First of all, you need to know that a tick does not bite immediately, but crawls over the body for several hours, so you need to regularly examine your body and the fur of your pets.
Tick bite: how long does it take for a person to develop symptoms?
Arachnid predators become active at temperatures above +20 degrees and are quite high humidity. They can long time crawl all over the body until they find folds of skin: groin, armpits, neck. Then they cut into the skin. The males quickly fall off after drinking a little blood, but the female can dig in for 2 weeks, while significantly increasing in volume.
The incubation period can be more than 1 month. The first signs will be noticeable within a week. But redness appears immediately after the tick, having had its fill of blood, disappears.
The time at which the first symptoms appear depends to a large extent on the state of the person’s health and immunity. If you are allergic to the saliva of an arachnid predator, within a few hours the temperature rises, red spots appear, and after a couple of days - weakness, migraine, shortness of breath, drowsiness, and in some cases local pain.
In children and older adults in poor health, symptoms may appear within a couple of days.
Symptoms and treatment for a tick bite
As noted above, symptoms depend on the state of the person’s immune system. High blood pressure and temperature can be caused by various diseases. But if redness appears on the skin, itching, and the heart rate increases, then this is evidence of a tick bite.
If a person has health problems, then the symptoms are more pronounced:
- Nausea.
- Shortness of breath.
- Excited state.
- Headache.
- Hallucinations.
If heat lasts several days, this is a sign of infection.
- Encephalitis. In this case, the temperature rises approximately 3 days after the bite of a dangerous insect. The fever may go away quickly, but may return within a few minutes.
- Monocytic ehrlichiosis. The temperature jumps after 10 days, and may not subside for 20 days.
- Lyme Borreliosis. There is a slight deterioration in health, but this cannot be ignored.
- Granulocytic anaplasmosis. The temperature increases almost immediately after infection and does not decrease for 2 weeks.
If such signs appear, you should immediately consult a qualified doctor.
Then the insect must be immediately sent for testing, and those infected must be tested for the presence of antibodies. If one of the possible diseases is confirmed, you need to consult a doctor who will prescribe the appropriate treatment.
I won’t write here what medications you need to take, since it all depends on the specific case. Therefore, medications should only be prescribed by a medical professional.
How to determine whether an encephalitis tick is present or not?
The encephalitis virus is transmitted dangerous insects through the blood of animals, after which it is inherited. According to statistics, about 15% of ticks in Russia are infected.
Infection can be determined if certain symptoms are present. A bite on the surface of the skin is practically invisible, as the virus begins to multiply inside the body. After the infection spreads throughout the body, the temperature begins to rise.
But if encephalitis affects the brain, then the work is disrupted nervous system. For 1-2 weeks after the bite, no signs are observed. If a person has a strong immune system, then the disease may not progress and the body itself can cope with this disease.
After about 10 days, the temperature rises to 40 degrees, and is accompanied by a febrile state.
They pulled out the tick, but it was dead. Why?
Using a sharp and heated knife, you need to cut off the tip of the syringe (where the needle is attached) so that the cut is perfectly even. Otherwise, it will be difficult to achieve optimal pressure. As a result, you should end up with a cylinder, as shown in the image below. 
Place the piston in its original position, firmly attach the syringe to the damaged surface so that the tick is completely in the container. There must be no air inside to create a vacuum. 
On next stage, carefully lift the piston. As a result, the insect will be painlessly removed. 
You can avoid the unpleasant consequences of a tick bite using special means. If the weather permits, you need to cover as much of your skin as possible with clothing and wear a hat.
Useful tips
The long-awaited time for summer vacation has arrived. And what would a vacation be without trips to nature, fragrant barbecues and pleasant friendly communication! But such a trip can be overshadowed by ticks, which can be carriers of such a serious disease as encephalitis.
ABOUT tick bite symptoms, About, how to remove ticks at home and treat the affected area and we’ll talk further.
Tick bite
Basics tick habitat- a forest, or rather a sun-warmed bed of fallen leaves and grass.
Tick activity period falls in the months of April - July, although you should be wary of these arachnid forest inhabitants until the end of autumn (as they say, God protects the best).
Simple preventive measures The tips below will help you avoid tick bites:
· Give preference long sleeved clothing from smooth fabrics light shades: firstly, ticks are better visible on it; secondly, it is difficult to cling to it
· Always wear headdress
· Tuck in your clothes directly into pants, which in turn tuck into socks or high shoes
·Use for processing clothes special drugs protecting against tick bites
· Conduct regularly inspection of clothing and body to identify ticks.
What does a tick look like?
But, unfortunately, we cannot always exclude using preventive measures tick bite. Therefore, it is better to know your enemy “by sight” and act according to the principle “forewarned is forearmed.”
Interesting Facts!
· The tick absorbs an amount of blood that is 10 or more times the weight of the insect itself. As a result, the size of the tick, which takes on a spherical shape, can increase up to 1 cm. In addition, the color of the tick’s body changes from brown to light gray.
· In ticks no eyes, while their vision is replaced by excellent sense of smell.
· The tick can detect the presence of people or animals at a distance of 10 m.
· Basic tick locations on the human body - stomach, lower back, shoulders, neck, armpits and head, that is, areas with thin skin, as well as good blood supply.
· Human the tick bite is not felt, since his saliva contains painkillers.
Symptoms of a tick bite
The location of the tick bite is characterized inflammation and redness round shape.
After 2–3 hours, a person begins to experience other signs of a tick bite, namely:
temperature rise to 37 - 38 degrees
general weakness
drowsiness
· tachycardia
joint pain
photophobia
rash accompanied by itching
· enlargement of regional lymph nodes
· headache
· nausea
The severity of symptoms depends on the number of ticks attached, the age of the person (elderly people and children are more susceptible to tick bites), the presence of chronic diseases and the state of the immune system.
