A sucked tick: photo and description, symptoms of a parasite bite, first aid and treatment rules

Origin of the species and description

For humans and warm-blooded animals, ixodid ticks pose the greatest danger - they carry the most serious diseases: encephalitis and borreliosis.

The origin of these insects is not known for certain, but there is evidence that they existed during the time of ancient reptiles and initially parasitized them, and after their extinction they switched to mammals.

There are about 650 species of Ixodes in the world, but not all of them are dangerous to humans. All representatives of this species have similar morphological characteristics:

• a flat, oval body 3-4 mm long., having drunk blood, the pest increases in size up to 15 mm., females are much larger than males;
• color varies from light brown to reddish hues;
• adults have 4 pairs of legs, eyes are absent or poorly distinguishable.

Causes of a tick bite in humans

The purpose of the tick is to find a prey and feed on its blood, so they spend most of their lives waiting for a potential host. The most common causes of a tick bite in humans are:

• visits to tick-endemic regions, forests and forest parks;
• non-compliance with safety rules when walking in such areas: lack of personal protective equipment, exposed parts of the body;
• close communication with animals (mites are often found on their fur);
• bringing home objects from the forest: flowers, grass, mushrooms, branches.

How does a tick get on a person

Ticks are deprived of vision or it is very poorly developed, so they look for their prey with the help of special sensory organs, focusing on the temperature of the warm-blooded body.

Ticks are waiting for a potential host on long blades of grass, bushes, most often located near paths, on lawns.

Sensing the approach of the victim, the pest turns in its direction and expects contact, after which it clings to clothing and begins to look for a suitable place to bite.

How does a tick drink blood?

Bloodsuckers have a highly developed biting apparatus. With the help of an organ (chelicera) resembling scissors, they pierce the skin of the victim and, with the help of a spike-like hypostome, make a depression in the tissues, which fill with blood at the site of the bite. The pest constantly sucks out the outflowing blood.

What does a pumped tick look like?

As mentioned above, the tick that has sucked blood increases significantly in size - the length of its body increases by about 10 mm. Swelling, the body of the tick changes color from brown to gray. A well-fed tick becomes inactive, it simply falls off the host's body to the ground.

What does a tick do when it drinks blood?

A satiated adult female lays eggs - directly in the soil, leaves, or moves very short distances in search of a suitable place for laying. A well-fed nymph continues its development - it enters the molting phase. An adult male, after saturation, fertilizes the female and dies.

Types of ixodid ticks dangerous to humans

As already mentioned, not all Ixodes are dangerous to humans. Varieties of bloodsuckers that carry dangerous viruses are listed below.

What should I do if bitten by a tick

Bloodsuckers are insidious: their hit on the body cannot be felt, in addition, their saliva contains a special enzyme that makes the bite painless. Therefore, most often, the parasite is detected only when it has already stuck to the skin. In this case, you need to act immediately.

Remove stuck tick

The pest must be removed as soon as possible, since the longer it is in the body, the higher the likelihood of infection.

To do this, it is recommended to contact any medical institution.

You can do it yourself: with the help of special tools or ordinary tweezers. The main rule: the tick should not be sharply pulled, crushed and tried to pull it out by force. It should be scrolled several times in any direction and slightly pulled up.

What to do if not the whole tick was pulled out

If you violate the recommendations for extracting the parasite, it may turn out that his body will come off, and the head will remain under the skin. In this case, you can try to remove it with a needle, like a splinter, or simply fill it with iodine and wait a few days - most likely, the body itself will reject the foreign body. In some cases, the development of an inflammatory process up to suppuration is possible: if alarming signs appear, you should consult a doctor.

Treat the bite site

After removing the tick, you need to treat the bite site with an antiseptic. Suitable for the following:

• iodine;
• zelenka;
• alcohol solution;
• chlorhexidine;
• hydrogen peroxide.

