What remains after a tick bite in humans. Consolidation after a bite

Blood-sucking mites are potential carriers of several pathogens that cause life-threatening diseases. Most serious pathologies registered in the post-Soviet countries are tick-borne encephalitis, Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis and spotted fevers.

External examination of the damaged skin

Ticks are representatives of the arachnid order, measuring up to three millimeters ( standard sizes- 0.1-0.5 mm). According to the method of obtaining vital energy, small creatures are divided into saprophages that feed on organic residues (for example, dust, barn, scabies, spider mites and linen mites) and blood-sucking predators.

A tick bite can be fatal to humans. The infectious agent in saliva gets under the skin during a bite, which is fraught with subsequent infection.

The tick is attached to the outer shell of its prey with the help of a special organ - the hypostome, located under the predator's oral apparatus (hypostoma: hypo - under, stoma - mouth). Most often, the bite occurs on delicate and thin skin, under which there are many capillary vessels.

• The most favorite areas are the area of ​​the face, ears, neck, abdomen, armpits, as well as the groin and lumbar region.

At first, the patient may not even notice that a tick has stuck into his skin, since the bite itself is almost painless. Over time, focal inflammation and manifestations of allergies appear. This is the standard response of the human body to a tick bite.

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Tick ​​bite symptoms, photo

Tick ​​bite photo and symptoms in humans

The detection of a sucked tick on the skin is reliable and the first sign of a bite. It looks like a convex mole small size. The patient's well-being can deteriorate sharply, in connection with which there are complaints of drowsiness, photophobia, headache and lethargy.

When a tick bite occurs, the symptoms in a person are not always pronounced, so the patient may simply not attach importance to negative changes. It should also be borne in mind that the degree of deterioration in well-being depends on the number of tick bites and the tendency human body to allergic manifestations.

The next day (subject to infection) aggravating symptoms appear. The victim's temperature rises to 38 degrees, the number of heartbeats increases, and blood pressure decreases.

Sometimes signs of a tick bite manifest themselves in the form of allergic reactions, expressed skin rash and irritation. On palpation of the lymph nodes, their increase is noted (especially those that are closest to the bite site).

• The bites of linen mites do not threaten human life.

At the site of skin microtrauma, small hyperemic blisters are formed, causing itching. After a few hours, the burning sensation decreases, and after a few days, complete healing occurs.

Options for the development of events can carry a favorable and unfavorable outcome. A tick bite in humans can lead to a serious illness, the severity of which depends on the speed of diagnosis and the correctness of the prescribed treatment.

It should also be taken into account that such concomitant factors as pregnancy, alcohol use, drug use, persistent stress and psycho-emotional stress worsen the severity of symptoms. Sometimes the usual bite of a small tick leads to serious problems and irreversible changes.

Table. Disability after a tick.

Health group	a brief description of
1 group	Severe disorders of the nervous and musculoskeletal system, cortical epilepsy (frequent clonic or clonic-tonic muscle cramps in a certain muscle group), cerebral motor disorders, acquired dementia, failure of elementary self-service.
2 group	Frequent epileptic attacks, combined with severe paresis, hemiparesis, changes in mental perception and thinking, muscle weakness, partial loss of control over one's behavior.
3 group	Unexpressed decrease in muscle strength, labor ability and mental analysis, weak attacks of epilepsy.

Signs of diseases transmitted by ticks

characteristic "red bagels"

The most characteristic external sign that you should pay attention to is the appearance of a specific circular erythema observed with. A red spot forms in the center, surrounded by a red ring after a few centimeters.

In appearance, it resembles a donut (the symptom appears the very next day), then a crust and a scar form at the site of erythema, disappearing without a trace after a few weeks.

Table. The main signs of infectious pathology.

