Bitten by a tick, how to get it out. Bitten by a tick what to do

With the onset of warming, there is a high probability of finding a tick bite on the body. In summer, this problem becomes especially relevant and occurs more and more often. A bite can cause a lot of harm to health and can become a serious threat to a person’s life, so the problem should be taken seriously.

How to protect yourself from a tick bite? What to do if you are bitten by a tick? Let's take a closer look at these issues.

Forest tick: how to recognize the threat

The consequences of such a bite are extremely severe (in case of infection and refusal of treatment):

• Paralyzes the body.
• Breathing problems occur.
• Decreased brain activity.
• Death.

If a person has suffered from a sterile tick, the complications may not be so dangerous:

• The affected area rots.
• An allergic reaction occurs.
• Swelling appears, angioedema is possible.

It is impossible to independently determine whether an infectious tick has embedded itself or not. Their appearance and the color does not depend on whether they are infected or not. If bitten by an infected tick, timely treatment can save the victim's life.

How long does it take for symptoms of a tick bite to appear in humans?

The first symptoms appear after 2-3 hours in the form. After a week or later, the symptoms described above may appear.

How is a tick bite different from other insect bites?

How to find out which insect bit and left characteristic marks on the skin? There will be only one spot, there will be no similar ones in the neighborhood, the redness will increase every hour, and an allergic reaction may occur. Bedbugs, for example, bite in several places at once, and fleas too. The bite of a mosquito and midge is much smaller than that of a tick.

Can a tick bite without sucking?

Can a tick bite through clothing and tights?

Why do ticks drink blood and how much do they need?

Ticks drink blood in order to get enough and leave offspring. Females will not be able to lay eggs in a hungry state; they definitely need blood. How long can a tick bleed? From several minutes to several hours, and females, as a rule, stay on the victim’s body longer. It should be noted that most of the time the tick is on the skin of a person or animal, looking for a place to suction, so if the tick has not yet latched on, you need to brush it off as soon as possible (no need to squash it on yourself like a mosquito, you can get an infection under the skin) . On average, an adult sucks blood for 1-2 hours, after which it disappears.

How much blood can a tick drink at one time?

Hungry individuals of the ixodid tick weigh from 2 to 15 mg, and sated ones from 200 to 1200 mg, which is many times greater than their own weight. In one bite, a tick can pump out up to 1000 mg of human blood. The size of a hungry tick does not exceed 4 mm, and a well-fed one can reach 3 cm, becoming similar in size to a corn seed.

Does a tick die after being bitten?

Some people seriously think that a tick dies after it bites a person, but this is not at all true. Apparently it is confused with a wasp or a bee, which dies after being stung. The tick, on the contrary, only benefits from the bite; this is its nutrition, which contributes to further development and reproduction. A hungry tick will not be able to leave offspring, so biting people and animals is a vital necessity for it.

How dangerous is a tick bite for humans?

A tick can serve as a carrier of a fairly extensive list of diseases, so after removing the tick, it is better to save it for tests to determine infections (encephalitis, borreliosis, called Lyme disease), this is done in the laboratory at the infectious diseases hospital. It is worth noting that the presence of viruses in an insect does not guarantee that the bite victim will also get sick. It is necessary to examine the insect for peace of mind if the result is negative, and for timely treatment if the infection is confirmed.

Most often transmitted and pose a huge threat to human life - and. Scientists have proven that the chance of becoming infected from a tick is unlikely, since 90% of ticks, according to research, are not infected. Although minimal, the chance exists.

Is it possible to get infected from a tick if it crawls across your body?

If a tick simply crawls across the surface of the skin, it is impossible to become infected from it. The first stage of infection begins precisely from the moment the tick suctions and injects an anesthetic substance under the skin. So if a tick is crawling on you, brush it off as quickly as possible and, if possible, with fire.

Bitten by a tick - what to do: first aid

If a tick is crawling on you, shake it off immediately, and if it has already attached itself, remove it as soon as possible and store it in a jar with moistened cotton wool or blades of grass to deliver it alive to the laboratory for studying and diagnosing infections.

Treat the wound with an antiseptic. If signs of an allergy are observed - severe redness and swelling of the bite site, immediately give the victim an antiallergic drug. You can purchase the drugs “Zirtex”, “Suprastin”, “Prednisolone”: the dosage regimen of the drugs is individual. The effect of one tablet is enough for a whole day. These antihistamines are actively used to eliminate the allergic consequences of a bite. Taking the tablet is not recommended if you are hypersensitive to the components. Hypokalemia, sleep disturbances, flatulence and negative nitrogen balance may develop.

