What happens after a tick bite. I was bitten by a tick, what should I do? How a forest tick attacks a person

Summer is already over, and the mushroom picking season is in full swing. This is the best for mushroom pickers dangerous time, because ticks are waiting for them in the forest. But if you are afraid of ticks, do not go into the forest.

The knowledge that a tick bite can be dangerous forces some mushroom pickers to use certain protective measures. Doctors advise protecting yourself by wearing long sleeves, tucking your pants into your socks, always wearing a hat, and using repellents that should be applied to your clothing and open areas bodies.

But there are people who experience panic fear of “being bitten by a tick” and fear of getting sick. Fear of ticks, or fear of tick bites, is scientifically called acarophobia (Latin acarus - tick, Greek phobos - fear). This is one of the varieties of insectophobia - obsessive fear, fear of insects.

For many people, a tick bite leads to significant stress and panic. As practice shows, this fear is often based on false or incomplete information. It is fueled by articles with loud headlines: “Ticks are attacking again...”, etc. Lack of information also leads to panic. Moreover, among residents of large cities, acarophobia occurs much more often than among residents rural areas. Strange, but the fear of “being bitten” does not lead to these people using preventive measures- for example, application available funds protection. Such people are most often afraid to travel to the countryside, walk in the park, or walk on the lawn or grass. In some cases, they may need psychological help to solve this problem.

Below are photos of different mites. There is no need to be afraid of them; What is needed here is not fear, but reasonable fears and correct preventive measures.

What are Ixodid ticks?

Ixodes scapularis

During the development process, the ixodid tick passes next stages: egg → larva → nymph → adult tick.

The larva hatches from the egg. She has 6 legs. After she drinks blood, molting occurs and the larva turns into a nymph. The nymph already has 8 legs. The nymph sucks blood, molts and turns into an adult tick.

Typically, larvae and nymphs feed on small animals, but sometimes they can attack people. Adult ticks feed on blood and attack both large animals and people. The female tick lays eggs only after drinking blood. She is capable of drinking a volume of blood that is more than 100 times her weight. Therefore, the female stays on the victim’s body longer than the male. The tick can remain on the body for several days. After the tick has drunk blood, it removes the proboscis from the body and falls off. Having laid eggs, the female tick dies.

Behind life cycle The tick feeds several times on different hosts. At the same time, he can become infected with pathogens of various diseases and transmit them during the next feeding. Most ticks feed on a new host each subsequent time. Some species of ticks go through the first phases of their life cycle or the entire life cycle without changing their host on one animal.

Ticks do not jump or fly. In order for a tick to get on the body, you need to walk in close proximity to it. Ticks wait for their victims sitting on the ground or grass, with their front paws outstretched, on which there are special sensory organs that respond to heat and smell. When a potential victim passes by, the tick grabs it with its front paws.

Once on the body, the tick does not bite immediately. It may take several hours for a tick to attach itself. If the tick is noticed in time, the bite can be avoided.

Having chosen the site of the bite, the tick bites through the skin with chelicerae and inserts a hypostome (a special outgrowth of the pharynx similar to a harpoon) into the wound. The hypostome is covered with chitinous denticles that hold the tick. Therefore, the tick is difficult to remove.

Few people are able to feel the moment of a tick bite, since the tick numbs the bite site well. The tick introduces with saliva various substances preventing blood clotting and increasing blood flow.

What are the dangers of a tick bite?

Tick ​​activity begins at the end of April and ends with the onset of frost. The peak of activity occurs in May-June, but tick bites are possible from April to October. When the soil warms up to 5-7 degrees, the first victims of bites begin to seek help.

Ixodid ticks carry diseases of humans and animals: tick-borne encephalitis, borreliosis, ehrlichiosis and many others.

Of course, the best way to prevent these infections is to protect yourself from tick bites.

It should be remembered that ticks live not only in forests, but also in parks and garden plots. There can also be ticks in cities: on lawns, in the grass along roadsides. Ticks sit on the ground, on grass or on low bushes. Ticks can be brought home by animals; on branches, on country or forest flower bouquets, brooms or grass; on the clothes you wore while walking in the forest. At home, a tick can bite any family member, even several days later.

Bitten by a tick: what to do?

What should I do if bitten by a tick?
You returned from the forest and found a tick embedded in your body. What to do? There is no need to panic - taking the right measures in time will help prevent possible negative consequences.

1. Remove the tick.

If tick suction does occur, an initial consultation can always be obtained by calling 03 (in Minsk - 103).

A person who has suffered from a tick bite must seek medical help from the territorial clinic at his place of residence, the regional SES or the regional emergency room to remove the tick and deliver it for examination, as well as to organize medical observation, in order to make a timely diagnosis of tick-borne infection and resolve the question of prescribing preventive treatment.

How to remove a tick yourself?

There are several ways to remove ticks. They differ only in the tool used to remove the tick.

It is most convenient to remove a tick with curved tweezers or a surgical clamp; in principle, any other tweezers will do. In this case, the tick must be grabbed as close to the proboscis as possible, then it is carefully pulled up, while rotating around its axis in a convenient direction. Usually, after 1-3 turns, the entire tick is removed along with the proboscis. If you try to pull the tick out, there is a high probability of it breaking.

