One of the dangers that a person may be exposed to while taking a walk in the forest is a tick bite. In itself, an unpleasant encounter with this insect is not harmful. But the fact that the forest tick is a carrier of such a dangerous disease as encephalitis should not be forgotten. Therefore, when setting off for nature, you should know what to do if this insect has bitten you. So, we suggest today to learn about what this tiny, but dangerous creature is, and how to deal with a forest tick.
What is this insect?
The main problem in the fight against ticks is that it has very small sizes. As a result of this, a person does not feel that a dangerous insect has crawled onto his body. So, the length of the latter, as a rule, does not exceed three to four millimeters. However, when the insect has already "done its job" and drank our blood, its size increases significantly. The way a forest tick looks, we all probably know. But once again recalling this will be useful. So, basically the body of this insect consists of a slightly flattened abdomen. It is usually painted black or brown. Sometimes it has a red border. The proboscis head is very small. They are quite difficult to see with the naked eye. Since forest ticks, whose photos have been familiar to us since childhood, belong to the class of arachnids, they have eight tenacious legs that allow insects to easily climb over the body of a person or animal, reaching the tidbit.
Forest tick habitat
European forest tick, as its name implies, is found almost everywhere in Europe, with the exception of its northern, northeastern, southeastern and southwestern parts. In addition, there are three not so large isolates of the habitat of this insect: the Caucasian-Near Asian, Crimean, as well as the north-western part of Africa.
As a rule, the forest tick is found in dark and humid woodlands. These insects hide in the grass, low shrubs, dense undergrowth. By the way, many believe that ticks can fall on a person or animal from trees. In fact, this is not so, because these insects almost never rise to a height of more than half a meter. However, getting on the victim’s body, the tick activates and cleverly scrambles up, getting to the most “tasty” sites in its opinion.
When should you be wary of a tick bite?
In most of their habitat, these insects are active from mid-May to mid or end of June. Ticks can also be dangerous in late summer - early fall. Therefore, during these periods, you should carefully examine yourself and your clothes after returning from a walk in nature.
What is a tick dangerous?
Despite their tiny size and a painless bite, these insects are very dangerous. First of all, this is due to the fact that forest ticks are carriers of tick-borne encephalitis and tick-borne borreliosis. In addition, in rarer cases, these insects can be carriers of pathogens of such dangerous diseases as Q fever, listeriosis, erysipeloid, tularemia and paroxysmal rickettsiosis. Therefore, if a mite or a trace of a bite is found on your body, you should immediately seek medical help to protect yourself from the serious consequences of possible diseases.
Where does the tick bite?
Once on a human or animal’s body, a forest tick can spend up to several hours searching for a place suitable for a bite. Most often, these insects choose areas with delicate skin (neck, inguinal region, head, etc.), since the capillaries are located closer to the surface. Therefore, when examining yourself for a tick bite, pay the most attention to these areas of the body.
What does a tick bite look like?
As we have already mentioned, it is almost impossible to notice that you have been bitten by a forest tick. This is primarily due to the tiny size of the insect. And besides, when a mite sticks its jaw into the skin, it secretes saliva, which has the properties of an anesthetic. After focusing the skin, this creature with the help of its proboscis is attached to the capillaries and begins to suck out blood. If you do not find a recently sucked tick by examining yourself and clothes after a walk, then later you will find it when the abdomen of the insect will increase in size several times due to the drunk blood.
But how to recognize if a bite has occurred if the insect has not yet become clearly visible? This is not at all difficult to do. So, at the site of the bite, you may notice a slight redness, in the center of which there will be a tiny little bug body, from afar resembling a splinter.
Tick bit - what to do?
So, if you find a bite of this insect, then the first thing you need to remove it from the skin. This is not as easy as it might seem, due to the fact that such tiny but dangerous mites secrete a special sticky substance, through which the proboscis of the bug is firmly attached to the wound made by it. It is this feature that creates certain difficulties when extracting an insect.
How to extract a tick?
In order to pull this insect out of the skin, you must first gently shake its body from side to side in order to destroy the adhesive mass allocated to it. In this case, be sure to remember that when removing a tick, in no case should it be allowed that its proboscis remains inside. After all, it is he who represents the source of infection. Therefore, for these purposes, do not use sharp tweezers, since you just bite off the body of the insect with it, and the head with the proboscis will remain inside the wound.
So, when you loosened the tick a bit, try to grab it closer to your head and gently pull it up. Most likely, you will be able to pull out the insect completely. But if, despite all efforts, the proboscis remains inside, you do not need to try to somehow extract it. Just treat this area with brilliant green, and in a few days it will go out by itself.
I would also like to note that the conventional wisdom that the tick itself will come out of the wound if it is lubricated with oil, alcohol or some other substance is only a myth. In fact, to extract this insect from the skin is possible only as described above.
Should I see a doctor after a tick bite?
If you have removed a tick from your body, it is recommended that you save this insect by placing it in a box or a jar, and take it to the hospital for analysis. In laboratory conditions, doctors will find out whether he is a carrier of pathogens of a disease.
But what if, for one reason or another, you did not save the body of the insect? If you are very worried about the possible consequences, then you can immediately seek medical help. After all, if you have been bitten by an infected tick, it is better to start treatment as soon as possible. However, due to the fact that such infections are quite rare, it makes sense to start observing the bite site for several days. So, if in the first two or three days you see a pink speck, then you should not worry - this is a completely normal reaction, and very soon there will be no trace of it. But if the stain does not come off or even increases in size, then it makes no sense to wait any longer: you need to get an appointment with an infectious disease specialist who will examine you and prescribe certain tests. However, even if the results of the tests do not show you the presence of infection, you should carefully monitor your condition for another month. In the case of the appearance of the slightest signs of encephalitis or another disease, you should immediately consult a doctor.
Tick-borne encephalitis symptoms
Often this disease is disguised as a cold or a common malaise. Also, often the symptoms of encephalitis begin to manifest only 30 days after infection. These include the following conditions:
- weakness in the neck, as well as in the arms and legs;
- increase in body temperature. Often the fever cannot be brought down for several days.
- the appearance and intensification of headaches, nausea, vomiting, dizziness;
- development of photophobia, the appearance of hallucinations, stunning consciousness;
- numbness of the limbs, weakness and pain in the muscles, the occurrence of seizures, epileptic seizures and even paralysis.
Symptoms of tick-borne borreliosis
As a rule, in the first 20 days after infection, any symptoms of the disease are absent. But after this, some signs may appear:
- A stain from a bite changes color and increases in size.
- The appearance of nausea and vomiting. The occurrence of heat and pain in the joints.
- The appearance on the body of characteristic spots, rashes, nodes.
- Violation of cardiac activity, the development of muscle weakness and cramps.
- After a few months after infection, disturbances in the functioning of the nervous system may begin.
How to deal with a forest tick?
In order to protect yourself and your loved ones from the bites of these small insects, which can cause very dangerous consequences, planning a trip to nature, you should follow a number of rules. So, it is best to choose tight-fitting clothing with narrow elastic bands that fit your wrists and ankles. Also, do not neglect the hood or at least a scarf or bandana. In addition, thermal underwear that tightly fits our skin rescues perfectly from ticks. In addition, it makes sense to use one of the many tools designed to scare away ticks and other insects. Moreover, today they are almost everywhere available for sale. It is also recommended that you regularly and hourly inspect yourself and your companions for ticks on their clothing or body. All of the listed preventive measures in general do not guarantee you salvation from these dangerous insects, but reduce the likelihood of meeting them to a minimum.