If the encephalitis virus has entered the human body, the drug “Ribonuclease” is prescribed for treatment. The medicine is administered 6 times a day intramuscularly, in a hospital setting. The dose is prescribed by the attending physician. The use of Ribonuclease is not recommended for respiratory failure, tuberculosis and bleeding. There is a risk of developing allergic conditions.

How to remove a tick?

1. Using counterclockwise movements in a circle, as if unscrewing a self-tapping screw, pull it out of the skin using tweezers. Be careful that the head of the tick does not come off.
2. If you had to remove a bloodsucker in nature, and there were no tweezers nearby, this will help regular thread. With its help, the proboscis is tied near the very surface of the skin and pulled out with light jerks.
3. After removal, you need to make sure that the tick is intact, put it in an airtight container and deliver it to the sanitary and epidemiological station for analysis as soon as possible.
4. Lubricate the surface near the bite with any antiseptic.

People often advise treating the affected area with oil, kerosene, gasoline and other liquids so that the tick comes out on its own. This action is wrong - the tick will try to dive even deeper under the skin. But if the insect crawls out after this, its body cannot be examined in the laboratory.

What to do if the tick head remains under the skin?

The tick's head may remain under the skin if it is removed carelessly or too quickly. It looks like a small splinter, so some people are negligent about removing it, saying “the tick is dead, it no longer sucks blood, it will fall off on its own,” or they simply don’t notice. But this is not recommended. Remaining under the skin, the tick's proboscis will provoke inflammation and suppuration of the wound. Therefore, do not leave the head or proboscis of the tick under the skin, waiting for them to fall off on their own.

Take a sharp needle disinfected in alcohol and pick up the remaining proboscis and remove it. After a bite, a small wound will remain on the skin, which will heal quickly if the tick was not infectious. Treat the bite site with peroxide, then brilliant green or iodine. If, use Fenistil gel or a similar itching reliever. Try not to scratch the inflamed area to speed up the healing process.

To prevent the head of the tick from remaining under the skin, catch it as close as possible to the suction site

What disease can you get from a tick bite?

After a tick bite, a person develops various ailments - from ordinary irritation to severe or fatal illness:

Modern drugs can completely cure infections that are transmitted by ticks, provided they are detected early and treatment is started immediately.

Signs of infection with tick-borne encephalitis

According to doctors, the symptoms of this encephalitis are detected after 10-14 days from the moment the tick bite was discovered in the victim. What to do? There is no need to panic; often elevated body temperature and muscle pain can be a manifestation of the body’s protective psychological response after fear and anxiety.

Once the disease begins, it goes through certain stages:

1. Unreasonable and short-lived chills, increased body temperature up to 40 degrees. According to the clinical signs of the formation of encephalitis, this period is more similar to influenza infection.
2. After some time, the patient may experience symptoms: nausea and vomiting, attacks of severe headache. At this stage, all symptoms indicate a gastrointestinal disorder.
3. After a few days, the patient suddenly develops symptoms of arthritis or arthrosis. The pain in the head goes away and is replaced by aches throughout the body. The patient's movements become very difficult, and breathing problems arise. The skin on the face and body becomes red and swollen, and purulent abscesses appear at the site of the bite.
4. Further, the symptoms only worsen, because the infection enters the patient’s circulatory system and begins its destructive work. Delay can lead to death!

If an embedded tick is found on the body, it should be pulled out immediately. You can do this procedure yourself or go to the hospital. Health workers can easily remove it and run a series of tests. Only in laboratory conditions can one accurately determine whether this tick is dangerous. If treatment is necessary, you must unconditionally follow the recommendations and instructions of the attending physician so that the effectiveness of the treatment is maximum.

Treatment of tick-borne encephalitis

“Bitten by a tick” is one of the most common complaints from summer residents and tourists in summer period. Similar messages can be found in both spring and autumn. Contrary to popular belief, even in November some types of ticks remain active (especially if cold weather arrives late).

The tick cuts through the skin with the help of chelicerae. These are two tourniquets that are part of its oral apparatus. The chelicerae are kept in a case, which protects them from negative impact external factors and protective functions the victim's body. The chelicerae have the shape of a fork with two teeth. Between them there is a proboscis.

A tick bite is painless, since the insect introduces anesthetics into the body that are contained in its blood. Along with them, anticoagulants enter the blood, which thin it and make it more accessible for nutrition. There is also the effect of digestive enzymes. They digest some of the tissue around the wound, causing redness, burning, and sometimes inflammation to develop.

First actions after a bite

After this, it is necessary to observe for a month own fortune, noting any uncharacteristic symptoms. Fever, unreasonable pain in the joints, or increased temperature are reasons to consult a doctor.