There are special hooks for removing ticks on sale. This hook looks like a curved two-pronged fork. The plier is inserted between the teeth and also unscrewed.

To remove ticks, there are special devices that have advantages over clamps or tweezers, since the body of the tick is not compressed, which prevents the contents of the tick from being squeezed into the wound, and reduces the risk of contracting tick-borne infections. Usually such devices can be purchased at pharmacies.

If you don't have tweezers or special devices to remove ticks, the tick can be removed using a thread.

A strong thread is tied into a knot as close as possible to the tick's proboscis, then the tick is removed, slowly shaking it to the sides and pulling it up. Sudden movements are not allowed.

If you don’t have tweezers or thread at hand, you should grab the tick with your fingers (it’s better to wrap your fingers in a clean bandage) as close to the skin as possible. Pull the tick slightly and rotate it around its axis. There is no need to crush the tick with your hands. After removing a tick, be sure to wash your hands. The wound must be treated at home with an antiseptic.

Removing a tick must be done with care, without squeezing its body, since this may squeeze the contents of the tick along with pathogens into the wound. It is important not to tear the tick when removing it - the remaining part in the skin can cause inflammation and suppuration. It is worth considering that when the head of the tick is torn off, the infection process can continue, since a significant concentration of the tick-borne encephalitis virus is present in the salivary glands and ducts.

If, when removing the tick, its head comes off, which looks like a black dot, wipe the suction site with cotton wool or a bandage moistened with alcohol, and then remove the head with a sterile needle (previously calcined on fire) in the same way as you remove an ordinary splinter.

There is no basis for some far-fetched advice that for better removal one should apply ointment dressings to the attached tick or use oil solutions. The oil can clog the tick's breathing holes, and the tick will die while remaining in the skin. Dripping oil, kerosene onto the tick, or burning the tick is pointless and dangerous. The tick's respiratory organs will become clogged, and the tick will regurgitate the contents, increasing the risk of infection.

After removing the tick, the skin at the site of its attachment is treated with tincture of iodine or alcohol, or another available skin antiseptic. A bandage is usually not required. Subsequently, the wound is treated with iodine until healing. There is no need to pour in a lot of iodine, as it can burn the skin. If everything is normal, the wound will heal within a week.

Hands and tools should be thoroughly washed after removing the tick.

When removing a tick you do not need to:

Apply caustic liquids to the bite site ( ammonia, gasoline, etc.).
- burn a tick with a cigarette.
- jerk the tick sharply - it will break off
- picking at the wound with a dirty needle
- apply various compresses to the bite site
- crush the tick with your fingers

2. If possible, check the health of the tick.

What are the dangers of a tick bite?

Ticks can be the source of a fairly wide range of diseases.

The removed tick can be destroyed, but it is better to leave it for laboratory testing for the presence of tick-borne infections. Within two days, the tick must be taken to the laboratory to be tested for infection with borreliosis, encephalitis and, if possible, other infections. Usually the analysis can be done in an infectious diseases hospital or a special laboratory.

Unfortunately, you cannot judge whether a tick is encephalitic or not by its appearance. The tick becomes infected when feeding on an infected animal. The virus can be contained in females, males, nymphs, and larvae. The percentage of encephalitis ticks is small and varies in different regions, so most of those bitten do not develop encephalitis.

Some centers agree to take only whole ticks for analysis. The answer is given in a few hours, or in a maximum of two days.

The tick should be placed in a small glass jar along with a piece of cotton wool or a napkin slightly moistened with water. Be sure to close the jar with a tight lid and store in the refrigerator.

For microscopic diagnosis, the tick must be delivered to the laboratory alive. Even individual tick fragments are suitable for PCR diagnostics. However, the latter method is not widespread even in large cities.

Even if the tick bite was short-lived, the risk of contracting tick-borne infections cannot be ruled out.

However, it should be understood that the presence of an infection in a tick does not mean that a person will get sick. A tick analysis is needed for peace of mind in case of a negative result and vigilance in case of a positive result.

If the test result is positive, there is no need to panic: firstly, even when infected, the disease does not always develop, and secondly, in most cases it ends in recovery.
If the test results are borderline or questionable, it is better to re-test in 1-2 weeks.

It is advisable that a person who has suffered from a tick bite be observed by an infectious disease specialist for a month, who, if necessary, will prescribe the necessary preventive or treatment measures. If more than 2 months have passed since the tick bite, there is no need to worry.

3. Calm ourselves down, dispel late doubts.

Most the right way determine the presence of the disease - take a blood test. There is no point in donating blood immediately after a tick bite, since tests will not show anything. At least 10 days must pass, then the blood can be tested for tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis using the PCR method. To test for antibodies (IgM) to the tick-borne encephalitis virus, blood should be donated two weeks after a tick bite, to test for antibodies (IgM) to Borrelia (tick-borne borreliosis) - three weeks after the bite. If the test result is positive, you should contact an infectious disease specialist.

