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Although spring is developing extremely lazily this year, ticks attacked at the end of winter. According to experts, there are many more of them than in previous years, which means that we are even more exposed to their bites. Therefore, it is worth knowing how to avoid meeting a tick, and if it does happen – be able to safely remove the unwanted insect. Read and remember – quick reaction after a bite is what counts!
Ticks most often live on shrubs up to 1,5 m high, adjacent to tall grasses. They can be found in forests, city parks, in meadows, so in places that we often choose for walks. A tick bite is not painful, but its consequences can, unfortunately, be very dangerous. Can a tick bite be avoided?
Ticks feed on the blood of mammals, including humans. They are most active in the morning and afternoon hours. The tick senses its victim from a distance of several meters by the smell of sweat and body temperature. After getting on the victim’s skin, it wanders over it, looking for a place where the epidermis is thin and moist. Most often it is located behind the ears, in the armpits and under the knees, or in the groin area, but it is just as comfortable anywhere else.
The tick pierces the skin painlesslybecause it simultaneously induces an anesthetic and delays inflammation in its victim. A tick bite does not cause pain, itching or irritation, it can easily feed for several days, significantly increasing its size thanks to sucked blood.
Therefore, when going to areas where there is a possibility of a tick bite, you should dress appropriately. Long pants, boots, long sleeves are essential. Additionally, people particularly exposed to tick bites (gardeners, anglers, mushroom pickers, young children) should be protected. preparations against ticks. Such preparations can be purchased in pharmacies in the form of creams or sprays. You can also find tick remedies on the Medonet Market. Order the product of your choice today. We recommend, for example, Antykleszcz – a mix of natural essential oils for ETJA ticks.
When using creams, you should apply special care to the areas around the edges of clothes: around collars and cuffs. Liquids and sprays, such as Tick Stop tick liquid, are also convenient to use, just spray the body and clothing thoroughly. However, it is often insufficient protection against ticks, so after such a walk, it is worth examining the entire body carefully.
Read more: Repellants – effective methods of fighting insects
Not all ticks can spread pathogens. It is estimated that 10 percent are infected. up to 40 percent these arachnids, depending on the region. Also in the case of bites by an infected tick, it does not always result in an infection. Despite this, the risk of infection with a dangerous disease after a tick bite is still very high, so it should not be taken lightly.
Ticks most often transmit Lyme disease, tick-borne encephalitis, and less frequently, anaplasmosis, babesiosis or bartonellosis. To reduce the likelihood of getting sick, support your body by drinking BOLLERIOFIX – a herbal tea available on Medonet Market.
See: What diseases can ticks transmit?
The first symptom of Lyme disease is a migratory erythema, appearing about 7 days after a tick bite (it can also occur after three weeks). Migratory erythema has a characteristic appearance – it is red in the center, gradually fading, and reddened on the periphery. It should be remembered that erythema often does not occur at alland yet the patient has Lyme disease. It is estimated that migratory erythema occurs in 30-60% of infected with Lyme disease (source: Szewczyk AE, Kaszuba A., Bienias W. et al. In Lyme disease ticks. Part II: Epidemiology and clinical picture. Dermatol. Pract. 2013; 3: 13–21; Nammous A., Zubacki D., Dobrzycki I. Cutaneous forms of Lyme borreliosis. Przegląd Lekarski 2006; 63: 227–230).
Other symptoms of infection may suggest flu-like conditions: headache, muscle and joint pain, general weakness, low-grade fever. The consequence of untreated Lyme disease may be infection of the nervous system. Then there is paralysis of cranial nerves and / or radicular pain.
In turn, tick-borne encephalitis produces flu-like symptoms. In the first phase of the disease, fever, muscle aches and headaches appear. Usually, within a week, your body fights the infection on its own. Unfortunately, some patients develop the second phase of the disease and develop neurological symptoms. The fever reappears, the headaches become stronger and may be accompanied by nausea and vomiting. Inflammation of the spinal cord or the brain may occur, resulting in limb paresis and impaired consciousness.
When breathing disorders appear after a tick bite, the disease can be fatal and it is estimated that around 1-2% of people suffer from respiratory problems. people may be fatal. That is why people who are often in the forest should get vaccinated.