Disease (pathogen)	Description
Tick-borne encephalitis (a disease caused by an acrobovirus)	The duration of the incubation period (latent course of the disease without external signs) after the bite has occurred encephalitis tick up to three weeks. The disease begins acutely, with persistent fever, severe headache and muscle pain. Encephalitis after a tick bite can occur in the following forms: Feverish - up to 5-6 days, temperature - 38-40 degrees. Meningeal - there is muscle damage, vomiting, sometimes - asymmetry of the face. Also, the form is characterized by high temperature. The duration of the course of the disease is from several weeks to two months. Paralytic. All of the above symptoms are excessive. Against this background, there is often a violation of consciousness, convulsions, which often leads to a fatal outcome.
(causative agent - borrelia, spirochete family)	Once in the bloodstream, pathogenic microbes spread throughout the body, settling in various vital organs and tissues, such as the brain, heart, kidneys, joints, muscles, eyeballs, and liver. The lesion can occur in a latent, acute or chronic form, with progression or self-elimination. The incubation period averages about two weeks. Characteristic erythema is the main sign by which the acute degree of the disease is determined. The size of the rings in diameter is about 10-15 cm. A month after the bite, negative changes in the heart, nervous tissue and joints appear. Severe complications can lead to death.
Ehrlichiosis (causative agent - E. Chaffeensis or E. Phagocytophila)	Mortality occurs in approximately 5% of cases. The incubation period lasts 1-2 weeks. Initially, the victim feels chills, muscle pain, then the body temperature rises (37-38 degrees). If we consider general analysis blood, you can see thrombocytopenia and leukopenia. Complications are rare, with severe forms. As a rule, the consequences are renal failure and neurological disorders.
Tick ​​spotted fevers (pathogen Rickettsia sibirica, R. conorii)	A painless papule with a dark crust forms at the site of the tick bite. The incubation period is several weeks. The elevated temperature lasts from two to fifteen days. Head and muscle pains, sleep disturbance, reddening of the face and neck are also noted, on the third or fourth day - the appearance of a profuse rash. As a rule, the disease is reversible, does not affect organs and tissues.

First aid for a tick bite

Upon arrival home, it is important to carefully examine your body for the presence of a "spider". Ticks are cautious creatures and, before sticking, they can search for a long time (about three hours) for a favorite site. If a black predator is found on the body, which has not yet stuck into the skin, then it should be shaken off by hand.

1. Contact a specialist for safe extraction;
2. Take care of a tick test sanitary service for sterility (its infectiousness and the possibility of being a carrier of dangerous diseases are being studied);
3. Treat the bite site with disinfectant medical device: brilliant green, iodine or alcohol.

It should be remembered that the tick is studied only in a living state. In this regard, it is not recommended to extract it yourself using improvised means, since the predator may die due to incorrect actions.

Killing a tick is not yet worth it because, when aware of the danger, it can secrete abundant saliva and, if it was infected, then a huge amount of infectious agents will enter the body of the victim.

In addition, if a large amount of secretion enters the bloodstream, there is a risk of a serious allergic reaction in the form of Quincke's edema, leading to respiratory failure up to a stop.

First aid for tick bites when aggravating allergic symptoms appeared:

• Give the patient antihistamines (Diphenhydramine, Suprastin);
• Recommended hormonal agents for temporary inhibition of immune defense (Prednisolone, Dexazon);
• Apply a tourniquet above the bite to prevent the spread of the allergen;
• Provide a flow fresh air: open the window, unbutton the top buttons on the collar, remove the scarf.

If the analysis of the tick showed its infection, then the victim should undergo mandatory therapy. Depending on the identified pathogen, certain antibiotics and antihistamines are prescribed.

In the first three days, immunoglobulin against tick-borne encephalitis is administered. If the victim's body temperature has risen, then antipyretics are prescribed. Ten days later, it is recommended to take a blood test for antibodies to the identified pathogen.

Prevention and vaccinations

Today, vaccination is the most effective method of preventing encephalitis. It must be carried out by those who live in disadvantaged areas, in which diseases from ticks are often recorded.

For example, the photo below shows what the bite of a taiga tick looks like on human skin:

And here is a midge bite:

As you can see, in appearance, the bite marks in this case do not differ much.

However, accounting individual parts in the appearance of tick bites on the human body makes it possible to distinguish them with a certain accuracy from the bites of other arthropods. Knowing the characteristics of the biology of ixodid ticks, including the specifics of their attacks on animals and people, also helps to distinguish between bites.

What does a tick bite look like in most cases?

The wound caused by a puncture of the skin, within an hour after the detachment of the tick, is covered with a crust, while some swelling and redness persist.

On a note

In the ordinary case, the next day the bite site no longer itchs, after 2-3 days the swelling and redness subside, and after a few days the crust at the site of the wound peels off.

After about 10-12 days, no trace remains at the site of the tick bite.

This happens normally, when infection does not occur in the bite wound and the inflammatory process does not develop, and the wound itself is not disturbed, combed and does not damage the protective crust on it. However, often due to various undesirable factors, the situation can be complicated, which is accompanied by the appearance of additional unpleasant symptoms.

Besides:

If the lump is lubricated with anesthetic ointment in time and not disturbed, then it gradually decreases in size and completely subsides after 4-5 days.