After the tick is removed it is necessary:
- take pills according to the regimen prescribed by your doctor (if prescribed). If no infectious agents were found during tick examination, prevention continues according to the prescribed regimen.
- monitor your health and temperature
- observe the site of the bite.

If redness appears at the site of the bite, fever, headache, dizziness, vomiting, pain in the muscles of the torso and limbs, you should consult an infectious disease doctor. Redness can be both a symptom of borreliosis and an allergic reaction to a bite - slight redness around the wound in the first days after a tick bite is usually a reaction to the bite and goes away without consequences. If dirt gets into the wound, then redness may be a consequence of the development of a purulent infection.

In most patients, symptoms appear in the second week after the bite, but they may appear earlier or later (tick-borne encephalitis up to 21 days, borreliosis up to a month). If 21 days have passed since the bite, tick-borne encephalitis will no longer develop. In tick-borne borreliosis incubation period maybe up to a month. The appearance of any of these symptoms does not mean that a disease associated with a tick bite has developed, but it is imperative to consult an infectious disease specialist.

Tick-borne encephalitis is a very dangerous tick-borne infection. Emergency prevention of tick-borne encephalitis should be carried out as early as possible, preferably on the first day. It is carried out using antiviral drugs or immunoglobulin. A doctor should prescribe such prevention.

When bitten encephalitis tick The virus enters the blood through saliva. In the future, events may develop differently. If the bitten person has been vaccinated and the level of antibodies is sufficient, the virus immediately binds and the disease does not develop. The development of viral encephalitis can be stopped by other antiviral defense factors, such as the interferon system. Therefore, even if the tick was encephalitic, the person bitten may not get sick. The presence of a virus in a tick does not mean that the disease will develop. The number of people bitten by encephalitis ticks significantly exceeds the number of people sick with tick-borne encephalitis. But even one bite can lead to serious illness.

The best protection against encephalitis ticks is proper clothing, repellents and vaccination.

Tick-borne borreliosis is a dangerous and most common disease transmitted by ticks. Emergency prevention of tick-borne borreliosis is usually not carried out.

To treat borreliosis, a course of powerful antibiotics is usually prescribed. For example, I was prescribed doxycycline (one of the names is Unidox Solutab) according to the regimen of 200 mg (2 capsules or tablets) at the first dose, then one tablet (100 mg) in the morning and one tablet in the evening (100 mg) for 5 days. Remember that this is a very serious dosage and only a doctor can prescribe it. There is no need to self-medicate; if in doubt, consult a doctor!

You should not focus too much on the bite and listen to your body. There are people who, having noticed a tick bite, immediately find all the symptoms. It's like the joke:
Announcement at the clinic: “Patients waiting in line for an appointment are asked not to share symptoms of their illnesses, as this greatly complicates the diagnosis.”

At the same time, we must remember that the bite took place, and if your health worsens, immediately consult a doctor. The doctor will examine the patient, collect anamnesis and, based on it, issue a conclusion on what should be done next. The doctor’s prescriptions depend on many factors, for example: intolerance to antibiotics, pregnancy, the area of ​​activity of the victim and his age; the area in which the tick was found, the time the tick spent on the human body, etc.

Prevention.

The best way to prevent tick-borne infections is to protect yourself from tick bites.

Tick ​​protection:
- Repellents.
- Vaccination.
- Fighting ticks in garden plots.

When visiting places where there may be ticks, it is better to wear closed shoes (boots, boots, sneakers)

Before going into the forest, try to protect your body, especially your neck, arms, and legs, from tick attacks. Wear clothing that protects your skin as much as possible from contact with ticks. Button up your sleeves and tuck your pants into your socks or shoes. It is best to wear long trousers, with drawstrings on the legs, or you can tuck the trouser legs into socks so that the tick cannot crawl under the trousers. The jacket should have drawstrings on the sleeves. Eat special suits made from thick fabric and equipped with puffs that reliably protect against ticks (especially when correct use repellents).

In pharmacies, hardware and large stores, and gas stations, you can usually buy various repellents that repel insects (mosquitoes, midges, horse flies) and ticks. They are applied to the skin and washed off after visiting the forest. The protection time, method of application and contraindications are indicated on the packaging.

To protect against ticks, clothing is treated with preparations containing acaricides (substances that kill ticks). Such drugs protect against ticks for a week or more. After contact with clothing treated with an anti-tick preparation, the tick dies within a few minutes. Typically, such drugs should not be applied to the skin.

Use tick repellents according to the instructions for use.

In the forest, inspect yourself and your children every two hours, especially the areas of the thinnest skin where the tick prefers to attach itself. The tick takes a long time to find a place to bite, so inspect your clothes and body regularly. On clothes light colors It's easier to see the tick. Conduct self- and mutual examinations of the skin. The size of a tick that is not engorged with blood is 1-3 mm, and that of a tick that is engorged is up to 1 cm.

Do not walk on paths under low bushes, through bushes, tall grass.

When you return from the forest or park, take off your clothes and examine them carefully - ticks may be in folds and seams. Carefully inspect the entire body - the tick can attach itself anywhere. A shower will wash away any unattached ticks.

Check pets after walks and do not let them lie down on the bed. Dogs, cats and any other animals can bring ticks home.

