Signs of a tick bite in a person with a photo, consequences and prevention. Even death is possible

In nature, a person expects not only beauty and peace, but also a lot of insects, the bites of which can lead to disastrous consequences. Doctors say that knowledge of the basic safety rules and the symptoms of many diseases will help to avoid problems or prevent complications in time. Find out what a tick bite looks like in a photo, what consequences such a “close acquaintance” can have, and what parts of the body should be examined after a trip to nature.

What does a tick bite look like

The activity of ticks falls in the period of late spring and early autumn, when the soil has already warmed up well. These insects have a well-developed sense of smell, so they feel their warm-blooded prey 10-30 meters away. The habitat of ticks is tall grass or low shrub. They dig into places with delicate skin: lower back, armpits, auricles, inguinal zone, stomach. In the zone of the sucked insect, the appearance of redness, rash, and inflammation is characteristic.

Incubation period

The weaker the blood-brain barrier, the sooner the first symptoms appear after a bite. As a rule, it takes from a week to 24 days. In rare cases, the first symptoms may begin two months after infection. For these reasons, immunologists strongly recommend that you carefully monitor your health, at least 2-2.5 months. Pay attention to sharply increased headaches, unstable body temperature, chills.

Why are blood-sucking mites dangerous?

Ticks can carry diseases such as viral encephalitis, a disease that affects the human nervous system. However, not every insect is a carrier of the virus: out of the total number of ticks, this disease is found in only 10-15% of individuals. In addition, depending on the habitat of the insect, they can spread infections such as tick-borne borreliosis, rocky mountain spotted fever, typhus, Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever, and so on.

Viral infections

The territory of Russia is characterized by the presence of a pathogen in the saliva of which viruses are present. A tick bite can provoke the development of:

The bite of a tick, a carrier of rickettsia, differs in severity - from sluggish forms to dangerous diseases that threaten a person's life. Immunologists focus on:

• Marseille fever is an acute zoonotic rickettsiosis characterized by a benign course.
• Spotted Astrakhan fever - rickettsiosis with a sluggish course. Clinically, the disease is manifested by an increase in the spleen, liver, structural changes in the lungs.
• Tick-borne typhus is a disease that affects the lymphatic system of the body and is manifested by skin rashes. Infections are carried by insects living in the regions of Siberia, Krasnoyarsk region, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Khabarovsk Territory.
• Q fever is an infectious natural focal disease. The main symptoms are: back pain, migraine, fatigue, dry cough, loss of appetite, insomnia.
• Smallpox rickettsiosis is a benign infection. It is characterized by the appearance of moderately severe fever, papular eczema.

protozoal infection

Among the invasive human diseases Special attention give babesiosis. In Russia, the area of ​​possible infection is the forest-steppe part of Siberia, the northwest and south of the European part of the country. In humans, the infection develops against the background of a decrease in immunity. Insect attacks are particularly susceptible to:

• elderly people;
• patients undergoing surgery;
• AIDS patients.

Symptoms

• General malaise, weakness, loss of appetite - appear if ticks that spread viruses stick to a person.
• If, after removal of the insect, redness of the skin, itching, small rashes appear, we are talking about microbial and rickettsial infections.
• Increase in body temperature. In Lyme disease, hyperthermia begins from 10 to 18 days after the bite. With ehrlichiosis, fever is characteristic for 8-14 days, and with anaplasmosis - after 2 weeks.

Signs of an encephalitic tick bite in humans

After detecting and extracting ticks, they must be handed over to the laboratory, where specialists will establish whether the insect was a TBE carrier. Symptoms of viral encephalitis appear suddenly: a person's body temperature rises sharply, headache and chills appear. Sometimes patients complain of muscle pain and paralysis of the limbs. characteristic feature Infection is also served by the appearance of the victim, in whom red spots appear at the bite sites.

Symptoms of Lyme disease

The symptoms of borreliosis look much clearer. This type of infection is characterized by the appearance of macular erythema. At the same time, redness can change in size over time, sometimes reaching 60 centimeters in diameter. The spot in shape resembles an irregular oval, in the center of which there is a small white or blue blotch. Gradually, at the site of the bite, the skin is rougher, a crust appears, and after a scar. With proper treatment, the scar disappears on its own in a few weeks.

Consequences

If the presence of an insect is not noticed in time, the consequences for the body can be unpredictable. For example, for tick-borne encephalitis, there are three options for the course of infection, each of which has its own characteristics. A favorable outcome is characterized by:

• the appearance of chronic weakness, which will last for one to two months of treatment, followed by the restoration of all body functions;
• moderate - with a recovery period of up to 6 months;
• severe form - with the resumption of all functions for 2-3 years.

An unfavorable outcome can bring complications in the form of:

• Decreased motor activity, general weakness without progression of symptoms.
• Decrease in all body functions with periodic progression of symptoms and relapses. Patients with alcohol dependence, pregnant women and the elderly are at risk of infection. Contribute to the progression of symptoms malnutrition, stress, overwork.

The prolonged presence of symptoms of infection is the reason for the determination of a disability group by a special commission:

• Disability of the 1st group is given in the presence of severe impairment of motor functions, epilepsy, acquired dementia, loss of self-care abilities, inability to move without assistance.
• The second group is issued in the presence of severe paresis in combination with epileptic seizures, with changes in the psyche, loss of labor activity.
• Disability category 3 is assigned if the patient has a neurological syndrome with impaired motor activity of the limbs, loss of some labor skills, rare epileptic seizures.

