A microscopic insect - a tick - often causes panic in humans. A small bug can make them paranoid, constantly inspecting their own skin and thick coat of a pet. What are the danger of ticks, and what diseases they cause, we find out right now.
Appearance
In nature, there are about 48 thousand species of ticks. Most of them cannot harm a person or an animal. "What ticks are dangerous?" - you ask. First of all, those that carry deadly viruses: the so-called ixodic insects. Among this group, taiga and dog ticks are distinguished. The first is more common in the Asian territories of Russia, the second is usually parasitic in its European part. The mite itself is small - about 5 mm, but, having pumped the blood of the victim, it is able to increase in size several times.
The body of the insect is covered with a powerful shell, there are four pairs of legs. Males suck for a short time: they only have an hour to satisfy their hunger and leave the victim. But females can parasitize on the skin of humans and animals for several days. In deciduous and mixed forests mites usually live. Dangerous areas - paths, whose shoulders are overgrown with grass, ravines, edges, banks of reservoirs. Parasites attack in the warm season: from April to the end of June. Although some individuals can safely live until late autumn.
How do ticks attack?
There is a misconception that insects fall from trees. In fact, ticks are quite inactive: in their entire life they barely overcome a distance of several tens of meters. Insects are born in the ground, climb plants or grass to attack: the distance to the earth does not exceed 50 cm. Here the parasite sits with its legs spread open: they have especially sensitive receptors that can detect the victim long before it appears. Hooks are also located on the extremities, with which the insect bites into a person or animal when they inadvertently brush on grass or lower limbs with grass.
Why ticks are dangerous if your body is bare? The fact that they quickly find a place for a bite, so it is so important to go to the forest in closed clothes and shoes. Favorite places of the parasite are the head, chest, genitals. In dogs and cats, they prefer to "settle" in inaccessible places - behind the ears, in front of the neck. Starting feeding, the tick is fixed on the epidermis with the teeth of the proboscis and releases the first portion of saliva, which serves as a cement mortar for fixing the insect on the skin.
What is the danger of tick saliva?
Even if it does not contain viruses, in itself it poses a threat to health. What are the danger of ticks for humans, you can learn in detail from the relevant literature and various encyclopedias. It indicates the following: in the saliva of parasites there are many biologically active substances that perform negative functions in the victim's body:
- The effect of pain relief so that a person or animal does not show anxiety and does not interfere with the insect doing its dirty deed.
- Suppression of immunity so that it does not provoke tick rejection.
- Destruction of tissues and walls of blood vessels, due to which blood flows freely through the trunk.
What is the danger of a tick bite when it is sucked to the body? This is the first portion of saliva, because it contains half of all the deadly viruses that the insect carries. Therefore, infection occurs in a matter of seconds of contact. Even if you were able to quickly get rid of the parasite, take it to the laboratory: the detected disease in time will allow you not to lose precious minutes and immediately begin the necessary treatment.
The most dangerous diseases
What viruses does this little bug carry? First of all, it is tick-borne encephalitis. In an infected person, the infection affects the nervous system: there are various kinds of neurological disorders, which ultimately can even lead to death. The incubation period lasts about two weeks, after which the patient feels weak and tired, his body temperature rises, accompanied by muscle and headaches. After five days, the symptoms disappear, but after a week they roll with a vengeance. In addition, irreversible changes occur in the brain. The patient needs immediate medical attention.
Are ticks dangerous for dogs? Of course. Like humans, animals can catch another terrible infection - borreliosis. In this case, not only the nervous system, but also the cardiovascular system is affected. At first, the disease, the incubation period of which lasts a month, resembles SARS. If therapy is started on time, it can be cured with antibiotics. Otherwise, the person will remain disabled. As for dogs, they will also suffer from severe joint damage, remaining lame and crippled for the rest of their lives.
Other infections in humans
What are dangerous ticks for humans, we have already learned. But believe me, the list of infections transmitted by parasites does not end there. In addition to terrible encephalitis and borreliosis, typhus also threatens us : typhus or relapsing. The first is characterized by attacks of fever, general intoxication of the body. Symptoms appear a week after the bite, a person may also complain of pain in the head and muscles, he is shivering. If antibiotic treatment is not started, the patient dies in two weeks. Regarding relapsing fever, its symptoms are similar to rash. But the fever does not hold constantly, but finds waves. The victim should be hospitalized.
