With the onset of spring, closer to its middle, a person rushes to nature. Here he is in danger. You can easily become a victim of a forest tick. The greatest activity of parasites is observed from April to July. On the territory of Russia, the highest concentration of arachnids was noted in the taiga regions and Karelia. Outbreaks of diseases caused by the bites of these insects have been noted in the central regions and in the south of the country.
What a tick looks like
A tick is a small and completely nondescript insect belonging to the class of arthropods.
Dirty brown color serves as an excellent disguise for them. They are almost invisible in the natural environment. The size of males is only about four millimeters. Females are somewhat larger - their length can reach two centimeters. It looks like a small beetle with eight legs. This is how he clings to his prey. What a tick bite looks like - photo below. By the way, contrary to popular belief, this insect hunts from a height of no more than 50centimeters.
What tick bites look like on a person can be seen in the photos presented in the article.
Climbing a blade of grass or a bush, a tick waits for hours for its prey. These arthropods have very well developed organs of touch and smell. They allow them to smell blood at a distance of up to 10 meters. As soon as a person or animal is in range, the tick will cling to it with its front paws.
Tick bite (photo on the example of a dog) may look like this:
Grasping forelimbs will help him calmly choose the most vulnerable spot and, cutting the skin with his proboscis, start sucking blood. Males will get full quickly, while females, on the contrary, are extremely voracious. The amount of blood they drink can be four times their own weight. When satiated, the insects fall off the victim. History knows cases when the dinner of a female tick reached four days. And all this time she will be in the body of the victim. The most tasty places for an insect are the stomach, chest, neck.
How dangerous is this insect
The parasite itself is not poisonous. However, its seemingly harmless bite can be fatal for a person! The thing is that the insect is a carrier of the most dangerous infectious diseases. The worst of them is tick-borne encephalitis. With untimely treatment, the consequences of a tick bite are disability and death.
Other infections cause gastrointestinal disturbances, lung, kidney and liver disease,depression of the central nervous system, diseases of the musculoskeletal system, damage to the tissues of the joints and other serious disorders in the body. Often this leads to irreversible consequences.
Don't panic too much. According to statistics, about 90% of ticks in Russia do not carry an infectious agent. But there is still a risk. However, the bite of the so-called sterile tick (which is not a carrier of infection) can also cause a lot of trouble. It causes severe allergic reactions, the patient may develop Quincke's edema. In this case, you must urgently call an ambulance.
Features of tick attack
The forest tick's habitat is tall grass, bushes. Often infected individuals are found in the forest. In places with dense vegetation, the infection spreads and is supported by small rodents. Microorganisms penetrate the body of the insect and accumulate in it. Then, when bitten, they enter the human bloodstream.
The fact that these arthropods do not attack their prey instantly, with due care, makes it possible to prevent a bite, simply by detecting a tick in time. Note that the bite of a tick is almost impossible to feel. The point here is in special biological enzymes that neutralize pain. Infection does not occur immediately. The infection will enter the bloodstream only 5-6 hours after sucking, when the tick starts eating.
Vaccines
The best way to prepare the body for a meeting with a bloodsucker is to get vaccinated. Vaccinations are given to both adults and children. In this case, a special vaccine is used, whichrequires special storage conditions. Therefore, it will not work to buy it for the future.
Vaccination is carried out every three years. For children, it is recommended to use only imported vaccine.
If you expect to be in areas with a high concentration of parasites in the near future, urgent vaccination is recommended.
The imported vaccine is produced mainly by Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Vaccinations are done only in specialized medical institutions under the supervision of experienced specialists and after passing all the necessary tests. This minimizes side effects.
Bite Prevention
Contact with insects can be easily avoided. When you are in the danger zone, follow a few simple rules.
- Clothing should fit the body as much as possible. There should be no open areas. Especially protect the neck, abdomen, ears, chest.
- As often as possible, inspect yourself and those around you. You may be able to detect the tick before it bites.
- Tuck your pants into boots, make it as difficult as possible for the parasite to access the body.
- Protection suits and insect repellent recommended.
- Go down the middle of the path, avoid tall grass and ravines. Ticks do not like bright sunlight, so they often hide in the shade and dampness.
- Take with you a container for transporting the parasite, devices for its extraction. These items will not take up much space, but can be indispensable.
Tick bite: symptoms
Because the bite does not cause pain, it is difficult to detect a tick attack. Only after 2-3 hours a person may feel unwell, tired, drowsy, apathetic. If the temperature rises, this is the first sign of an allergic reaction. A round or oval redness may appear at the bite site itself. When the anesthesia wears off, itching will appear. These are the first symptoms of a tick bite in humans. Children, the elderly, and allergy sufferers suffer the most from the attack of the parasite. In addition, people suffering from chronic diseases are also at risk.
Different types of ticks carry different diseases, each requiring specific treatment. To accurately determine the type of insect, whether this individual was infected, can only be established by specialists in the laboratory. It is worth paying attention: even if the tick is infected with an infection, the symptoms of the disease will appear only after a certain time (usually 2-3 days).
First Aid
Assume that we failed to find the insect in time. The most important thing after a tick bite is to see a doctor as soon as possible. What can be done to minimize damage?
- It is necessary to remove the insect as soon as possible, but it is important to do it correctly. If the tick has not completely crawled under the skin with its head, in no case should it be crushed. Otherwise, there is a risk of infection. There is an opinion that the tick must be treated with gasoline, vegetable oil, so that it crawls out. This is inefficient.
