With the onset of heat, people begin to travel to the forest, to nature. She beckons with the rustle of foliage, the murmur of small rivers, the heady aroma of herbs. However, in addition to the amazing enjoyment of nature, sometimes you can meet with danger.
Poisonous plants, mosquitoes, snakes - and these are not all “surprises” waiting for people in nature. One of the formidable enemies is the tick. How to protect yourself from it? And if the tick still bites, what should I do? It is important to understand how dangerous this can be. And most importantly, to clearly know how to handle a tick bite site.
What is a tick?
These insects are a rather large group of arthropods, numbering about 40,000 different species. Some of them, we are talking about ixodid ticks, parasitize, feeding on human or animal blood. They have a very acute sense of smell. It is by smell that the ticks find the victim. Insects cling to clothing or animal hair and get to the surface of the skin. Having pierced her, they suck blood. What does a tick bite look like? The photo below demonstrates this. At the same time, know that the bite itself is completely painless, therefore it is often invisible.
Usually, the tick selects soft, warm and moist areas of the body. Therefore, bites can often be found on the calf muscles, buttocks, inguinal region or anus, neck, armpits, behind the ears, between the shoulder blades. The shoulders are much less likely to suffer. In addition, all these places have a shallow arrangement of blood vessels, which, in fact, is necessary for the insect.
Sticking the jaw into the surface of the skin, the tick injects saliva. She is an anesthetic, a kind of pain medication. Therefore, a person does not feel a bite at all and painlessly tolerates such a procedure. The insect can suck blood for several days. At the same time, it is quite large in size.
What does a bite look like?
A person who has never encountered ticks before may be a little confused. After all, the affected area of the body really looks rather unpleasant. Therefore, it is very important to know what a tick bite looks like. The photo below will help with this. Carefully consider it, this will help make the right decision in case of collision with an insect.
The tick bite site turns red and swells. This manifests the reaction of the body to the poison contained in the saliva of the tick. Under normal conditions, redness will pass by itself after removal of the insect. To make the symptoms go much faster, you can take certain medications that your doctor will prescribe.
Dangers
The bite itself is not dangerous if you know how to get rid of the tick. Serious consequences can occur only if the insect itself was infected. A tick is infected from a sick animal or person. However, he does not get sick, but becomes a dangerous carrier of infection, infecting them with subsequent victims.
As you know, a tick releases saliva into a puncture. For an insect, such a process is very important. Firstly, being a natural analgesic, saliva allows you to make a puncture completely imperceptibly. Secondly, with its help the proboscis is glued to the site of the victim’s body. In addition, it reduces local immunity. This contributes to the rapid spread of infection. Therefore, it is necessary to take measures to combat it as soon as possible. To do this, you need to know how to handle the site of a tick bite.
The wound can easily become infected and suppurate. In addition, a person runs the risk of getting serious illnesses after a tick bite, such as encephalitis and borreliosis. However, not all ticks are infected. It is impossible to distinguish visually infected. Checking for infection is carried out only in the laboratory.
Tick-borne borreliosis
Infection with this disease occurs only when bitten by an infected tick. But Borrelia itself can get into the wound only when combing. That is why people after a tick bite are rarely infected with this disease. If it gets into the skin for several days, Borrelia multiplies. Then they begin to spread to the following areas of the skin. At the same time, important internal organs are affected - the brain, heart, joints. The causative agents of the disease for years can be in the body, "napping" or provoking the development of a chronic form. This complicates the treatment incredibly.
After a tick bite, 2 to 30 days may elapse before the onset of the first symptoms. The onset of the disease can be determined by fairly characteristic symptoms. A strong redness appears at the site of the bite. The spot begins to increase, reaching up to 10 centimeters in diameter. Sometimes you can observe more bathing forms. The spot is almost always round, oval. Very rarely can have the wrong shape. The outer layer has a brighter color and rises slightly above the surface of the skin. After some time, the central part begins to turn pale and becomes cyanotic. The bite site itself is immediately covered with a crust, and then it is scarred. The stain, regardless of treatment, passes over time (about 2-3 weeks). After about a month, and sometimes after a few years, symptoms of damage to the heart, nervous system, and joints begin to develop.
Be very careful. Do you observe such symptoms, if there has been a tick bite? Treatment should be started immediately.
Tick-borne encephalitis
A disease in which a viral infection affects the nervous system. Quite often, encephalitis causes severe consequences that end in paralysis, and sometimes death.
An incubation period of 7 to 14 days is characteristic. There is severe weakness in the legs, numbness of the neck and face. The disease begins very acutely. Typical symptoms are, if the source was a tick bite, temperature (38-40 ° C), severe chills. Fever lasts from two to ten days. The disease is accompanied by severe headaches, vomiting, nausea, high fatigue, sleep disturbances. The acute period is characterized by hyperemia of the face, chest, neck. Pain occurs throughout the body, especially when concentrated in the muscles. Often it is in those in which paralysis can occur.