What to do with a tick bite

First aid

The sooner the tick is removed, the less likely it is that infectious agents will enter the open wound. If you are unsure that you can get to the nearest medical center in 1-2 hours, the first aid for a tick bite is to pull out the insect yourself. The affected area must be treated with alcohol or iodine. There are several ways to get a sucked tick:

The safest way is to remove the tick at the nearest hospital, where there is a trauma department. As a rule, in each region of the country there are round-the-clock points of first aid. medical care. Then, depending on the situation, you will be referred to an infectious disease specialist, internist or surgeon. If you are in an area with a high percentage of tick-borne encephalitis infection, within three days after the bite, you will be given an injection of anti-tick immunoglobulin.

Insect examination for infections

If you experience symptoms of an allergic reaction or choking, you should immediately call ambulance. Your algorithm of actions before the arrival of doctors should be as follows:

• Open the windows, rip the neck of your T-shirt or loosen the top buttons of your shirt, loosen your pants belt or waistband.
• Apply a cool compress to the swollen area.
• Be sure to give the patient an antihistamine - Diazolin, Loratadin, Suprastin, Zodak, Erius.

Treatment

Anti-tick therapy is performed using drugs from different medical categories:

• With tick-borne encephalitis, immunoglobulin is prescribed in the first days. If meningitis is observed, ascorbic acid and B vitamins are prescribed. To eliminate respiratory failure, ventilation is carried out.
• With borreliosis, tetracycline drugs, bacteriostatics and intravenous injections of bactericidal antibiotics are prescribed. The lack of fluid is stopped by the introduction of blood substitutes.

Method of specific immunotherapy

During the treatment of borreliosis, it is important in the first 72 hours to carry out emergency prevention of infection through intravenous administration of immunomodulators. If a tick bite provoked the development of viral encephalitis, the following medications are prescribed:

• Prednisolone - applied 1 time per day. The medicine is contraindicated in case of individual intolerance to the components and the presence of a skin fungus.
• Reopoliglyukin - intravenous injection. Helps eliminate multiple symptoms of encephalitis fever. Often leads to the development of allergies.

Antibiotic therapy for bacterial diseases

An effective remedy, which will help to cope with the infection and eliminate the symptoms of the acute stage, is the drug Bicillin - 5. It is used only in a hospital in the form of 5-10 daily intramuscular injections. To relieve puffiness, Lymphomyosot is additionally prescribed. Bicillin injections are supplemented with antibiotics of the whole-fasporine and tetracycline series. These are the drugs:

• Ceftriaxone;
• Timalin;
• Sumamed;
• Claforan;
• doxycycline;
• Realdiron.

Drugs to suppress the reproduction of protozoa

• Clindamycin and Quinine;
• Azithromycin plus Atovacon;
• Cotrimoxazole, Pentamidine, Diisocyanate.

Prevention

To avoid possible complications and prevent the development of dangerous diseases, it is worth adhering to simple rules prevention:

• When hiking in nature, choose the most closed clothing, put a cap on your head, choose sliding fabrics.
• On bare parts of the body, apply special repellents, which can be bought at any pharmacy.
• After returning home, carefully inspect the body for ticks, paying special attention to the ears, hair, groin, lower back.
• Go through the procedure for the prevention of tick-borne encephalitis - vaccination. Prevents tick bites for 365 days. It is necessary to repeat the vaccination every three years.

Video

Tick ​​bites are not uncommon. But, despite this circumstance, there are still many myths around ticks. Today we’ll talk about how a tick chooses a place on a human body and how a bite actually occurs.

How a tick attacks a person

The meaning of life of ticks, as, perhaps, of all living organisms, is the reproduction of their own kind. And for this to work, female ticks need to eat hard. The volume of future offspring - the number of eggs that will be laid - directly depends on the amount of blood drunk at the last stage of the life cycle. Therefore, the goal of an adult is to find a suitable victim and use it most effectively to replenish its own vitality.

How does a tick lie in wait for a prey?

In a hungry state, ticks are very aggressive. All their receptors are extremely excited and they feel a potential victim at a distance of more than 10 meters. Sometimes they make active actions, trying to "chase" the prey and moving in its direction. But moving extremely slowly and spending a lot of energy at the same time, the body of ticks quickly dehydrates, which is why they have to change plans: stop chasing and go down deep into the soil or forest floor to replenish moisture. Most often, ticks lie in wait for their prey passively. Favorite place their habitats are tall and dense grass along paths and paths in forests, parks and squares, where people or animals often pass. Having limited physiological capabilities, in particular, small body size, higher than half a meter, ticks almost never rise. But catching on to a passing person while on the ground is very problematic. Therefore, ticks crawl up the stem and, having found a suitable place, take a waiting position.

Like all arachnids, mites have four pairs of limbs. Three of them tenaciously hold the tick on the surface, but the front paws, like tentacles, pull forward, preparing to catch them on a passing host.

In a waiting position, stretching the forelimbs forward, the tick can stay for a very long time.

I must say, ticks are a very hardy species. In the waiting position, they can be for many hours without feeling any fatigue. Feeling only an irresistible desire to get dinner. All this time, the tick continuously evaluates changing environmental factors: temperature, humidity, and the chemical composition of the air. And at the first sign of imminent luck, it turns towards the approaching victim, preparing for contact. If something went wrong and the expected contact did not occur, but signals about the proximity of food continue to arrive, the tick leaves the waiting area, returns to the ground and begins to move towards the potential victim. This happens at the level of instincts - hunger and the proximity of food force you to take active actions, even if it is completely futile and nothing portends a positive outcome.