- Take a strong, better nylon thread, constructing and gently tightening the loop around the body of the tick. Gently rock the insect by rotatingloop counterclockwise. With such movements, gradually remove the insect. Alternatively, use tweezers. The procedure for this is similar. Recently, special devices for extracting ticks have appeared on sale. Treat the wound with an antiseptic.
- Treat the wound with an antiseptic.
- After the parasite is removed, place it in a glass container, close the lid tightly and take it to the laboratory for analysis.
- When the first signs of an allergic reaction appear (redness, fever), give the victim an antihistamine and call an ambulance.
Where to go after a bite
If you can’t extract the parasite yourself, you need to contact specialists at the nearest medical facility. Doctors will professionally assist with a tick bite, safely remove the insect, send it to the laboratory for analysis, treat the wound, and take the necessary tests. If it turns out that the tick is infected, you will have to stay under the supervision of doctors for about a month, since many infections have a long incubation period.
If you removed the insect yourself, take it to a specialized laboratory, the address of which can be found in the local clinic or sanitary and epidemiological station.
Further actions entirely depend on the results of the analysis. If you experience symptoms of any of the diseases discussed below (fever, muscle pain, vomiting, allergic reactions), call your doctor immediately.
Diseases that a tick can cause
Let's take a look at four of the most common diseases that a tick bite can cause.
Tick-borne encephalitis - the disease occurs in various forms.
- Most common in the form of a fever (about half the time). Lasts about a week. Accompanied by high fever. The patient usually recovers well.
- Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges. It occurs more often than others (50-60% of cases). It runs hard. Recovery is possible within four weeks. May become chronic. Complications often develop and the patient remains disabled.
- Focal - the most dangerous form. More often than others it becomes chronic. The disease has a severe course. Characteristic symptoms:
- high temperature;
- nonsense;
- impaired consciousness;
- loss of orientation in space and time.
Chronic form - signs of the disease appear a few months after the exacerbation. Occurs in 3% of patients. Characterized by impaired motor skills, mental disorders and dementia are possible.
Disease symptoms:
- incubation period 5 to 25 days;
- disease usually begins in an acute form;
- sudden rise in temperature;
- chill;
- fear of bright light.
Accurate diagnosis and treatment takes place in a hospital.
Lyme disease is transmitted by the bite of a certain group of ticks. It is most common in the northern hemisphere, including in Russia. It strikesheart, nervous system, organs of vision. The incubation period lasts about two weeks, but this is very arbitrary. The first signs may appear earlier or later, up to several months.
Symptoms:
- headache;
- temperature;
- muscle pain;
- appearance of a characteristic skin rash (erythema annulus).
Early stage is easily stopped by antibiotics. With untimely diagnosis or improper treatment, the disease can go into an extreme stage, which is very difficult to treat and most often becomes chronic, leading to disability or death. Therefore, it is important to seek medical attention as soon as possible.
Tick-borne typhus - residents of southern Russia and the republics of the former USSR are at risk. Symptoms:
- formation of a "bubble" at the site of the bite;
- aches in the body and joints;
- temperature;
- possible vomiting;
- dizziness;
- appearance of a rash;
- yellowing skin;
- liver problems.
Exacerbation lasts about three days. Then comes relief, and then everything repeats. Each "wave" is expressed less and less.
QU fever is one of the most common infections in the world. It is transmitted by wild and domestic animals, including the so-called ixodid ticks. The incubation period is from 5 to 30 days. Symptoms:
- excessive sweating;
- cough;
- patient refuses to eat;
- weakness, headache.
Bite insurance
It's no secret that getting qualitymedical services are expensive. In this regard, it seems reasonable to level the risks in advance by taking advantage of insurance against the risk of infection with infectious diseases when bitten by a tick. Of course, this will not protect you from illness. Compensation for medical expenses will help you get the highest quality and timely medical care, which contributes to a speedy recovery.
Currently, most insurance companies offer this service. Note that for some companies, vaccination is included in the voluntary medical insurance program.
Dust (bed mites)
Another type of ticks are bed mites. Unlike their forest counterparts, these individuals are not carriers of dangerous infections. But they are quite capable of delivering big trouble to a person. You can only see such a parasite with a microscope.
The largest individuals rarely exceed 0.2 millimeters. The arachnid feeds on dead organic compounds. She loves to live in old blankets and pillows. It reproduces very quickly. Entire colonies will appear from a small pile in just a few weeks.
How do dust mites get into our homes? There are four main sources:
- feathers and down, including on live birds;
- hairdressers - if the towels are not well processed;
- wool favorite pets;
- natural wool products that have not been processed.
These creatures are dangerous because their chitinous shells and excrement,getting into the human body through the respiratory tract and on the skin, cause severe allergies. Bed mites (the bite in the photo below) cause a lot of problems.
Strictly speaking, the tick does not bite. Skin damage is an allergic reaction to the products of its vital activity. Dust mites are often confused with bed bugs. Unlike them, the latter are blood-sucking and really bite.
To permanently get rid of bed mites, it is necessary to periodically process pillows, blankets and mattresses. Freezing below -5 ° C and steam treatment are deadly for ticks. Bedding should also be subjected to periodic high-temperature washing and ironing.
