Blood after a tick bite. Tick ​​bite - detailed instructions on what to do

There is such an expression "stuck like a tick." They do not bite, but dig into the skin. There are many tips on how to get rid of a tick. But this must be done skillfully, since inept attempts to pull out the tick turn into the fact that the head of the tick remains in the subcutaneous layer. Therefore, when a tick is found embedded in the skin, contact the nearest medical center.

Tick ​​in one picture

Diseases

But a tick bite is not terrible if the ticks were not carriers of diseases. List of diseases that a tiny animal will reward a person with (ticks are not insects):

• human monocytic ehrlichiosis;
• human granulocytic anaplasmosis;
• viral encephalitis;
• borreliosis;
• tularemia;
• Crimean hemorrhagic fever;
• relapsing tick-borne typhus;
• Tsutsugamushi fever;
• vesicular rickettsiosis;
• North Asian tick-borne rickettsiosis;
• Astrakhan spotted fever.

After contact with infectious ticks, people become infected with viral encephalitis and borreliosis.

Viral encephalitis

It doesn't develop right away. The incubation period after the virus enters the human body is up to three weeks. It affects the central and peripheral nervous systems.

Symptoms

• temperature (up to 39-40 degrees Celsius);
• convulsions;
• headache;
• vomit;
• possible loss of consciousness or delirium.

Complications

The probability depends on the strength of the patient's immune system. With good immunity, a person will recover without treatment.

Most often there is a slight paralysis of the hands.

Mortality depends on the type of virus. With the European variety, it does not exceed 2 percent, with the Far East, it reaches 20 percent.

Borreliosis

Another name is Lyme disease. Has a bacterial nature. The incubation period is from one week to four weeks. Can affect the skin, nervous system, heart.

Symptoms

• elevated temperature;
• redness in the bite area.

Complications

Possible in the absence of treatment. These include inflammation of the heart muscle, pericardium, membranes of the brain. Mortality is rarely recorded.

Blood test after tick bite

Not every tick is a carrier of encephalitis, borreliosis or other infections. But if the tick has bitten, you need to play it safe and donate blood for research. Even if there are no symptoms of the disease.

However, keep in mind that in the absence of a clinic, donating blood immediately after a bite does not make sense, since the result may turn out to be false negative. You have to wait at least 10 days.

And if you have symptoms of the disease, visit medical institution- no longer reinsurance, but an obligation.

A blood test to detect infection after a tick bite can be done in several ways.

PCR method

PCR

The abbreviation stands for polymerase chain reaction. most technologically advanced and exact method. Its essence is to detect the DNA of the causative agent in the blood or any other human biological material.

1. PCR allows you to fix the presence of the pathogen with a slight concentration in the blood. Therefore, the infection is detected in the early stages of pathology development.
2. The PCR method is also good because the analysis does not take much time. From the moment the biomaterial is submitted to the medical conclusion, several hours pass.

The disadvantage of the method is that PCR requires special equipment and trained personnel. They are not available in every locality.

Linked immunosorbent assay

IFA for short. It is based on the detection in the blood of antibodies to the causative agent of the disease.

1. The first to appear in the blood during infection are class M immunoglobulins, which represent the body's primary immune response to foreign antigens.
2. Later, class G immunoglobulins are registered, which remain in the blood for a long time in order to counteract the reappearance of a foreign antigen.

The method is reliable.

Blood for ELISA is taken from a vein, which is a significant disadvantage in cases with young children.

Western blotting

It is essentially similar to ELISA, but is considered more accurate, especially in the diagnosis of borreliosis. If enzyme immunoassay determines the total amount of immunoglobulins (specific and nonspecific), then Western blotting - antibodies to specific antigens of the pathogen.

Treatment

1. Treatment of borreliosis in the absence of complications is successfully carried out with antibiotics at home.
2. Viral encephalitis is treated in a hospital. A wide range of antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anticonvulsant drugs is used.

How to protect yourself from a tick bite

Prevention

1. Vaccination is effective against viral encephalitis. There is no vaccine against borreliosis.
2. When hiking in the forest, terrain with tall grass, clothing should cover the body.
3. It is advisable to use protection against ticks. They are applied to the skin and clothing. Repellents scare them away, acaricides kill them. There are also combination drugs.
4. It is necessary during and after a trip to nature to carefully examine the body and clothes for ticks.