How to remove a tick at home
What to do, if bitten by a tick? The main rule is not to panic, otherwise you can only harm yourself, since in a state of panic you can pull out the tick incorrectly, which can lead to infection with saliva and the development of many serious and dangerous diseases.
How to remove a tick with a syringe
To remove a tick using this method, you will need a syringe (insulin or 5 cc) and scissors.
1. Carefully wash your hands with soap.
2. As smooth as possible cut off the tip of the syringe.
3. Tight apply the syringe to the location of the tick(for better “bonding” of the syringe to the skin, you can treat the area where the syringe is cut with water or glue).
Ticks that are found in the territories of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, as well as countries of Eastern and Western Europe, can stick to the skin of a person of any age and gender in order to obtain blood. Ticks need fresh human blood to start the reproduction cycle, so these insects literally cannot do without people. In this sense, ticks are similar to mosquitoes, which also require human blood to reproduce.
However tick bites, unlike most mosquitoes, is not harmless, since these insects are carriers of several dangerous infectious diseases. Therefore, after a bite, it is necessary to take a number of actions aimed at preventing the development of severe infectious diseases that the tick could infect a person with.
In Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Western and Eastern Europe and the USA, ticks are carriers and, accordingly, when bite can infect a person with the following infections:
- Tick-borne encephalitis;
- Borreliosis (Lyme disease);
- Congo-Crimean hemorrhagic fever;
- Omsk hemorrhagic fever;
- Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome.
Other infections (hemorrhagic fevers) are common only in the territory individual regions, so you can become infected with them if a person is bitten by a tick living in the area. And since ticks do not leave their habitat, moreover, they practically do not budge throughout their entire life, often spending it on the same bush, then you can become infected with hemorrhagic fevers only if you are bitten by a tick located in the region with the prevalence of these infections. Accordingly, the person himself must also be in a region where hemorrhagic fevers transmitted by local ticks are common.
So, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever distributed only in Crimea, on the Taman Peninsula, in Rostov region, Southern Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Bulgaria. Omsk hemorrhagic fever distributed in the territories of Omsk, Novosibirsk, Kurgan, Tyumen and Orenburg regions. Also, sometimes ticks that carry Omsk hemorrhagic fever are found in Northern Kazakhstan, Altai and Krasnoyarsk territories. Reservoir of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome is found in all countries of Europe and Asia, but the infection is recorded only in the form of episodic outbreaks and isolated cases of infection.
So, since ticks can infect humans dangerous infections, consider the algorithms of actions that need to be taken in different situations after being bitten by this insect.
What should I do if bitten by a tick?
Algorithm of actions if bitten by a tick
Regardless of who was bitten by a tick (child, woman, man, elderly person), when this fact is discovered, it is necessary to perform the following manipulations:1. Remove the tick with any in an accessible way(see sections below);
2. Treat the site of tick suction with an antiseptic (iodine, alcohol, brilliant green, Chlorhexidine, hydrogen peroxide, etc.);
3. Place the tick in a closed container and, if possible, submit it for analysis to determine whether it is a carrier of infections;
4. Get tested for borreliosis and tick-borne encephalitis to determine whether the infection occurred after a tick bite;
5. Take prophylactic medications, the action of which is aimed at quickly suppressing the infectious disease transmitted to humans by ticks;
6. Watch for own fortune within a month after a tick bite.
When bitten by a tick, be sure to remove the insect as quickly as possible and treat the area where it is attached to the skin. You don’t have to do the remaining points of the algorithm, with the exception of monitoring your own condition for a month. If any signs of illness appear within 30 days of a tick bite, you should consult a doctor, as this may be a symptom of tick-borne infections that need to be treated.
It is advisable to place the tick after removal from the skin in a closed container only if it can be transported to a specialized laboratory for examination within a maximum of 24 hours. Such laboratories are usually located in infectious diseases hospitals. However, since in many cities and countries of Europe ticks are, in principle, not examined to see whether they are carriers of infections, but rather the condition of people is monitored after a bite, then in most cases it makes no sense to pack the insect in a container.
In general, identifying whether a tick is a carrier of infections is not necessary, but is necessary solely for early accurate determination of the subsequent tactics of behavior of the bitten person. So, if the tick is “clean”, that is, it is not a carrier of infections, then a person can forget about the bite forever, since it does not carry any consequences. If a tick is a carrier of infections, this does not mean that it has necessarily infected a person and that he needs to wait for the disease to develop. Indeed, in 80% of cases, a bite from an infected tick does not lead to human infection. Therefore, if a person is bitten by an infected tick, it is necessary to monitor his condition for a month and, if possible, take blood tests to determine whether an infection has occurred. That is, tick analysis allows the person himself to adhere to the right tactics and be prepared for a possible disease, and not rely on chance.
A more rational tactic (compared to submitting a tick to a laboratory) after a bite is to take blood tests to find out whether the insect has infected a person with any infection. However, there is no need to donate blood right away, since the tests will not be informative. No earlier than 10 days after the bite, you can donate blood to detect tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis using the PCR method. If the analysis is carried out by ELISA or Western blotting (immunoblotting), then to detect tick-borne encephalitis, blood should be donated only two weeks after the bite, and borreliosis - after 4 - 5 weeks.
PCR detects the presence of a pathogen in the blood, so this analysis is very accurate. And during ELISA and Western blotting, IgM antibodies are detected against the tick-borne encephalitis virus and the causative agent of borreliosis. The ELISA method is inaccurate because the percentage of false positive results is high. Western blotting is reliable and accurate, but is mainly performed only in private laboratories located in major cities, as a result of which it is not available to every person who has been bitten by a tick.
