Outdoor recreation is overshadowed by the prospect of being bitten by various insects. The biggest concern is the tick. The very fact that when bitten, it sinks deeply under the skin of a person is unpleasant, and part of it can remain in the body, causing suppuration. Some of these insects carry a virus that causes encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). This is fraught with dangerous consequences, including disability and death. We will find out how much to be afraid of and how to protect yourself from this insect.
How to recognize an encephalitis tick
In fact, such a type of insect as the encephalitis mite does not exist in nature. There is a common forest one that carries the infection. In the western part of Russia, the carrier of the dangerous virus is the dog tick, in the eastern part it is the taiga tick.
However, this does not mean that all insects of this species, without exception, can infect the encephalitis virus. In order to become a carrier, he must drink the blood of a sick person or animal.
Outwardly, this will not manifest itself in any way: the insect will look exactly the same. There are no signs of the presence of a pathogen. Only a well-fed tick differs visually from a hungry one: after drinking, it increases from 2-3 mm tens of times.
Finding out whether a particular insect carried the virus can only be done in a laboratory. The only condition is that it must remain alive. It should be delivered to the study site within two days after the bite.
Treatment of the wound
After removing the tick, the parasite bite site should be treated. For this purpose, use alcohol or other disinfectant available on hand. Iodine and hydrogen peroxide will do.
When going for a walk in a forested area, do not forget about the danger of tick attacks. It is recommended to always have with you basic tools that may come in handy. Everything you need is available freely in pharmacies.
Removing ticks from dogs
On a note!
This method is not suitable for removing ticks from pets. This is due to the fact that the pet’s fur will not allow the necessary pressure to be created.
Veterinary clinics sell special devices in the form of a curved hook with a slot for removing ticks from animals. Or you can use tweezers. Animals' wounds should also be treated.
Signs of an encephalitis tick bite
Like most blood-sucking insects, only females bite. Theoretically, the male can attach itself to the body, but he is not able to absorb blood for a long time. The female can feed for more than a week continuously.
The forest tick can remain undetected for a long time. Its saliva contains an anesthetic substance, thanks to which a person does not feel the bite. This poses a serious danger: the longer an insect drinks blood, the higher the risk of infection.
The bitten area is detected visually by the following signs:
- round or oval redness;
- a black dot in the center (if the head with the proboscis remains);
- edema;
- rash.
Tick allergies usually do not develop to forest animals (unlike domestic animals). Although people with weakened immune systems may experience itching and other symptoms. The tick itself may remain at the site of the bite or fall off without being seen.
Precautionary measures
Ticks usually begin to become active in May and lead an active lifestyle until September. The peak of their life activity occurs in the summer. Before heading to an area where there are ticks, it is advisable to get an anti-encephalitis vaccine about 30-40 days in advance. You should also take with you special tools, which are divided into three main groups:
- Repellents. They are good at repelling ticks and other insects.
- Acaricides. They kill almost all types of blood suckers.
- Insecticidal and repellent agents. These are substances that can both kill and repel insects.
While in the forest or areas with plantings, you should not go into wet and shaded areas where there is dense vegetation. Unless absolutely necessary, you should not climb into raspberry and aspen forests. Parasites are very common in such places. Quite a lot of ticks can be found on the sides of forest paths.
To enhance safety, it is best to stick to bright places that do not have a large number of bushes - for example, pine forests, open clearings that can be seen. It should be remembered that the daily peak of activity occurs in the morning and evening. In rainy or hot weather, insects are inactive.
You should also choose the right clothes before going on a hike. It is better if it is light in color, as this allows you to quickly identify the parasite. It is advisable to choose outerwear from Bolognese fabrics. A shirt or T-shirt must be tucked into pants.
Consequences of an encephalitis tick bite
Encephalitis does not develop immediately. A dangerous disease may appear after two to three weeks. Then the infected person experiences the first symptoms in the form of general malaise, drowsiness, and a slight increase in temperature.
The development of encephalitis is manifested by a set of signs:
- muscle pain of an unexplained nature;
- fever;
- convulsions;
- vomit;
- fog;
- inhibition or, conversely, chaotic movements;
- hallucinations.
Since this is a disease that affects the nervous system, the risk of paralysis is high. As a result, a person cannot walk, raise his arms, or, in severe cases, hold his head up.
The consequences of tick-borne encephalitis can be epilepsy, circulatory disorders, and loss of cognitive abilities. If the respiratory system is affected due to brain damage, the risk of death increases.
Use of tablets
Medical institutions give a vaccination that stops the development of the virus in the body. This vaccination is an injection of immunoglobulin, but now a more modern alternative to injections has appeared. Tablets based on iodantiprine. These drugs allow the body to develop immunity against encephalitis and this takes from 12 to 24 hours.