Patients with a predisposition to allergic reactions develop itching and burning after a bite. If a person is hypersensitive, their body temperature may increase.

After a tick bites, a certain reaction to its invasion develops. First of all, redness appears. This is the result of the action of the tick's digestive enzymes. After a few hours, inflammation may begin, in which a large red area will radiate from the bite site.

The appearance of a lump occurs due to the release of histamine in response to the penetration of a foreign body. The lump may go away in a few hours. The wound will heal within 2-3 days. If it is deep, a crust may appear and ichor may be released. Shallow and small wounds heal faster and almost unnoticeably.

As a result of a tick bite, the patient may develop health problems. There are allergic reactions, the severity and nature of which are individual for each patient. There are also manifestations of the disease that are common to all infected people.

Allergic reactions may manifest themselves as follows:

• dizziness;
• redness of the tissue around the bite site;
• increased body temperature;
• the appearance of itching and burning;
• swelling in the area where the bite was found.

It is important to know what temperature is typical for a tick bite. Usually it remains at a low-grade level. If the mark goes beyond 38 degrees, we can talk about either a serious allergic reaction or the development of a virus. In both cases, you need to contact a specialist.

On the 10th day, erythema (redness) may appear. This is a sign of exposure to Borrelia, the causative agent of Lyme disease. Against the background of its development, problems with joints, breathing and cardiac activity also arise. Lyme disease is very dangerous and its symptoms require professional therapy.

Using the example of tick-borne encephalitis, we can say that most tick-borne viral pathologies end in the development of dysfunctions of the Central nervous system, which is accompanied by fever, confusion, pain. In later stages, encephalitis leads to crisis.

Inflammatory diseases develop faster than infections and most viruses. To begin their pathogenesis, it is enough for a dangerous particle to enter the blood. Inflammation can be caused not only by the tick bite itself, but also by subsequent actions of the patient: scratching the wound, working in agricultural conditions with constant contact with the wound, increased mechanical friction when washing.

As a result of one of the negative factors, the tissues turn red, the skin around the affected area becomes warm to the touch and painful. Within a few days, if left untreated, pus begins to ooze out of the wound: these are bacteria processed by the body’s defense mechanisms and removed to the outside. If suppuration joins inflammation, you should definitely consult a doctor.

The last problem that arises as a result of contact with insects is an allergic reaction. Patients pay the least attention to her. Meanwhile, this allergy can lead to serious discomfort or the development of inflammation. In sensitive patients, itching occurs, accompanied by redness of the skin. Some may confuse this with a sign of borreliosis, but the manifestations of this disease are typical only after 10–14 days, and allergies occur on the very first day.

What can you do at home?

Do you need to determine what are the symptoms of a tick bite in a person? As already mentioned, this is the appearance of a bump, redness of the skin, and the presence of a black dot (mite head) under the skin. If the patient exhibits the listed signs, it is necessary to extract.

If the head or proboscis is stuck in the body, you can use a hot needle. This method is suitable only for patients with sufficient dexterity. Incorrect, careless actions can lead to infection in the wound.

Afterwards, the wound is treated with iodine, peroxide, brilliant green or alcohol. The person who has been bitten should consult a doctor.

Treatment for a tick bite

The first thing to do when bitten by a tick is to immediately contact a specialist. But there's no need to panic. Even in epidemiologically dangerous areas, the risk of encountering an infected tick is 60%, and the likelihood that a bite will transmit pathology is even less. But preventive measures to prevent the development viral diseases, and a doctor's examination is still necessary.

Immunoglobulin is administered no later than 3 days from the moment of the bite. The drug is used in the form of intravenous injections. It is necessary to give injections several times over 2-3 days under the supervision of a doctor. After this, the patient must come for a preventive examination several times. If doctors do not identify signs of disease, therapy is considered complete.

Therapy with iodantipyrine is allowed. This is a more modern and popular method of preventive antiviral therapy. Yodantipyrine is used in the treatment of people over 14 years of age, taken in tablets.

Medicines for the treatment of tick-borne encephalitis are provided free of charge. For children this is free immunoglobulin (up to 14 years of age), for adults - iodantipyrine.

The drugs presented do not help against bacterial infections. For their treatment, antibacterial drugs prescribed by a specialist should be used.

You can purchase tablets in advance (50 tablets cost 500 rubles) and use them either as a preventive measure or immediately after a bite. If you use yodantipyrine as a prophylaxis, you can take one tablet per day for 1-1.5 months during the period when the risk of tick attack is increased. If a bite is detected, the drug is taken according to a different regimen.