If the results of any test (PCR, ELISA, Western blotting) are positive, this means that the tick has infected a person with an infection. In this case, it is necessary to immediately undergo a course of treatment, which will allow the disease to be cured at an early stage.
You may not need to be tested, but immediately after the bite, carry out preventive treatment against tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis by taking medications. In most cases, such treatment prevents the development of infection, and the person does not get sick, even if the tick has infected him.
Despite the temptation to carry out preventive treatment immediately after a bite in order to protect yourself from the development of infection, if infection occurs, you should not do this. Doctors and scientists consider the following tactics of behavior after a tick bite to be the most optimal and justified:
1.
Remove the tick from the skin.
2.
On the 11th day after the bite, donate blood to detect tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis using the PCR method.
If the PCR result is positive for any one or both infections, then medication should be started to prevent the full development of the disease and cure it during the incubation period. To prevent borreliosis, antibiotics are taken: Doxycycline + Ceftriaxone, and encephalitis - Yodantipirin or Anaferon. If the result is positive for both infections, then antibiotics and Yodantipyrine are taken simultaneously for preventive treatment.
If the PCR result is negative, then 2 weeks after the tick bite you should donate blood to detect tick-borne encephalitis using ELISA or Western blotting. Then, after 4 weeks, donate blood again to detect borreliosis using ELISA or Western blotting. Accordingly, if a positive test result is obtained, antibiotics or Yodantipirin should be taken, depending on what kind of infection was detected (encephalitis or borreliosis).
Taking antibiotics and Yodantipirin immediately after a tick bite without testing is justified only in cases where the incident occurred far from civilization (for example, hiking trip, bike ride, etc.) and it is impossible to get to medical laboratories. In this case, to prevent infection with encephalitis and borreliosis, it is necessary to take both antibiotics and Yodantipyrin, since it is unknown which infection the tick is transmitting.
General rules for tick removal
If a person of any age and gender is bitten by a tick, then first of all it is necessary to remove the insect as soon as possible, since the longer it stays on the skin, the higher the likelihood of contracting infectious diseases. You need to remove a tick from any place on the body, observing a certain technique, since the insect is very tightly attached to the skin using a proboscis with peculiar appendages. These processes make the tick's proboscis look like a harpoon, so simply pulling the insect out of the skin will not work (see Figure 1).
Picture 1– The proboscis of the tick is in the skin.
For the purpose of removal, do not drip oil, glue, milk onto the tick, cover it with a jar, or perform any other actions aimed at clogging the insect's spiracles located on the back of its body. The fact is that when the spiracles close, the tick cannot breathe normally, and this makes it aggressive, as a result of which it splashes its saliva into the blood very intensely and in large quantities. Namely, saliva contains infectious agents that are carried by ticks. Thus, blockage of tick spiracles increases the risk of human infection with encephalitis or borreliosis.
You can remove a tick with your hands, tweezers, thick thread or special devices domestic or imported (Tick Twister, The Tick Key, Ticked-Off, Antiklesch), which are sold in pharmacies or Medtekhnika stores. These devices have different shape and methods of use, therefore it is recommended to select the optimal variety from Medtekhnika and use it as needed. Such devices for removing ticks must be purchased in advance and carried with you during various trips into nature. If there are no devices, then you need to remove the tick using ordinary improvised means, such as tweezers, thread or your fingers.
Regardless of how the tick is removed, you should not touch the insect with your bare hands. This is due to the fact that when removing, the tick can be damaged and then the contents of its intestinal tract will fall on the skin, from which it can penetrate into the systemic bloodstream if there are any small wounds on it that are invisible to the naked eye. That is, by removing a tick with bare hands, a person increases the risk of contracting various infections. That is why before removing the insect it is necessary to put it on your hands latex gloves. If you don’t have gloves, you can simply wrap your hands with a regular bandage or clean cloth. Only after protecting your hands in this way can you begin to remove the tick from the skin.
After removing the tick, it is necessary to disinfect the wound by treating it with any available antiseptic, for example, iodine, Chlorhexidine, hydrogen peroxide, calendula tincture or alcohol. It is optimal to treat the wound left by a tick with alcohol or iodine. After treatment, the skin is left without a bandage. If a person wants to submit a tick for analysis to determine whether it is a carrier of any infection, then the insect must be placed in a jar along with a piece of cotton wool moistened with water, closed the container and stored in the refrigerator. If a person does not want to submit the tick for analysis, then the removed insect can simply be burned in the flame of a match, lighter or fire, or crushed with shoes.
Let's look at how to properly remove a tick in various ways.
Removing a tick using the Tick Twister
This device is the best for removing ticks for two main reasons. Firstly, Tick Twister allows you to completely remove the tick in 98% of cases without tearing it and thus leaving the insect head in the skin. This is a very important advantage, since the head remaining in the skin will have to be removed with a needle, like a splinter, which is quite painful and unpleasant. In addition, the head of the tick remaining in the skin is a source of pathogenic microbes that the insect carries. And, accordingly, the head of the tick located in the skin continues to be a source of infection for humans.Secondly, the use of Tick Twister avoids putting pressure on the tick's digestive tract, as a result of which there is no risk of releasing large amounts of insect saliva containing infectious agents. When using tweezers, thread or fingers, strong pressure is often applied to the tick's digestive tract, causing it to squirt into the skin a large number of saliva, which contains pathogens of tick-borne infections. Accordingly, such a discharge of saliva increases the risk of contracting an infection, if this has not already happened.
In addition, Tick Twister is very easy to use and does not cause pain during the tick removal process.
Using the Tick Twister is very simple: you need to grab the tick between the teeth of the device, then rotate it around its axis counterclockwise 3 to 5 times and easily pull it towards you (see Figure 2). After several turns counterclockwise, the tick is easily pulled out of the skin. After removing the tick, the site of its suction is treated with iodine or alcohol.