To avoid such serious consequences, it is very important to understand how to treat a tick bite, and to start treatment as soon as possible.
Disease prevention
It is best to prevent a tick bite from occurring. Treatment, even the most effective, will not return to its former health. Therefore, when going for a walk in the forest or park, you should observe safety precautions.
These include:
- Body protection with clothing. If you are going to places where the probability of a tick bite is high, try to pick up clothes with long sleeves. Not bad if the pants are tucked into socks. Better yet, put on your boots. Do not give the chance to the insect to get close to you!
- Insect repellent. Today you can buy quite a lot of effective substances. They will scare away not only ticks, but also mosquitoes, wasps.
- Lemon, lavender. Ticks do not tolerate these odors at all. Therefore, rub all exposed parts of the body with these oils. Unfortunately, 100% protection by such means is not guaranteed.
- Body inspection. If a tick hits the surface of the skin, it can travel on it for two hours before sticking to a specific place. Therefore, it is very important to carefully examine the surface of the body every two hours. This will allow you to get rid of an unsolicited insect much earlier in case of danger.
First aid
If during the examination you notice a tick bite, you must immediately take action. As a rule, people behave in completely different ways. Some independently remove it, completely forgetting how to process a tick bite. Others fall into a hysterical state. Both approaches are wrong.
Of course, there is a risk of contracting an infection. Therefore, it is necessary to consult a doctor, and if necessary, prevention. However, do not get hung up on a bite. Ticks bite a lot of people per season. Serious consequences occur in much smaller quantities. Even if the insect is a carrier of infection, this does not mean at all that the person who received the bite will certainly get sick. In addition, encephalitis is not always fatal.
Having discovered an insect, it must be removed. The most important thing is not to forget how to process the place of the tick bite. Be sure to use an antiseptic with a local antibiotic. It is strictly forbidden to crush the tick. Otherwise, viruses that may be in the body of the insect will surely get into the body of the victim.
The best option would be to deliver the bitten to the hospital. The doctor knows very well how to get rid of the tick. Therefore, very carefully remove the insect and properly treat the wound. In addition, he will send an uninvited “guest” for analysis to determine whether this individual is infected.
Self extraction tick
Of course, it is best to entrust this matter to professional doctors. But in the absence of the opportunity to seek help at a medical institution, you can pull out the tick at home.
Seeing an unpleasant sight, I want to get rid of the insect as soon as possible. But you should not hurry. A sharp removal can provoke a rupture of the body and head. It is very unpleasant if part of the tick remains in the wound. As a result, blood poisoning and inflammation may develop.
If the tick is stuck under the hair, wet it and comb it in different directions. Be sure to sanitize your hands and all the devices you use. Try not to touch the insect with your bare hands, so as not to expose yourself to the risk of infection. For such purposes, it is best to use tweezers. In case of his absence, you can use a napkin.
Method 1. Vegetable oil
There are several completely simple, but very effective methods that allow you to pull the tick out of the wound, without crushing it. When bitten, an insect completely immerses its head under the surface of the skin. Respiratory functions at this time occur through special passages located in the posterior portion of the tick body. Knowing this, you can perfectly use this opportunity. It should be carefully dripped with vegetable oil on an insect patch sticking out. An oily liquid will block his oxygen supply. In this case, he will have to independently climb to the surface.
Sometimes, instead of oil, they recommend using kerosene. Such a liquid is also well suited for this manipulation. It is only important to use the substance very carefully so that there is no irritation.
If at hand there is neither the first nor the second component, you can use a regular candle. Light it and carefully drip molten wax onto the tick. In this case, you need to be as careful as possible to prevent skin burns. An insect lacking the ability to breathe will not slow to get out.
Be sure to remember how to process the site of a tick bite. For these purposes, any antiseptic agent is suitable. You can use zelenka or iodine. Some doctors even allow the use of alcohol. The main thing is to achieve a disinfecting effect.
Method 2. Using tweezers
When planning to extract an insect on your own, do not forget how to process the place of the tick bite. Any antiseptic at hand will help you. Grab the insect with tweezers. It is best to use a blunt or rounded fixture. It should be taken as close to the skin as possible. Remember that strongly pulling is strictly prohibited, otherwise part of the uninvited “guest” will remain in the wound. Remove it with uniform moderate force, strictly upright. Do not use twisting movements.
It is very important not to damage the tick during extraction. But if there are insect fragments in the wound - do not panic. Some doctors believe that parts of the oral apparatus do not pose a serious danger if antiseptic treatment is properly performed. After a while, they will come out on their own.
But there are those who give good advice on how to get the head out of a tick. Be sure to treat the surface of the wound with an antiseptic. Thoroughly pierce the needle on fire. It is with her help that get the head of the tick. Use the same method used to pull the splinter. Having stretched out fragments of the tick, the surface of the wound should be carefully treated again.