Yodantipyrine is approved for use by adults and children over 14 years of age. Children and adolescents under 14 years of age will not be able to use this drug. To protect children from encephalitis, vaccination should be done in advance. It significantly reduces the risk of infection.

It is important to understand that iodantipyrine is an antiviral agent. It is not suitable for the prevention of borreliosis and other bacterial infections.

The warmer the days get, the more tourists and simple lovers Goes out into nature to grill kebabs. But while you are eating well-done meat, sitting on the grass, nature, which the ixodid tick gladly represents, is actively eating you. And if only she ate, it wouldn’t go anywhere. But it can also infect you with all sorts of nasty things, such as borreliosis or encephalitis. That is why it is worth knowing the enemy by sight. And also have at least a rough idea of ​​what works against him and what doesn’t. So.

Ixodid tick

A tick can only crawl upward - therefore, the primary measure of protection against ticks will be the correct clothing so that the small creature cannot get on a naked body, moving from bottom to top. Chemicals and insect repellents help a lot. There are chemicals specifically against ticks - oh, how these bastards don’t like them!

What to do if you are bitten by a tick

If this same ixodid tick has finally reached you and dug its mouthwatering teeth into your skin, first of all you need to pull it out as quickly as possible. But be smart, otherwise you will make the situation worse. In the worst case scenario - in the absence of special tools - grab the reptile with your fingers closer to the proboscis, so as not to squeeze all its giblets, full of infection, into the wound, and carefully pull, twisting counterclockwise or clockwise. After which you need to disinfect the wound and hands.

If there is one for removing ticks - hurray. You can also use tweezers, or a small loop of thin thread placed between the carcass and the proboscis - it’s still better than using your bare hands. If you pull out a tick, be sure to treat the wound with an antiseptic.

1. Do nothing

Hammer the bolt. Bitten - and to hell with it. When symptoms appear, then react. But the later you start treatment, the lower the likelihood that it will help in any way. However, most ticks are harmless, and the power of the Russian “maybe” is great.

2. Take the tick and go with it to the laboratory

Yes, they can examine a bloodsucker, find some kind of nasty thing inside him and, based on this, prescribe treatment. But doctors don’t really like to drag every tick for examination. When, for example, the author of this article was bitten, at the emergency room they simply pulled out this nasty thing and told me to contact him if any problems arose. It is possible that in areas where the epidemiological situation is worse, ixodid ticks are treated more strictly.

3. Go to the hospital and get treatment

This can be done in advance - before the onset of symptoms, just in case. Plus, your chances will increase even more. The downside is the cost of the course, and yet, taking serious medications once again is still a pleasure.

So, the course is a loading dose of a broad-spectrum antibiotic (such as doxycycline, etc.) - 3 days, immunoglobulin injections - also 3 days. And all this must begin no later than on the 3rd day from the moment of the tick bite. If everything is done clearly, it helps very well as a preventive measure. Of course, the chance of getting sick still remains, but much less than it was initially.

4. If you are vaccinated against encephalitis

Pull out the ghoul and burn the hell out. In case of encephalitis infection, the vaccinated body copes with the virus without problems in 97% of cases. There are no vaccinations against borreliosis.

Main symptoms of diseases

Encephalitis can be easily confused with a regular ARVI. Only weakness and temperature will be much higher. On initial stages, it's over. Then, if you are unlucky, neurological symptoms will appear - and this can be completely fucked up. In 30 percent of cases it is fatal. Still, this is a rather serious disease.

WITH borreliosis everything is simpler - there at the site of the bite a specific mark will appear - a growing spot. There's no way to confuse it with anything. However, this disease is relatively easy to treat and has almost no consequences. And yes, if in the first 2 weeks after a tick bite you don’t notice anything, be happy, you got over it.

Myths and misconceptions about ticks

1. Tick vaccinations don’t help.

For borreliosis and some unpleasant diseases - yes. But from encephalitis – very much so. And if you consider that surviving encephalitis is not an illusory possibility, then it’s better to get vaccinated. And treat other nasty things as they appear.

2. But traditional medicine helps

Just like the placebo effect, by the way. Or a banal coincidence. In any case, if the problem is due to viruses, give interferon. If it's bacteria, eat antibiotics. And you will be happy. With immunoglobulin, by the way, everything is also not so simple, but it still brings significant benefits.

3. Ticks need to be lubricated - then they will come out

It's possible. But before that, they will puke into your soul, or rather, into your blood. But it is the tick’s vomit that will contain the bacteria that causes borreliosis. And viruses that cause encephalitis generally enter at the very beginning of the sucking process, since they live in the salivary glands.

4. Tick venom needs to be squeezed out

What kind of poison, excuse me? Any attempts to “squeeze out”, on the contrary, activate the microcirculation of the affected area and evil viruses are spread through the bloodstream even more actively.