Sensing the prey, the tick at the level of instincts moves to a new victim

Attack process

The tick tenaciously clings to the fabric of the clothes of a potential victim.

Structural features of the tick's body that help it stay on the surface.

On the limbs of the arachnid there are sharp claws, which, like hooks, securely fix it on the body of the victim.

On the limbs of the tick are sharp claws

The body of the tick is covered with small bristles. They significantly increase friction with the contact surface and increase the level of adhesion.

The body of the tick is covered with bristles that hold it to the skin of the victim.
At higher magnification, tick bristles look menacing

Choice of bite site

Ticks never immediately stick to a new host, but patiently look for a suitable place.
Properly selected clothing for walking in nature will protect against tick bites

While walking in the forest, periodically inspect yourself and loved ones for the presence of ticks. This simple action will protect against a nasty bite, and possibly more serious consequences.

When choosing a bite site, ticks are guided by many factors. Since human skin is not homogeneous and different areas differ in temperature, degree of humidity, saturation of blood vessels, softness or coarseness, acid-base balance, the tick faces a difficult task - to find exactly the place that is best suited for effective nutrition.

But if for some reason it didn’t work out to get there, they also don’t disdain lower quality areas, such as chest, stomach, buttocks or even legs.

• on the ears of an animal
• on the head
• on the paws between the fingers,
• in the groin area
• around the anal area.

That is, in those places where the tick can least of all suffer during the self-cleaning of the animal.

Ticks in the ear of an animal - a common case after a walk

How does the bite happen

The head of a tick is, in fact, a well-developed oral apparatus, which has a complex structure and consists of several parts:

• The base is a capsule protected by a dense chitinous cover. It contains the salivary glands. During the bite and feeding, they work most actively.

  The oral apparatus of the tick consists of a base, a proboscis with two chelicerae, and two pedipalps.

• The proboscis is a solid plate fixed motionless on the base. oral apparatus. By appearance this part is similar to an elongated sting, on which the hooks are bent back in regular rows. As they move away from the base, they decrease in size and at the top take the form of short and sharp spikes. At the time of the bite, they cut through the skin.

  The proboscis of the tick is covered with sharp hooks, curved back

• At the base of the proboscis are chelicerae. When stationary, they are covered with cases that protect them from various mechanical damage. But during the bite, this pair of blades acquires mobility, comes out of the cases and cuts through the skin on a par with the proboscis. And he does it under different angles and on different depth.

  Proboscis and chelicerae cut through upper layer skin and penetrate into tissues

• Pedipalps, located on the sides of the proboscis with chelicerae, have an articulated structure and perform the function of touch.

During a bite, the tick's mouth apparatus is completely immersed in the victim's body. This happens in several stages.

First, the chelicerae cut through the top layer of the skin. Despite the fact that the epidermis is quite durable layer, with high protection from keratin keratinized cells, this is not an obstacle for the tick's mouth apparatus. Like a surgeon deftly operating a scalpel, chelicerae pave the way to the inner layer of the skin with a large number of blood vessels. This step of the process takes 15–20 minutes.

At the time of the bite, the salivary glands begin to actively produce saliva, which not only wets the surface, making the promotion of the oral apparatus easier, but also contains anticoagulants that prevent blood clotting, and special anesthetics that block any pain the victim during the whole process. Such biological feature ticks allows them to be incognito on the body of the victim for quite a long time.

Simultaneously with the chelicerae, the proboscis gradually sinks deep into the tissues. This happens until this part of the oral apparatus is completely embedded in the inner layer. At the same time, pedipalps move apart in different directions and by the end of the process are placed parallel to the skin. All this lasts quite a long time. The whole suction process takes at least half an hour.

The figure schematically shows the stages of a tick bite.

However, it must be said that the pliers are able to regulate the depth of immersion. When conducting research, scientists noticed that some types of ticks penetrate the tissues of the victim not for the entire length of the oral apparatus, but only partially, and stop when they reach the branching of the blood vessels. It was noted that this feature is inherent in species that often change owners, and is a kind of protection of chelicerae from possible mechanical damage with a large thickness of the skin. After all, in the event of an injury, the likelihood of the next power supply will be in question.

Video: close-up tick bite

What does the bite site look like and what symptoms can occur after a tick bite

A biting mite causes inflammation in the skin

A tick bite has the following manifestations:

The inflammatory process may be accompanied by an increase in temperature. If it stays stable at 38 ° C for more than a day, you should immediately consult a doctor..

Flu-like symptoms: high fever, nausea, photophobia, headache, muscle and eye pain can be the cause of tick-borne encephalitis, a very dangerous disease that leads to disability or death.

If ring-shaped red spots appear on the skin, this is the first sign of another unpleasant disease that ticks carry - tick-borne borreliosis or Lyme disease. In the initial stages, the disease is successfully treated with antibiotics. A neglected form can lead to disability.

Ring-shaped red spots - a sign of Lyme disease

As a rule, tick bites are accompanied by severe itching at the site of penetration. An allergic reaction can last up to two weeks. You can reduce unpleasant symptoms with the help of antihistamines, for example, Suprastin or Tavegil. From natural remedies decoction helps a lot peppermint and tincture of calendula, chamomile and sage. You can wipe the bite site with gel-like juice from aloe stalks, cut apple or potato fruits. These remedies will help reduce itching and redness.