It is recommended to take tablets throughout the entire period of being outdoors, especially in areas with a high risk of infection. Admission is allowed to children from 12 years of age. But, like all drugs, these tablets have contraindications and can cause side effects. Regardless of whether you took the pill or not, if you are attacked by a tick, you must consult a doctor.
What to do after a forest tick bite
If the biting insect remains on the skin, most likely it has sunk the head deep enough and will not fall off on its own. You need to take it out carefully. It is better to go to the emergency room for this. There they minimize the risk of the disease by introducing anti-encephalitis gamma globulin. The main thing is to do this within a few hours after contact with the tick.
Although the insect that carries the virus looks no different, there is no need to panic with every bite. In the spring-summer season, ticks bite many people, but no more than 5-6% are infected.
You can try to remove the bloodsucker yourself. But there is a great danger of tearing it in half. Blood from it can get on the mucous membranes and increase the risk of infection. In addition, the head remaining in the body will cause purulent inflammation of the adjacent tissues.
Reviews from victims
You can get many diseases from ticks. I was vaccinated against encephalitis back in my student days, and I still haven’t gotten sick. A colleague of mine contracted Lyme disease several years ago. The first symptoms were a severe headache and a very high fever. After a while, severe pain in the limbs developed. The treatment took place in St. Petersburg. A few weeks later everything went away, there seemed to be no consequences left.
Alik
Ticks have bitten me many times already, as I often go to my dacha, which is located in the forest. I always managed on my own. They extracted bloodsuckers using sunflower oil. After that I always took antibiotics. But one of my friends died of encephalitis after much suffering. They treated me for everything except this. You should always bring the tick in for analysis.
Elena
I was attacked by a parasite in the botanical garden last year. I noticed it only on the second day. We went to the hospital, it turned out to be closed. It was Sunday then. Then in another hospital they pulled out this tick and threw it away. No checks or analyzes were done. Everything worked out fine.
Alice
Tick removal oil never works.
He just dies, but doesn’t get out. In the ambulance they advise to unscrew it with tweezers. I can’t remember exactly which way. Then, you must have the parasite tested for encephalitis. Andrey
How to treat a bitten area
After a tick bite, there are three possible scenarios. The set of actions of the victim and his relatives depends on this:
- There is no insect. It is enough to disinfect the wound with alcohol, chlorhexidine or any other antiseptic. If soap and water are available nearby, it is best to rinse the area first.
- The head remained in the body. You won't be able to pull it out on your own. Lubricating with oil or greasy cream will do nothing. It is enough to treat it with an iodine solution - and you can wait until the head dries and comes out.
- The tick has attached itself and is holding on.
If the hospital is far away, you should pull it out yourself. To do this, grab the insect with tweezers as close to the head as possible and pull it, turning it around its axis. After this, we treat the wound as in the first option. The bitten area may itch, especially if the victim is prone to allergies. You can't comb it. To relieve itching, it is better to take an antihistamine.
Symptoms and treatment of diseases caused by tick bites
So, let's look at the symptoms and treatment of the main diseases caused by a tick bite.
Tick-borne borreliosis
Borreliosis (Lyme disease) is the most common tick-borne infectious disease in the Northern Hemisphere. In Russia, it is found in the forest-steppe zone from Sakhalin to Kaliningrad. The most common and noticeable symptom of borreliosis is redness at the site of the tick bite (erythema), which usually appears no earlier than a week after the bite. The redness increases in size and can reach several tens of centimeters in diameter. In this case, the center may become lighter, and the redness may take the form of a ring. If redness occurs at the time of the bite, then this is most likely not a manifestation of borreliosis, but a reaction to a tick bite.
First signs:
- headache;
- pain in joints, muscles;
- chills;
- increase in body temperature;
- vomit;
- soreness, itching and redness at the site of the bite.
The danger of tick-borne borreliosis is that signs of infection may appear only several months after the bite. During this time, irreversible processes will occur in the body.
The disease occurs in several stages:
Stage 1. The main indicator is the site of the bite; it swells and becomes dense (papule). It expands over a few days and becomes like a ring - in the center the skin is lighter than at the edges (see photo above). Moreover, the rim of the ring becomes swollen and seems to rise.
Stage 2 occurs if treatment is not followed. The nervous system, the victim’s joints and the heart suffer. Perhaps any organ is affected, since the infection is in the blood and spreads throughout the body.
Stage 3 can last for months or even years. Main diseases at the third stage:
- skin lesions (atrophic acrodermatitis);
- damage to the nervous system (encephalopathy, encephalomyelitis, polyneuropathy);
- juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.
