaricides that can destroy a tick. After returning home, it is necessary to inspect not only the clothes of people, but also the hair of pets, which are also exposed to insect bites.
- You can even be bitten by a tick in your own garden, so you need to mow tall grass and get rid of unnecessary shrubs.
- For a picnic in the forest you need to choose a sandy place or a dry forest.
It is completely impossible to prevent a tick bite, but if an insect is found on the skin, it is urgent to seek medical help to avoid serious consequences.