Pumped with the blood of the victim, the tick increases in size, but this happens unevenly. For the first day, the size practically does not change. The sucking tick found during this period of time is no different from its hungry counterpart. In the future, the size of the tick increases by 10–25 times. Fully sated, it becomes like a gray bag of a round or ellipsoidal shape, the size of a grape.

Hungry and blood-drunk female tick

How long does a tick stay on a person

The duration of stay on the body of the host is determined by the stage of the life cycle of the tick and its sex:

• Eggs are the only stage that is safe for humans and does not require blood feeding. At all other stages of the life cycle, ticks need to search for a victim for further development.
• The larvae suck blood for 2-3 days. As a victim, they most often choose small animals: hares, squirrels, mice. But they can also stick to a person if he is within reach.
• Nymphs feed for 3-4 days, after which they molt, turning into adults.
• The male can do without blood supply at all. The meaning of his life is the search and fertilization of the female, after which he dies. But it can also briefly cling to the victim to replenish vitality. It does not last long, about 20-25 minutes. Therefore, the bite of the male can be overlooked.
• But the female eats thoroughly. She sticks to her victim for a week. And only after full saturation disappears on its own. The short rest of the female's life is spent on the formation and laying of eggs. On this her life cycle ends and the female tick dies.

Tick ​​life stages, from right to left: larva, nymph, male, female

Tick-borne encephalitis(spring-summer type encephalitis, taiga encephalitis) is a viral infection that affects the central and peripheral nervous system. Severe complications of acute infection can result in paralysis and death.

The main reservoir of tick-borne encephalitis virus in nature are its main carriers, ixodid ticks, whose habitat is located throughout the forest and forest-steppe temperate climate zone Eurasian continent.

About ticks

Taiga and European forest tick- giants in comparison with their "peaceful" counterparts, his body is covered with a powerful shell and equipped with four pairs of legs. In females, the integument of the rear part is able to stretch greatly, which allows them to absorb large amounts of blood, hundreds of times more than a hungry tick weighs.

In the surrounding world, ticks are guided mainly by touch and smell; ticks do not have eyes. But the sense of smell of ticks is very acute: studies have shown that ticks are able to smell an animal or a person at a distance of about 10 meters.

Tick ​​habitats. Ticks transmitting encephalitis are distributed almost throughout the southern part of the Eurasian forest zone. Which places are most at risk for ticks?

Ticks are moisture-loving, and therefore their number is greatest in well-moistened places. Ticks prefer moderately shaded and humid deciduous and mixed forests with dense herbage and undergrowth. There are many ticks along the bottom of dens and forest ravines, as well as along forest edges, in thickets of willows along the banks of forest streams. In addition, they are plentiful along forest edges and along grassy forest paths.

It is very important to know that ticks concentrate on forest paths and paths overgrown with grass along the roadsides. There are many times more of them here than in the surrounding forest. Studies have shown that ticks are attracted to the smell of animals and people who constantly use these paths when moving through the forest.

Some features of the placement and behavior of ticks have led to the widespread misconception in Siberia that ticks “jump” on a person from birch trees. Indeed, in birch forests, as a rule, there are a lot of ticks. A tick attached to clothes crawls up, and it is often found already on the head and shoulders. This creates the false impression that the pincers have fallen from above.

You should remember the characteristic landscapes, where in late April - early July the number of ticks is highest, and where the risk of infection with tick-borne encephalitis during this period is high: deciduous forests, forests littered with windbreak, ravines, river valleys, meadows.

Ticks lie in wait for their prey, sitting on the ends of blades of grass, blades of grass, sticks and twigs sticking up.

When a potential prey approaches, ticks assume an active waiting position: they extend their front legs and move them from side to side. On the front paws there are organs that perceive odors (Haller's organ). Thus, the tick determines the direction to the source of the smell and is made to attack the host.

Ticks are not particularly mobile: in their life they are able to overcome on their own no more than a dozen meters. A tick waiting for its prey climbs a blade of grass or a bush to a height of no more than half a meter and patiently waits for someone to pass by. If an animal or a person follows in the immediate vicinity of the tick, then its reaction will be instantaneous. Spreading his front paws, he frantically tries to grab his future owner. The paws are equipped with claws and suction cups, which allows the tick to hook securely. No wonder there is a saying: "clung like a tick."

With the help of hooks that are located at the very end of the front legs, the tick clings to everything that touches it. Ixodid ticks (European forest tick and taiga tick) never pounce and never fall (do not plan) on the victim from above from trees or tall bushes: ticks simply cling to their prey, which passes by and touches the blade of grass (stick) on which it sits mite.

Is it possible to prevent tick bites?

Before going out into nature, wear light-colored clothes (the ticks are better visible on it) with a long sleeve and a hood, tuck your pants into your socks. If you don't have a hood, put on a hat.

Use repellents.

Every 15 minutes, inspect your clothes, periodically conduct a thorough check, paying special attention to the neck, armpits, groin, auricles - in these places the skin is especially delicate and thin and the tick most often sticks there.

If a tick is found, it should not be crushed, since through micro cracks on the hands one can become infected with encephalitis.

Tick ​​protection

All products sold, depending on the active substance, are divided into 3 groups.

Repellent - repels ticks.

Acaricidal - kill mites.

Insecticide-repellent - preparations of combined action, that is, killing and repelling ticks.

