Rest in the forest, in the park often brings not only pleasant, but sometimes terrible impressions. Negative emotions from such a pastime can occur if a mother discovers that her beloved son or daughter was bitten by a tick. Of course, at first this situation seems simply horrific: the parasite moving in the body of the crumbs, which slowly but surely penetrates deep into. Today we find out what measures parents should take if the child is bitten by a tick. What should mom do in such a situation, where to run and whom to contact? This will be discussed in the article.
Insect recovery methods
Surely, many parents start to panic when they discover that their child was bitten by a tick. What to do? Komarovsky Evgeny Olegovich - a pediatrician with a long experience - advises: in no case should you be scared and faint. Mom or dad must quickly take action, otherwise the consequences can be disastrous. So, this doctor invites parents who decide to get a tick out of the child’s body on their own to use methods that differ among themselves by means of which the insect will be pulled out:
- Using curved tweezers.
- A special tool for removing ticks.
- Using a thread.
Removing the parasite from the body of the baby crumbs
What should be the actions of parents if their little child is bitten by a tick? What should mom do in this case? If this is a baby, then you need to urgently call a doctor. If the child is older, then initially the parent can try to get the insect from the body of his son or daughter, and only then go to the hospital. It is best to remove this parasite with curved tweezers, but if this is not found, then you can use the usual one. In this case, the pediatrician E.O. Komarovsky focuses on the fact that the tick should be taken as close to the proboscis as possible. Then it should be tightened carefully, while rotating the insect in a suitable direction (which is convenient). If you try to pull out this parasite, then there is a high probability of its rupture.
The child was bitten by a tick. What to do? Home treatment with a special tool
Therapy in the walls of your own apartment involves the removal of the parasite. The elimination of the insect can be performed using a special device
Such a device has an advantage over ordinary tweezers: the body of the insect does not get pinched, the contents of the parasite do not spill into the wound, and this, in turn, reduces the risk of infection of the child with an infection. To date, the Uniclean Tich Twister has proven its worth. We will describe how to use it below:
- First you need to choose a hook that matches the size of the tick.
- Choosing a suitable rod, you need to approach them to the insect on the flat side of the body. The tick should be hooked into the slot of the hook until the parasite is supported on the device.
- The final stage: you need to raise the hook and turn it 2 or 3 turns.
Thread insect removal
When a child is bitten by a tick, what should mom do ? How to help a baby if there are no tweezers or a special device for this parasite at hand? In this case, the usual thread is suitable. However, it must be strong enough so that at the time of the manipulation is not torn. So, the mother should tie the thread into a knot, as close as possible to the proboscis of the parasite, then slowly remove the tick, pulling it up. Sharp movements in this matter are unacceptable.
Prohibitory Techniques
Now we learn that it is impossible to carry out to mom or dad, whose child was bitten by a tick. What to do in a situation when such a tiny creature digs into the body of a son or daughter? Parents should clearly know about prohibitions:
- Do not pull the tick sharply or too much, because this can lead to rupture of his body. And in the end, the proboscis can remain in the skin, and only a doctor can remove it from there.
- Do not remove this arachnid with dirty hands or tools.
- Do not squeeze the insect or try to crush it before pulling it out.
- It is forbidden to water it with vinegar, gasoline, alcohol and other chemical and aggressive liquids.
“In no case should you cauterize this tiny creature with a lighter or match before removing it.”
Actions of parents after removing an insect
If the mother at home pulled out this representative of the arachnids, then she now must take care of the health of the child. What to do if a child is bitten by a tick, the parent is now in the know (it is necessary to quickly remove it from the skin), but not many people know what further actions the mother should take. So, after removing this insect, the son or daughter must treat the bite site with any antiseptic, for example, hydrogen peroxide, iodine or alcohol. In no case should a tick be destroyed immediately. Mom should send dad to the laboratory to study the insect to make sure that she was not a carrier of a dangerous ailment. For transportation, you need an ordinary jar with a lid, inside which you should place wet paper or cloth. This is necessary to create favorable conditions for the insect so that it does not die on the way to the laboratory. Within two days, the parent must deliver the tick to an experimental research institution.