A more dangerous situation is when, when pulling out a tick, its body breaks away from the head (gnathosoma), as a result of which the mouth organs remain in the wound. It is not always easy to remove them from here, since it is difficult to capture them even with tweezers or tweezers from a manicure set - the tick gnathosoma is deeply immersed in the skin, and the rupture of its body usually occurs deeper than the level of the very surface of the skin.

If the detached head of the tick is not removed, like a splinter, on the second or third day, the tissues at the site of the bite will begin to boil, an abscess will form here, from which the remnants of the tick will later come out along with the outflowing pus.

Often a painful abscess with swelling is formed. From the moment the tick detaches to the rupture of the abscess and the expiration of pus from it, an average of 3-4 days pass, for a few more days the site of the abscess will heal.

The picture below shows the sequence of correct twisting of the tick:

And here are photos with examples of tick removal using various tick grinders:

On a note

In all cases, ixodid ticks bite only to suck on blood. They never attack a person in self-defense.

Besides:

On a note

An exception to last rule are the bites of the Australian paralyzing tick Ixodes holocyclus. Its individuals at all stages of their development secrete a toxin with saliva, leading to paralysis of the limbs in animals and humans, as well as symptoms similar to those of poliomyelitis (a fatal outcome is also possible). The first signs of paralysis after the bites of these ticks appear after 6-7 hours. The species Ixodes holocyclus lives only in Australia, and in Eurasia such situations are excluded.

Photo of the paralyzing tick Ixodes holocyclus:

Another important sign: ticks never bite through clothes, even through very thin clothes.(through pantyhose, for example). Mosquitoes, midges, horseflies, spiders can bite through thin fabrics, wasps and bees can sting, but ticks never stick to the skin through clothing.

At the same time, under loose clothing - under wide trousers, shirts, T-shirts, behind the head under a hat - a tick may well bite.

Differences between a tick bite and the bites of various insects

We have already said about the first important difference earlier: a red spot and a clearly visible wound remain at the site of the tick bite, gradually crusting over. This is in contrast to mosquito bites, in which only an itchy swelling remains, but without a visible insertion site of the proboscis.

From the bites of most stinging insects, spiders and centipedes, tick bites are completely painless. Even mosquitoes that inject anesthetics into the wound do not do it so “skillfully”, and their injection immediately attracts attention with slight pain.

From the bites of bed bugs (and to some extent fleas), tick bites differ in that they are not collected in “paths” of 2-3 wounds. Each bug bites several times in one attack, moving between bites by 1-2 centimeters, and as a result, characteristic “chains” of reddened bumps remain on the human body. The tick bites only once, after which it falls away from the body, and therefore leaves only one trace of a skin puncture on the skin.

On a note

It is easy enough to distinguish a tick bite from a bite of a centipede, a tarantula or a small poisonous snake: these animals leave two points at once at the skin puncture sites. Skolopendra bite with two well-marked jaws, spiders with two chelicerae, snakes with two teeth. Consequently, there will be two well-marked points in the places of their bites. The tick pierces the skin with a sawtooth hypostome in only one place.

By the shape of the wound itself, a tick bite can be distinguished from a leech bite. After sucking a leech, due to the characteristic structure of its oral apparatus, the wound looks like a small even cross. In a tick, it just looks like a dot. After the leech falls off, the wound bleeds for a very long time, which does not happen after tick bites.

But to judge the infection of a person with the tick-borne encephalitis virus by the appearance of the bite will not work - outwardly this does not manifest itself in any way.

Reverse situations happen very rarely - they can occur, for example, on a multi-day hunting or fishing trip, in hiking trips, that is, with a long stay in the wild without the opportunity to undress, wash and examine the body. Here, a tick can suck blood from a person under clothing for several days, after which it will unhook.

1. Cling to the clothes or hair of the victim;
2. Get to a place convenient for bloodsucking;
3. Pierce the skin and gain a foothold in the wound;
4. suck blood;
5. Detach and leave the host's body.

It is important to understand that there are almost never situations in which a tick has bitten, but did not have time to stick and crawled away.

Then, from 2-3 minutes to an hour, the tick moves through the host's body and looks for well-blooded places with thin skin. Then comes the bite:

The photo below shows the proboscis (hypostome) of a tick:

And this is what a hypostome looks like under a scanning electron microscope:

Representatives different types ticks and individuals at different stages of their existence tend to choose different places on the body of the host for attachment. On the human body, these are most often the areas of the armpits, and then, in decreasing frequency of attachment, the following areas follow:

• Breast;
• Stomach;
• Hands (including between fingers);
• Buttocks and perianal area;
• Legs;
• Neck and head (especially the area behind the ears).