5. Some people have an innate immunity to tick-borne nastiness.

There is no innate and stable immunity to the causative agent of encephalitis. At all. And small nations ignore vaccinations simply because they are idiots and don’t know the theory.

6. The dangerous ixodid tick differs in appearance

No, it's no different. Only a microbiological study will allow you to find out whether the creature bit you healthy or infected.

And now the good news. According to statistics, only 5 out of 100 ticks are carriers of all sorts of nasty things. And only every two hundred tick bite causes illness. That is, you can safely rely on the theory of probability and take a risk. In any case, even from encephalitis they die in 30 percent of cases. So, purely theoretically, the chance of dying from a tick bite is approximately equal to the chance of winning the lottery. True, some kind of nonsense, not a jackpot. Are you ready to take a risk?

Such differences in actions are due to the fact that in different situations the danger of a tick bite is not the same. For example, in areas where tick-borne encephalitis or Lyme borreliosis is endemic, people should do everything possible to minimize the risk of severe consequences from contracting the infection. Sometimes this can be quite troublesome, but any time spent in in this case justified.

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is considered the most dangerous disease, since it leads to disability (usually associated with mental disorders) and death much more often than all others. In addition, the causative agent of FE is viral infection, for which there are currently no specific drugs and which is therefore more difficult to treat.

Lyme borreliosis is known for its high prevalence throughout the world. If the rules of diagnosis and treatment are violated, it can also lead to disability and death, but if the right approach to combat it is treated quickly and successfully.

On a note

Other tick-borne infections (at least in Eurasia) are much rarer, and cases deaths during their development are single. On the one hand, due to this they are considered less significant, on the other hand, it is precisely in the fact that they are given less importance that their insidiousness lies. They are rarely treated by doctors in a timely manner; medical errors occur more often, resulting in a severe course of these diseases and, as a consequence, complications.

It is important to understand that in some cases a person can die from the consequences of a tick bite or become permanently disabled, and in almost any region, even one in which tick-borne encephalitis is not observed - from the same borreliosis, for example. The chances of not getting infected at all or easily transferring the disease are high, but even a small probability of a threat to life justifies the rather troublesome measures that need to be taken after a tick bite.

The first step is to remove the tick immediately

It is necessary to understand that if the tick has not yet burrowed into itself, but is only found crawling along the body in search of a place of attachment, then you can simply brush it off. This is not dangerous and does not pose a risk of infection. It is the tick bite that poses the danger, that is, when the integrity of the skin person with subsequent blood sucking.

However, in practice, it is impossible to understand whether the tick has already released infected saliva into the wound, and it is pointless to make any guesses in such a situation. Therefore, it is recommended to assume that if the tick has already pierced the skin, then it could easily transmit the infection.

On a note

The photographs below show the tick's proboscis, studded with barbs:

Actually, this is exactly what experienced tourists, fishermen and hunters do. Seeing an attached tick, an experienced person immediately grabs it with his nails under the body, right next to the skin, and pulls it out. If at the same time the head remains in the skin, then it is immediately removed with a needle, like a splinter.

On a note

The tick removal itself goes like this:

On a note

If there are no devices at hand at all, then you can grab the bloodsucker under the body with your nails, try to squeeze the head (without squeezing the body itself), make rotational movements in one direction and the other to loosen the grip of the proboscis, and then smoothly pull it out of the skin.

What not to do when removing a tick:

If, however, during extraction, the oral organs of the bloodsucker remain in the skin (they look like a small black dot in the center of the wound), it can be quite easy to remove them with a simple needle or nail scissors- just like removing a splinter.

After removing the tick from the skin, further actions are based on the risk of developing a tick-borne infection:

First of all, the risk of infection with tick-borne encephalitis is taken into account. A tick is not always examined for Borrelia infection (although it is useful to do this) - emergency prevention of borreliosis is not carried out, and the disease itself, if it develops, is relatively easy to treat (it is only important to monitor your well-being in order to recognize alarming symptoms in time, which will be discussed in a moment below).

On a note

You can submit a tick for analysis of whether it is infected with borreliosis pathogens to reassure yourself - if the pathogen is not detected, then there will be no reason for concern.

The next step is proper disinfection of the wound.

Immediately after removing the tick, the bite site should be treated with an antiseptic solution - for example, an alcohol solution of iodine, brilliant green, hydrogen peroxide, miramistin or chlorhesidine (in extreme cases, just alcohol or vodka). This will not prevent tick-borne infection, but will protect against secondary infection by bacteria that may be on the skin and enter the wound.