Remember: you should not crush detected ticks with your hands, as you may become infected.

If you frequently visit tick habitats, it is advisable to get vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis. The vaccine protects for at least 3 years.

To reduce the number of ticks in your garden plot, carry out timely cleaning of the plot area and the surrounding area - remove dead wood and dead wood, cut down unnecessary bushes, mow the grass. Sowing plant antagonists such as thyme and sage is very useful.

Laboratories where you can test ticks for infections in Minsk:

Minsk City Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology

address: st. P. Brovki, 13, laboratory building of the State Institution MGTSGE, room 101 "Reception of tests."

Center for Clinical Microbiology and Immunology

address: Minsk, st. Filimonova, 23

In other cities, contact the district clinic, SES, emergency room, or call 03 (or 103).

When preparing the material, open Internet sources, materials and photographs from the sites ixodes, ru and encephalitis, ru were used

Attention! This article is for informational purposes only and cannot serve as material for independent diagnosis and treatment. Please seek advice from a specialist in your area.

Blood-sucking ticks are carriers of numerous infections and belong to the class of especially dangerous ones. Infection occurs directly through the bite of an arthropod. The most serious infections carried by ticks are encephalitis and borreliosis.

The peak registration of bites occurs in the first half of summer, but tick activity is observed until late autumn. The tick can get caught on clothing and then work its way to exposed skin. Often penetration dangerous tick occurs through the sleeves, at the bottom of the trousers, in the collar area.

Classification of ticks

These representatives of arthropods rarely reach 3 mm in size; the size of mites generally ranges from 0.1 to 0.5 mm. As befits arachnids, ticks lack wings.

Ticks are classified into two main groups:

• Sterile - those individuals that are not carriers of any infections;
• Infected ticks that are carriers of viral, microbial and other diseases (encephalitis).

It is worth noting that most often ticks begin to bite in early spring and late autumn. Please note that not all ticks are carriers infectious diseases. Despite this, even a sterile tick can lead to serious consequences. This is why it is so important to know what to do in specific situation when attacked by a tick.

Tick ​​bites are the first signs in people

As a rule, the first sign of a bite is the presence of an insect attached to the victim's body. Most often, areas of the body hidden under clothing and places with a well-developed capillary system are affected.

A tick bite is usually painless, and this fact goes unnoticed even after the tick finishes drinking blood and falls off the skin.

The first signs after a tick bite may appear after 2-4 hours. These include:

• headache;
• weakness;
• photophobia;
• drowsiness;
• chills;
• aching joints;
• pain in the muscles.

If there is redness during the bite, this may be a normal allergic reaction. But red spots that reach 10-12 cm in diameter may be a symptom. They can appear either after 2 days or weeks later.

Overly sensitive people may experience signs of a tick bite such as:

• nausea;
• vomiting and stomach upset;
• Strong headache;
• dizziness;
• wheezing breathing;
• hallucinations.

If you are bitten by a tick, measure your body temperature every day for 10 days! Its increase 2-9 days after the bite may indicate that you have become infected with an infectious disease!

Symptoms of a tick bite

Most often, the first symptoms begin to manifest themselves 7-24 days after the bite. There have been cases where a sharp deterioration in the condition was observed after 2 months. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor your health status.

If the tick has not been infected, then the redness and itching quickly disappear without leaving a trace, and no other symptoms appear. If the insect has been infected, then after the tick has bitten, signs such as general weakness, chills, drowsiness, body aches, joints, photophobia, and numbness in the neck appear.

Please note that the affected area is painless, there is only a slight round redness.

The severity of symptoms may vary. How tick bites manifest depends on age, individual characteristics, general condition person, on the number of sucking insects.

The main symptoms of an encephalitis tick bite in humans:

• Body aches
• Frequent headaches

If you have such symptoms, you can’t put anything off; you should immediately go to the clinic.

The earlier treatment is started, the better the prognosis. Therefore, it is important to get vaccinated on time, to insure against tick-borne encephalitis, so that injections with immunoglobulin and subsequent therapy are free of charge.

What does a tick bite look like on a person's body?

The tick attaches to the human body using a hypostome. This unpaired outgrowth performs the functions of a sensory organ, attachment and blood sucking. The most likely place for a tick to attach itself to a person from bottom to top is:

• groin area;
• stomach and lower back;
• chest, armpits, neck;
• ear area.

Bites can often manifest themselves in different ways. Let's look at the photo of what a tick bite looks like on a human body:

If, after removing the tick, a small black dot remains at the site of suction, this means that the head has come off and must be removed. To do this, the affected area is treated with alcohol and the wound is cleaned using a disinfected needle. After removing the head, you need to lubricate the wound with alcohol or iodine.

Be sure to save the tick (put it in a plastic bag) so that a laboratory test can be carried out to determine whether it was an encephalitis tick or not. The severity of the consequences for the bitten person or animal and further therapy depend on this.

It is necessary to understand that a small tick bite can lead to serious problems with health. Thus, encephalitis can cause paralysis of the limbs and lead to death.

If you are close to the city, go to the emergency room immediately; specialists will remove the tick without unnecessary risk. But there is a risk of crushing it when you remove it yourself, and if the crushed tick turns out to be infected, a large amount of the virus will enter the body.

