- What does a tick look like?
- Can you find ticks in the city?
- When does tick season start?
- Where do ticks wait for their prey?
- Is it possible to avoid a tick bite?
- How to protect yourself from ticks while walking?
- Tick in the skin - where to look for it?
- How to remove a tick?
- Will quick tick removal avoid infection?
- What diseases do ticks transmit?
- Tick vaccine
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The tick, despite its small size, is very dangerous for humans and animals - ticks transmit a number of dangerous diseases. How to prevent a tick bite? What to do if after a walk you notice that a tick is in the skin? When is it safe to remove a tick at home, and when is the help of a specialist indicated? We debunk myths about ticks - check what is true and what you should know about ticks to protect yourself effectively against them.
What does a tick look like?
Only adults are relatively visible.The larval stage tick is 0.5 mm in diameter and light brown , almost skin tone, while the nymph stage tick (sometimes referred to as a nymph tick or small tick) is slightly larger than a grain of sand (1.5 mm).
Ticks recognize the victim by the smell of sweat, they can also sense the carbon dioxide in the exhaled air, as well as the temperature change (when the victim casts a shadow) and vibration accompanying movement.
Tick before and after drinking blood:
Can you find ticks in the city?
Kleszczeonly a dozen or so years ago they lived mainly in the region of Masuria and Warmia. Currently, the area of more frequent occurrence is expanding to the most forested eastern and southern areas (Podlasie, Lubelszczyzna, Podkarpacie, Małopolska and Silesia), where the highest number of cases of diseases transmitted by ticks is also recorded.
Unfortunately, we also cannot feel safe in other areas of Poland - Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis are recorded throughout the country, even in regions where ticks are relatively rare.
You can come across ticks even in large cities, e.g. when you go out with your dog to a neighborhood square. Ticks can be expected in city parks and woods.Their invasion and extension of the foraging season is one of the effects of global warming , which is manifested by an increase in the average annual temperature, early spring and late frosts.
It is therefore worth protecting against ticks not only before going on vacation - learning about their habits, ways to protect againstand possible symptoms of infection.
See what erythema looks like after a tick bite:
See the gallery of 5 photos
When does tick season start?
The season for ticks begins when the temperature reaches 5-7 ° C and ends only with the first frost, usually in November.When the temperature drops below 4 ° C, ticks hide in the bedding and sleep through the unfavorable conditions.However, when the winter is mild, they can wake up extremely early, already in February.
They are most active in May and June , the second period of activity occurs in September and October - ticks like it when it is warm and humid. During the day, the peak of their activity falls on the hours from the first dew to noon, and in the evening - from 4 p.m. to dusk.
Where do ticks wait for their prey?
Ticks do not fall from trees;they live in grass, bushes and low thickets , they can climb up to a maximum height of 100-150 cm, to the height of the preferred host. When a potential host passes by, they stick to hair or clothing, then look for a place on their body where it is damp, quiet and warm, and then dig into the skin to suck blood.
The victim does not feel the bite, because the tick together with the saliva introduces a substance with anesthetic properties. It sucks the blood, taking turns with injecting saliva, which prevents the blood from clotting and may contain pathogenic bacteria and viruses.
Is it possible to avoid a tick bite?
A tick on a child, a tick on a dog, a tick on a cat - no matter who the tick bites, the consequences can be similarly unpleasant. Therefore, avoid situations in which you may be bitten by ticks.
A tick bite - how to avoid it? What repels ticks?
- It's best to go out in the field around noon, if possiblecover the body with long sleeves and legs(hide the legs in socks), wear a cap or a hat over your head.
- Clothing, especially the mouths of sleeves and legs, and exposed areas of skin (except the face) should be sprayed with a repellent repellent, e.g. containing diethyltoluamide (DEET) or better, icaridin, which acts as a deterrent through insect and arachnid receptors, discouraging from landing on the surface of the skin.
- You can put on essential oil- clove, citronella, tea tree oil, thyme, sage oil have a deterrent effect, but their effectiveness is limited.
- It is worth checking how long it protectsthe preparation and take it with you for a longer trip. Hygiene is also a kind of protection, because the tick sticks to the sweaty body.