There is no need to apply bandages or cover the bite site with a plaster. The wound almost never bleeds, but it can be very itchy and itchy. If the tick has managed to get enough, detach itself and crawl away, the wound in the form of a point at the site of the skin puncture will have a characteristic appearance, which will make it easy to distinguish a tick bite, for example, from a mosquito bite.

You should not try to squeeze ichor or blood out of the wound - this will not help remove the infection if it has gotten there, but will only contribute to the accelerated spread of pathogens into nearby tissues. Also, you should not burn the bite site or pick at it to pour antiseptic inside.

If a red spot appears at the site of the bite, which is very painful or itchy, pain-relieving ointments (Menovazan, Lidocaine, Fenistil-gel) are usually used. If a rash and signs of allergy appear, the skin is treated with Advantan and the victim is given Suprastin (in rare cases, hospitalization may be required, especially if the child shows signs of urticaria).

Thus, first aid for a tick bite does not involve taking any powerful antiviral agents or antibiotics. After the PMP is not required any special care behind the wound: you can wash, you can wet the bite site with water and keep it in the sun - this will not have any effect on the condition of the victim.

Tick ​​analysis for infection

It may be advisable to check a tick for infection, if only in case of a negative result, to completely remove concerns regarding the risk of infection. However, even if the tick was infected, this does not mean that the bitten person will certainly get sick - that is, a positive test result is not a basis for starting treatment.

Tick ​​analysis for infection with the tick-borne encephalitis virus is carried out in microbiological laboratories at various hospitals and clinics, as well as in commercial laboratories. In each city, you can find out the address of such a laboratory at the information desk or by calling the ambulance number.

A tick study usually lasts 2-3 days and costs about 500-700 rubles. The analysis is carried out if the tick was delivered for testing no later than the third day after the bite.

Before analysis, the tick does not need to be frozen, preserved in alcohol, or tried to be fed with anything. It is enough to place it in a hermetically sealed container with a piece of damp cotton wool.

Moreover, if the bite occurred in an endemic region, and the medical institution has drugs for emergency prevention of tick-borne encephalitis, then the victim will most likely be given it immediately - in case the tick turns out to be encephalitic.

On a note

By administering immunoglobulin, it is effective only in the first 4 days after the bite. After this time, the procedure no longer makes sense.

If, according to the results of the study, a tick turns out to be a carrier of the tick-borne encephalitis virus, then it is necessary to closely monitor the condition of the victim for at least a month. In addition, 2 weeks after the bite you should donate blood to determine antibodies to the tick-borne encephalitis virus. There is no point in taking tests before 10 days, since the result will certainly be negative (antibodies have not yet had time to form in sufficient concentration).

Emergency prevention of tick-borne encephalitis

Emergency prevention of tick-borne encephalitis involves injecting serum with antibodies to the virus that causes the disease into the victim’s body. These antibodies (immunoglobulins, or otherwise gammaglobulins) bind viral particles and prevent them from spreading and replicating in the body. If such prevention is carried out before the active reproduction of viruses begins, the disease will not develop.

On a note

However, it is worth noting that the effectiveness of such preventive measures has not been proven by modern evidence-based medicine in the West. Accordingly, such prevention of TBE is not carried out either in Europe or in the USA. In Russia, immunoglobulin preparations against tick-borne encephalitis are considered effective, and the emergency prevention method is used in all regions where this disease is endemic.

The main requirement for such prevention is to carry it out in the first 4 days after the bite. It is believed that in the first 2 days its effectiveness is maximum, on days 3-4 it is already significantly lower, and starting from the 5th day there is no point in doing it.

All immunoglobulin preparations for emergency prevention of TBE are produced in Russia; the most common serum is produced by Microgen. Its packaging costs approximately 6500-7000 rubles for 10 ampoules of 1 ml. The amount of the drug is calculated based on a person’s body weight: for every 10 kg of body weight, 1 ml of the product. Accordingly, you can calculate the approximate cost of the injection (the procedures themselves, excluding the cost of immunoglobulin, in clinics are either free or cost symbolic money).

Immunoglobulin injections against TBE are not performed during pregnancy and lactation.

A few words about means for self-prevention of tick-borne encephalitis

Contrary to popular belief, self-prevention of tick-borne encephalitis using tablets or traditional medicine after a bite is impossible. This is due to the fact that effective means for such protection does not exist today, and those that are commercially available are either dummies or drugs with unproven effectiveness.

An example of a useless drug is Anaferon, a widely known homeopathic remedy that does not contain components that could in any way affect the development of infection.

Drugs with unproven effectiveness are Yodantipyrine and Remantadine. Their ability to suppress the development of tick-borne encephalitis has not been confirmed by evidence-based medicine (which, however, does not prevent a large number doctors prescribe these drugs as preventatives).