Another dangerous infection is hemorrhagic fever. It affects all the internal organs of a person. At first, the disease resembles ordinary poisoning, but already at its second stage complications may arise: toxic shock, renal failure, and even cerebral coma. Recovery is long and takes several months. Therefore, if you doubt whether ticks are dangerous, consider the serious consequences that their bite causes.
Dog Disease
In addition to borreliosis, our beloved pets are also threatened by other troubles. For example, bartonellosis is a defeat by bacteria of red blood cells, macrophages and endothelial cells. Among the symptoms are fever, drowsiness, weight loss, inflammation of the eyelids and joints, weakness of the hind limbs, anemia. Although sometimes the disease can be completely latent: the owners are genuinely surprised when their apparently healthy dog suddenly dies. If left untreated, it causes complications: bleeding and meningitis.
Are ticks dangerous for dogs? Yes, often they provoke the appearance of blood problems: hepatozoonosis refers to such infections. Parasites are grouped in white blood cells, gradually spreading throughout the body. The incubation period can last a whole year, after which the pet has an increase in temperature, joint pain, weakness.
The so-called blood diseases include ehrlichiosis, against the background of which the dog loses weight, it has constant hemorrhages, shortness of breath appears. If the disease is not treated, it leads to severe damage to all organs.
Are ticks dangerous for cats?
Our beloved furry creatures are also not immune from the serious diseases that insects carry. The most famous among them is hemobartonellosis. Its main symptoms are loss of appetite and complete apathy. In some cases, anemia is observed, which is accompanied by weight loss, heart palpitations, pallor of the mucous membranes. Some housewives notice that the cat begins to eat dirt or litter. Without timely assistance, the animal may die from complications caused by anemia.
Thus, the answer to the question whether ticks are dangerous for cats is positive. You must constantly inspect your pet in order to detect harmful parasites on her skin in time. After all, they can also cause theileriosis, which begins to appear 1-3 weeks after a bite. Parasites live in the blood, lymph nodes, liver and spleen, leading to the death of the animal. Symptoms include lethargy, shortness of breath, jaundice, loss of appetite. Unfortunately, effective treatments for theileriosis do not exist.
Pyroplasmosis
This disease should be distinguished, as it affects both cats and dogs. This is the most common virus that parasites carry. Pathogen - small bacteria that are detrimental to red blood cells, destroying and destroying them. The characteristic symptoms include lethargy, refusal to eat on the background of increased thirst. The pet develops jaundice and shortness of breath, an upset gastrointestinal tract, heart, liver, and kidneys do not work well. In this case, the urine acquires a dark (black, brown or burgundy) color. The animal must be urgently shown to the veterinarian.
Now you understand the danger of ticks for humans and animals. In most cases, they cause serious health problems that result in either disability or death. Even timely treatment does not guarantee the absence of complications - chronic violations of the internal organs, systems, joints. Ask your doctor about the right therapy. Strictly comply with all requirements, including daily routine and good nutrition.
How to get a tick?
Why are ticks dangerous for humans? The fact that they are carriers of deadly viruses. In order not to get sick, prevention is needed: a constant examination of the skin after visiting the forest, the choice of closed clothing during walks in nature. If, despite all the tricks, the tick managed to stick to the body, it must be removed as soon as possible. There are three effective ways:
- Twisting. Grab the tick with tweezers or a special tool that is sold in the pharmacy, and twist it until it is completely removed. Do not squeeze the body strongly, otherwise you easily squeeze out all the toxins into your blood. Grab the parasite should be under the legs as close to the skin.
- Strangulation. Drop on the sucking insect with sunflower oil: due to lack of air, it will leave you alone.
- The loop. An ordinary thread can easily remove an insect. The main thing is not to tear off the head, otherwise there will be no effect.
Knowing what a tick bite is dangerous, you probably will not neglect safety measures. After removing the parasite, treat the wound with iodine. After placing the insect in a container, immediately go to the doctor: in the hospital they will provide you with qualified help and find out if the tick is a carrier of dangerous infections.