Compliance with simple rules will protect yourself and children from infections transmitted through ticks.

Additional information on the topic of the article can be obtained from the video:

More:

What is better and more effective in laboratory diagnostics - PCR or ELISA analysis? What is it and the norms of indicators in the PCR analysis, what diseases does it help to diagnose?

If the tick bite has nevertheless occurred, the initial consultation can always be obtained by calling 03.

To remove the tick, you will most likely be sent to the district SES or the district emergency room.

If you do not have the opportunity to seek help from a medical institution, then the tick will have to be removed on your own.

It is convenient to remove ticks with curved tweezers or a surgical clip, in principle any other tweezers will do. In this case, the tick must be captured as close to the proboscis as possible, then it is carefully pulled up and at the same time rotated around its axis in a convenient direction. Usually, after 1-3 turns, the tick is removed entirely along with the proboscis. If you try to pull out the tick, then the probability of its rupture is high.

There are special tools for removing ticks.

These devices have an advantage over clamps or tweezers, since the body of the tick is not squeezed, extrusion of the contents of the tick into the wound is excluded, this reduces the risk of contracting tick infections.

If you don't have tweezers handy special devices to remove ticks, the tick can be removed with a thread.

A strong thread is tied into a knot, as close as possible to the proboscis of the tick, the tick is removed by pulling it up. Sharp movements are not allowed.

Removal of the tick must be done with caution, without squeezing its body, since this may squeeze out the contents of the tick, along with pathogens, into the wound. It is important not to break the tick when removed - the remaining part in the skin can cause inflammation and suppuration. At the same time, it should be taken into account that when the tick head is torn off, the infection process can continue, since there is a significant concentration of tick-borne encephalitis virus in the salivary glands and ducts.

If, when removing the tick, its head came off, which looks like a black dot, the suction site is wiped with cotton wool or a bandage moistened with alcohol, and then the head is removed with a sterile needle (previously calcined on fire) in the same way as you remove an ordinary splinter.

There are no grounds for some far-fetched advice that, for better removal, it is recommended to apply ointment dressings to the sucking tick or use oil solutions. The oil can clog the tick's breathing holes and the tick will die and remain in the skin. After removing the tick, the skin at the site of its suction is treated with tincture of iodine or alcohol. Bandaging is usually not required.

What threatens a tick bite?

Even if the tick bite was short-lived, the risk of contracting tick-borne infections cannot be ruled out.

A tick can be a source of a fairly large number of diseases, so after removing a tick, save it for testing for tick-borne infections (tick-borne encephalitis, tick-borne borreliosis, if possible, for other infections), this can usually be done in an infectious diseases hospital, on our website for a number of cities have addresses of laboratories.

The tick should be placed in a small glass bottle along with a piece of cotton wool slightly dampened with water. Be sure to close the bottle with a tight lid and store it in the refrigerator. For microscopic diagnosis, the tick must be delivered to the laboratory alive. Even individual fragments of the tick are suitable for PCR diagnostics. However, the latter method does not widespread even in big cities.

However, you need to understand that the presence of an infection in a tick does not mean that a person will get sick. Tick ​​analysis is needed for peace of mind in case of a negative result and vigilance in case of a positive one.

Most the right way to determine the presence of the disease - take a blood test. It is not necessary to donate blood immediately after a tick bite - tests will not show anything. Not earlier than 10 days later, blood can be tested for tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis by PCR. Two weeks after the tick bite for antibodies (IgM) to the tick-borne encephalitis virus. For antibodies (IgM) to Borrelia (tick-borne borreliosis) after three weeks.

Tick-borne encephalitis- the most dangerous of tick-borne infections (consequences - up to death). Emergency prevention of tick-borne encephalitis should be carried out as early as possible, preferably on the first day.

Emergency prevention of tick-borne encephalitis is carried out using antiviral drugs or immunoglobulin.

Antiviral drugs. In the Russian Federation, this is Yodantipirin for adults and children over 14 years of age.

Immunoglobulin - appropriate only during the first three days. Released in European countries. The disadvantages include high cost, frequent allergic reactions.

Two weeks later, you can send a blood test for antibodies to the tick-borne encephalitis virus. If a person is vaccinated against the tick-borne encephalitis virus, no action is needed.