The further course depends on how quickly the person reacted to the defeat. If he ignored the symptoms and did not see a doctor, the prognosis is extremely unfavorable. The fact is that tick bites can only manifest themselves after a while.

Consequences for the body

A tick bite can cause a number of diseases in humans. Naturally, if you do not pay attention to this, serious consequences are possible.

Below is a list of possible consequences of tick-borne infections in the form of lesions:

• nervous system – encephalomyelitis, various options epilepsy, hyperkinesis, headaches, paresis, paralysis;
• joints – arthralgia, arthritis;
• cardiovascular system – arrhythmia, blood pressure surges;
• lungs - a consequence of pulmonary hemorrhages;
• kidney – nephritis, glomerulonephritis;
• liver – digestive disorders.

In severe forms of the listed infections, loss of the ability to self-care, decreased ability to work (up to group 1 disability), epileptic seizures and the development of dementia are possible.

Diseases that can occur from bites

• Tick-borne encephalitis
• Tick-borne typhus
• Hemorrhagic fever

• Borreliosis. The causative agent of this disease is spirochetes, which are spread in nature, including by ticks. The disease occurs in a chronic form, affecting almost all organs and systems. When treating borreliosis (Lyme disease), antibiotics are mandatory! They are used to suppress pathogens. Lyme borreliosis is caused by a microorganism from the group of spirochetes.
• Tick-borne encephalitis. An infectious viral disease transmitted through tick bites, characterized by fever and damage to the central nervous system. The consequences of a bite from an encephalitis tick can be very disastrous. In some cases, after suffering from encephalitis, people become disabled.
• Tick-borne typhus. The rash from typhus is initially often called pink, although this first symptom appears only on fair skin. The next stage is the blanching of the rash, and later it turns red and darkens again. In severe cases of typhus, where hemorrhagic elements are visible, bleeding into the skin (petechiae) often develops.
• Hemorrhagic fever. The danger lies in severe and sometimes irreversible damage to vital organs. All people with suspicion hemorrhagic fever subject to hospitalization in the boxed department of the infectious diseases hospital.

Prevention

1. It is best to get vaccinated earlier, because after infection the vaccine is prohibited. The vaccine is indicated for those who live in a disadvantaged region and are professionally associated with the forest.
2. First of all, when going to tick habitats, you need to dress properly. Clothes should have long sleeves, trousers, and you should also put something on your head, preferably a hood. Thermal underwear can be very convenient, as it fits perfectly to the body and prevents insects from crawling into secluded places.
3. When going to an area where ticks are found, be as “armed” as possible, take all the necessary things that you will need in case of a tick bite.
4. When moving through the forest, stay in the middle of the paths, avoiding tall grass and bushes.

Knowing what to do if you are bitten by a tick can save your life during a forest walk or hiking trip. Long-term statistics from Rospotrebnadzor indicate that every year in our country over 400 thousand people officially seek medical help due to tick attacks. On average, per year doctors record 2-4 thousand cases of infection with tick-borne encephalitis and over 10 thousand cases of infection with borreliosis. From 30 to 50 infected people die and every fifth person becomes disabled for life.

Where are ticks found?

Any area of ​​vegetation is a potential habitat for ticks. There are natural landscapes where the probability of finding ticks at certain times of the year is 100%.

Maximum risk areas

Ticks are most likely to be found in bushes and grass:

In the raspberry thickets.

In the dense growth of a young aspen tree.

In damp and shaded areas of the undergrowth.

In tall grass at the edges of the forest (sedge, wormwood, burdock and others).

In places where ferns grow in pine forests.

High-risk areas where you may encounter an encephalitis tick bite:

• wildlife trails;
• wet ravines;
• areas of wild forest and city parks protected from the sun.

Dynamics of seasonal activity

The period of active searches for a food source by ticks begins with the arrival of above-zero night temperatures in mid-April. During the first two weeks of warm spring weather, ticks reach dangerous numbers. Peak activity occurs in May and June. Hot and dry weather in summer contributes to population decline. With the onset of cool nights and humid mornings in August-September, tick attacks become more frequent. They can attach themselves to a person any day, before the onset of the first frost.

How to reduce the likelihood of dangerous infection

The tick strives to cling to everything that moves within the reach of its legs. If he manages to do this, then he begins to look for the place on the body where the most blood vessels are concentrated under the skin.

Features of the spread of tick-borne infections

A person is not a desirable hunting object for a tick. People manage to detect and remove the tick before it drinks blood and falls off on its own to continue the reproduction cycle. For him, the main source of procreation is wild animals, including rodents - rats and mice. Wild animals are universally infected with pathogenic microorganisms and viruses, which ticks transmit to humans during a bite.

Possibility of infection from a bite

More than 60 dangerous pathogens are known that are transmitted to humans during tick bites. Most common encephalitis, borreliosis, tick-borne typhus and viral fevers.

But even if the animal’s chelicerae have already penetrated the skin, there is still hope that the infection has not yet entered the circulatory system.

