How does a person feel after a tick bite. The first signs and symptoms of a tick bite

The bite of an infected tick can change a person’s life - to deprive of health, to confine to a wheelchair. How to protect yourself and what should be your actions if the tick still bites? Read more about this in the article below.

With the onset of spring and until July, meeting with ticks becomes an undesirable event for us, causing not only an abominable feeling of fear of a bite, but also the possibility of contracting a serious disease.

Already no one is surprised at finding a tick on clothes or body after a walk in a park or green zone of a metropolis. These small creatures from the class of arachnids can end up in our apartments, accidentally carried on clothing or pet hair.

From the names it is clear where the ixodids prefer to live, although their distribution range is so large that individual individuals can be found on animals in the Arctic and Antarctic.

Ticks themselves are not hosts of viruses and bacteria, but rather reservoirs and carriers of diseases from wild animals to humans.

  Tick \u200b\u200bbite: symptoms

Every year, a thousand tick bites in humans account for several cases of infection with dangerous diseases. Diseases transmitted by ticks are very serious - they affect the central nervous system, bone tissue, blood and blood vessels, with sad consequences for health and possible disability.

A dangerous virus or bacterium is transmitted from a tick after it is saturated and burps excess blood along with saliva, infecting a person. The sooner we remove the tick from the body, the less likely it is to get sick.

The tick selects warm, soft and open areas of the skin before proceeding to the “meal”:

• armpits
• groin area
• head, eyebrows, beard, mustache
• neck under the hair
• popliteal cavity
• elbow fold

Tick \u200b\u200bbite: when do symptoms appear?

The most unpleasant thing is that the initial signs of a tick bite do not have distinctive features. Symptoms of encephalitis infection, at best, appear the next day or every other day.

Tick-borne encephalitis

Encephalitis is a terrible disease that requires serum immunoglobulin within three days after a tick bite. Otherwise, the consequences for humans will be very serious.

Signs of an encephalitis tick bite appear in the first couple of days:

• heat
• strong headache
• fever
• aches in bones and muscles
• lack of appetite, food rejection, vomiting
• sleep disturbance
• photophobia

The second stage is a remission lasting a week, followed by an exacerbation phase and secondary signs of an encephalitis tick bite.

Meningitis:

• temperature
• brain inflammation
• strong headache
• increased neck muscle tone

Encephalitis:

• blurred consciousness
• spinal cord inflammation
• motor movement impaired
• partial flaccid paralysis, more often than upper limbs

Complex treatment often results in disability, and in some cases death.

In 20% of cases, a small hit of the virus in the blood, after a slight malaise, becomes a vaccine for life from encephalitis.

Lyme Disease (borreliosis)

After a tick bite is infected with borreliosis, the symptoms do not appear immediately, in contrast to the worsening condition of people infected with encephalitis, immediately in the first days:

• the beginning of the active phase with a delay of 10-30 days, up to several months
• erythema is formed at the site of the bite - a specific reaction on the skin in the form of pink rings in different parts of the body

In the active phase, the symptoms of borreliosis resemble a cold, if you do not take measures in time, the spirochete bacterium infects the body and the person remains disabled for life.

When visiting foreign countries on tourist trips, take an interest in epidemiology; there are places where almost all ixodid ticks (70-90%) are infected with borreliosis. In Russia, there have also been cases of transmission of bacteria to humans through a bite.

Hemorrhagic (Crimean) fever

The hemorrhagic fever virus is transmitted from small rodents through the blood to ticks and then to humans. There are pronounced hemorrhages in the soft tissues of the parenchyma and mucous membranes.

Signs of a tick bite by hemorrhagic fever

• change in blood composition
• subcutaneous hemorrhage
• blood vessels become thinner
• bleeding of internal organs and nasal
• fever and chills after a tick bite

If you see a doctor on time, the prognosis for improvement and recovery is positive.

How to avoid a tick bite?

In areas with frequent cases human infection with encephalitis  through tick bites, massive vaccination is necessary. Vaccination with a small amount of encephalitis virus causes our body to produce antibodies, protecting against infection by bite. Only 3% of people do not respond to the vaccine.

For borreliosis there are no funds against bacteria, it is necessary to observe safety measures and proper behavior in the forest and during outdoor recreation.

First aid for tick bites

If you or your loved ones are bitten by a tick, you must carefully remove it to minimize infection with viral and bacterial infections.