The photo below shows a tick stuck behind the ear of a child:

It is noteworthy that in children, more often than in adults, ticks are attached to the head (including in the hairline, more often behind the ear) and sometimes even on the face - on the cheeks, on the chin.

It is interesting

The photos below show female ticks fed on blood:

Therefore, by the way, in one feeding, each tick sucks out more blood and other fluids than it weighs at the time of detachment. For several days of feeding on the host, most of the food consumed has time to be digested and spent on development and growth, and undigested components are excreted with excrement. As a result, female ticks weighing 7-10 mg before feeding absorb about 5500-8500 mg of food during the time of attachment, but weigh only 900-1400 mg after falling off.

It is interesting

Virtually no factors external environment they are not able to force an unsatisfied tick to detach from the host. The fact is that the very fact of getting on the body of the owner and fixing on it is a vital necessity for each individual. So, one female lays several thousand eggs, and not all of them are fertilized, and only a part of them hatch larvae.

Of the several thousand larvae, only a few will be able to find the first host, and all the rest will die either from hunger or from predators. Similarly, out of several thousand larvae that have molted into the first instar nymph, only a few will be able to feed on the next host. As a result, for one adult tick attached to a person or animal, there are millions of its dead counterparts who failed to do so. Therefore, it is biologically determined that if a tick has stuck, then it will detach itself only after saturation, and it is impossible to force it to do this earlier. He would rather die than miss the chance to get enough to the end.

It is for this reason that methods for removing stuck ticks with hot matches, oil or repellents are ineffective. Even being burned or suffocating under a drop of oil, the tick will not let go of its prey.

At the same time, it is interesting that if in nymphs of all ages, larvae and adult males, nutrition contributes to common development organism, then in adult females, when feeding, the reproductive system first fully matures, and after fertilization, degradation begins digestive system with parallel development of a large number of eggs. In fact, after full saturation and development, an adult female is a living bag of eggs, practically incapable of further life. She can still move a short distance to find shelter on the ground, but here, after laying her eggs, only the mouth organs and the shell of the idiosome are actually left of her.

Adult males also do not live long after feeding, but their life is a little more eventful. They actively search for females, fertilize them, and can feed several times. However, engorged adult males no longer survive the change of seasons until next year do not survive.

Possible consequences of an attack by ixodid ticks

Tick ​​bites can lead to consequences that differ both in their external manifestations and in danger to the health and life of the victim.

If we talk about bites in humans, then these consequences include:

• The normal temporary reaction to a bite is redness and slight itching after the tick detaches;
• Inflammation and suppuration of the wound, in which there was an accidental infection or the head of the tick remained after its removal;
• An allergic reaction, usually limited to swelling, spreading redness over the skin, and a rash around the bite site. Anaphylaxis in response to bites and ticks has not been documented;
• Infection with dangerous tick-borne infections. In Russia and neighboring countries, such infections include tick-borne encephalitis virus and Lyme disease (borreliosis); in other countries, ticks can carry pathogens of spotted fever and Q fever.

Of the two most common tick-borne infections in Eurasia, encephalitis is considered much more dangerous than borreliosis, since there is no specific effective treatment against TBE. Borreliosis, with timely diagnosis, is quickly and effectively treated with available antibiotics.

At the same time, even in the most dangerous areas for tick-borne encephalitis, the frequency of infection with this disease does not exceed 0.24% of the total number of bites. That is, out of 10,000 tick bites, only 24 of those bitten develop tick-borne encephalitis.

Is it possible to understand by the appearance of the bite that an infection has occurred?

It is impossible to determine by the appearance of the tick, just as it is impossible to understand from the bite itself whether the pathogen has been transmitted. Immediately after the bite and immediately after it, tick-borne infections do not manifest themselves in any way, therefore, they do not affect the appearance of the wound in any way.

On a note

As noted above, annular migratory erythema may appear after a few days, which is a sign of infection with borreliosis.

The first symptoms of encephalitis and borreliosis develop on average after 2-3 weeks, but sometimes it can be different. So, borreliosis sometimes manifests itself already 4-5 days after the bite, and in other cases, the development of the infection is delayed for several weeks. Therefore, a bitten person needs to remember about the bite itself, so that when the first signs of the disease appear, immediately consult a doctor.