Timely detection and removal of ticks

When an embedded tick is detected under no circumstances should you try to crush it, or scrape it off with your fingernail. In this case, the risk of infection increases.

Safety rules after visiting the forest

Exist simple rules prevention of tick infections. This is a mandatory inspection of the body after visiting places where ticks may live. Need to inspect:

Hands, forearms and elbow joints from all sides.

Chest, abdominal area and groin.

Legs, inner thighs and knee joints.

Using a mirror you need to inspect:

Scalp and face.

Back and buttocks.

The deeper the tick is sucked, the more difficult it is to get rid of it.

Rules of conduct when bitten

How deep can a tick penetrate the skin?

The tick slowly moves its cutting apparatus under the skin. Within 10-12 hours he will have time to completely immerse himself in the body. A small tubercle with a breathing hole will remain on the surface, from which only the hind limbs will periodically appear. If the presence is noticed in time, the tick will live inside the tubercle for 2 weeks and will swell to 1.5 cm. The bite site will begin to itch and inflammation will occur. It will no longer be possible to ignore the consequences of the bite.

How to remove a tick using improvised means

At home, ticks are removed using a thread. To do this you need:

place a loop around the base of the tick head;

tighten the loop so that it tightens the tick at the surface of the skin;

carefully turn the animal counterclockwise and lightly pull the thread towards you;

It is convenient to use a thread if a tick has bitten but not completely sucked on. In order for the thread to capture the bloodsucker at the very base of the head, you need to tighten it gradually, with short and light hand movements.

Split hook

One of the reasons for infection with tick-borne diseases is mistakes when removing a tick after it has attached itself to the skin. A person himself can contribute to the infection entering the bloodstream while trying to get rid of a tick using incorrect and ineffective methods.

Consequences of incorrect tick removal

A careless attempt to get rid of a tick can lead to separation of the head from the body, which will remain under the skin after removal. It will have to be removed like a splinter, using a needle or scalpel. The tick must be delivered to the laboratory for testing in a live form to identify specific type the disease of which he is a carrier.

Questionable and ineffective methods for removing ticks

Methods for lubricating the abdomen with oil, wax and kerosene

The folk method of getting rid of ticks advises making it difficult for the animal that has attached itself to the body to breathe. For this, oil, kerosene, wax, cream, cologne and other available means are used. The organs with which the arthropod breathes are located in the back of the body. By blocking the access of oxygen, you can force the bloodsucker to crawl out from under the skin without additional mechanical force. To do this, its abdomen is lubricated. The dubiousness of the method is that the tick does not always crawl out, and when breathing is difficult, it begins to actively produce infectious saliva and release it into the wound.

Removing a tick using a medical syringe

This method is effective only on the most initial stage when the tick has just bitten, but has not yet sucked deeply. The tip of the syringe is cut off, after which it is pressed firmly against the skin with the cut part and the piston is sharply raised. Negative pressure is created, which sucks the tick into the syringe. The method is extremely dangerous. A strong blood flow is created in the bite area, microvessels burst. There is a threat of infection. If the tick sits deep, then this method is strictly contraindicated.

Forest clothing against ticks

Anatomical features of ticks

Ticks have 12 limbs. 4 rear pairs are used for movement. The processes in front are also limbs, there are two pairs of them. But they are auxiliary tools oral apparatus. The fused front pair of limbs are chelicerae, an anchor with which the tick penetrates the skin. The reverse protrusions and denticles on the chelicerae allow it to be firmly established in the upper layer of the epidermis. Therefore, when the tick is pulled out from the bite site, these limbs are torn off along with the head and remain under the skin.

Waiting for the victim

The tick climbs to the tops of blades of grass or branches of low-growing bushes. His tactic is waiting. Having spread its first pair of legs wide, the tick is ready to grab the fur of a warm-blooded animal running past. The outer segments of the walking limbs of the tick are equipped with two sharp claws, allowing it to cling to any unevenness. Methods that allow them to quickly cling to prey limit the ability of bloodsuckers to move downward in a vertical direction. That's why they always crawl up. This should be taken into account when choosing forest clothing.

Overalls are the main protective barrier against ticks

The forest uniform (encephalitis), which can reliably protect against tick bites, is sewn from dense synthetic fabric. The animal's claws cannot catch on the unevenness of the material and the gaps between the individual threads. The cuffs of the sleeves and trousers are tightened with thick elastic bands that prevent the penetration of ticks. In forest workwear, the number of pockets should be minimal, and they should be patch pockets, with wide outer flaps equipped with tight fasteners. The presence of a hood and deaf mosquito net on it - definitely.

How to wear regular clothes in the forest

Compliance with the rules of wearing ordinary clothes in the forest is a reliable prevention against tick bites.

The pants are tucked into the socks. To increase the tightness of the elastic bands of the socks, you can use ropes, laces and additional elastic bands.

Sleeve cuffs should be tightly buttoned or tied on the outside with elastic bands.

Jackets and shirts are fastened with all buttons and worn with the collar raised.

Outerwear is tucked into pants, under the belt.

If there is no hood, then you can use a scarf or bandana as a headdress.

Chemical remedies

Chemical anti-tick agents form an additional protective barrier. They have an auxiliary value, and without a reliable forest suit they are ineffective.