Other drugs marketed as antiviral or immunomodulatory (for example, Reaferon-Lipint, Cycloferon) also do not have any effect on the development of the disease.

On a note

Similarly, independent prevention of borreliosis is not carried out. Borreliosis itself is successfully treated with relatively inexpensive, accessible and safe antibiotics (the first-line drug of choice is doxycycline). Theoretically, antibiotics could also be used as prophylaxis, but in practice, their use would be required for almost all those bitten due to the wide range of Borrelia themselves, despite the fact that the actual frequency of infections is low and approximately comparable to the frequency side effects from the antibiotic itself. In other words, it is easier and safer not to carry out drug prophylaxis, but to treat borreliosis itself as it develops (as determined by the results of a blood test for borreliosis).

Monitoring the victim’s condition after a bite: what to pay attention to

Regardless of the fact that emergency prevention of tick-borne encephalitis was carried out, as well as in what region the person was bitten and whether he had an anti-encephalitis vaccination, after a tick bite you need to carefully monitor the victim’s condition for at least a month, and if symptoms of the disease appear, immediately contact doctor.

On a note

A tick can infect a person with various infections, so being vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis is not complete protection.

On average, Lyme borreliosis lasts 1-2 weeks, but sometimes it can last up to several months. If at this time the victim’s health worsens or the following symptoms appear, then this is a reason to quickly consult a doctor for a speedy diagnosis. Alarming symptoms after a tick bite include:

If any of these symptoms appear, you should consult an infectious disease doctor as soon as possible. It is timely treatment for all tick-borne infections that allows you to avoid the threat of severe consequences.

Even if an analysis of a tick reveals that it is infected with an infection, the likelihood of a person developing the disease is low. According to statistics, even when bitten by infected ticks, on average 2-6% of those bitten get sick.

However, the onset of the disease can be diagnosed during the incubation period. To do this, you need to take a blood test for tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis. Immunoassay detects antibodies to pathogens in the blood.

As noted above, such an analysis will be indicative no earlier than 10 days after the bite. On the 14th day after the incident, it makes sense to donate blood for antibodies to the tick-borne encephalitis virus, and after 20 days - for antibodies to Borrelia. If a particular disease is confirmed, the doctor will prescribe treatment even before severe symptoms appear.

Preventing Tick Bites

It can be easier to prevent a tick bite than to then run to hospitals and worry about possible infection. Moreover, all the difficulties of such protection from attacks by bloodsuckers are mainly organizational, not requiring any special knowledge and skills.

Repellents containing pyrethroids and DEET are also helpful. Many of these products are also suitable for children.

On a note

If the tick has just begun to dig in, or is still crawling on the skin in search of a place to suction, it is hardly noticeable, since it is small in size. An attached small larva is also not always easy to detect - it may look like a papilloma, and even with a close examination it can be “skimmed” by the eye. Likewise, it can be difficult to find a tick in the hair if it has climbed onto the head.

When traveling outdoors in a region where tick-borne encephalitis is endemic, you must first be vaccinated against TBE. Then even a tick bite that happens will be much less dangerous: a person will not get sick with encephalitis, and even if he does get sick (which happens extremely rarely if there is a vaccination), the disease will proceed easily and without complications.

However, vaccination cannot protect against Lyme borreliosis; a specific anti-borreliosis vaccine has not been developed.

Finally, some insurance companies now offer tick bite insurance. An insurance package for one person costs about 500-800 rubles, and the insurance amount covers tick analysis for encephalitis and borreliosis, blood tests of the bitten person and full treatment of the disease.

Useful video about first aid for a tick bite

What to do if a child is bitten by a tick

With the onset of spring warmth, new dangers appear. Walking through forests, gardens and parks we run the risk of being bitten by ticks. What to do if you are bitten by a tick, and what measures to take to protect yourself from contracting encephalitis?

What to do if you are bitten by a tick: first aid

If you discover that you have been bitten by a tick, you need to do so as soon as possible. The fact is that the longer it sucks blood from your body, the more infection enters the body (of course, if the tick has it). But, since you cannot immediately understand how dangerous the tick is, you need to remove all of them, and then submit the individual for tests to a medical laboratory.

Simple tweezers are suitable for removing ticks at home. Gently grab the tick where it is attached to the body, and, turning, begin to pull it out.

If a tick bites a person, it is important to do everything carefully - try not to damage the proboscis and body of the insect. If you crush it, it can not only complicate medical tests, but also cause hemolymph to leak out, which is an additional risk of infection.