Consider how to get rid of ticks by methods that are not in doubt among specialists:

• If there is nothing at hand, except for a handkerchief, wrap it with fingers and grabbing the tick by the body, begin to gently pull it out, turning it counterclockwise
• Tweezers  or special device - "Lasso pen"

• Klinker  - looks like a nail clipper or a spoon cut in the middle, just pry and pull out the tick

• Plain thread  - we make a “dead loop”, leading the thread tightly over the skin, near the oral apparatus we are knotted.

A trace from a tick bite on a person’s skin remains for a long time only if:

• Lyme Disease (Borreliosis), a specific erythema with pink circles and a lighter central part, occurs in different places on the human body
• Allergic reaction  tick bite
• Incorrect extraction of a tick from a wound with infection

Video: Tick bite - what to do and how to prevent?

The middle of spring is the beginning of the peak season of tick activation, which no one is safe from attacking, so it is important to know the signs of a tick bite in a person in order to conduct emergency prevention or preventive treatment. All you need to know about the signs of a bite, the consequences, methods of treatment and prevention - in our article.

• taiga Ixodes Persulcatus;
• european Forest Ixodes Ricinus.

The lack of eyes is compensated by a highly developed sense of smell and touch, the increased sensitivity of these organs makes it possible for the animal to react with lightning speed to the proximity of the victim. During feeding, the back of the body of the females is stretched, allowing them to absorb a volume of blood many times greater than the body weight of a hungry individual. Males are less bloodthirsty: males suck for a short time, filling up the deficiency of nutrients.

VIDEO: How the ixodic representatives of the fauna attack

  Tick \u200b\u200bAttacks: Features

If a tick is bitten, the characteristic symptoms in a person appear only after a certain time. How serious the consequences of an attack by a blood-sucking relative of insects can be, determines a number of key points:

The reaction to a tick bite depends on the totality of the above conditions. The consequences of an attack of arthropods become diseases of the natural foci, including infection:

• encephalitis;
• borreliosis - a neurological syndrome of Lyme disease;
• typhus, relapsing fever;
• hemorrhagic fever;
• Q fever
• tularemia;
• monocytic erhiliosis.

The attack of a female and a male is equally dangerous. The attack of a male is a short-term plus painless, so the wound is difficult to notice immediately. Cases of infection with encephalitis, when the victims deny the possibility of contact - a good example of a male attack.

Ticks in humans suck blood by immersing the head in the skin, previously cutting the dermis, simultaneously injecting an anesthetic, fixing itself inside with a hypostome - a special outgrowth that resembles an anchor.

• the abdomen;
• neck / nape / ears;
• lower back / back;
• chest
• axillary hollows;
• groin.

The result of a tick attack is a microtrauma of the skin. Tick \u200b\u200bbite, symptoms are manifested by the development of the inflammatory process, due to the action of the components of the saliva of the animal. The most “harmless” consequences are local allergic reactions, accompanied by redness of the suction area. When the effect of the anesthetic ends, the skin begins to itch.

After the attack of the carrier of borreliosis, the bite site acquires a pronounced reddish tint, caused by the intensive expansion of the capillaries. After a while, an additional bright red border appears around a round or oval spot, the area inside turns blue or white.

A tumor after a tick bite or the formation of a cone-shaped compaction is due to two reasons:

• allergic to the composition secreted by the salivary glands. Signs of a tick bite in an allergic person are determined by the degree of aggressiveness of the allergens secreted by the animal’s saliva plus an individual immune response;
• improper removal of the arthropod - part of the proboscis remains inside. The immune system recognizes a foreign protein compound, including a defense mechanism, the body reacts with swelling of the affected area, an abscess may occur.

Even when you are sure that the attacked tick is 100% a carrier of pathogens, the first signs appear only after a certain period of time.

  Symptoms of arthropod lesions

Externally, the first signs of a tick bite are manifested:

• headache;
• chills, fever;
• the development of tachycardia, lowering blood pressure;
• gagging;
• deterioration of general health, apathy;
• swelling of the affected area;
• muscle weakness, numbness of the limbs;
• difficulty breathing;
• decreased / loss of appetite;
• photophobia - painful perception by the eyes of bright light.

Rare cases of the development of allergic reactions are accompanied by Quincke's edema, temporary paralysis.

The latent period of borreliosis, ehrlichiosis, encephalitis, anaplasmosis is a month. A tumor after a tick bite can last a long time. Lack of temperature is a favorable sign. The onset of the inflammatory process and the formation of an abscess becomes an occasion to appear to the doctor. Independent manipulations - cauterization, warming up, the use of ointments, are fraught with complications, specialist consultation is necessary.

