Is it worth it to be afraid if a tick has crawled through the body: what can be dangerous walking "bloodsuckers"
The natural habitat of ticks is the forest floor of moist mixed forests. You can find them, first of all, on leaves and blades of grass growing along forest paths, where they are waiting for the arrival of a potential owner - an animal or a person. However, the forest is not the only habitat for bloodsuckers. Increasingly, they can also be found in city parks, on lawns, on the banks of ponds and even in household plots or cellars.
Content
How does a tick bite
How dangerous is a tick bite
The media talk a lot about the dangerous consequences of a tick bite. Unfortunately, most of these reports are true.
Not every bite threatens the health of the bitten, because not every bloodsucker carries dangerous pathogens. According to studies and statistics, up to 40 percent of parasites are infected. It is also worth mentioning that the bite of an infected tick does not have to end in infection. Regardless of the circumstances, for any insect bite, you should consult a specialist.
Some patients with a bite may be at risk of contracting Lyme disease, another disease is tick-borne encephalitis. Less commonly, a bloodsucker bite provokes:
- babesiosis,
- bartonellosis,
- anaplamas.
Symptoms and consequences
migratory erythrema.
Erythema migrans is the most common symptom after a tick bite. However, experts explain that this only happens in about half of cases of Lyme disease.
It usually becomes visible about 7 days after the parasite. It has a distinctive appearance as it is red in the center and gradually turns red towards the edges.
In some patients, the bite does not cause erythema even if the body is infected with Lyme disease. Experts note that erythema appears in only half of cases of Lyme infection. Three to four months after the extraction of the parasite may appear following symptoms:
- low fever;
- bone pain;
- headache;
- muscle pain;
- arthralgia;
- general weakness;
- fatigue;
- visual impairment;
- hearing problems;
- pain in the neck;
- pressure jumps;
- cardiac arrhythmia.
Untreated Lyme disease most often affects the nervous system. In such a situation, the radicular and cranial nerves are paralyzed.
Diseases transmitted by ticks
Parasites carry pathogens that cause so-called tick-borne diseases. associated infections:
- tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBE);
- mycoplasma pneumonia;
- chlamydia pneumonia;
- Yersinia enterocolitic;
- babesia microti;
- anaplasma phagocytophilum;
- bartonella hensel;
- Bartonella Quintana;
- erlichia chaffeensis.
How to avoid becoming a victim of a tick
- When going for a walk in the forest, park or meadow, do not forget to wear clothes that tightly cover the body: a long-sleeved T-shirt, long trousers and high shoes.
- Pants must be tucked into shoes. The color of clothing for a tick does not matter, since it is blind, but on light and bright it will be better visible.
- Spray yourself with insect repellent before going out.
- When you return from the forest, change your clothes. Carefully inspect all parts of the body, especially areas where the skin is very delicate: around the ears, under the armpits and knees, abdomen, navel, groin.
- If necessary, ask someone to check hard-to-reach places. You can notice the tick before it crawled over the body, but did not have time to bite. It must be destroyed as soon as possible.
- If you live in an area where there are sad statistics on bites from infected ticks, then you can get vaccinated. It is necessary to make 2 vaccinations with an interval of 1 month. The latter should be done 2 weeks before the first walk in the forest. This is followed by a revaccination a year later and a re-vaccination three years later.
What should I do if bitten by a tick
A screwed-in tick should be pulled out as soon as possible. It should be remembered that the later the bloodsucker is removed, the higher the risk of infection.
- You need to know that even ticks removed a few minutes after being bitten can be infected, as a few percent of infected bloodsuckers have bacteria present in the salivary glands.
- There is no need to wait until they are introduced by the parasite into the body. It is a myth that it takes 24 to 72 hours to become infected.
- In animal models, it was found that a few days after infection, the bacteria were found in the brain, heart, muscles and tendons.
- Changes in the cerebrospinal fluid and the first neurological symptoms can already be observed with erythema migrans
Where do ticks most often bite?
The tick does not dig into the body immediately. Once on it, he looks for a place with thin skin and good blood supply. In children, bloodsuckers like to sit on their heads, then their favorite places are the neck, chest.
In adults, bloodsuckers have chosen the chest, neck and armpits, and back. Since the tick does not immediately dig into the body, that is, there is every chance to remove it in time. It is only necessary during walks to conduct inspections of yourself and your friends more often.
First aid for a tick bite
However, it is necessary to consult a doctor if any alarming symptoms appear after the bite:
- heat;
- Bad mood;
- general fatigue;
- pain in muscles and joints.
Is it possible to get infected if the tick crawled through the body
If the tick just crawled through the body, and they managed to shake it off, then there may not be any consequences.
- No need to crush it with your hands, because there are a lot of pathogenic bacteria in the abdomen of the parasite. The bloodsucker must be destroyed, for example, in the toilet.
- Infection can still occur if you have an open wound, scratch, abrasion on your body and it is in this place that a tick has crawled. It can bring a virus into the place of the broken epidermis. At the same time, the person is sure that the flare did not bite him and does not go to the doctor.
- In the saliva of the parasite, there may be a tick-borne encephalitis virus, it is they who are at the greatest risk of becoming infected, even if the tick is quickly pulled out.
- If you see that a tick has been on the body, carefully look to see if the skin is intact, if there are any new spots on them.
- If everything is in order with the skin, then you should not calm down. Do a self-examination from time to time to see if redness appears on the skin. In which case, consult a doctor immediately. Do not take anything on your own!