Can a tick bite and crawl away: causes of attack, techniques and methods of "bloodsuckers"
Despite the prevalence of ticks, many people are still unaware of the diseases and risks associated with tick bites. This article will talk about how much the tick drinks blood, what their bites look like and the reasons why they bite a person.
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What does a tick bite look like on a human?
Unlike mosquito and other insect bites, tick bites generally do not cause itching or immediate skin irritation. However, they can still cause a red welt or itchy lesion to appear on the skin.
The size and quality of this lesion can vary greatly from person to person, and therefore it may not be possible to distinguish between a tick bite and a mosquito bite.
Especially if he did not carry Lyme disease or any other infection. In this case, the bite will resemble a mosquito bite and quickly pass.
The consequences of the diseases they transmit can range from mild to severe. Many of them have similar symptoms, such as:
- fever;
- chills;
- body aches and flu-like pains;
- headache;
- fatigue;
- rash.
An itchy lesion that does not go away within a few days may indicate Lyme disease or some other type of tick infection. The same applies to a large bull's-eye lesion - something like a red welt surrounded by one or more outer rings of inflamed red skin.
How does a tick bite and where
To get on the body, these insects like to climb low plants, foliage, logs or other objects close to the ground. From there, they grab the object with their hind legs while extending their front legs in an act researchers call searching.
When a person passes by, an insect clings to him shoes, trousers, or leather, and then climbs up until it finds a safe, inconspicuous place to plunge its mouthparts into the person's flesh. They like those secluded places where the skin is soft and where they can hide without being detected.
Favorite places to bite:
- back of knees;
- armpits;
- the back of the neck;
- groin;
- navel;
- hair.
Is it possible not to notice a tick bite
Yes, especially during the spring and early summer months when they are in the nymph stage and therefore about the size of a poppy seed. To detect a bite, you must carefully examine the skin - and ask the help of a loved one for a more detailed examination. Although the adults are slightly larger, they are still difficult to identify.
Running your hands over parts of the body that ticks tend to bite is another way to find them before they fall off. They will feel like small, unfamiliar, hard nodules on the skin.
Unlike most other biting insects, mites usually remain attached to a person's body after being bitten. After a period of up to 10 days of blood sampling, the insect may separate and fall off.
Why do ticks drink blood
Ticks get their food from hosts such as animals, birds, and humans. They have 4 different life stages. These stages are egg, larva, nymph and adult.
Ticks must remain firmly attached because they gather for a meal that can last three to 10 days, depending on whether they are juvenile or adult females.
These insects often feed on the blood of several hosts during the nymph stage, when they are at their greatest physical growth. The amount of blood absorbed can be up to ¼ ounce. It seems that there is not so much of it, but it is worth remembering how much blood needs to be “processed” and cleaned of water. This process may take several days before he receives enough blood food. At the end of the reception, its size will be several times larger than it was at the beginning.
The duration of tick attachment depends on the species, the stage of its life and the immunity of the host. It also depends on how quickly it was discovered. Usually, if left undisturbed, larvae remain attached and feed for about 3 days, nymphs for 3-4 days, and adult females for 7-10 days.
As a general rule, it must be attached to the body for at least 36 hours to transmit Lyme disease, but other infections can be transmitted in a few hours or less.
Consequences of bites from infected ticks
They can carry many diseases.
Other diseases that they can transmit are also very dangerous.
| Disease | Distribution |
|---|---|
| Anaplasmosis | It is transmitted to humans by the black-footed tick in the Northeast and Upper Midwest of the United States and western along the Pacific coast. |
| colorado fever | Caused by a virus transmitted by the Rocky Mountain tree mite. It occurs in the Rocky Mountain states at altitudes of 4000 to 10500 feet. |
| erlichiosis | Transmitted to humans by the lone star tick, found primarily in the south-central and eastern United States. |
| Powassan disease | Case reports came mainly from the northeastern states and the Great Lakes region. |
| Tularemia | Transmitted to humans by canine, tree and lone star mites. Tularemia occurs throughout the United States. |
| Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever | Found in Eastern Europe, especially the former Soviet Union, northwest China, Central Asia, southern Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent. |
| Forest disease Kyasanur | Occurs in southern India and is commonly associated with mite exposure during harvesting of forest products. In addition, a similar virus has been described in Saudi Arabia (Alkhurma hemorrhagic fever virus). |
| Omsk hemorrhagic fever (OHF) | It occurs in the regions of Western Siberia - Omsk, Novosibirsk, Kurgan and Tyumen. It can also be acquired through direct contact with infected muskrats. |
| Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) | It is found in some forested regions of Europe and Asia, from eastern France to northern Japan and from northern Russia to Albania. |