VIDEO: Tick bite, what to do and how to prevent

  Encephalitis: Anxiety Symptoms

The characteristic signs of a tick bite in humans, confirming one hundred percent infection with the disease, are absent. Only laboratory staff will be able to confirm or deny the fact of bloodsucker infection. An attack with an infected arthropod involves the gradual multiplication of pathogens, given the absence of pronounced manifestations of the disease. The primary signs of an encephalitis tick bite in a person will appear after 8-10 days. The presence of immunodeficiencies, chronic diseases can accelerate the development of symptoms of the disease, so health is worsening after 3-4 days.

The beginning of any form of pathology manifests itself similarly to the flu:

• fever accompanied by high temperature up to 39.9 °;
• body aches - muscle / joint pain;
• decreased body vitality;
• headache.

Active reproduction of pathogenic bacteria provokes fever, the duration of the period is 6-10 days. Various scenarios are possible. A mild course of the disease involves recovery, rapid recovery of the body, and the development of antibodies that prevent re-infection. A rare occurrence is a change in the febrile form to the chronic course of the disease.

After the fever stage, a short remission may also occur, then the viral attack resumes, accompanied by similar symptoms of fever. Overcoming the blood-brain barrier by the virus causes damage to the cells of the nervous system. A similar stage of encephalitis is characterized by the appearance of symptoms of meningitis. Viral attacks in turn disrupt the work of internal organs.

For different foci of destruction, certain signs are characteristic:

1. The meningoencephalitic form is characterized by the appearance of hallucinations, pronounced changes in the psyche, paralysis, paresis, epileptic seizures.
2. The poliomyelitis form is distinguished by a number of signs characteristic of poliomyelitis, which causes a loss of the ability of the muscles of the neck and arms to move (paralysis).
3. The polyradiculoneurotic form is accompanied by damage to the peripheral nerves, loss of sensation in the muscles of the legs, and the development of a strong pain syndrome affecting the inguinal region.

An adverse outcome implies a significant decrease in the patient's quality of life. The result may be a violation of the functions of the musculoskeletal system. Progressive symptoms cause epilepsy of varying severity, hyperkinesis, severe mental disorders, severe asthenia - a person becomes disabled.

  First aid

It is forbidden to pull bloodsucker, use gasoline, kerosene, oil, vinegar, pouring chemicals into the affected area. Such manipulations are fraught with the death of the animal, relaxation of the oral apparatus, getting the full amount of dangerous microbes into the blood, increasing the risk of developing diseases.

The wound will need to be treated with an antiseptic composition, minimizing the intensity of the manifestation of characteristic signs of damage. Swelling appeared, difficulty breathing - it is advisable to do an intramuscular injection of prednisolone.

The ideal option is to examine a living individual through microscopy, finding out that the victim was attacked by a sterile or infected individual. The damaged body is also covered with ice, delivering to laboratory specialists. The research is carried out by employees of the Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare; the address lists contain the corresponding sites.

Prevention and treatment of infections caused by blood-sucking arachnids

Symptoms and treatment of encephalitis preclude antibiotic therapy, meaning:

• compulsory hospitalization in a hospital;
• compliance with bed rest, including the period of a febrile state, plus the entire subsequent week, after the disappearance of acute flu-like symptoms;
• the appointment of prednisone, ribonuclease, reopoliglyukin, polyglucin, hemodesis;
• the manifestation of signs of meningitis is eliminated by increased dosages of preparations containing vitamin B, ascorbic acid;
• breathing difficulties are facilitated by the use of ventilation methods - intensive ventilation of the lungs;
• restorative treatment measures include courses of anabolic steroids, nootropic drugs, tranquilizers.

The treatment of Lyme borreliosis requires the mandatory use of antibiotics to help stop the negative effects of infection, quickly reducing the activity of spirochetes, the main causative agents of the disease. When the infection provoked a violation of the functions of the nervous system, the patient requires mandatory hospitalization.

VIDEO: How to properly remove a tick in humans

  The basic principles of drug therapy

1. To prevent the initial signs - the formation of a characteristic reddish spot, tetracycline drugs are called in - antimicrobial agents that can effectively treat infections of various origins. The use of bacteriostatic agents helps minimize late stage complications.
2. The development of the neurological syndrome of tick-borne borreliosis is stopped by intravenous injection of antibiotics of the penicillin group, cephalosporins.
3. The disturbed water balance is restored by the use of saline solutions, vitamins, prednisone, drugs that stabilize the blood circulation of the brain, and the use of anabolics.