Treatment of borrioliosis involves hospitalization of the victim. At the first stage the following is prescribed:
- Tetracycline (an antibiotic from the tetracycline group);
- biostatics (Levomycetin or Lincomycin);
- Poliglyukin;
- Reopoliglyukin.
If a neurological syndrome occurs, it is treated with Piperacillin or Azlocillin.
If treatment procedures are not started on time, death cannot be ruled out.
In some cases, benzylpenicillin is prescribed, which is administered intravenously or intramuscularly.
Sometimes when carrying out treatment and using many types of drugs, some of them may not be suitable for the human body, and allergic reactions will follow. If an allergy occurs, the following is additionally prescribed:
- Levomycetin;
- Clarithromycin;
- Erythromycin;
- Sumamed.
Tick-borne encephalitis
Tick-borne encephalitis is a viral infection characterized by fever, intoxication and damage to the brain and sometimes the spinal cord. The disease can lead to persistent neurological and psychiatric complications and even death of the patient. Traditional areas of distribution of tick-borne encephalitis are Siberia, the Urals, and the Far East. At the same time, cases of infection are also found in central Russia, the North-Western region, and the Volga region. In the European part of our country, the incidence ranges from 0.02 to 8 cases per 100 thousand population; in the Moscow region this figure is at the lower limit.
Main symptoms
- weakness in the limbs;
- increase in body temperature;
- fever (temperature fluctuations);
- nausea;
- numbness of the face and neck;
- loss of sleep (insomnia);
- severe headaches;
- inflammation of the mucous membranes (conjunctivitis).
Tick-borne encephalitis is easily confused with the flu, which is why it is dangerous. The symptoms are very similar. The person himself may not correctly diagnose the disease and not see a doctor in time, time will be lost.
It is important to start treatment in the first hours after the bite. On days 12-14, weakness and chills appear; the infection has already affected the lymph.
Next stage: impact on the nervous system. Treatment of tick-borne encephalitis involves following a pastel regime. In the first two days, be sure to take the drug “Human Immunoglobulin”.
The victim is also prescribed the following medications:
- Ribonuclease;
- Prednisolone;
- blood substitutes that increase the basic blood reserve and eliminate acidosis (Hemodez, Poliglyukin and Reopoliglyukin)
- ascorbic acid
- B vitamins in tablets.
There is a risk of developing meningitis. The most favorable outcome when infected with encephalitis will be chronic malaise. The victim’s body can recover on its own after 2 months. If the infection has managed to affect the cells of the nervous system, then paralysis of the legs and arms occurs. Possible deafness or blindness, inflammation of the brain, and in severe cases, death.
Tick-borne encephalitis is more dangerous than borreliosis, but the risk of getting borreliosis after a tick bite is much higher than tick-borne encephalitis.
How to find out if you have contracted encephalitis
The incubation period for the disease is quite long. Therefore, there is no point in getting tested right away: they won’t show anything right away anyway. You can be examined when the first symptoms of tick-borne encephalitis appear.
If it was possible to save the insect and deliver it to the laboratory, experts will determine whether it was a carrier of a viral infection. However, even if tested positive, the person may not develop symptoms of encephalitis.
The faster the tick is removed from the body, the smaller the portion of the pathogen it will transmit to the bitten person. So he may simply not have time to infect his victim enough to develop such a serious disease.
The presence of the virus is detected by a blood test. The diagnosis is made when the level of the corresponding IgG antibodies, which the immune system produces in response to infection, increases fourfold. Then hospital treatment will be required.
Prevention
To protect yourself as much as possible and avoid a tick bite, it is recommended to take preventive measures:
- It is advisable to wear long sleeves. Preference should be given to light, smooth fabrics. The tick is better visible on them, as it is more difficult for it to stay on such a surface.
- Be sure to wear a hat.
- It is recommended to tuck shirts, T-shirts and other clothing items into trousers, and their lower part into socks.
- Before you go for a walk, you should treat your clothes with special anti-tick preparations that repel arthropods.
- Clothes should be inspected regularly.
These simple recommendations will help reduce the risk of a parasite attack. But if he does bite a person, you must immediately go to the hospital. Doctors do not encourage self-extraction of parasites. In a hopeless situation, you must definitely try to remove the tick with a syringe.
Sources
- https://hlopklop.com/kleshhi/chto-budet-esli-sest-kleshha.html
- https://apest.ru/kleshhi/o-kleshhah/chto-budet-esli-proglotit-kleshcha/
- https://stolichki.ru/stati/kak-dostat-klescha-u-cheloveka
- https://apest.ru/kleshhi/ukusy-kleshhej/kak-vytashchit-kleshcha-shpricom/
- https://zelenplaneta.ru/kleshhi/kak-udalit-kleshha-s-pomoshhyu-shpritsa.html
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