Figure 2– Rules for using the Tick Twister tick removal device.
Rules for removing ticks using The Tick Key
This device allows, in most cases, to successfully remove a tick without tearing it into pieces, and also without putting pressure on its digestive tract, preventing the release of saliva into the blood. However, The Tick Key is somewhat worse in its characteristics than the Tick Twister, since it is inconvenient to use on some hard-to-reach areas of the body, such as the inguinal and axillary folds, the area under the breasts in women, etc.Using The Tick Key to remove a tick follows three steps (see Figure 3):
1.
Place the device on the skin so that the tick is inside the large hole;
2.
Move The Tick Key without lifting it from the surface of the skin so that the tick falls into the small hole;
3.
Turn The Tick Key counterclockwise 3 – 5 times, then pull the tick towards you.
After removing the tick, the site of its suction is treated with iodine or alcohol.
Figure 3– Rules for using The Tick Key to remove ticks.
Removing a Tick Using the Ticked-Off Tool
The Ticked-Off device is as convenient and practical as the Tick Twister, however, unfortunately, in most cases you can only buy it in the CIS countries through online stores.Ticked-Off to remove a tick should be used as follows: place the spoon vertically to the skin, then push the protruding part of the tick into the hollow. Having fixed the tick in this way, you should rotate the device 3 – 5 times around its axis counterclockwise, after which you can easily pull it towards you (see Figure 4). After removing the tick, the site of its suction is treated with iodine or alcohol.
Figure 4– Rules for using Ticked-Off to remove ticks.
Rules for removing ticks using the Anti-Tick device
Anti-mite is a special wire tweezers (see Figure 5), which allows you to securely grab the tick and, at the same time, not put pressure on its digestive tract, which ensures quick, effective and safe removal of the insect from the skin.
Figure 5– Anti-mite device.
To remove a tick device Antiklesch It is necessary to capture the insect as close to the surface of the skin as possible. To do this, you need to press the big and index finger In the middle of the tweezers, spread its tips to the sides and place them so that the tick's head is between them. Then you should stop pressing on the middle of the tweezers, allowing their tips to close around the tick. After this, you need to rotate the device 3 – 5 times counterclockwise around its axis and easily pull it towards you.
After removing the tick, it is necessary to treat the site of its suction with iodine or alcohol.
Rules for removing ticks with tweezers
To remove a tick with tweezers, you need to grab it by closing the tips of the tool as close to the surface of the skin as possible. Then, holding the tick in the grip, you need to rotate it around its axis counterclockwise 3 to 5 times. After this, you need to lightly pull the insect towards you, which should easily come out of the wound. If the tick cannot be pulled out, then you should turn it counterclockwise several more times and pull it again. After removing the tick, the site of its attachment must be treated with iodine or alcohol.Rules for removing ticks with thread
First, you should apply a little pressure with your fingers on the skin in the area of the attached tick, as if you were trying to squeeze out a pimple. After this, take a strong thread 15–30 cm long and make a loop in the middle with a diameter of 2–3 cm. Then place the loop on the skin so that the tick gets into it. Tighten the loop tightly, connect both ends of the thread into one and start twisting it counterclockwise with your fingers. When the thread is tightly twisted, you should pull it towards you, and the tick will be easily removed from the wound (Figure 6). Treat the wound remaining at the tick site with iodine or alcohol.
Figure 6– Removing a tick using a thread.
Rules for removing ticks with your fingers
Wear gloves on your hands, or cover your fingers with several layers of bandage or a clean cloth. Then, using protected fingers, grab the tick and rotate it around its axis counterclockwise 3 to 5 times. After this, pull the tick towards you, and it will easily be removed from the wound. Treat the tick site with iodine or alcohol.Rules for removing tick remains from a wound
If it was not possible to completely remove the tick, and any parts of its body remain in the skin (most often the head with the proboscis), then they need to be pulled out. If the remains of the tick are not removed, an abscess may form on the skin or there will be long-term inflammation that does not go away until parts of the insect’s body come out on their own.Removing tick remains from a wound is done in the same way as removing a splinter, that is, using a needle. The needle is pre-sterilized by treating it with hydrogen peroxide, alcohol or holding it in a flame for 1 - 2 minutes. Then, using a sterilized needle, remove the remains of the tick from the wound and treat it with iodine or alcohol.
What and how to treat the site of a tick bite?
After the tick has been removed from the skin, it is necessary to treat the area with any antiseptic. The best way Alcohol and iodine are suitable for this purpose, but you can also use hydrogen peroxide, Chlorhexidine, brilliant green, etc. Any available antiseptic is poured onto a piece of clean cotton wool and generously lubricated with it on the wound left after removing the tick. After this treatment, the skin is left open and no bandage is applied.Redness, swelling and itching may persist at the site of the tick bite for 3 weeks. In this case, it is recommended to lubricate the inflamed area daily with iodine and calendula tincture, and take any antihistamine orally (for example, Erius, Telfast, Suprastin, Fenistil, Cetrin, etc.).
How to transport a tick to the laboratory for analysis?
To transport a mite to the laboratory, it is necessary to place the live insect in a container that can be tightly closed, for example, a jar with a lid, etc. Be sure to put a small piece of cotton wool moistened with water in the container with the tick. Until the moment of transportation, the container with the tick must be kept in the refrigerator. Remember that only a living tick is suitable for analysis, so if the insect died during removal from the skin, then there is no point in transporting it to the laboratory.How and what tests should I take after a tick bite to detect tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis at the stage of the incubation period?
Currently, to determine whether a tick has infected a person with encephalitis or borreliosis, the following blood tests are performed:- Venous blood to determine the presence of tick-borne encephalitis virus and Borrelia using the PCR method (the test is taken no earlier than 11 days from the moment of the bite, since before that it is not informative).