Tick ​​repellents

Typically, products intended to combat ticks include: diethyltoluamide. Preparations made on the basis of this substance are relatively harmless to humans and have a universal effect. The smell drives everyone away blood-sucking insects and arthropods. The product is applied to both clothing and skin. The effect lasts for several hours. Modern means tick prevention products include additional components of natural origin, which increases their effectiveness.

Popular repellents

Repellents have varying degrees of toxicity and negative effects. For adults, the following products are allowed for use:

"Reftamide maximum."

"DEFI-Taiga".

“Off! Extreme."

"Deta-WOKKO."

"Gardex Extreme".

"Gall-RET".

"Medelis".

Children's medications, which can also be used by pregnant women, contain less toxic substances, so their efficiency is lower:

"Fthalar."

"Evital".

"Children's Medelix"

"OFF-children."

"DEFFY-taiga".

• "Maskitol anti-mite."

Chemical weapons (acaricides)

As chemical weapons, capable of completely eliminating the bite of an encephalitis tick, and even killing it, acaricidal drugs are used. They are intended for processing forest clothing and are not applied to the skin. The active substances included in their composition, such as alphacypermethrin , deprive arachnids of the mobility of their limbs. The ticks react instantly, and their exhausted bodies roll off the clothes. The active ingredients are toxic to humans, so there are restrictions on the use of the product on the clothes of pregnant women and children.

Effective acaricides

Examples of acaricides that have a strong toxic effect are the following:

"Gardex-extreme". Available in spray form.

"Maskitol-Spray".

"Aerosol mite-kaput."

“Anti-mite picnic.”

"Cifox."

"Reftamid taiga".

• "Pretix."

  "Anti-mite tornado."

Universal chemical protection

A number of modern drugs have universal properties - they repel all insects and arachnids, and also have a poisonous effect on them. Convenient packaging in the form aerosol cans allows you to periodically and quickly apply the substance to clothing during a long stay in nature. Tents and areas of grass where it is planned to set up a tourist camp for the night are being processed.

Insecticidal and repellent agents

Anti-tick drugs with dual action against ticks include the following brands:

"Iedilis-comfort".

"Tick-kaput."

"Moskitol spray".

“Kra-rep.”

"Extreme Gardex".

"Medilis-comfort".

Anti-mite preparations for treating large areas.

To treat the area where people are expected to stay, the following means are used:

• "Samarovka insecticide."

  "Medilis-Ziper".

  "Acaritox."

  "Baytex 40% joint venture."

• "Akarifen".

  "Acarocide."

• "Cypertrine."

Traditional methods

Advantage folk recipes chemical control of ticks:

Absence of highly toxic substances.

Possibility of making from improvised materials.

The effectiveness of anti-tick medications prepared at home is significantly lower than factory-made pharmaceuticals. Compositions for spraying clothes and the body, prepared on the basis of essential oils, have a real effect on ticks:

Eucalyptus oil.

Lavender oil.

Clove oil.

Geranium extract.

Jasmine extract.

Traditional recipes against ticks

At home, using essential oils, you can make anti-tick compositions both for application to the skin and for treating clothing.

Recipe for a clothing treatment: essential oils are mixed with vinegar and water. For 30 ml. oils require 2 cups of vinegar and 1 cup of water. The components are mixed and the resulting product is sprayed onto clothing.

Recipe for applying the mixture to the skin: take 30 ml. essential oils and mix with 2 spoons of sunflower oil and 1 spoon of aloe vera gel.

To prepare an anti-tick mixture based on essential oils, you can use any of the above plant extracts that you have on hand. To repel ticks, clove oil and essential oil geraniums

Consequences of infection with tick-borne diseases

Diseases transmitted through a tick bite have serious differences in symptoms and the nature of the consequences. If you experience symptoms characteristic of an infection transmitted through a tick bite, you should immediately contact an infectious disease doctor. Delay will lead to severe forms of the disease or death.

Tick-borne encephalitis

This viral disease is inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, especially cervical region. The infection spreads in the body through macrophages contained in the blood. The disease affects brain cells and causes inflammation. Symptoms:

The incubation period lasts 1-2 weeks.

Sudden onset of fever, nausea and headache. The attack lasts 4-7 days.

Temporary improvement in well-being, lasts up to 8 days

The attack of the disease is repeated. IN severe cases paralysis occurs.

The carrier of the virus is a tick from the order Ixodidae.

The disease is bacterial in nature and has varied symptoms:

The first symptoms are a ring-shaped inflammation of the skin around the bite site.

Within 6 months after infection, damage to the brain, liver, blood vessels and joints occurs. The disease is accompanied by headache, inflammation of the lymph nodes, urination problems and fever.

After six months, the disease, if left untreated, becomes chronic, accompanied by irreversible destruction of joints and soft tissues of internal organs.

Any tick-borne disease is deadly, requires long-term treatment and significant spending on expensive medications and recovery.

The common version that a forest tick falls on a person from an oak tree is, oddly enough, wrong. Ticks hide in places you don't expect to see them. On the branches of bushes, in the grass, along the edges of trodden paths, in thickets.