The first group includes products containing diethyltoluamide: Biban (Slovenia), DEFI-Taiga (Russia), Off! Extreme (Italy), Gall-RET (Russia), Gal-RET-cl (Russia), Deta-VOKKO (Russia), Reftamid Maximum (Russia). They are applied to clothing and exposed areas of the body in the form of circular stripes around the knees, ankles and chest. The tick avoids contact with the repellent and begins to crawl in the opposite direction. Protective properties clothes are stored for up to five days. Rain, wind, heat and sweat reduce the duration protective agent. Don't forget to reapply. The advantage of repellents is that they are also used to protect against midges, applying not only to clothing, but also to the skin. More dangerous drugs for ticks should not be applied to the skin.

To protect children, preparations with a reduced content of repellent have been developed - these are Ftalar and Efkalat creams, Pihtal and Evital colognes, Kamarant. For children from 3 years old, the use of Off-Children's and Biban-Gel creams is recommended.

The "lethal" group included: "Pretix", "Reftamid taiga", "Picnic-Antiklesh", "Gardex aerosol extreme" (Italy), "Tornado-Antiklesh", "Fumitoks-antiklesh", "Gardeks-antiklesh", " Permanon" (permethrin 0.55%). All preparations with the exception of Pretix are aerosols. They are used only for processing clothes. Things must be removed so that the product does not accidentally get on the skin. Then, after drying a little, you can put it back on.

"Pretix" is a pencil produced in Novosibirsk. They are drawn on their clothes with several encircling stripes before going into the forest. It is only necessary to monitor their safety, as the strips crumble rather quickly.

Acaricidal preparations with the poisonous substance alfamethrin have a nerve-paralytic effect on ticks. This manifests itself after 5 minutes - the insects become paralyzed, and they fall off the clothes.

It has been observed that before having a detrimental effect on ticks, preparations with the poisonous substance alphametrin increase the activity of ticks, and although this period is short, the risk of being bitten at this time increases, preparations with the active substance permethrin kill ticks faster.

The preparations of the third group combine the properties of the two above - they contain 2 active ingredients diethyltoluamide and alphametrin, due to which their effectiveness in correct application approaching 100 percent. These are Kra-rep aerosols (alfatsipermethrin 0.18%, diethyltoluamide 15%) (Kazan) and Mosquitol-antiklesch (Alfametrin 0.2%, diethyltoluamide 7%). (France).

Tsifox is used to treat the territory from ticks.

Laboratory tests have shown that with the correct use of repellent preparations, up to 95 percent of attached ticks are repelled. As most of ticks cling to trousers, they must be handled more carefully. Particular attention should be paid to clothing around the ankles, knees, hips, waist, as well as cuffs and collars. The method of application and consumption rates of all drugs should be indicated on the label.

AT recent times counterfeit chemical protection products have become more frequent, so try to buy them in outlets with a good reputation. When buying, ask to show a hygiene certificate. Imported drugs must be accompanied by a label in Russian.

Vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis

Clinically healthy people are allowed to be vaccinated after examination by a therapist. The therapist will also inform you about where vaccinations can be given.

You can only get vaccinated in institutions licensed for this type of activity. The introduction of a vaccine that has been stored incorrectly (without respect for the "cold chain") is useless and sometimes dangerous.

The following vaccines are used to prevent tick-borne encephalitis:

• Tick-borne encephalitis vaccine culture purified concentrated inactivated dry
• EnceVir (EnceVir)
• FSME-Immun Inject (FSME-Immun Inject)
• Encepur Adult and Encepur Child

What is the difference between vaccines?

Western European strains of tick-borne encephalitis virus, from which imported vaccines are prepared, and Eastern European strains used in domestic production, are similar in antigenic structure. The similarity in the structure of key antigens is 85%. In this regard, immunization with a vaccine prepared from a single viral strain creates strong immunity against infection with any tick-borne encephalitis virus. The effectiveness of foreign vaccines in Russia has been confirmed, including by studies using Russian diagnostic test systems.

Vaccination can actually protect about 95% of those vaccinated. However, it should be remembered that vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis does not exclude all other measures to prevent tick bites (repellents, proper equipment), since they carry not only tick-borne encephalitis, but also other infections (Lyme disease, Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever, tularemia, ehrlichiosis, babesiosis, rickettsiosis, which cannot be protected by vaccination).

What to do if the tick bite did occur?

Initial consultation can always be obtained by calling 03.

To remove the tick, you will most likely be sent to the district SES or district emergency room.

If you do not have the opportunity to seek medical help. institution, then the tick will have to be removed independently.

When the tick is removed on its own, a strong thread is tied into a knot as close as possible to the proboscis of the tick, the tick is removed by pulling it up. Sharp movements are not allowed. If, when removing the tick, its head came off, which looks like a black dot, the suction site is wiped with cotton wool or a bandage moistened with alcohol, and then the head is removed with a sterile needle (previously calcined on fire). Just like removing a common splinter. Removal of the tick must be done with caution, without squeezing its body with your hands, since this may squeeze out the contents of the tick, along with pathogens, into the wound. It is important not to break the tick when removed - the remaining part in the skin can cause inflammation and suppuration. At the same time, it should be taken into account that when the tick head is torn off, the infection process can continue, since a significant concentration of the TBE virus is present in the salivary glands and ducts.

Some far-fetched recommendations about what to better removal it is recommended to apply ointment dressings to the sucked tick or use oil solutions. After removing the tick, the skin at the site of its suction is treated with tincture of iodine or alcohol. Bandaging is usually not required.

After removing the tick, save it for infestation testing, usually this can be done in an infectious disease hospital or a special laboratory. After removing the tick, place it in a small glass bottle with a tight lid and put a piece of cotton wool slightly moistened with water. Close the bottle with a cap and store it in the refrigerator. For microscopic diagnosis, the tick must be delivered to the laboratory alive. Suitable for PCR diagnostics even separate fragments tick. However, the latter method is not widely used even in large cities.