- Venous blood for determination of antibodies to the tick-borne encephalitis virus type IgM using ELISA (test taken at least 2 weeks after the bite).
- Venous blood for determination of antibodies to the borreliosis virus type IgM using ELISA (test taken at least 4 weeks after the bite).
- Venous blood for determination various options antibodies (VisE, p83, p39, p31, p30, p25, p21, p19, p17) to the IgM tick-borne encephalitis virus using Western blotting (tested at least 2 weeks after the bite).
- Venous blood for determination of various variants of antibodies (VisE, p83, p39, p31, p30, p25, p21, p19, p17) to the borreliosis virus type IgM using Western blotting (tested at least 4 weeks after the bite).
To identify latent tick-borne infections, it is recommended to be tested twice after a tick bite. The first time within the time period specified for each method (after 11 days for PCR, after 2 or 4 weeks for ELISA and Western blotting), and the second time – a month after the first test. Both times you should donate blood for analysis using the same method. For example, if the first test was taken for PCR, then the second one should be performed using the same PCR method. Moreover, the analysis is given a second time only if the results of the first were negative.
If the first and second tests for both infections are negative, then the tick has not infected a person. In this case, you can simply forget about this unpleasant episode of your life. If the second test turns out to be positive, then you should undergo a course of preventive treatment, which will suppress the disease during the incubation period.
If the first test shows a negative result for one of the infections and a positive result for the second, then the tactics change somewhat. To prevent a detected infection, the test for which was positive, take the necessary medications (Yodantipyrine for encephalitis and Doxycycline + Ceftriaxone for borreliosis). For a second infection, the test for which was negative, a repeat test is taken a month after the first. Accordingly, with a negative analysis, you can completely relax and forget about the tick bite. And if the analysis is positive, undergo a course of preventive treatment with the necessary medications.
How and what medications to take after a tick bite to prevent the development of tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis?
To prevent the development of borreliosis
After a tick bite, a person of any age and gender must take two antibiotics: - Doxycycline – 100 mg 1 time per day for 5 days;
To prevent the development of encephalitis For people of any age and gender after a tick bite, there are two main methods:
- Serum administration is carried out in a clinic or hospital, and only in the first 72 hours after the bite. Injection of serum into more late dates useless.
- Taking Yodantipirin by people over 14 years of age and Anaferon children's teenagers under 14 years old.
Today it is quite effective and safe method Prevention of tick-borne encephalitis after a tick bite is to take Yodantipirin or children's Anaferon, depending on the age of the victim. Yodantipyrine after a tick bite, adults and adolescents over 14 years of age should take it according to the following regimen: in the first two days, 3 tablets 3 times a day, in the next two days, 2 tablets 3 times a day, and then for 5 days, 1 tablet 3 times a day.
Children's Anaferon given to all children and adolescents under 14 years of age after a tick bite to prevent tick-borne encephalitis. Children under 12 years old are given 1 tablet 3 times a day, and adolescents 12 - 14 years old - 2 tablets 3 times a day. Anaferon for children in the indicated dosages should be given to children within 21 days after a tick bite.
What to do at home if you are bitten by a tick?
At home, after a tick bite, you must first remove the insect from the skin and treat the remaining wound with an antiseptic (iodine or alcohol). After this, if it is possible to get tested within the appropriate time frame - after 11 days for PCR, after 2 and 4 weeks for ELISA and Western blotting. However, if for some reason it is impossible to get tested, then immediately after a tick bite it is recommended to take a course of antibiotics (Doxycycline + Ceftriaxone) and Yodantipirin (for adults) or children's Anaferon (for children) in order to prevent tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis. Antibiotics and Yodantipirin or children's Anaferon can be taken simultaneously, each according to its own scheme. Moreover, taking medications should be started as soon as possible after a tick bite.What to do if a child is bitten by a tick?
If a tick bites a child, then the algorithm of actions is exactly the same as for an adult. That is, first of all, you need to remove the tick from the skin and treat the suction site with iodine or alcohol. Then, at the appropriate time, take tests for the presence of infections in his body. Accordingly, if the test result is positive, conduct a course of preventive treatment for the child with the necessary medicines(Doxycycline + Ceftriaxone for borreliosis and Anaferon for children for tick-borne encephalitis). If the test result is negative, then take it again after a month. Accordingly, if the second test turns out to be negative, then you can forget about the tick bite, and if it is positive, then carry out a course of treatment.In cases where it is impossible to get tested, it is recommended to start giving the child both antibiotics (Doxycycline + Ceftriaxone) and Anaferon for children as soon as possible after a tick bite in order to prevent the development of encephalitis and borreliosis. Antibiotics are given in age-specific dosages, with Doxycycline for 5 days, and Ceftriaxone for 3 days. Anaferon for children is given for 21 days, 1 tablet 3 times a day for children under 12 years of age, and 2 tablets 3 times a day for adolescents 12 - 14 years old.
What to do if a pregnant woman is bitten by a tick?
If a tick has bitten a pregnant woman, it should be removed from the skin and the wound should be treated with iodine or alcohol. Then, within the required time frame, it is recommended to be tested for the presence of tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis. Further, if borreliosis is detected, then during pregnancy 16–20 weeks you should take Amoxiclav for 21 days, taking 625 mg 3 times a day.To prevent tick-borne encephalitis, pregnant women should not take any medications, but can only wait and monitor their own condition. If signs of encephalitis appear (fever, headache, etc.) or feeling unwell within a month after a tick bite, you should immediately consult a doctor, be hospitalized in a hospital and receive the necessary treatment. There is no need to take any further action after a tick bite on a pregnant woman.
What to do if you are bitten by an encephalitis tick?