You need to know the following facts:

• Vaccination against encephalitis, guaranteed to protect against disease.
• After 10 days, a blood test is done by PCR. Polymerase chain reaction reveals microorganisms that provoke the development of encephalitis, Lyme borreliosis.
• Two weeks later, a study is performed to determine the presence of antibodies that prevent encephalitis infection.
• A month later, the presence of Lyme borreliosis antibodies can be detected.

The choice of antigenic material for vaccination, shown to any person who is a resident of a disadvantaged region, having a profession that requires frequent stay in a forest area, includes several types of vaccines produced by Russia, Switzerland, Germany.

Vaccination with human immunoglobulin is a paid service. Free gamma globulin is indicated for individuals according to the terms of the encephalitis treatment program of the voluntary health insurance policy.

  Russian vaccines

1. The use of concentrated, culture-based, purified, inactivated dry vaccine is indicated for children over the age of four. The developer is the Institute of M.P. Chumakov.
2. The introduction of the drug Encevir produced by the scientific and production association Microgen is allowed from the age of 18 years.

  Vaccines of the Austrian producer BaxterVaccine AG

• use of FSME-IMMUN Injection is shown in the age category 1-16 years;
• the drug FSME-IMMUN Junior is used similarly.

  German preparations

• encepur vaccine for children, allowed from the first years of life;
• use of encepur adult, shown starting at 12 years of age

Vaccinations are made to all concerned, given the absence of contraindications. The primary vaccination can be given to children during the first year of life, preferably using imported drugs. A timely vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis is an effective preventive measure to minimize the symptoms and consequences of tick-borne attack.

VIDEO: What to do if a tick bit

With the onset of heat, many people rush to picnics in the forest, counting on a pleasant pastime. But it is in the spring and summer that the danger of getting a tick bite is aggravated, which can entail very serious consequences.

The danger persists throughout the period, from early spring, at a soil surface temperature close to 0.30 ° C, until late autumn.

Ticks appear with the first spring rays. The peak of activity falls on the warmest spring month and summer. The maximum number of visits to medical institutions falls during the period from the second half of April to July.

Based on the number of applications, the Siberian and Ural Federal Districts are considered the most dangerous, while the more favorable are the Southern and North Caucasian regions.

What are dangerous tick bites?

A tick bite is the process of attaching an arthropod insect to human skin. Suction is carried out using a hypostome - a separate outgrowth of a tick that performs the functions of the sensory organs, retention and absorption. Most often, the tick selects for the bite the areas with the thinnest (delicate) skin - armpits, groin, chest and neck, behind the ears, stomach.

Danger is characterized by the likelihood of a person getting a bite into the blood of a person, bacteria, infection or harmful microorganisms.

The most dangerous and common tick-borne infection is "". They also represent a lesser, but still dangerous:

• ehrlichiosis;
• anaplasmosis and other infections.

Although carriers of serious diseases are only about 20% of the tick population, the bites of sterile arthropods (non-tick-carrying ticks, depending on the region of Russia, about 80-90%) are also dangerous for people! Multiple bites cause allergic reactions in the body.

A tick is an arthropod animal from the arachnid order. They are carriers of infections, such as:

• tick-borne meningoencephalitis;
• tick-borne relapsing fever;
•   (Lyme disease);
• hemorrhagic fever.

What happens during a tick bite

tick-borne borreliosis

The mite stings into the human body; after the sting, the mite’s head also goes under the skin, it sucks blood and at the same time increases in size. That is why the tick is difficult to remove, there is a chance of rupture and part of the body of the tick will remain under the skin.

Where to go?  If possible, it is better to contact a specialized institution, SES or trauma unit.

The main symptoms of a tick bite

After the bite, oval redness remains, itching appears. If you did not find a tick bite mark and did not feel anything, then after a while the first signs of a bite will appear: such as

• high body temperature (39+ degrees);
• fever;
• chills;
• weakness;
• apathy;
• fear of light;
• drowsiness.

By the type of bite, you can also diagnose the disease. For example, when the bite is placed, it can change size, from 10-20 centimeters and reach 60 centimeters (see photo above). Also, temperature, or rather its fluctuations, will help to diagnose the disease.

With tick-borne encephalitis, the temperature rises 2-4 days after a tick bite, then returns to normal and a further increase occurs on the 10th day. With borreliosis, the human body temperature is more stable and does not change with such a frequency. There is another disease that can be infected with a tick bite, this is ehrlichiosis. In this case, temperature fever appears on the 14th day and can last up to 20 days.