Risks and Threats
The consequences of a bite of this parasite can be quite serious, because this insect can cause a child to develop serious and dangerous diseases.
The most serious and terrible ailments are:
- Borreliosis.
- Encephalitis.
Now we will find out why these diseases are so dangerous and what they can lead to.
Borreliosis
Forest ticks are the main carriers of such a serious problem as borreliosis, or Lyme disease. Due to the bite of a child, cells of the central nervous system, skin, heart, and musculoskeletal system soon begin to be affected by such a dangerous insect in a boy or girl.
The signs of this disease are:
- Redness of the skin in the area of ​​the bite of the parasite.
- Slow increase in red spots.
- Transformation of the bite from a rounded spot into a ring, in which in the center there is a core of pale bluish color.
What to do if a baby is bitten by a tick that is a carrier of such a dangerous disease? Parents must first call an ambulance, which will take the baby with her mother to the hospital. In the future, an infectious disease doctor will deal with the treatment of crumbs. Emergency therapy of borreliosis includes the baby taking special medications that the doctor prescribes.
If the mother did not take prompt measures and did not contact the doctor, then the disease will be permanent, which in the future will lead the child to disability.
Tick-borne encephalitis
The first signs of human damage to this type of parasite often appear 10 days after the insect has been implanted in the human body. During this time, the infection freely enters the blood of a boy or girl. Symptoms of tick-borne encephalitis disease are:
- General as well as muscle weakness in the neck, upper and lower extremities.
- Feeling of numbness in the face.
- Body temperature begins to rise.
- The appearance of nausea and vomiting.
- Severe headache.
- Redness of the skin of the face, neck, eyes and oral mucosa.
What to do if a child’s encephalitis tick has bitten, and the child has the above symptoms? Mom urgently needs to contact an infectious disease doctor or pediatrician of the clinic, and she and the baby should be missed out of turn. She can also come to the admission department of the infectious diseases hospital. And if her son or daughter is in serious condition, she should immediately call an ambulance.
Diagnosis of encephalitis includes a laboratory blood test of the victim.
The treatment of this terrible disease
If a child is bitten by a tick, what to do in this case, how to conduct therapy?
Primary measures for the bite of such a parasite are aimed at preventing the development of encephalitis. Indeed, in some cases, this disease can lead the child to disability or even death. So, as already noted above, the mother must notify the doctor if her baby is bitten by a tick. What to do with the affected person next, only a specialist decides. Of course, initially the doctor provides emergency prevention of tick-borne encephalitis, which involves the introduction of antiviral drugs, as well as immunoglobulin, into the child's body. However, such measures are effective only during the first 72 hours from the moment the infection enters the victim’s blood.
But antibiotics for the bite of any tick, including encephalitis, are ineffective. This is due to the fact that the virus is not a bacterium, which is why doctors prescribe immunoglobulin. By the way, parents should be aware that this is a rather expensive medicine, since they are made on the basis of the blood of donors who are immune to such a virus. Therefore, mom and dad should be prepared not only mentally, but also financially, if the child was bitten by a tick. What should they do in this case? It is necessary to prepare a considerable amount of money so that you can purchase an expensive medicine.
Treatment for a baby subject to the bite of an infected representative of arachnids should only take place within the walls of the hospital. Doctors prescribe vitamins, a nutritious diet, and, of course, bed rest. And for prevention purposes, the patient is given drugs that activate immunity. These can be medications based on interferon and ribonuclease, for example, the Anaferon medication.
Now you know what measures a mother should take if a child is bitten by a tick. What can be done and what is absolutely impossible - you also read about it in the article. The main thing you should pay attention to: after a walk in the forest, park, when you come home, you should carefully examine the body of your son or daughter. Also, do not forget about your health, because a tick can bite an adult. And if this has already happened, then you need to try not to panic, but to act confidently and correctly.