If you are bitten by an encephalitis tick, then it is optimal to prevent the development of an infection that has already entered the body, take a course of Yodantipirin (adults and adolescents over 14 years old) or children's Anaferon (children under 14 years old).Yodantipyrine should be taken by all people over 14 years of age according to the following regimen:
- 3 tablets 3 times a day in the first 2 days;
- 2 tablets 3 times a day for the next 2 days;
- 1 tablet 3 times a day for the next 5 days.
Children's Anaferon is given to all adolescents and children under 14 years of age for 21 days. Moreover, children under 12 years old are given 1 tablet 3 times a day, and adolescents 12 - 14 years old - 2 tablets 3 times a day.
What to do if you are bitten by a borreliosis tick?
If you are bitten by a Borreliosis tick, then to prevent the development of the disease, it is recommended to take a short course of antibiotics according to the following scheme:- Doxycycline – 100 mg 1 time per day for 5 days;
- Ceftriaxone - 1000 mg 1 time per day for three days.
The tick bit, but did not stick
If a tick bites, but does not have time to attach itself, then you should simply treat the wound with an antiseptic (iodine, alcohol, etc.). There is no need to take any further action, since during the bite the tick does not have time to infect a person with infections. After all, to transmit borreliosis or encephalitis, the tick must remain in the skin for at least 6 hours. Bitten by a tick - where to go?
If you are bitten by a tick, you should contact an infectious disease doctor at the clinic at your place of residence. In addition, you can contact the Centers for Epidemiology and Prevention (former sanitation stations) located in regional cities and district centers. In the cities of Siberia, where ticks are widespread and often bite people, there are specialized centers for the diagnosis and treatment of tick-borne infections. If a person lives in Siberia, then you should find out where such a center is located in the nearest city and contact there.First aid for a tick bite
First aid for a tick bite consists of removing it from the skin and treating the remaining wound with an antiseptic (iodine, alcohol, etc.). To relieve itching and inflammation at the bite site, you can take any antihistamine (Fenistil, Suprastin, Telfast, Cetrin, etc.).What to do if you have a fever after a tick bite
If you have a fever after a tick bite, you should consult a doctor and get tested for borreliosis and encephalitis. If the tests are negative, then there is no need to worry, since after a tick bite a person can have a temperature of up to 37.8 o C for a month.What to do if redness appears on the skin after a tick bite?
Redness on the skin after a tick bite may be a symptom of the early stages of borreliosis or an allergic reaction. It is not always possible to quickly distinguish what caused the redness in each specific case - an allergic reaction or borreliosis. Therefore, when redness appears, it is recommended to take antihistamines (Suprastin, Fenistil, Claritin, Parlazin, etc.). If, under the influence of antihistamines, the redness significantly decreases in size within a few days, this means that an allergic reaction has occurred, which will completely disappear within a month. If, under the influence of antihistamines, the redness practically does not decrease, this means that the person is likely to develop borreliosis. In such a situation, it is necessary to take tests for borreliosis, and if the results are positive, begin treatment immediately.Anton Akelkin
Head of the quality control department for engineering-oriented design research in the field of high technologies.
Tell me about ticks. Why are they dangerous and how does infection occur?
The ixodid tick is a carrier of encephalitis, borreliosis (the first is a virus, the second is bacteria) and a dozen other infections. It is quite rare. There are also forest and field ticks. They vary slightly in shape and size and go through three stages of growth: larva, nymph, and adult tick. Each of them differs in size.
Ticks are found throughout almost the entire inhabited territory of Russia, especially in Siberia. They live in grass and bushes where it is quite damp, and rarely rise above 1.5 m from the ground. They don't know how to jump. Active at temperatures +5 °C and above. For example, on the Peschanaya or Sumult rivers, in the gorges, there are a lot of ticks in May-June, but on the Chuya in the area of the Turbina rapids or on the Katun in the Yaloman area, most likely there are no ticks at all, because it is dry and cold. But on Burevestnik or in the area of the Shabash rapids, where there are trees and the humidity is higher, ticks can be found.
Insects hunt with their front legs spread out. They wait for prey, sitting on grass or a branch marked with the smell of sweat, near hiking trails or animal trails. Ticks cannot crawl down. Rarely they can fall from a tree, but it is not very clear how they get there.
Diseases are not transmitted from insect to insect. The tick becomes infected when it bites squirrels, mice and other living creatures.
According to statistics, every sixth tick out of a hundred is encephalitic.
But even if you are bitten by a sick tick, infection does not always occur. Approximately every two hundredth bite transmits encephalitis, every seventieth - borreliosis. The numbers are approximate: not all victims go to the hospital, and not all those who recovered from encephalitis realized that they were infected.
How do ticks get on the body? Is there any way to protect yourself from them?
When a person passes by, the tick grabs onto clothing. It crawls up to the place where, for example, the pants go under the T-shirt, and gets to the body. That's why it's so important to tuck your pants into your socks and your shirt into your underpants.
When an insect crawls along the body, it touches small hairs with its paws, which sometimes gives itself away. Therefore, girls with shaved legs are less protected from ticks, but are more attractive to men, so it is not yet clear which side of evolutionary selection is on. If something is itching, and you know that in this area there is a risk of stumbling upon a tick, look to see if someone has already sneaked up and wants to suck some blood.
Various repellents help against ticks. Especially those that depict this insect. I think there is no need to remind you that there are instructions on the cylinder. If you are bitten, you should not take repellent orally.
I was still bitten. How to properly remove a tick?
It is necessary to remove the tick as quickly as possible, but carefully. This will not save you from encephalitis, since the virus is contained in saliva. But it may well be caused by borreliosis: the bacteria are in the tick’s stomach and do not immediately enter the bloodstream.