Tick-borne borreliosis- is in second place in terms of danger and the most common disease in the Russian Federation, tick-borne. Emergency prophylaxis of tick-borne borreliosis, as a rule, is not carried out if it is possible to donate blood for antibodies to tick-borne borreliosis (IgM). It is better to take the analysis 3 weeks after the tick bite. If the result is positive, you need to contact an infectious disease specialist.

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever- in the Russian Federation, the disease occurs in the southern regions. For emergency prophylaxis, antiviral drugs (iodantipyrine, etc.) can be used.

Description

Method of determination Immunoassay.

Material under study Serum

Home visit available

Marker of current or former tick-borne encephalitis virus infection.

Tick-borne encephalitis virus is an RNA-containing virus of the Flaviviridae family. It belongs to the group of arboviruses, that is, viruses transmitted by insects. Disease vectors and reservoir of tick-borne encephalitis virus in natural conditions - ixodid ticks. An additional reservoir is birds associated with ticks, rodents, and predators. The main route of human infection is the bite of a tick. It is also possible to transmit the infection through the consumption of raw milk from goats and cows infected with the virus.

The virus is the causative agent of tick-borne encephalitis, an acute disease that affects the central nervous system. The disease occurs in the taiga and forest-steppe areas, characterized by a pronounced spring-summer seasonality. Once in the blood, it is able to penetrate the central nervous system, multiply and damage nerve cells, causing paresis and paralysis.

The incubation period lasts from 8 to 23 days (usually 10 to 12 days). In symptoms, 3 main syndromes are distinguished: general infectious, meningeal and focal lesions. nervous system. The disease begins acutely. Characterized by transient weakness in the limbs, neck muscles, numbness of the skin of the face and neck. There is a general malaise, headache, nausea, fatigue, sleep disturbances. Children may have an epileptic seizure. The temperature quickly (in 1 - 2 days) reaches 39 - 40°C. The fever lasts from 2 to 10 days. The acute period is characterized by hyperemia of the skin of the face, neck and chest, mucous membrane of the oropharynx, injection of the sclera and conjunctiva. Pain all over the body and limbs. Excruciating muscle pain. Disturbances of consciousness are possible (from mild stupor to coma). The most typical are flaccid paralysis and paresis of the cervicobrachial muscles (symptom of "hanging head"), lesions of the cranial nerves and meningeal signs (sharp headache, muscle rigidity).

A special clinical variant is a viral tick-borne encephalitis with a two-wave course, in which 1–2 weeks after the cessation of the first wave of fever, a second wave of the disease follows, which is more severe and lasts longer than the first. The disease can occur only with general toxic manifestations or as meningoencephalitis or with mild general infectious symptoms without significant focal lesions. In severe encephalitic form with focal symptoms of CNS damage, the recovery period is long, up to 2 years. Developed atrophic muscle paralysis is partially restored. Sometimes the disease is chronic.

Viral tick-borne encephalitis often occurs in mild and erased forms with a short febrile period, the absence or almost imperceptible meningeal and focal symptoms. The ratio of non-CNS cases to those with CNS involvement is estimated to be approximately 3:1, although there may be regional differences due to the virulence of different strains of the virus.

Laboratory diagnostics. In the laboratory diagnosis of viral tick-borne encephalitis, serological testing methods are used with the determination of specific IgM and IgG antibodies (in the INVITRO laboratory, tests No. 267,). PCR studies for the diagnosis of this infection are impractical, since in the IgM-positive phase of the disease in most cases it gives a negative result. Serological data are evaluated in conjunction with clinical and epidemiological criteria specific to this disease.

Specific antibodies of the IgG class to the tick-borne encephalitis virus are detected on the 10th - 14th day and even earlier. High level they reach by the end of the month and remain at this level for 2 to 6 months after infection. After 2-3 years, even in people who have had an acute form of the disease, antibodies are rarely detected. Specific IgG antibodies are also detected after vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis. A certain percentage of the general population of healthy people may have circulating IgG antibodies to tick-borne encephalitis virus due to no significant clinical manifestations of exposure to the virus in the past. The number of such individuals is greater in endemic areas. In combination with the detection of IgM antibodies, the detection of the fact of IgG seroconversion (the appearance of specific antibodies in the course of the disease in their initial absence) speaks in favor of confirming the clinical diagnosis of viral tick-borne encephalitis.