What to do if the tick still sucks?  Do not wait for the manifestation of infection. As was said earlier, first aid consists of contacting specialists to remove the tick and submit it for examination. Examination is carried out on living individuals. But if a gap occurred during the removal of the arthropod, then the body is placed in ice and is also given for examination.

Incubation period

To check for a disease, a blood test must be done, but not earlier than 7 days after the bite. Immediately after there is no point, there is still an incubation period, it lasts differently for different diseases.

For example, in tick-borne encephalitis, the incubation period lasts up to two weeks, in tick-borne borreliosis for up to a month.

First aid for a tick bite

What to do at home, with a tick bite? When there is no way to get to the hospital, the tick can be removed at home. There are several ways:

• With a thread.  A loop is thrown onto the base of the body of the tick and gently pulled out, loosening from side to side.
• The second way is tweezers. It is important to ensure that there is no rupture of the calf. There are special devices for removing ticks, they are a special clamp, you can purchase at any pharmacy. Grease the bite site with an antiseptic, anyone.

Attention!  Do not cover the insect with various irritants, such as nail polish, oil, gasoline. There will be no effect, ticks are not susceptible to liquid and, moreover, they can inject their own liquid and infect a person.

Essential drugs for tick bites

From the first day of a tick bite, it is necessary to conduct treatment with drugs.

So which pills should you drink?

With signs (when the affected area is visible) of tick-borne borreliosis, one tablet should be taken Doxycycline  (200 mg), in the first 72 hours after a bite.

Symptoms and treatment of diseases caused by tick mowing

So, consider the symptoms and treatment of various diseases.

Tick-borne encephalitis

• weakness in the limbs;
• increase in body temperature;
• fever (temperature fluctuation);
• nausea;
• numbness of the face and neck;
• sleep disappears (insomnia);
• severe headaches;
• inflammation of the mucous membranes (conjunctivitis).

Tick-borne is easy to confuse with, which is why it is dangerous. Symptoms are very similar. The person himself may not correctly diagnose the disease and do not go to the doctor during the time, time will be lost.

It is important to start treatment in the first hours after a bite.

On the 12-14th day, weakness and chills appear, the infection has already infected the lymph.

The next step: exposure to the nervous system. Treatment of tick-borne encephalitis consists in observing a pastel regime. In the first two days, be sure to take the drug “ Human immunoglobulin“.

The following drugs are also prescribed to the victim:

• Ribonuclease;
• Prednisone;
• blood substitutes that increase the main reserve of blood and eliminate acidosis ( Hemodez, Polyglukin and Reopoliglukin)
• ascorbic acid

There is a danger of development. The most favorable outcome for encephalitis infection will be chronic malaise. The victim’s body can recover after 2 months.

If the infection managed to infect the cells of the nervous system, then paralysis of the legs and arms occurs. Deafness or blindness, inflammation of the brain, and death in severe cases are possible.

Tick-borne borreliosis

The first signs:

• headache;
• joint pain, muscle pain;
• chills;
• increase in body temperature;
• vomiting
• soreness, itching and redness at the site of the bite.

The danger is manifested in the fact that signs of infection can appear only a few months after the bite. During this time, irreversible processes will occur in the body.

The disease proceeds in several stages:

1. 1st stage.The main indicator is the place of the bite, it swells and becomes dense (papule). It expands in a few days and becomes like a ring - in the center the skin is lighter than at the edges (see photo above). Moreover, the rim of the ring becomes swollen and, as it were, rises.
2. 2 stage  occurs if treatment is not followed. The nervous system, the joints of the victim and the heart suffer. Any organ may be affected, as it spreads throughout the body.
3. 3 stage  can last for months or even years. The main diseases in the third stage:
   1. Skin lesion (atrophic acrodermatitis);
   2. Damage to the nervous system (encephalopathy, encephalomyelitis, polyneuropathy);
   3. Juvenile.

The treatment of borrioliosis is to hospitalize the victim. At the first stage, they prescribe:

• Tetracycline (an antibiotic from the tetracycline group);
• biostatics (chloramphenicol or lincomycin);
• Polyglucin;
• Reopoliglyukinom.

If a neurological syndrome occurs, it is stopped Piperacillin or Azlocillin.

If treatment procedures are not started on time, death is not ruled out.

In some cases, prescribe Benzylpenicillinthat is administered intravenously or intramuscularly.

Sometimes during treatment and the use of many varieties of drugs, some of them may not be suitable for the human body, and allergic reactions will follow. When allergies occur, they are additionally prescribed:

• Chloramphenicol;
• Clarithromycin;
• Erythromycin;
• Sumamed.