Some more photos

The tick stuck over the ear of the child:

And in this photo you can see signs of an allergy to a tick bite:

Removing a tick with a thread:

What to do next

In most cases, treating a bite with antiseptics is sufficient for first aid to the bitten. If the bite occurred in a region that is epidemiologically dangerous for tick-borne encephalitis, it is highly desirable to keep the tick for analysis, as this will help to find out if there is a risk of infection after the incident.

For this you need:

On a note

As for pets, the incubation period for piroplasmosis is on average 1-2 weeks, and if at this time the pet shows signs of illness, it should be immediately taken to the veterinarian.

You do not need to drink any medications on your own and start any treatment after a tick bite. None of the tick infections can be treated at home. Only doctors prescribe and carry out such treatment.

Interesting video: what a tick bite can lead to

Visual testing of the anti-mite agent

Therefore, the entire feeding strategy is to use the host as a source of nutrition as efficiently as possible. To do this, the tick very carefully chooses the hunting grounds, the prey, and, moreover, the place of attachment to it (after all, choosing an unsuccessful place for a bite means with a high probability of being detected and killed).

On a note

In ticks, 2 types of search and trapping of prey are observed:

• passive watchdog;
• active pursuit.

On a note

The victim search process consists of two phases. The first phase is the spatial orientation of the tick. At this point, the arthropod qualitatively evaluates all factors environment(humidity, temperature, chemical composition air) and climbs to the most convenient place for itself, often on grassy vegetation, after which it settles in its upper tier.

The second phase begins when the tick senses the prey is approaching. At the same time, he turns the body towards the possible owner, stretches the first pair of legs up and performs oscillatory movements. At the ends of his legs there are sharp claws, with which the tick clings to the clothes or wool (feathers) of the victim.

On a note

Ticks do not have a specialized organ that would help them determine the position of the body relative to the ground, so the animal is guided solely by the degree of tension of certain muscle groups of the limbs. When hunting, when the front legs are stretched up, the other three pairs keep the body in desired position, performing both attachment and sensory functions. Therefore, purely anatomically, the tick can neither bend down on the victim, nor fall on it from the tree.

How do ticks sense prey? First of all, by the component composition of air. The strongest irritant is the increase in carbon dioxide. Other components released by the body of animals, including hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, also affect.

The main distant chemoreceptors are Haller's organs located on the forelimbs of ticks. They look like pits, at the bottom of which there is an accumulation of sensitive cells. These cells perceive the slightest change in the concentration of the above substances and induce the tick to act. A tick can sense a potential prey at a distance of more than 10 meters. This explains the massive accumulation of ticks in places where a large number of animals and people.

In addition, being a cold-blooded animal, the tick clearly feels infrared radiation warm-blooded organisms, but for hunting it is still a secondary irritant.

How a tick clings and holds on to the host's body until it bites

The tick clings so tightly to the body that it is almost impossible to shake it off. The only way to get rid of a tick before it has stuck is to purposefully remove it from the surface of the body.

Until the tick has bitten, all these adaptations allow it to be on the host's body. long time, increasing the likelihood of successful feeding.

Given the size of the prey in relation to the size of the tick, the arthropod often has to travel considerable distances, so it may take several hours to select a bite site. Since the tick sucks blood for a very long time (usually for several days), the process of choosing an attachment site is extremely important and takes a significant amount of time.

On a note

The actual structure of the skin is also significant - how coarse it is and how well vascularized it is.

On a note

The places of tick bites in humans have been well studied. Shoes and clothes limit the number of attachment points, but ticks find a way out of this situation.

The largest percentage of ticks attached to a person falls on the axillary region, then in descending order: on the chest, abdomen, groin, buttocks, legs. In children, there is also frequent attachment to the head. It is worth noting that ticks are perfectly oriented under clothing, making their way to the body even through small gaps.

The oral apparatus of the tick is a complex formation and consists of several components, each of which has its own morphology and functions. You can examine in detail some interesting nuances under a microscope (see photo below):

The oral apparatus consists of a base, a proboscis or hypostome, one pair of chelicerae immersed in cases, and a pair of palps. The base of the proboscis has the appearance of a capsule with a dense chitinous cover - here the ducts of the salivary glands pass and the pharynx begins. Palps have a segmented structure, consist of 4 segments and perform a tactile function.

The hypostome is an unpaired chitinous plate fixed to the base. It looks like an elongated “sting”, on which a large number of hooks bent back are located in regular longitudinal rows, as shown in the photographs below:

To the top, the hooks become smaller, forming a crown of small and at the same time very sharp spikes. When the tick bites, the sharp hypostome is involved in cutting through the skin along with the chelicerae.