It is best to have a special extraction device. It is sold in pharmacies. Tweezers or a thread loop between the trunk and body are also suitable. You can pull out the tick with your fingers, but then you definitely need to disinfect your hands.
The idea is to grab the tick as close to the proboscis as possible, but do not squeeze the body so as not to squeeze the borrelia into the wound. You need to pull it slightly. If you haven’t pulled it out, twist it in any direction so that the antennae on the proboscis press against the sting and come out of the flesh. A couple of turns will be enough. Then remove the insect.
If you tore a tick from the trunk and it remains in the wound, proceed by analogy with. After removing the tick, treat the wound disinfectants: iodine, brilliant green. But for some reason they don’t recommend alcohol.
You should not smear the tick with oil or gasoline in the hope that it will come out on its own. He will simply die in agony, and before dying he will release bacteria from the stomach into the wound.
I removed the tick. Can I relax or should I run to the hospital?
The easiest way is to do nothing. Statistics are on your side. I have 200 friends on VKontakte, 50 of which I don’t know well. Of the remaining 150, there are three people who suffered from severe encephalitis. All three are tourists.
If symptoms appear, you should quickly rush to the hospital. Then act according to the circumstances.
Up to 30% of patients may move their heads, develop partial paralysis after recovery, or even die.
Most the best option- save the living tick and take it for examination. This should be done immediately after the bite. If the tick is contagious, the doctor will prescribe a course of immunoglobulin (for money or through insurance) or doxycycline if borreliosis is suspected. They may be taken to the hospital. This method is not suitable if you are far from civilization.
You can do without an examination of the insect. In this case, you will still be prescribed immunoglobulin and doxycycline, but you will not be admitted to the hospital right away.
Immunoglobulin and doxycycline are not very beneficial for the body and can cause serious complications. Therefore, it is important to transport a live tick to the laboratory whenever possible. Immunoglobulin helps in 50% of cases. There are no statistics on doxycycline, a broad-spectrum antibiotic. There is also yodantipyrine, but its effectiveness is about the same as beer.
The medications must be taken no later than three days from the moment of the bite. The more time passes, the less effective the medications are.
If you are vaccinated against encephalitis, remove and burn the tick. If symptoms of borreliosis appear, go to the hospital. In case of infection with encephalitis, the disease passes without consequences in 97% of cases.
Do I need a vaccination against encephalitis?
It's better to do it anyway. If you are afraid, remember: you cannot get encephalitis from it. The virus in it is neutralized and cannot reproduce. The immune system gets acquainted with the shell of the virus, understands what’s what, and develops immunity.
If a combat virus enters the victim’s body, the immune system will immediately produce the necessary antibodies and will not wait several weeks for the virus to gather an entire army.
How do I know if I'm infected?
Encephalitis can easily be confused with ARVI or influenza. Fever and weakness appear 3–14 days after the bite.
Borreliosis, as a rule, is accompanied by the appearance of a characteristic growing spot at the site of the bite. The spot can migrate, but in rare cases the disease can proceed without it. If you seek help in time, borreliosis can be treated more easily than encephalitis.
They say all sorts of things about ticks. What shouldn't you believe?
- Vaccination doesn't help. In fact, the vaccine is 97% effective in protecting you from encephalitis. There are no vaccines against borreliosis, but the disease can be treated if you go to the hospital in a timely manner.
- Traditional medicine helps. A specially sharpened immunity will protect you from viruses, which cannot be developed by tincture of burdock with vodka. They will only save you from bacteria.
- In order for the tick to come out on its own, you need to anoint it. The tick will die, but the bacteria from its stomach will still penetrate the human body.
- You need to suck out or squeeze out the poison. This will only help the infection spread faster through the capillary system.
- Altaians and other small ethnic groups have immunity from birth, so they are not vaccinated. They just don't know that vaccinations help.
- I was bitten by a tick. I didn't do anything, but everything is fine. Statistics say otherwise.
- By appearance it is possible to distinguish an infectious tick from a healthy one. It's a pity, but the insects are not labeled. Both contagious and healthy people look the same.
During the warm season, when people often like to be outdoors, people who have been bitten by a tick are increasingly being admitted to medical institutions. The most interesting thing is that no one knows what to do. Although the mechanism of correct actions for this case is quite simple. There are a large number of ways to remove a tick, treat the wound and undergo the necessary examinations.
Tick - who is it?
Few people know that a tick is not an insect at all, although it is very similar in appearance and size. It directly belongs to the class Arachnida, subclass Arthropods. When the time for vacations or long holidays begins, and good weather beckons, we, without thinking about the consequences, rush to the forests and mountains. These are the areas where there are the most ticks. Avid lovers of hiking and recreation outside the city love to argue where these animals live: on the grass or trees. Experts warn that they can be everywhere. Ticks can simply climb a tree or bush only when the vegetation is no higher than half a meter. In extreme heat, you are unlikely to encounter this type of arachnid; they do not like it. Prefer cool morning or evening hours and night. They attack the victim quickly, but take a long time to find a place to bite. Therefore, if you feel something, try to immediately shake it off your skin. By the way, the behavior of female ticks is very interesting - they not only bite, but also suck blood, which means they increase in size. Males, on the contrary, prefer to simply bite and can detach themselves from the victim. Therefore, if you find a bite site, even without a tick, you should immediately consult a doctor. There are some varieties of these animals that are capable of carrying terrible diseases: borreliosis, encephalitis, hemorrhagic fever and typhus. Therefore, every person should know the answer to the question of what to do if bitten by a tick in order to be able to provide first aid to the victim.
How to remove a tick from the bite site?
Necessary studies and analyzes
Many people believe that if the tick is removed from the bite site, then nothing else needs to be done - this is the main mistake. It is after this that the main work is carried out aimed at your complete recovery. Remember a few simple steps that will help you avoid contracting various infections and viruses from ticks.