Ehrlichiosis

Symptoms are as follows:

• fever;
• chills;
• muscle pain
• joint pain;
• nausea;
• headache;
• fatigue.

After a tick bite, ehrlichiosis diseases appear only after 8-15 days.

Chills and fever occur. Just like in the case of encephalitis, a bite victim confuses the infection with the flu and the precious time for effective treatment passes.

The treatment is quite simple. The most effective remedy is antibiotics:

• Doxycycline;
• or tetracycline.

Tick-borne typhus

It appears as follows:

• chills;
• headache;
• weakness;
• temperature for 4-5 days;
• seals in the form of a rash with a diameter of up to 1 centimeter at the site of the bite.

Perhaps conditions. Prescribe an antibiotic Tetracyclinedosage according to the instructions. Treatment is carried out 4-5 days.

With proper and timely treatment, the prognosis is favorable.

Acrodermatitis enteropathic

With acrodermatitis, an enteropathic patient experiences:

• severe itching;
• minor hemorrhages;
• inflammation.

Acrodermatitis is an allergic reaction. The treatment is quite simple, you need to take a course of antihistamines. For instance:

• Suprastin
• or tavegil.

A simple bite can result in various consequences, from a simple allergic reaction, to paralysis of the limbs and sometimes death.

It is important to understand that after a bite, you can get sick only if the tick itself has been infected. Most often, bites are safe, but caution and prevention will not be superfluous.

Preventive measures for tick bites

For prevention, especially in an area favorable for encephalitis, borrioliosis, ehrlichiosis or tick-borne typhus, vaccination is the most effective.

There are two vaccination regimens; standard and accelerated:

• Standard circuit  as follows: the first dose of the vaccine is put on the appointed day, and the second dose after 5-7 months. There are vaccines with a shorter period, up to three months. In order to be ready for tick-borne peak, the first dose is set in the fall.
• Accelerated circuit  differs from the standard timing between doses. The time between injections is reduced from two months to 14 days. Repeat the vaccine after a year, then the period between revaccinations increases to 3 years.

The following safety measures will be clothing, walking time and insect repellents:

• Clothing, as mentioned earlier, should be as closed and light as possible in order to immediately pay attention to the presence of a tick.
• Ticks do not like the sun and heat, so they are activated mainly in the morning and evening.
• When planning a walk in the forest, it is better not to forget about such methods of protection against insects as the use of aerosols, for example breeze anti-mite (aerosol), Medellis comfort (spray for children), gardex-extrime (aerosol).
• If you plan to go to the forest, you need to take care of your safety and the safety of your family and friends. The head must be covered with a scarf or hat, the jacket / jacket should be with a blank collar and preferably with a hood, trousers are long. These safety measures will significantly reduce the possibility of tick bites.
• After completing the walk, you need to examine things and your head for lack of ticks.

Particular attention should be paid to children, to the purity of their skin, as well as to closed areas of the body.

If there is the slightest suspicion or coincidence of signs of a bite, you should immediately contact a medical institution.

Only the comprehensive implementation of all requirements and safety measures will help to avoid the negative consequences of tick bites, including very serious ones.

Forecast

The likelihood of a favorable outcome increases sharply, provided that the person has discovered the tick in time and taken appropriate measures.

Even if the insect is not sterile, the patient will undergo a highly effective treatment, which is likely to prevent the negative consequences of a bite.

Related videos

Interesting

One of the main tasks of a person after a tick bite is to carefully monitor his own condition in order to be able to detect the symptoms of the disease, the infection of which could occur with a bite. Ticks can transmit many infections (not only pathogens of tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis), and the diseases caused by such pathogens can lead to irreversible disability and even death of a bitten person.

What infections can you get with a tick bite?

But to distinguish a tick bite from a bite of any other blood-sucking or stinging arthropod is very simple. The tick never bites quickly and never tries to hide immediately after a skin puncture. Its task is to be saturated with blood, and nutrition itself usually lasts several days, but not less than 10-15 hours. Therefore, almost always at the site of the bite, a sucking tick itself is found. If it is not there, then someone else has bitten it.

The photograph below shows a typical ixodid tick bite mark:

On a note

According to ICD-10, a tick bite is assigned the code W57 - “Bite or sting by poisonous insects or other non-toxic arthropods”.

On a note

Directly under the skin or in various cavities of the body - deep in the nose, in the ears - mites do not climb. Accordingly, they do not live here and do not cause corresponding pathologies.