On a note

At the base of the hypostome, a pair of chelicerae are attached, which look like sharp blades enclosed in cases. Chelicerae are very mobile and can cut through the skin and integument under different angle and to different depths. At rest, they are enclosed in cases that protect them from mechanical damage.

Together, this is called the gnathosoma and is the anterior part of the body of the tick, which during the bite is immersed in the integument of the victim's body.

How does a tick bite

Despite the high mechanical strength of the upper layer of the skin, it does not create serious obstacles to the way of the tick's mouth organs to the inner layers, where the blood vessels are located. Moreover, there is no direct relationship between the thickness of the skin of the preferred host and the length of the chelicerae.

The process of cutting through the skin lasts the first 15-20 minutes from the moment the bite begins.

In parallel, the process of introducing the proboscis into the incision formed by chelicerae begins. The entire proboscis is completely immersed in the wound, almost to the base of the head, and the palps are bent almost parallel to the skin.

On a note

Important is the fact that the tick is able to regulate the depth of penetration of the proboscis into the integument. It depends on the size of the victim and the thickness of their skin. It should also be taken into account that the deeper the tick sinks into the skin, the stronger the host's immune defense reaction will be. Severe inflammatory processes can begin that negatively affect the tick and reduce the chances of successful feeding.

After the tick safely digs into the skin, it proceeds to feed. At this moment, along with the proboscis, there are also chelicerae with cases in the wound, which expand the tissues near the hypostome.

Accordingly, first the food enters the cavity of the case, and then into the pre-oral cavity of the tick. On the surface of the skin, this case ends in a frozen roller, to which the base of the proboscis is glued.

It is interesting

It is worth noting that the tick feeds not only on blood, but also on lysed skin tissues, where the proboscis is inserted.

This is also dangerous because, together with the saliva of the tick, pathogens such as Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis can enter the host's body. Moreover, the longer the encephalitic or borreliosis tick eats, the large quantity it secretes saliva and the more likely it is that a person will become infected with the corresponding disease.

The duration of tick nutrition varies and depends on the stage of its ontogeny and sex. Nymphs drink blood for 2-3 days, and sexually mature females can stay on the host's body for up to a week. Males usually do not feed, and if the male individual sticks, then it stays on the host for only a few hours.

On a note

Distinguishing a female tick from a male is quite simple. The male has a wide chitinous matte shield on the upper side of the body, which completely covers the back, while in females the shield reaches only the middle of the back.

Tick ​​nymphs become saturated relatively quickly. They need food for molting and further development, but they are also carriers of pathogens of various diseases, like adults.

After the tick is completely saturated, it disappears by itself. The muscles of the oral apparatus relax, the chelicerae are tightly pressed against the proboscis, and the tick easily removes it from the integument of the victim's body.

We should not forget about preventive measures. After walking, you need to carefully examine yourself, children and animals, and before going out into nature, use repellents, wear closed clothes and shoes. With the right approach, it is almost always possible to remove the tick from the clothes (or body) in time - long before it has time to stick.

Video recording of a tick bite at high magnification - all the details of the process are visible

Is it possible to pull a tick out of the skin with a syringe (vacuum): an experiment

Thus, many ticks can wait weeks for a suitable prey, and not in all cases the hunt ends successfully for them. After the tick is on the human body, it needs to find the most appropriate place for a bite. A tick for a long time can choose a place that will be optimal for making a bite. Favorite places for tick bites are:

• small of the back;
• stomach;
• groin area;
• armpits
• breast;
• ear area.

Typical manifestations of infection

As a rule, the first symptoms of a tick bite and diseases that are caused by pathogenic microflora contained in its saliva can be observed after a few days. If a few weeks after a tick bite, a person has a headache and characteristics general intoxication of the body, he needs to urgently consult a doctor and conduct tests, since the appearance of such symptoms may indicate the development of a particular disease caused by the spread of pathogenic microorganisms through the saliva of the tick.

Diseases transmitted by pests

• Lyme disease;
• tick-borne typhus;
• tick-borne encephalitis;
• Crimean hemorrhagic fever;
• erlichiosis.

The most common disease that develops after a tick bite is tick-borne encephalitis. Tick-borne encephalitis develops when a virus enters the human bloodstream along with tick saliva, which primarily affects nervous system. As a rule, after a 2-week incubation period, signs of general intoxication, headaches, and sometimes disorders appear. motor activity, delirium and other conditions indicating damage to the brain and spinal cord. There are several forms of this disease. When infected with certain strains of the virus, the tick-borne course can be so severe that even with the right drug treatment it is far from always possible to save a person's life, and besides, often even after the therapy and elimination of the virus from the blood, long-term rehabilitation is required to get rid of.