Method 3. Using a thread
If there are no tweezers at hand, you can remove the tick with your hands. Just be sure to protect your fingers. To do this, use a bandage or put on rubber gloves. Wrap the insect once with gauze, try to grab it as close to the skin as possible and gently pull it to the surface. Manipulate perpendicular to the surface. After removing the insect, be sure to wash your hands with soap. It is better to treat them with an antiseptic.
You can remove the tick using the most common thread. To do this, make a loop and throw on the body of an insect. Pull the thread from the proboscis. After that, very carefully pull the ends of the thread left and right, trying to pull out the tick. This method is not convenient enough, since it requires accurate calculation of the applied efforts. After all, with strong pressure, the abdomen runs the risk of coming off. In this case, the head of the tick will remain under the skin. Use a sterile needle and pull out the remains like a splinter.
Removing the tick, you need to take safety measures. To do this, close the nose and mouth with a medical bandage. If the insect is accidentally crushed during the extraction process, then the viruses in aerosol form will fall directly into the air. Inhaling them, you can get an asthmatic or allergic syndrome.
Laboratory analysis
The extracted insect should not be crushed. It is much more useful to put him in a tightly closed container and take him to the laboratory. It takes two days to deliver the insect for inspection. This will allow doctors to more accurately determine the diagnosis of the person who received the tick bite. Treatment in this case will begin immediately, and therefore, we can hope for a positive prognosis. Some centers take only the whole insect for analysis, but there are also those that take ticks in parts. The analysis is done within a few hours. The answer is usually given immediately. And do not forget to contact the clinic. Preventive treatment is required. Do not risk your health.
Post-Bite Condition
Quite often, after getting rid of an insect, a person simply forgets about the wound. It is not right. The question arises: "If you pulled out a tick, what should I do next?" Initially, you should carefully treat the wound with an antiseptic.
Carefully monitor the condition of the victim. Urgently consult a doctor if, after a tick bite, the following symptoms appear:
- signs of an inflammatory process are present in the wound;
- there is an increase in temperature;
- enlarged lymph nodes;
- regular headaches and muscle pains appear;
- the surface of the body was covered with a rash.
A very frequent question is whether to use an antibiotic for a tick bite. Doctors explain: if the area is non-endemic, and the insect has been on the skin for less than a day, there is no need for such prevention. It is scientifically proven that even an infected tick that feeds less than 24 hours will not be able to infect a victim with borreliosis.
But if the insect has been fed for more than 72 hours, or the duration of its presence on the surface of the skin is unknown, any doctor will definitely prescribe an antibiotic for a tick bite.
It is very important to remember that the drug is prescribed only if 72 hours have not expired after removal of the insect. If more time has passed, antibiotic therapy will not be useful, therefore, it is no longer used.
The most effective drug is Doxycycline. Adults are given a single dose of 200 mg. For children over eight years of age, the norm is 4 mg per kilogram of body. But not higher than 200 mg. Today it is the only effective drug, the positive effects of which have been proven in clinical trials.
The drug "Doxycycline" is contraindicated for pregnant women, nursing mothers and children under eight years of age.
Emergency measures
If the area in which the tick bitten is considered the place of an epidemic, or laboratory tests have shown that the insect has been infected, a vaccination is necessary. It should be done in the first 96 hours. An injection of a special anti-mite immunoglobulin will be required. Vaccination is completely free. But if there is no drug available, you will have to purchase it yourself. The dose is calculated depending on body weight. A contraindication is an allergic reaction to blood products.
If the tick is not infected, then they are not vaccinated. Since it often provokes the occurrence of allergies.Moreover, by itself, it is not useful to the body and does not provide complete protection against the possible occurrence of encephalitis or its complications. In this case, everything depends on the human immunity and the activity of the virus.
For prophylactic purposes, medications containing interferon (Viferon) are usually prescribed. Sometimes they recommend drugs "Arbidol", "Anaferon", "Amiksin", "Remantadin". It is best to take them on the first day after the bite.
There is no vaccine against borreliosis. Until now, experts have not come to a single conclusion when to drink antibiotics and which medications are most effective. The whole difficulty lies in the fact that the tick can infect both encephalitis and borreliosis. Therefore, some drugs can significantly aggravate the course of one of the diseases. Remember: if you feel bad after a tick bite, do not rush to take medications. Be sure to go see a doctor and consult on the issue of treatment. And most importantly - donate blood for laboratory analysis.
Precautions
- You can meet with ticks in the grass or low shrubs. It is there that they most often wait for their victim.
- Almost always, an insect creeps up, which is why, tucking pants into socks, you will protect yourself from it a little.
- Before going outdoors, always use anti-mite repellents. If not, use regular antiperspirant. Ticks are very attracted to the smell of sweat.
- Emergency immunoglobulin vaccination is not as effective as pre-prophylaxis with tick-borne vaccines.
Remember this when you are going for a walk in the forest, and protection, even if not one hundred percent, will be guaranteed.