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- Preparations for ticks – how do they work? Means of protection for adults, children and animals [WE EXPLAIN]
- Tick nymphs are dangerous. We can find them everywhere
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If an intruder is found on the body, the most important thing is to remove the tick stuck in the skin as quickly as possible. The shorter the time the tick stays on the skin, the lower the risk of infection with a serious disease. To quickly remove a tick, it is worth getting the Tick Removal Kit. The handy case includes the necessary accessories, such as special tweezers, cotton balls and plasters. You can also use a special Anti-tick tool for removing ticks and venom, which works on the principle of a pump sucking the arachnid from the skin.
Found The tick must not be lubricated with anything: with butter, petroleum jelly, oil or nail polish. It is true that after some such treatments it is easier to remove the tick, but at the same time they make the tick vomit drunk with blood and only then pathogenic pathogens can enter the human body.
What is the best way to remove a tick? It is a good idea to get a specialized tick remover at a pharmacy and have it at hand if necessary. Currently, there are suction cups, pens, loops and plastic tweezers on sale that make it easier to remove the tick. They are special very easy to use tick removal cards with notches on the corners of different sizes. Before use, the tool should be disinfected with hydrogen peroxide or alcohol.
At Medonet Market you can buy Mustico Tick-Off Tweezers Remover.
We grab the tick as close to our skin as possible, being careful not to catch it by the belly filled with blood, so as not to push its infected contents back into our body. Pull the tick firmly along its line of penetration into the skin. We do not wrap it around because there is a risk that part of the arachnid will stay in our body. After removing the tick, place it on a white piece of paper and check that it has been completely removed.
At Medonet Market you can buy a Tick remover – EXPERT TICK, which freezes a tick. Then it can be safely removed with the tweezers included with the product or with the tick remover – TICKS OUT, which works on the principle of a suction pump, thanks to which you can easily remove the tick from the skin.
The site after a tick bite we carefully disinfect and wash our hands. If we are not able to remove the tick ourselves or if some of it remains in the skin, we must go to the nearest ambulance service. Every tick bite, even if we remove it ourselves, it is worth consulting a doctor.
Then there is waiting and careful observation for signs of infection, erythema migrans or other ailments. If within 30 days (usually after 3-7 days) from the moment the tick is noticed and removed migratory erythema appears on the skin, there is no point in performing laboratory tests confirming the infection. In this case, the doctor immediately introduces antibiotic treatment.
In order to be sure in advance that the tick that has stuck into our skin does not transmit diseases, we can send it to be tested for this aspect. We recommend Shipping PCR test for Lyme disease (tick test).
In some situations, despite the infection, the erythema and other symptoms are unclear or do not appear at all. Therefore, it is worth taking the test, even when there is no reason to worry. It is recommended most often test ELISAwhich is performed after 4-6 weeks. If it is positive, another one is executed test Western blotwhich detects IgM and IgG antibodies to Lyme disease.
- Check offers for tick-borne disease tests:
Read more: Lyme disease test – indications, course, price
It is also worth being vigilant in the area TBE infection. The first phase of the presence of the virus in the blood appears 7–14 days after a tick bite. Examples of symptoms include fever, headache, and muscle pain. The symptoms of the first phase last about a week. After a few days of feeling better, the second phase of the disease appears, associated with the presence of the virus in the central nervous system. Symptoms include headache, fever, vomiting, nausea, loss of consciousness, meningitis syndrome, and encephalitis. Symptoms usually disappear after 2-3 weeks.
- Not only Lyme disease. Ticks also cause tick-borne encephalitis. The first symptoms of the disease can be easily mistaken for the flu
Almost 60 percent of patients suffering from TBE may be associated with the occurrence of complications.
TBE is diagnosed by testing IgM antibodies (detected in patients with TBE after about 7-10 days) in blood serum and in the cerebrospinal fluid, and IgG (detected after about 10-14 days) in blood serum and in the cerebrospinal fluid.
Have a question about ticks or tick-borne diseases? Send them to the following address: [email protected]. You will find a daily updated list of answers HERE: Ticks and Lyme disease – frequently asked questions and answers
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