Man is the king of nature, but in fact, our relations with flora and fauna are not going well: the “royal person” causes irreparable harm environment, but nature does not remain in debt, sending, for example, "hunting" arthropods arachnids, that is, ticks. The bites of these pests can be very dangerous to health, and it is almost impossible to protect yourself and loved ones from a possible threat, especially in summer, so it remains to arm yourself with an algorithm of actions if the tick is still bitten.

What are the dangers of a tick bite?

Video: what you need to know about the consequences of a tick bite - Dr. Komarovsky's recommendations

What does a tick bite look like

A tick bite looks like a dotted spot with redness around, which occurs as a result of an allergic reaction to the saliva of the tick, which is secreted by it for anesthesia and to prevent blood clotting.
The red spot around the puncture site is the result of an allergic reaction to the saliva of the tick.

Sometimes at the site of the bite you can observe a small black dot. This suggests that as a result of some unsuccessful manipulations, the head of the tick fell off and remained on the skin. In this case, first of all, it is necessary to remove the foreign body. After the affected area of ​​the skin is treated with alcohol, the wound is cleaned with a disinfected needle and lubricated with iodine or alcohol.

Two options for the consequences of contact with a bloodsucker

Tick ​​bite symptoms

• temperature;
• chills;
• muscle pain;
• aches (which, by the way, is perceived by many as a sign of a cold after a vacation spent in nature);
• increased drowsiness;
• discomfort when exposed to light.

These symptoms may appear as early as 2-4 hours after the bite. On average, they appear 1-3 weeks after infection.
Symptoms may appear several days after the bite.

Symptoms in sensitive people

• severe migraine;
• unhealthy blush;
• nausea, diarrhea;
• temperature rise to 39 degrees;
• eye redness;
• hoarse breathing;
• hallucinations.

Is it possible to identify a sterile or encephalitic tick by appearance

What to do after finding a bite

How to find a laboratory

The analysis procedure is carried out in:

• polyclinic or hospital with the necessary equipment;
• private laboratories researching viruses;
• Rospotrebnadzor Center.

You can find out the address of a specific organization that accepts ticks for research at the registry of the local clinic.

To find out the address of the nearest laboratory that examines ticks for carrying infections, you need to contact the nearest clinic

How to save material for analysis

Instruction:

1. Wet the cotton pad with water.
2. We put it on the bottom of the container with a tight-fitting lid.
3. We place a tick in a vessel.
4. We store in the refrigerator at a temperature of up to +5 degrees for no more than one and a half days.

For PCR research, it is possible to use parts of a tick. But this version of the analysis is rarely used.

What tests should a person take

If the tests of the tick showed a positive result, or if the bitten tick could not be saved, the victim should visit an infectious disease specialist who, after examining the bite site, will prescribe tests. The material for the study is the patient's blood serum.
For analysis, the blood of the victim of a tick bite is examined.

Table: types of tests that are prescribed for a tick bite

Study	Peculiarities
Immunofluorescence (MFA)	It is done everywhere, the simplest and cheap way analysis. Infectious agents in a fluorescent microscope will glow like fireflies.
ELISA diagnostics (ELISA)	Gives the most accurate result, detects infection at an early stage.
Western blot	Reliably shows infection with borreliosis and encephalitis. Appointed to confirm the results of other studies.
PCR (polymerase chain reaction method)	Often shows a false result for infection with encephalitis. For reliable diagnosis, several PCR systems should be used (examination of blood, skin cells, urine, cerebrospinal and joint fluid).

If the first cycle of tests gave negative results, but for their final confirmation, you can repeat the diagnostic procedures in a month.

If the tick did not have time to bite, it is not necessary to take tests.
The most reliable result can be obtained by passing several tests at once.

First aid for a tick bite

Video: how to remove a tick in the field

The nuances of emergency preventive vaccination

Video: why ticks are dangerous and whether the vaccine saves from tick-borne encephalitis - expert opinions

Conditions for emergency vaccination

Immunoglobulin injections after a tick bite are given if:

It is interesting. If the victim was vaccinated for prophylactic purposes, then this should be told to the doctor so that he can correctly calculate the dose of immunoglobulin.

Emergency vaccination is done as prescribed by a doctor or at the initiative of the patient, if there are no contraindications to this

Contraindications

There are a number of cases when immunoglobulin is not given until the results of the tick test are obtained. It belongs to these.