We used tweezers as an example. There are several simple and effective methods removal of ticks, which you can read about in this article.

After removing the tick, be sure to treat the bite site with an alcohol-containing substance.

Not everyone succeeds in removing the entire body of a tick the first time. Much more often, the proboscis and head of the insect remain on the body. But don't be afraid of it. The greatest danger to you is his belly, which could potentially contain an infection. Once you remove it, you will essentially be dealing with a regular splinter. Simply take a sterile needle and remove the remaining parts of the tick.

First aid to a person who is bitten by a tick is extremely important; the speed of removal of the insect determines whether there will be an infection. If for some reason you cannot remove the tick yourself, you should seek help from an emergency room or other medical facility.

After removing the tick, it must be placed in an airtight container, such as a flask. After this, the biological material of the tick must be sent to a special accredited laboratory for testing to determine infectious agents.

If you severely damaged the tick during removal, we recommend that you still take it to the laboratory and let the doctor decide on the spot whether the tick can be examined or not.

Carrying out these tests makes it possible to find out whether the tick that bit you was a carrier of the infection or not. You can find out the addresses of organizations that accept ticks for analysis from your insurance (if you have one) or from the medical services directory. There is also information on many cities on our website.

If you don't have insurance but know someone who does, you can call and ask for lab locations. By the way, you can also submit a tick under this insurance :)

If for some reason you were unable to submit a tick for analysis or you doubt the results, then after about 10 days you should take a blood test for antibodies to tick-borne infections. Read more about what tests you need to take here.

Important to remember! If you have been vaccinated against encephalitis, be sure to tell your doctors this before the antibody test and tell them the date of vaccination. Otherwise, the test may give false positive results.

Is it necessary to give immunoglobulin?

As an emergency prevention of encephalitis, if a person is bitten by a tick, they need to receive an injection of immunoglobulin. The drug must be administered within 72 hours, but the sooner the better. That is, you will have to decide whether to administer immunoglobulin or not before you learn about the results of the tick analysis.

If you have insurance, then no doubts can arise - go to the institution with which the insurance company has entered into an agreement and get an injection.

If there is no insurance, then you will have to pay a significant amount for the injection (the cost of immunoglobulin is about 900 rubles per 10 kg of weight). And although the likelihood of contracting encephalitis is low (for example, in 2015 in the Novosibirsk region, the encephalitis virus was found in 198 out of 10,181 specimens, that is, approximately 2%), it is not worth the risk.

Is it necessary to get immunoglobulin if you have been vaccinated? If the vaccination was given according to the rules, then this is not necessary, but many, if they have insurance, still give the injection for greater confidence. Just be sure to tell your doctor that you have the vaccine!

What not to do after a tick bite?

Many people still use dubious people's councils when removing ticks, not realizing that they are thereby endangering their health. So, here are the actions you should not take if you are bitten by a tick:

• First aid if bitten by a tick does not require smearing the bite site with substances “unpleasant” to the tick. Often nail polish, oily substances, gasoline or nail polish remover are used for these purposes. The use of this technique is aimed at creating for the tick unfavourable conditions for life, which will supposedly make him crawl out of his skin. In fact, when its life is threatened, this insect begins to inject dangerous toxins into the body of its victim, which will cause even greater harm to the body.
• According to statistics, infection with encephalitis and other diseases occurs much more often when trying to “strangle” a tick than when simply removing it with tweezers.
• Another important point, which we have already mentioned - do not crush the tick. If you crush it during removal at home, the contents of the body, along with possible infections, will quickly penetrate the blood.
• Do not touch the tick with your bare hands, as you also risk becoming infected.
• Do not start self-treatment or prevention with any medications. Treatment can only be prescribed by your doctor, after performing a tick test, as well as a blood test for antibodies.

Algorithm of action in case of a tick bite

So, let's summarize and once again clarify first aid for a tick bite:

• Remove the insect. Timely first aid for a tick bite will significantly reduce the risk of infection.
• If you are unable to remove the tick completely, use a sterile needle to remove the proboscis and head.
• After removal, be sure to treat the bite site with alcohol, iodine or any other antiseptic.
• Store the removed tick in an airtight container and take it for analysis.
• If you have not been vaccinated, it is advisable to receive immunoglobulin. Usually, passing a tick and putting immunoglobulin in one place.

If necessary, 10 days after a tick bite, do a blood test to detect antibodies to infections transmitted by ticks. Based on the results of these tests, your doctor may prescribe treatment for you if infection occurs.

The algorithm for dealing with a tick bite is quite simple. I hope we have clearly answered the question of what to do at home if you are bitten by a tick? Be careful during spring walks, and do not delay removing the tick if the bite cannot be avoided.

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