This blood-sucking arthropod has a very strong sense of smell and instantly “throws itself” at a person or animal as soon as they appear nearby.

Ticks are active from April to September - until the first frost. The most dangerous period is from late April to July. Ticks live in forest and park areas where there is no direct sunlight and the temperature does not exceed 20 degrees. So be careful when entering cool forest areas.

The pincers are the size of a match head. The female, when full of blood, reaches the size of a pea. Ticks are sucked into the skin of humans and animals using their proboscis. Moreover, the male does this for a short time and soon disappears on his own; the female is very dangerous for humans and animals. And in order to get rid of it, outside intervention is necessary.

When bitten, it releases a special substance that acts on the principle of anesthesia. This means that you will not feel the moment of the bite itself. This means you won’t be able to react quickly.

What does a tick bite look like?

Most often, a tick bite is discovered before the tick has time to fall off. This means that you will see a red spot - a common reaction to a bite - and the top of a protruding body. The usual diameter of redness is 1 cm. What a tick bite looks like - see photo below.

If you were unable to pull out the tick completely (we will write how to do this correctly a little later), and there are tentacles and legs left - BUT NOT THE HEAD - do not try to pick out the remaining part. The body itself will reject it; it will be enough just to lubricate the affected area with brilliant green. But if the spot does not begin to disappear or decrease within a few days, this is a reason to consult a doctor.

What should I do if bitten by a tick

IMPORTANT! First of all, don't panic, otherwise you'll do something stupid. Therefore, read carefully how to properly remove a tick.

You should not use tweezers or sharp forceps, for the same reason. Gently use your hands to slowly pull the insect counterclockwise. You can also try to make a loop out of the thread and slowly pull it up, spreading its ends to the sides.

You can also try to lubricate the bite area with sunflower oil and leave for 15 minutes. This should greatly simplify the procedure.

It is not recommended to use alcohol, vodka, acetone and other dubious in this case liquid - you need to get the tick out of the wound alive. If the head remains in the wound, most often, this promises trouble. From inflammation and rotting to what people are afraid of ticks for - encephalitis.

Therefore, try not to crush the insect so that saliva and stomach contents do not get into the wound, and along with them the ill-fated virus.

Symptoms of a tick bite

There is no point in becoming hysterical when bitten by a tick. Firstly, not all and not every tick is infected with encephalitis. Even if the insect is infectious, it secretes the substance from a day to three, and during this time you will already have time to get rid of it.

But if the redness does not go away after getting rid of the tick, you should go to the doctor. The same goes for when you feel worse. Since the incubation (latent) period for encephalitis can last up to 3 months, after a tick bite you should pay close attention to your body. During this time, headache, weakness, drowsiness, apathy, loss of appetite, and fever up to 37 - 37.5 degrees may occur. Then the disease begins to develop sharply: fever, severe muscle pain, convulsions, nervous system disorder... etc. appear.

How to protect yourself from a tick bite

Prepare thoroughly before going into the forest. Choose clothing made from thick fabrics with long sleeves and long legs. It is advisable that the bottom of the pants and sleeves have elastic. Socks should be long. It is advisable that they be pulled over the pants - although this is not an attractive sight. The neck is closed.

Also use special means to repel ticks - “Deta”, “Taiga”, “Biban”, “DEFI-Taiga”, “Off! Extreme”, “Gall-RET”, “Gal-RET-cl”, “Deta-VOKKO”, “Reftamid maximum” and others.

Use them to treat areas where insects may enter. Wrists, neck, lower back, ankles.

NECESSARILY! After your walk, inspect yourself and your companions for tick bites. Carefully examine the head, ears, and area behind the ears, neck, collarbone, armpits, arms, chest, back and groin area.

If an arthropod bite is detected, act as you read above.

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 regions endemic for tick-borne encephalitis or Lyme borreliosis, people should do everything they can to minimize the risk of severe consequences from contracting the infection. Sometimes this can be quite troublesome, but any time spent in this case is 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 TBE is viral infection, against which today there is no specific drugs and which because of this is 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 infections transmitted by ticks(at least in Eurasia) are much more rare, and cases of deaths during their development are rare. 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 a person’s skin is violated, followed by 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. Having seen a tick attached, 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 bloodsucker’s oral organs 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 - in the same way as 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. Testing a tick for infection with Borrelia is not always carried out (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 puncture of the skin 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, painkillers are usually used (Menovazan, Lidocaine, Fenistil-gel). 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).

So the first health care If you are bitten by a tick, it does not involve taking any powerful antiviral agents or antibiotics. After PMP, no special care for the wound is required: 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 drug. Accordingly, one can calculate approximate cost injections (the procedures themselves, excluding the cost of immunoglobulin, are either free in clinics 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 of doctors from prescribing 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, almost everyone bitten would need to use them 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 of 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 condition of the victim 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 immediately 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, and do not require any special knowledge and skills.

It is also useful to use repellents based on pyrethroids and DEET. Many of these products are also suitable for children.

On a note

If the tick has just begun to dig into itself, or is still crawling on the skin in search of a place to suction, it is hardly noticeable, since it has small sizes. 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 insured 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