First signs of infection
Of course, all these processes occur so slowly in our body that there is no need to run to the laboratory immediately after a bite. If you get an infection, its first signs will appear only after a few weeks (the period can take up to a month). Often these symptoms look like this:
- A condition that resembles the onset of a cold: aches in the joints and the whole body, headache and dizziness.
- Redness around the bite appears on average in 70% of cases. It looks like an inflamed area of skin in the form of a ring.
- Body temperature in in this case is not the main indicator, since it may be on normal level for a long time.
Doctors report that encephalitis manifests itself much better than other infections and viruses transmitted by ticks, since antibodies to them begin to be produced in the human body very late, and a blood test cannot determine whether there is anything. Therefore, if there are any deviations in your condition after a tick bite or if there is an increase in leukocytes in the blood, immediately go to the doctor; timely prescribed medications can save the situation.
If a tick bites a child
The complexity of this circumstance lies in the fact that the baby may not immediately feel the bite and complain about his changed condition. Naturally, this fact should not be underestimated, but it is also unnecessary to panic ahead of time, especially since the stress for a child against the background of a bite is even worse. Many parents come to medical institution with their children complaining that the child was bitten by a tick. Not every one of them knows what to do in this situation. The algorithm of necessary steps in this case is as follows:
Behavior of adults and pregnant women when bitten by a tick
When the analysis of the tick itself or yours turns out to be positive for the presence of a virus or infection, medicine suggests the introduction of a certain vaccine against encephalitis or the use of drugs against borreliosis. They help the body produce special antibodies that will cope with the impending threat.
In any case, even if you were not specifically bitten by a tick, everyone should know what to do, the symptoms of a developing infection. It is important to be able to provide the necessary first aid.
There are such difficult cases when a pregnant woman is bitten by a tick. Only a doctor has the right to decide what to do in this situation, so as not to harm the fetus. The main difficulty is that a pregnant woman cannot receive any vaccines and is not advisable to take medications. All this has a lot side effects, which in one way or another will affect the growth and development of the baby. She can only closely monitor her condition for a month after the bite, and in case of any ailments, urgently contact a doctor. Of course, it is difficult to say how such an event will affect the child, but if the mother suffers, then the baby is in danger. Therefore, expectant mothers should take care of their safety long before conception, for example, get a vaccine against encephalitis.
Pets: dogs and cats - how can they cope with a tick bite?
During the warm season, when pet owners increasingly walk their pets outside, the veterinary clinic receives a large number of complaints of the following order: the puppy was bitten by a tick, what should I do? The main danger of such a situation is infecting your four-legged friend with piroplasmosis. This is a disease that occurs in dogs as a result of a tick bite and is characterized by the simultaneous penetration of protozoa into the body, which carry a deadly virus. The later you discover this and help your pet, the higher the likelihood of death. Often, even the drugs that veterinarians begin to administer to the dog no longer cope with the infection, since a lot of time has passed. Therefore, if a puppy is bitten by a tick, every owner should know what to do:
- Initially, to prevent such a situation from arising at all, try to inspect and comb your pet after each walk.
- If you find a tick, unscrew it using tweezers or thread, after dropping oil or gasoline on it.
- Treat the wound with an antiseptic.
- Be sure to contact a veterinary clinic. Your four-legged friend will undergo a test (peripheral blood smear from the ear), which will show the possible presence of an infection. In this case, the doctor will prescribe the necessary medications.
What else should you do if your dog is bitten by a tick? The symptoms are the most important. Watch her for about a month after this problem. Any deviation in behavior, increase in temperature, as well as a clear deterioration in condition, expressed by the appearance of blood in the urine, yellowness of the whites of the eyes, are the first signs of piroplasmosis. Many dog breeders are interested in the following question: what to do if a dog is bitten by an encephalitis tick? If you live in a danger zone (i.e., a high risk of contracting this virus), then contact a veterinary clinic immediately. The danger is that dogs become infected with piroplasmosis due to a bite encephalitis tick sometimes happens in a matter of minutes. Does this fact depend on the breed and size of the dog? Doctors tend to give a positive answer. For example, a Yorkie was bitten by a tick, what should I do? Yes, you definitely can’t hesitate here, since this breed is at risk, i.e., if infected, it will spread quickly and in the worst form.
In addition to Yorkshire Terriers, the risk group also includes:
- Dogs under 2 years old.
- Individuals older than 8 years (due to weak immunity).
- Small dog breeds, such as poodles. Although in Lately veterinarians note a large number of cases of infection with piroplasmosis in large breeds.
- Dogs with short hair.
Is it possible to prevent a problem called “The cat was bitten by a tick, what should I do?” Of course yes. Try to carefully inspect the coat and skin after each walk. Treat cats whenever possible by special means from ticks. If you find a tick, try to remove it from the wound as quickly as possible.
Cattle and the tick problem
It would seem that what danger can a small tick bring to such a large animal as a cow? But veterinarians around the world have long been deciding the question: a cow was bitten by a tick, what to do? It has been proven that in these cases there is a high probability of illness both in the animal itself and in obvious contamination of the milk. Therefore, during the season when cattle are attacked by ticks (this is summer), doctors try to treat their skin with special products, as well as carefully examine the herd after grazing. Remember that the virus found in raw cow's milk can easily enter the human body. Therefore, to avoid this problem, always boil the milk. And also choose trusted dairy product manufacturers who closely monitor their safety.
Tick-borne Encephalitis
How to protect yourself from a tick bite?
As you know, any situation can be avoided. Same with this problem: do everything possible measures so that you don’t have to look for the answer to the question of what to do if you’re bitten by a tick. Remember a few simple rules.