The first symptoms of tick-borne encephalitis

The earliest symptoms of tick-borne encephalitis are nonspecific and do not allow a person to confidently distinguish him from many other infectious diseases.

So, at the end of the incubation period, the following appear:

• Typical febrile syndrome with fever, malaise, pain in the muscles and in the head;
• Sleep disturbances;
• Loss of appetite.

With European subtype encephalitis, such a fever can last 2-3 days, and then passes, and the person believes that these were some kind of mild ARVI. However, after a week of remission, the second, meningeal or encephalitis phase begins with damage to the membranes of the brain and spinal cord and the development of neurological symptoms, which include:

• Inability to turn the neck;
• Severe throbbing headaches;
• Loss of consciousness;
• Cramps
• Paralysis;
• Sensitivity disorders of the skin.

These symptoms are accompanied by a fever, usually more severe than in the first phase. Over time, they intensify and, if untreated, often lead to the death of the patient.

Encephalitis of the Far Eastern subtype proceeds without remissions and division into phases. At the end of the incubation period, a fever develops, often with a sharp jump in temperature to 38-39 ° C. On the third or fourth day, symptoms of damage to the nervous tissue appear, they quickly increase, and on day 4-5, if untreated, death occurs.

Encephalitis of the Siberian subtype is clinically similar to the Far East, but can develop somewhat more slowly. With it, recovery often occurs even in the absence of treatment (sometimes with residual health problems).

Symptoms of Lyme Borreliosis

Symptoms of Lyme borreliosis in most cases are also non-specific: the disease begins with fever, malaise and muscle pain, which can be mistaken for acute respiratory viral infections or signs of food poisoning. Sometimes, even at an early stage, this set is supplemented by the stiffness of the neck muscles - a person has to turn the entire upper body to look sideways.

Perhaps the most definite sign of Lyme disease is a circular migratory erythema - a clearly visible red ring on the skin around the site of the bite. It develops in 65-80% of patients and sometimes appears earlier than a fever. Its development is very characteristic: redness at the site of the bite gradually expands to adjacent tissues, a large spot forms until a ring of normal skin color suddenly appears around the bump itself. The photo shows how it looks:

This ring can increase to 20-25 cm in diameter, the skin at the site of redness can itch, peel off, sometimes even die.

In some people, the same erythema appears in other parts of the body where there are no bites - they are associated with an allergic reaction of the body to the pathogen and its antigens.

Ring erythema lasts on the skin for several weeks, sometimes until the disease is completed. Sometimes it may not be possible to see it, if it is, for example, on the back, and therefore another person should check the place of the bite.

A few days after the onset of the first symptoms of borreliosis, other specific signs may appear:

1. Conjunctivitis;
2. Photophobia;
3. Hepatitis;
4. Hives.

After about a month, these symptoms are joined by manifestations of meningitis and damage to internal organs: paresis of the muscles of the face, memory lapses, joint pain, chorea. Even later, if treatment has not been started, arthritis, bursitis, atrophic acrodermatitis and other syndromes develop.

Moreover, in some cases, the first phases of the disease are asymptomatic, and severe lesions develop unexpectedly. As a result, a person with borreliosis does not see the connection between these symptoms and a tick bite, does not inform the doctor about this, and he cannot make a correct diagnosis.

The first actions when signs of the disease appear

If borreliosis and tick-borne encephalitis are likely to develop, it is unacceptable to rely on self-diagnosis, and even more so on treatment at home. For any malaise after a tick bite (as well as the appearance of migratory erythema), you should consult a doctor as soon as possible. Initial consultation can be obtained from the therapist, and he will already refer the patient to an infectious disease specialist.

When the first symptoms of the disease appear, all tests that are performed in such cases will be indicative. If you suspect encephalitis, the patient can be sent for immunological analysis and a general blood test. So, already on the 3-4th day of the disease, acute phase immunoglobulins of class M (IgM) are detected in the blood, confirming the development of CE.

A complete blood count indicates the development of tick-borne encephalitis in the detection of leukopenia and thrombocytopenia, and the number of liver enzymes also increases.

To diagnose borreliosis, the following tests can be performed:

• Immunoassay for blood levels of immunoglobulins of classes M and G;
• Immunoblot - with it, species-specific proteins for borrelia are detected in the blood. In itself, this analysis is not representative, but when carried out in parallel with an immunological study confirms its result;
• Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a complement to the previous two analyzes. In this case, the cerebrospinal or articular fluid is examined for the presence of bacteria. The procedure for selecting material consists in a puncture (puncture) of the cartilage of the spine and fluid intake. The procedure is very painful.