- However, do not use perfumes and fragrant cosmetics , because some fragrances act as lures (especially vanilla and coconut).
- It is worth taking care of a diet rich in B vitamins every day, which change the smell of sweat into less pleasant for ticks (they contain them, among others, liver, buckwheat, sunflower seeds, peas, nuts, eggs, bran wheat, milk, yeast, whole grain products).
- You should also protect domestic animals from ticks, especially dogs, for which a collar against ticks will be a suitable protection.
How to protect yourself from ticks while walking?
Avoid going into bushes and tall grass, it's best to walk in the middle of the paths.Let's check from time to time if we have a tick on our clothes(it will be more visible on light fabric).
Repellant application can be repeated if necessary.
Tick in the skin - where to look for it?
After the walk, take off your clothes as soon as possible and check them, also on the left side.
You also need to look at the entire body immediately,paying special attention to places in the folds of the skin, in the bends of the joints, under the armpits, around the genitals, behind the ears, in the hair.
A tick that has stuck into the skin should be removed immediately, using tweezers or specialized tools (time is important - the longer the tick stays in the skin, the greater the risk of Lyme infection).Found ticks must be destroyed(burn or crush, but not directly with your fingers, e.g. through paper).
Check what to remove the tick:
See the gallery of 5 photos
How to remove a tick?
- Grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible and pull it up with certain movements (no need to twist).
- Disinfect the bite site with a disinfectant or 70% alcohol.
- The problem is a broken tick - if you tear off the head of the tick, it is best to leave the tick to a professional and see a surgeon who, under local anesthesia, will lightly cut the skin and remove the remains of the arachnid.
- Note!The tick must not be greased or squeezed out! The effect of such actions is that the tick spits out the saliva and the contents of the digestive system into the wound, and then all the microorganisms penetrate it.
Read:How to remove a tick step by step
Will quick tick removal avoid infection?
There isn'tno guarantee that removing a tick soon after a bite will avoid contamination - you never know for sure how long a tick has been feeding.
If a tick has TBE viruses in the salivary glands, it usually transmits them immediately after breaking the skin.
Lyme disease spirochetes usually live in the intestines, so it takes several hours from the bite to getting them into the salivary glands, but if the tick at a given stage has already been feeding and just wants to finish the meal - they will also be in the salivary glands. Therefore,the bite site should be observed for the next few weeks .
If there is erythema, swelling, rash around the bite or flu-like symptoms (malaise, fatigue, headache, joint pain, nausea or vomiting, fever, swollen lymph nodes), see a doctor immediately as this may indicate a developing infection.
What diseases do ticks transmit?
There are many species of disease-transmitting ticks and tick-borne diseases, and new ones are discovered all the time.
Ticks found in Poland transmit bacteria and viruses that cause:
- human granulocytic anaplasmosis
- tularemia
- babesiosę
- neoehrlichiozę
- riketsjozy
- Lyme disease
- tick-borne encephalitis (TBE).
These diseases, characterized by high fever, chills, diarrhea, nausea, headaches, pains in joints and muscles, rash, and sometimes disturbed consciousness, usually requiring hospitalization, are still rarely diagnosed in Poland. Only a few cases are reported annually. The greatest real risk is tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) and Lyme disease.
Tick vaccine
There is no vaccine that would prevent a tick bite - now you can use vaccination to protect yourself against a very dangerous disease, which is tick-borne encephalitis. What you should know aboutTBE vaccination?Immunity is provided by two doses given within 3 months, then a booster dose is needed: the first 5-12 months after the second dose, the next after 3 years, the next one 3-5 years.
The series is best to start in winter or early spring (the first two doses already give immunity for the entire season).
If we start vaccination in spring, you can get vaccinated according to the accelerated schedule: the second dose 14 days after the first and then according to the basic schedule.
If an unvaccinated person becomes infected, treatment is only symptomatic. You cannot get vaccinated against Lyme disease, butit can be effectively treated with antibiotics.
Attention!Lyme disease does not give immunity for life, a bite from an infected tick can lead to reinfection.
The article comes from the "Zdrowie" monthly