Tick-borne borreliosis or Lyme disease is also manifested by quite pronounced symptoms. Since a specific annular erythema appears at the site of the bite, and the rash can occupy a fairly large area, it is extremely difficult not to notice it. In the future, signs of general intoxication, headaches and other characteristic symptoms may appear. Tick-borne borreliosis is extremely dangerous because in some cases it can become chronic and occur with severe relapses, and autoimmune processes triggered by this disease often affect the tissues of the heart, joints, skin and other organs.

First aid to the victim

To pull out a tick, you need to choose the right tool. If you have special tongs or a clip to remove ticks, you can use them, but if there are no such devices at hand, tweezers or thread will do.

With the onset of warming, there is a high probability of finding a tick bite on the body. In summer, this problem becomes especially relevant and occurs more and more often. A bite can bring a lot of harm to health, and can become a serious threat to human life, so the problem should be taken seriously.

How to protect yourself from a tick bite? What to do if bitten by a tick? Let's look into these issues in detail.

Forest tick: how to recognize the threat

The consequences of such a bite are extremely severe (in case of infection and refusal of treatment):

• Paralyzes the body.
• There are problems with breathing.
• Decreased brain activity.
• Fatal outcome.

If a person has suffered from a sterile tick, then the complications may not be so dangerous:

• It rots the affected area.
• An allergic reaction occurs.
• Edema appears, Quincke's edema is possible.

It is impossible to independently determine whether an infectious tick has stuck or not. Them appearance and the color does not depend on whether they are infected or not. If bitten infected tick, timely treatment can save the life of the victim.

How long does it take for a tick bite to show symptoms?

The first symptoms appear after 2-3 hours in the form of. A week or later, the symptoms described above may appear.

How is a tick bite different from other insect bites?

How to find out which insect has bitten and left characteristic marks on the skin? There will be one spot, there will not be the same in the neighborhood, the redness will increase every hour, an allergic reaction may occur. Bedbugs, for example, bite in several places at once, fleas too. The bite of a mosquito and a midge is much smaller than a tick.

Can a tick bite without sucking?

Can a tick bite through clothes and pantyhose?

Why do ticks drink blood and how much do they need?

Ticks drink blood in order to get enough and leave offspring. Females will not be able to lay eggs in a hungry state, she definitely needs blood. How long can a tick draw blood? From several minutes to several hours, and females, as a rule, stay on the body of the victim longer. It should be noted that most of the time the tick is on the skin of a person or animal in search of a place for suction, so if the tick has not yet stuck, it should be brushed off as soon as possible (no need to press it on yourself like a mosquito, you can bring an infection under the skin) . On average, an adult sucks blood for 1-2 hours, after which it disappears.

How much blood can a tick drink at one time?

Hungry individuals of the ixodid tick weigh from 2 to 15 mg, and sated from 200 to 1200 mg, which is many times their own weight. In one bite, a tick can pump out up to 1000 mg of human blood. The size of a hungry tick does not exceed 4 mm, and a full one can reach 3 cm, becoming similar in size to a corn seed.

Does a tick die after being bitten?

Some people seriously think that a tick dies after it bites a person, but this is not at all the case. Apparently it is confused with a wasp or a bee, which dies after being stung. A tick, on the contrary, only benefits from a bite, this is its nutrition, which contributes to further development and reproduction. A hungry tick will not be able to leave offspring, so biting people and animals is a vital necessity for him.

How dangerous is a tick bite for a person?

A tick can serve as a carrier of a rather extensive list of diseases, so after pulling out a tick, it is better to save it for tests to determine infections (encephalitis, borreliosis, called Lyme disease), this is done in the laboratory at the infectious diseases hospital. It is worth noting that the presence of viruses in an insect does not guarantee that the bite victim will also get sick. It is necessary to examine the insect for peace of mind if the result is negative, and for timely treatment - if an infection is confirmed.

Most often transmitted and pose a huge threat to human life - and. Scientists have proven that the chance of getting infected from a tick is unlikely, since 90% of ticks, according to studies, are not infected. Although minimal, but the chance exists.

Is it possible to get infected from a tick if it crawled through the body?

If the tick just crawled over the surface of the skin, it is impossible to get infected from it. The first stage of infection begins precisely from the moment the tick sucks and injects an anesthetic under the skin. So if a tick crawls over you, brush it off as soon as possible and, if possible, with fire.