Take the tick to the lab

The extracted bloodsucker is recommended to be placed in a container with a tight lid and handed over to a specialized laboratory in order to identify its infection with infections. Before sending for analysis, the insect is allowed to be stored in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours.

Donate blood to detect antibodies

There is also a special analysis that allows you to detect the presence of encephalitis antibodies in the blood. The appearance of such antibodies speaks in favor of the clinical diagnosis of encephalitis.

However, it is not advisable to take such an analysis immediately after the bite: specific IgG antibodies to the tick-borne encephalitis virus are detected on the 10-14th day and even earlier.

They reach a high level by the end of the month and remain at this level for 2 to 6 months after infection.

Perform immunotherapy as recommended by a doctor

If it turns out that the parasite was a carrier of the virus, or if the victim has initial symptoms of the disease, the health care provider will prescribe immunotherapy, which includes the introduction of human immunoglobulin. You need to know that such therapy in our country is not provided free of charge within the framework of compulsory medical insurance. Immunoglobulin can be obtained free of charge by those insured under VHI and certain categories of citizens.

Signs and symptoms of a tick bite in humans

The reaction to a tick bite is purely individual and depends on the general physical condition of the person. In people with poor health and prone to allergic reactions, the following symptoms may occur within 2-3 hours after the bite:

• photophobia;
• aches in muscles and joints;
• chills;
• weakness.

However, most often the first symptoms occur after a few days or even weeks. These include: headache, fever, lowering blood pressure, nausea and vomiting, swollen lymph nodes.

Treatment rules

There is currently no specific treatment for tick-borne infections. Therapy is aimed at preventing the development of complications, alleviating symptoms and supporting the patient's condition.

Antibiotics for a tick bite

Antibacterial therapy is powerless against tick-borne encephalitis, since this disease is caused by a virus. But in relation to borrelia, which are the causative agent of Lyme disease, they are quite effective. For the prevention and treatment of borreliosis, amoxicillin and doxycilin are most often used. The required dosage and duration of the course is determined by the doctor.

Basic principles of treatment of encephalitis

If tick-borne encephalitis is suspected, the patient is urgently hospitalized in a neurological hospital. If prophylaxis with immunoglobulin has not been previously carried out, the drug is administered during the day.

Primary therapy includes the following:

• anti-inflammatory therapy;
• dehydration to prevent cerebral edema;
• fight against hypoxia;
• support of water and electrolyte balance;
• restoration of the metabolism of the central nervous system.

After leaving the acute state, courses of neuroleptics, physiotherapy, and massage are prescribed for complete rehabilitation.

Basic principles of treatment of borreliosis

Lyme disease (borreliosis) is treated in the hospital of the infectious diseases department. Therapy is aimed not only at combating the causative agent of the disease, but also at maintaining the work of internal organs and systems.

At the initial stage of the disease, tetracycline drugs are effective, later, when neurological, cardinal and articular changes develop, penicillins are used.

In parallel with antibiotic therapy, treatment with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is carried out, if necessary, painkillers are used.

Consequences of a tick bite

Infection with the above diseases can have serious consequences, even death.

Complications of tick-borne encephalitis:

• cognitive disorders (memory loss, thinking disorders);
• disturbances of consciousness up to coma;
• severe motor disorders: paresis, paralysis, complete immobilization.

The consequences of Lyme disease can be irreversible damage to internal organs, destruction of joints, severe neurological disorders.

Prevention of tick bites

With the help of simple preventive measures, you can significantly reduce the risk of a tick attack and, as a result, infection with tick-borne infections:

• vaccination: recognized as an effective method of preventing encephalitis throughout the world;
• the use of special protective equipment (repellents and acaricides) when walking in places where ticks can live, choosing the right clothing (avoid exposed skin, use a hat and hood);
• timely cleaning of garbage and plant debris from the site: they are a place of shelter for ticks;
• examination of the body and clothes during a walk in the forest and immediately after it.