If your area is unfavorable for tick-borne encephalitis, contact the tick-borne encephalitis seroprophylaxis point without waiting for the results of the tick test. Emergency prophylaxis is carried out in the first 3 days (preferably 1 day) with immunoglobulin or iodantipyrin. For the prevention of tick-borne encephalitis in children under 14 years of age, immunoglobulin and Anaferon for children are used. In the southern regions of the Russian Federation, the tick can infect the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever.

Discussion

Last summer we used the collar and spray, unfortunately we removed the ticks three times. In this we began to prepare in advance, in ourselves with a mustache we were shown clothes for dogs with anti-tick impregnation, so I think it will be better than our last year's protection or do we also need to supplement something?

A tick stuck to the upper part of the thigh. So, in no case should you pull it, you can pull it out, or you can tear off your head, then pick it. You need to drip oil, then with tweezers, or thread (we use tweezers), grab it as low as possible to the base of the bite and twist it counterclockwise, because. it spins clockwise. A very reliable way. Only the tick then needs to be taken for analysis, we really washed it off in the sink in a panic, now we’re thinking “why” and what to do now suddenly it was contagious

09/10/2012 09:50:49, Elena841 04/15/2012 09:07:45, vichik

My son went camping with the class in May, so we class teacher ordered everyone to give the children a pack of children's anaferon with them. Just in case - if a tick clings. The Ministry of Health published a recommendation, it turns out, according to emergency prevention tick-borne encephalitis, immediately after the bite, drink anaferon to the child 3 times a day, and so on for 21 days, while the KE has an incubation period. I even saw an official article on the medical portal http://medportal.ru/mednovosti/corp/2-010/04/20/omsk/ I don’t know about anyone, but at our school the director is an energetic lady, she immediately informed everyone and told , all the classes who were going on hikes, everyone went anaferoned) They also gave a lecture on how to properly remove a tick, with tweezers, a thread ... It seems that encephalitis is not endemic in our country, although who knows ... They would poison them, or something, otherwise don't touch nature soon =/

05/27/2010 15:02:24, I. Voloshina

Thanks, very informative..!

Thanks for the timely and correct information.

The article is good. After reading such information, I called 03 to find out what to do with a tick brought in transit from the dacha, they sent me to Rospotrebnadzor, in Moscow, in Grafsky Lane, ticks are examined for encephalitis for a fee and Lyme disease costs 650 rubles.

Very competent and useful article. I just want to add why it is unacceptable to remove a tick with oil. The fact is that if this tick is a carrier of Lyme disease, then infection occurs when the contents of the intestine of the tick enter the blood (this is where borreliosis lives). From the oil, the tick suffocates and can simply vomit.

When pulling the tick by the thread, it is necessary to spread the threads to the sides in the plane of the tick (to the sides where the paws are) and gently sway from side to side, pulling out very slightly. After a minute or two, the tick will unhook. With this method, the removal of infection with borreliosis will not occur. Against CE, of course, this method does not work ...

Comment on the article "What to do if bitten by a tick"

Bitten by a tick. Tick ​​protection. Vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis. (in an ambulance and in three SESs) they said, relax - you don’t need to do it How to protect yourself from ticks and pull out a tick after a bite. While encephalitic did not meet. The year before last, a child was bitten by a tick in ...

Discussion

I even know what camp we are talking about - my daughter will go for the second time. There were no bitten people last shift, they didn’t seem to see ticks, but I doubt that anyone in principle thought about them. The places there are the most suitable for ticks - tall grass, a forest, a field .. Although, yes, it is believed that the area is not endemic for encephalitis. But my daughter was vaccinated last year, according to the emergency option - one, then in two weeks the next vaccination, now it will be the final one. In my youth I saw enough of field workers who had had encephalitis - thank you, no, if you can reduce the likelihood of the disease - I will use everything.

05/22/2018 02:52:42 PM, Sv11

The Kaluga region does not seem to be endemic for tick-borne encephalitis, and in the Moscow region there is a risk only in the northern regions. Reinsurance, IMHO.

Virgo, an urgent question - if a tick is thrown out after a bite, then what to do and where to run to the bitten one? And then yesterday this creature bit my au pair, and she somehow forgot about the joys of encephalitis and unscrewed the beast and threw it out

Discussion

In the middle of September?!! Are they totally crazy?!

My dad was bitten by a tick in the summer. The tick was thrown out, nothing bothered, but just in case, he donated blood at the district clinic and took it in a test tube to Alekseevskaya, Grafsky lane, 4/9. Borreliosis was found in the blood, but I don’t remember which IgG or IgM, the immunologist at the clinic prescribed antibiotics for a month

Section: Need advice (is it possible to use kipferon after vaccination against a tick bite). Tell me who came across a tick bite .. We arrived only from the dacha, the child went to the bath and found the tick, dad carefully removed it, he apparently only just sucked ..

Discussion

We had a tick! also removed just sucked! we were at the dacha, there were four days of holidays, the doctors were silent, the doctors we knew did not pick up the tube, we washed the wound with peroxide, smeared it with drapolene, gave the reba fenistil and prayed to all the gods. It's gone. This is not as advice, but to support :)

and FROM WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO THE VACCINE? There are no vaccinations against Borreliosis, and there is no encephalitis in Moscow and the region. Take the tick for analysis and then you will decide what to do.

