Actions for a human tick bite: search and removal of an insidious parasite and first aid
As soon as warm days come after winter, I want to spend more free time in nature. But there are worries about how to protect yourself from insect bites, or ticks. And what to do if you suddenly caught a tick. How to provide first aid, and whether you need to drink pills after a tick bite.
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Where are ticks found
Ixodid ticks are most active from mid-April to mid-June and are found in forests overgrown with thick, short grass. But you can meet them without going anywhere. They live wherever there is dense growth, in settlements, especially on the outskirts.. Therefore, after returning from a walk, you need to carefully examine your clothes, shake them out without bringing them into the room. Ticks also cling to pets, so returning after a walk they also need to be examined.
What does a tick look like
Where do ticks most often bite?
Getting on a person, he is looking for a place where he can cling.
Ticks usually attach to areas with delicate skin. This is the inguinal region, neck, back, skin behind the ears, armpits, legs.
The composition of the saliva of the tick includes an anesthetic substance, and as a rule, pain is not felt when bitten. But pathogens of dangerous diseases enter the human blood with saliva.
Tick bite danger
Not all ixodid ticks are carriers of dangerous diseases. But if cases of infectious diseases are known in the region, after a tick bite, then immediately after removing the tick and providing first aid, you need to watch the wound. If redness and swelling remain around the wound for 2-3 days, you should consult a doctor.
First aid for tick bites
What to do if a tick is found on the body. It is necessary to follow a certain procedure for a tick bite:
- detection and extraction of the parasite;
- wound treatment;
- pmp for a tick bite.
After extracting the parasite, it must be taken for laboratory tests and consult a doctor.
How to find a tick on the body
During the period of activity of ticks, returning after a walk, you need to inspect your clothes for the presence of parasites, it is better to take off your outer clothing on the street and shake it out. Check all folds and pockets, as the tick can get there. On the human body, it sticks to areas with delicate skin. If you find a stuck tick, you need to try to remove it correctly.
How to remove a tick from human skin
A sucked tick can be removed by yourself or contact a medical facility. If you remove the tick yourself, then you need to moisten a cotton swab with ammonia or cologne, put it on top of it for a few seconds, and then you can remove it.
Ticks at home can be pulled out in three ways:
- Using tweezers: grab the tick as close to the body as possible and with twisting movements, slowly pull it out.
- With the help of a thread: tie a thread around the head of the tick, scrolling the ends of the threads, swaying to the sides, slowly, without sudden movements, pull it out.
- You can pull out the parasite with a calcined or sterile needle, like a splinter.
There are special devices for removing ticks, this is a pincer and a lasso handle.
It is very important to pull out the parasite whole, do not pull, and press on the abdomen so that the contents of the tick do not get into the wound, as it can be infected. Treat the wound after removing the tick.
If the head of the tick remains on the skin, then treat the area around it with iodine and remove it with a sterile needle, like a splinter. But even if you can’t completely remove it, this is not a reason for panic, after a couple of days the skin will reject it.
After removing the tick, wash the wound with soap and water and treat with any antiseptic.
If bitten by a tick, you need to know which doctor to contact for first aid. After a tick bite, within 1-2 days, the infectious disease specialist prescribes emergency prophylaxis against encephalitis, borreliosis and tick-borne anthrax, as well as laboratory tests for the presence of infection.
In a medical institution, immunoglobulin against tick-borne encephalitis is used for emergency prevention, but ticks also carry other dangerous diseases, so the doctor will prescribe prophylactic antibiotic therapy. It is especially important if a pregnant woman is bitten by a tick, you need to know what to do and how to provide first aid in a timely manner.
For further treatment, you must definitely go to the hospital. The effect of such treatment will be if you drink the medicine in the first 72 hours after the bite. The doctor will prescribe pills for a tick bite. For children, a course of treatment with Amoxiclav is recommended, and for persons over 8 years old, a 5-day course of treatment with Unidox or Solutab. Also, for the prevention of Lyme borreliosis, doxycycline is prescribed, 0,1 g once. But for pregnant women and children under 8 years of age, taking doxycycline is contraindicated.
The doctor prescribes injections of immunoglobulin, but if the introduction of this drug is not possible, then antiviral drugs are used instead: Anaferon, Yodantipyrin, or Remantadin.
Complications after being bitten by ticks
After being bitten by ixodid ticks, there is a danger of contracting about 20 diseases, and 9 of them are especially dangerous for humans. After a tick bite, the first symptoms appear after 2-7 days, these are fever, headache and muscle pain, nausea, vomiting, and sleep disturbance. But if you ignore such symptoms, then the disease can become chronic and it will be much more difficult to cope with it.
In especially severe cases, when the patient begins to have brain damage, it can lead to disability and even death.
How to protect yourself from a tick bite
Since it is not always possible to feel a tick on the body, it is better to protect yourself from their bites with clothing and protective chemicals.
- Clothing for staying outdoors during the period of activity of ticks should be chosen in light colors, the parasite is clearly visible on it. For protection, it can be additionally treated with an acaricidal-repellent agent. Tuck trousers into socks, tuck shirt into trousers, fasten cuffs, put on a headdress.
- There are chemical products available for application to the skin, they will serve as an additional means of protection.
- Vaccinations against tick-borne viral encephalitis are the most reliable way to protect yourself.
- And if it turned out that they caught a tick, then you need to know how to provide 1 help with a tick bite.