Bitten by a tick - what to do: first aid

If a tick is crawling on you, shake it off immediately, and if it has already stuck, then remove it as soon as possible and store it in a jar with moistened cotton wool or blades of grass to deliver it alive to the laboratory for the study and diagnosis of infections.

Treat the wound with an antiseptic. If signs of allergy are observed - severe redness and swelling of the bite site, immediately give the victim an antiallergic agent. You can buy drugs "Zirtex", "Suprastin", "Prednisolone": the dosage regimen of drugs is individual. The action of one tablet is enough for a whole day. These antihistamines are actively used to eliminate the allergic effects of a bite. Taking the pill is not recommended for individual intolerance to the components. Perhaps the development of hypokalemia, sleep disturbances, flatulence and negative nitrogen balance.

If the encephalitis virus has entered the human body, the drug "Ribonuclease" is prescribed for treatment. The drug is administered 6 times a day intramuscularly, in a hospital. The dose is prescribed by the attending physician. The use of Ribonuclease is not recommended for respiratory failure, tuberculosis and bleeding. There is a risk of developing allergic conditions.

How to pull out a tick?

1. Movements in a circle counterclockwise, as if unscrewing a screw, pull it out of the skin with tweezers. Be careful not to break off the head of the tick.
2. If you had to extract the bloodsucker in nature, and there were no tweezers nearby, an ordinary thread will help. With its help, the proboscis is tied near the very surface of the skin and pulled out with light jerks.
3. After removal, you need to make sure that the tick is intact, put it in an airtight container and deliver it to the sanitary and epidemiological station for analysis as soon as possible.
4. Lubricate the surface near the bite with any antiseptic.

People often advise treating the affected area with oil, kerosene, gasoline and other liquids so that the tick crawls out on its own. This action is erroneous - the tick will try to dive even deeper under the skin. But if the insect then crawls out, its body will not be able to be examined in the laboratory.

What to do if the head of the tick remains under the skin?

The head of the tick may remain under the skin in case of careless, excessively sharp removal. It looks like a small splinter, so some are negligent about removing it, saying “the tick is dead, it no longer sucks out blood, it will fall off by itself” or simply do not notice. But it is not recommended to do so. Left under the skin, the proboscis of the tick will provoke inflammation and suppuration of the wound. Therefore, do not leave the head or proboscis of the tick under the skin, waiting for them to fall off on their own.

Take a sharp needle disinfected in alcohol and pick the remaining proboscis and remove it. After a bite, a small wound will remain on the skin, which will heal quickly if the tick was not contagious. Treat the bite site with peroxide, then brilliant green or iodine. If, use Fenistil gel or a similar remedy that relieves itching. Try not to scratch the inflamed area so that the healing process goes faster.

To prevent the head of the tick from remaining under the skin, cling to it as close as possible to the suction point.

What disease can be contracted from a tick bite?

After a tick bite, a person develops various ailments - from ordinary irritation to severe or fatal illness:

Modern drugs can completely cure infections that are transmitted by a tick, provided it is detected in a timely manner and treatment is started immediately.

Signs of infection with tick-borne encephalitis

According to doctors, the symptoms of this encephalitis are detected after 10-14 days from the moment the victim was bitten by a tick. What to do? There is no need to panic, often elevated body temperature and muscle pain can be a manifestation of a protective psychological response of the body after fear and anxiety.

The onset of the disease goes through certain stages:

1. Causeless and short chills, fever up to 40 degrees. According to the clinical signs of the formation of encephalitis, this period is more like infection with the flu.
2. After some time, the patient may experience symptoms: nausea and vomiting, bouts of severe headache. At this stage, all symptoms indicate a gastrointestinal disorder.
3. A few days later, the patient suddenly develops symptoms of arthritis or arthrosis. Pain in the head passes, they are replaced by aches of the whole body. The patient's movements are very difficult, there are problems with breathing. The skin on the face and body turns red and becomes swollen, purulent abscesses appear at the site of the bite.
4. Further, the symptoms only worsen, because the infection enters the patient's circulatory system and begins its destructive work. Delay can lead to death!

If a tick is found on the body, it should be removed immediately. This procedure can be carried out independently or go to the hospital. Health workers can easily pull it out and run a series of tests. Only in laboratory conditions can you accurately determine whether this tick is dangerous. If treatment is necessary, it is necessary to unconditionally follow the recommendations and prescriptions of the attending physician so that the effectiveness of the treatment is maximum.

Treatment of tick-borne encephalitis