The period of ticks begins. The parks are full of insects. Get your big dogs vaccinated. The vaccination is painful, but it is And our veterinarian dissuaded me from the vaccination. First, because lots of side effects, secondly, if the dog was sick after the bite ...

Discussion

And my veterinarian dissuaded me from vaccination. First, because there are a lot of side effects, and secondly, if the dog was sick after a tick bite (as we had last spring), the vaccine is useless. Can you say something about this?

It is necessary to wash / comb the pet after each walk, the tick does not immediately stick, the day "walks in the clearing" and it is easy to find and catch if you feel the animal.

The vaccine is not made so small. Gammaglobulin (after a bite) is injected if the area is considered endemic for encephalitis. Immunoglobulin is administered after a tick bite, no matter why in advance. If the tick has stuck, it must be removed and together with the child ...

Discussion

Calm down, the tick will be analyzed, if it turns out that it is infected, the child will be given anti-encephalitis gamma globulin. Then count 30 days from the time of the bite, and if nothing happens in 30 days, relax and forget. If during this time the temperature rises, go to the ambulance. Just always shake out the clothes after the forest (turn inside out and check the seams), and comb out the hair.

02.08.2005 23:11:36, bitten twice

What should I do if bitten by a tick. About ticks. Is it possible to prevent tick bites? I diligently fed them rimantadine. What should I do if bitten by a tick. Protection against ticks, what to do after a bite. Let me know if anyone has experienced a tick bite.

Discussion

And I was refused. They answered that at least after a year. Those are the common border... :)

I don’t know where exactly in Russia they do this - we have a three-time vaccination (autumn-spring-spring) for the first time and revaccination depending on the level of antibodies. but not less than once every 5 years, there are no others. I don't give children. Yes, and accustomed to ticks, they do not scare us so terribly.

Probably the most important stuff in anticipation of mass trips to the forest and dachas. Olga Malinovskaya, a doctor of clinical laboratory diagnostics and medical director of the KDL laboratory network, tells how to protect yourself from a tick bite as much as possible and where to run after a bite to find out if you are infected or not.

Olga Malinovskaya

Ticks have an amazing ability to suck blood. Their body consists of two main systems: the digestive system and the reproductive system. The torso, when filled with blood, can increase several times. The normal development cycle of a tick is an egg and three stages of maturity (larva, nymph, and mature tick). In each stage, the tick needs to feed once for 3-10 days. The body of these arachnids has developed a huge number of adaptation mechanisms to adverse conditions. Lack of nutrition or relatively poor weather do not kill immature forms, but transfer them to a "waiting mode" for better times - the tick can remain viable for about two years in a hungry state. Moreover, the immune system of the tick has adapted to cohabitation with the causative agents of many diseases - tick-borne encephalitis, borreliosis, piroplasmosis, ehrlichiosis.

Ticks live in forests and parks (including urban ones), especially near water bodies. They usually climb tall grass or bushes and wait. Once on human clothing or animal hair, ticks instinctively strive upwards, after which they find a place with thin skin, closely spaced vessels and stick. Ticks can be found in the folds of the groin, behind the ears, on the scalp and neck.

Bite marks appear as reddening of the skin around the suction site. The scar is not always visible. Although the bite is painless, if the tick has stuck for more than a day and has greatly increased in volume, it can cause some discomfort on the skin - a desire to scratch the bite or slight soreness.

Ticks are primarily associated with tick-borne encephalitis. This severe disease affects the central nervous system. They can be infected in many regions of Siberia and Far East. If you are going to travel to these regions, it is best to get vaccinated well in advance. However, in the Moscow region, Leningrad, Tver, Yaroslavl and Kaliningrad regions, a collision with ticks often threatens with borreliosis (Lyme disease). The insidiousness of this infection is that at the first stage it can be easily confused with the usual viral disease: the temperature rises, stiffness and pain in the muscles may appear, and specific skin phenomena are often noticeable. If you do not pay attention to this, complications can affect the cardiovascular and nervous system. Borreliosis can also cause damage to the joints.

How to recognize borreliosis

The entry of Borrelia into the human body can be suspected by a specific skin reaction around the site of suction - the so-called erythema migrans (severe reddening of the skin. - Note. ed.), which is a change in the skin around the site of a tick bite. This usually looks like a reddening of the skin increasing in diameter or as a reddish ring diverging from the bite site. It should be noted that this symptom does not appear in 100% of cases. According to recent studies by domestic scientists, about 50% of infections can occur without the formation of erythrema - they are caused by a special type of borrelia.

Borreliosis is treated with antibiotics. Without proper therapy, the infection can cause severe complications on the joints, cardiovascular and nervous systems.

If borrelia have entered the body, erythema and local tenderness at the site of the bite may take 3-30 days to manifest itself, but on average, symptoms appear after a week. Other signs may be absent or resemble a banal ARVI. During this period, the use of antibiotics is most effective.

What to do after a bite

If you find a stuck tick on yourself, it must be carefully removed. This can be done with special devices from a pharmacy or veterinary store. Animal tick removal tools can also be used on humans. It is undesirable to sharply tear off the tick from the body - the proboscis may remain in the skin.