The results of immunoassay, as the most informative study, are deciphered as follows:

• Less than 10 U / L IgG and less than 18 U / L IgM - the result is negative. There is either no infection, or the analysis was submitted too early (even before the start of the immune response);
• 10-15 U / L IgG and 18–22 U / L IgM - a dubious result, but infection may develop;
• Over 15 Units / L IgG and over 22 Units / L IgM - the result is positive. Either the disease develops, or these are preserved antibodies after another disease - syphilis, mononucleosis and some others.

The results of the tests should be decrypted only by the doctor. He will decide on the start of treatment. If encephalitis is detected, the patient is prescribed treatment in a hospital (sometimes resuscitation is required), with borreliosis, depending on the stage and condition of the patient, therapy is carried out both at home and in the hospital.

Methods for early diagnosis of tick-borne infections

Given the danger of tick-borne infections, their severe consequences and the complexity of tick-borne encephalitis therapy, in some cases it is advisable not to wait for the symptoms of the disease, but to take preventive measures immediately after a tick bite. This is relevant provided that the tick bit a person in a region with a high incidence of tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis.

If an unvaccinated person in an encephalitis hazardous region is bitten by an infected tick, there is a chance that the victim will develop this disease.

Donate blood for analysis before the onset of the first symptoms of tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis (or rather, in the first 2 weeks after a bite) does not make sense. The causative agents of diseases, their antigens and specific immunoglobulins will be so few that it will not be possible to reliably interpret the result of such an analysis.

On a note

Specific prophylaxis today is developed only for tick-borne encephalitis. People living in epidemiologically dangerous regions, or traveling here, are done, which with a probability of about 96% will protect against the development of the disease when the pathogen is transmitted from a tick. Today it is the most effective way to prevent TBE.

Emergency prevention of borreliosis is not carried out: in those people who nevertheless become ill, this disease is relatively easy to cure. For this reason, even if a person has a vaccine against tick-borne encephalitis, one should carefully monitor his own condition after a tick bite - the vaccine does not protect against borreliosis, and therefore it is important to recognize it in time for the development of the disease.

The prevention of the bites themselves is also important:

Practice shows that even people who are often in nature, subject to these rules, almost never suffer from tick bites and do not get sick with the corresponding diseases.

What threatens a tick bite: possible consequences and first aid

Emergency care for a tick bite

Typical bite areas are skin patches hidden under clothing:

1. bend of the elbow region;
2. limbs
3. inguinal zone.

The mechanism of spotting on the skin

The suction zone after a bite is manifested by painful discomfort and the formation of redness with a rounded shape and pronounced boundaries of hyperemia. With a normal recovery, these phenomena disappear spontaneously in the interval of several days after a bite. When using antihistamines, redness disappears much faster.

Spot Specific Features

Features of the skin reaction, with the penetration of the causative agent of Lyme pathology, have the following differences:

1. Infection with borreliosis (erythema) is characterized by the formation of a spot after a tick bite, which does not appear immediately, but only a week after the incident;
2. The bite site has characteristic differences, representing the formation of specific erythema in the form of a spot, which gradually grows in size, reaching a circumference of up to 60 cm in diameter.
3. The shape of the spot is round, oval, or it may have irregular and fuzzy borders.
4. After some time, the contours of the spots begin to gradually rise above the surface of the covers, while their shade becomes intensely red.
5. When the spot after a tick bite stops increasing, its central area acquires a bluish tint or gradually turns white.
6. After a day, it becomes in the form of an oval elevation or, and, on its covers, a scar and a cortical layer of tissues form.
7. After two weeks, the bite marks completely disappear.

Characteristic signs and atypical spot outcome

If the stain after a tick bite does not go away on its own, this may indicate an infection in the affected area and the development of local inflammation with a complication in the form of a purulent process. In this case, it is necessary to consult with a specialized specialist to exclude the development of aggravating consequences.

Danger of conditions after infection

In the most deplorable case, when an infected insect bites, a person has a very high risk of developing a serious disease. One of them is the tick-borne form of encephalitis. With a fast-moving process, it leads to damage to the nervous network and the development of an inflammatory process that affects brain tissue. In this case, the consequences may be disability or a complete cessation of human activity.

In the form of a bite complication, Lyme pathologies, ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis are much less common. Borreliosis causes damage to the nervous, cardiac, immune and motor systems of the body, while the pathogen is not always determined by laboratory methods. In the absence of timely therapeutic measures, the lesion process goes into a protracted sluggish form, provoking the development of irreparable consequences for the body.