After that, you need to go to the laboratory. Take the extracted tick for analysis for infections, while checking yourself. The results will suggest the direction of preventive prevention. The fact of human infection is confirmed by a blood test for antibodies. An antibody test should be carried out 10-14 days after the bite and later, as well as if infection with borreliosis is suspected with symptoms of the lesion. nervous system, heart and joints. With late manifestations of the disease, a more informative diagnostic method may be not just an analysis for antibodies (immunoglobulins M and G to Borrelia), but an immunoblot: an extended examination method with the determination of antibodies to various proteins various kinds Borrelia. The importance of accurate diagnosis in late manifestations of borreliosis cannot be overestimated - the prognosis for the treatment of Lyme disease at any stage is favorable.

Ticks become active in summer. You can pick them up anywhere, because they live on trees, bushes, in the grass. They adapt to different environmental conditions, surviving even in the unfavorable Arctic climate.

The food of ticks is blood, and for a long time they can do without it. They need it to lay eggs. It takes 2 years to develop. Under warm climate conditions, this cycle is reduced, and under unfavorable conditions, it increases.

An unpaired outgrowth of the hypostome, which acts as a sucker, helps the tick to gain a foothold on the skin. It is easier for him to attach himself in such areas: neck, stomach, groin, lower back, chest, ears, because in these places there is very thin skin. It is easy for a tick to catch on in the area where hair grows: on the head, armpits.

What is dangerous for a tick bite for a person is that it is difficult to detect. It often happens that a person notices a problem when the tick has already fallen off.

After a bite, the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe skin begins to inflame and redden. Allergies are possible, but this does not cause pain. The tick is not able to bite through the clothes, it needs to get to the open area on the skin. They need to submerge both the proboscis and the head.

With borreliosis, the bite is characterized by more pronounced symptoms. In appearance, it resembles a rounded spot, its diameter reaches 10–20 cm. Sometimes it increases, reaching up to 60 cm. Over time, it is surrounded by a red border. In the center, it acquires blue or white shade. The bite site begins to resemble a bagel, a crust forms on the skin with scars that go away after 2 weeks.

After detecting a bite mark, it is necessary to establish at what stage of development the tick is. The adult form is called the imago. It differs in that it has 4 pairs of legs. The female feeds on blood longer than the male, and can stay on the body for several days. A few hours is enough for a male to saturate. A larva called a nymph can also stick to the skin. The larva has 3 pairs of legs.

If a tick is found on the skin, it should be immediately pulled out. Doctors advise not to kill him, but to put him in a jar, which is sent for analysis in order to identify the pathogen. Since the tick takes a little time to suck, timely detection helps to avoid infection. If the tick still bites through the skin, the patient should be observed by a doctor within 30 days.

The incubation period after can be delayed for 2 months. The rate of onset of symptoms is affected by the blood-brain barrier. If it is weak, signs of the disease are detected earlier.

During the incubation period, the disease can be detected by antibody tests and PCR. The first technique shows when the infection has passed, and the second helps to identify a specific pathogen.

Symptoms of infection

These symptoms are more often found in children, the elderly, patients with a tendency to allergies, patients with immunodeficiencies. At first, the signs are not very pronounced, but gradually increase.

The disease develops slowly. The victim's temperature rises, the heartbeat quickens, the lymph nodes become inflamed, a rash is noticeable on the skin. Discomfort is aggravated by severe itching.

From individual features will depend on how long symptoms appear after a tick bite. The rash is an allergy to substances present in the saliva of an arthropod. First, the bite site and the surrounding area begins to turn red. Then a burning sensation begins, the affected area swells. After that, rashes or seals appear.

Tick-borne encephalitis can be contracted not only as a result of a bite. The pathogen can settle on the body of an animal and infect it. In this case, a person becomes infected by drinking milk. The virus first strikes internal organs and then goes to the brain.

Tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis are treated at home if the disease is at an early stage, otherwise urgent hospitalization is necessary. The patient is prescribed intramuscular injections and droppers. If the nervous system is affected, the patient is hospitalized.

Acarodermatitis is an allergy to substances secreted by arthropods during suction to the skin. Such a reaction is manifested by inflammation and severe itching, then asymmetric rashes appear. The patient may have minor hemorrhages. Most often, the pathology affects the hands and feet.

Signs of acarodermatitis are detected a few hours after infection. To cure the disease, it is necessary to adhere to the rules of hygiene. The patient is prescribed special ointments, which are applied after hygiene procedures. If you start the disease, staphylococcus develops. Later, other tick-borne infections may appear. Acarodermatitis has the most favorable prognosis and is the easiest to treat.

Ehrlichiosis may develop after a bite. The disease is caused by a bacterium carried by a tick. Its symptoms, as with encephalitis, resemble a cold. The patient develops chills, headache, muscle and joint pain. The patient is constantly tired.

Prevention of ticks in humans

Preventive measures to prevent bites include skin treatment by special means repelling insects. They are recommended to be applied before outdoor recreation or visiting the forest. Upon returning home, you need to carefully examine the body, paying special attention to the areas in which the tick sticks most often.

Vaccination is recommended to avoid infection. The vaccine is administered three times: in November, a month later, and the last dose after another 3 months. It is important that the last dose be given at least 14 days before the tick is active. If the patient is infected, the introduction of immunoglobulin is indicated.

The pathogens carried by the tick can be divided into 2 types: bacteria and insect eggs. Both forms are dangerous, but bacterial infections are easier to treat. The settlement under the skin of the larvae, the carrier of which is a tick, is much more dangerous, and even fatal for children.

It is necessary to pay enough attention to the prevention of infections that can be contracted by an insect bite. It is recommended to use repellents, and outdoor enthusiasts are better off undergoing annual vaccinations. The main thing is not to ignore the symptoms that appeared after the bite. The danger is that they periodically disappear, leaving a false impression of recovery.