Disease vectors are most often ticks.

General information about ticks

For ticks, seasonality is characteristic. The first cases of attack are recorded in early spring, when the air temperature rises above 0 0 С, and the last - in the fall. Peak bites are observed from April to July.

Blood suckers do not like bright sun and wind, therefore they watch for their prey in wet, not too shady places, in thick grass and bushes. Most often found in ravines, on the forest edges, along the edges of paths or in parks.

Tick ​​attack and bite

The mite gnaws through the skin with the help of a hypostome (oral apparatus) studded with marginal growths facing the back. This structure of the organ helps the bloodsucker to firmly hold in the tissues of the host.

In borreliosis, the tick bite looks like focal erythema in sizes up to 20–50 cm in diameter. The form of inflammation is most often correct, with an outer border of bright red color. A day later, the center of the erythema pales and acquires a bluish tinge, a crust appears and soon the bite is scarring. After 10-14 days from the defeat does not remain a trace.

Signs of a tick bite

  • weakness, desire to lie down;
  • there is chills and fever, it may increase in temperature;
  • photophobia appears.

Attention. In people of this group, the symptoms can be supplemented by low blood pressure, an increase in heart rate, itching, headache, and an increase in nearby lymph nodes.

In rare cases, there is difficulty in breathing and hallucinations.

Temperature after bite as a symptom of the disease

Each infection caused by the bite of a bloodsucker has its own characteristics:

  1. With tick-borne encephalitis, a return type fever appears. The first temperature rise is recorded 2–3 days after the bite. After two days everything comes back to normal. In some cases, there is a repeated rise in temperature on the 9-10 day.
  2. Borreliosis is characterized by fever in the middle of the disease, which is accompanied by other symptoms of infection.
  3. In monocytic ehrlichiosis, the temperature rises 10-14 days after the tick bite and lasts about 3 weeks.

Almost all diseases transmitted by bloodsuckers are accompanied by fever.

Rules for tick bites

So what to do if bitten by a tick? First of all it is necessary to remove the bloodsucker as soon as possible. This should be done slowly and carefully so as not to damage it and not to provoke infection. At the same time you can not use gasoline, nail polish and other chemicals. It will not help and vegetable oil or fat. It is better to use effective and proven methods.

Tick ​​removal by thread

The method is simple, but requires a lot of skill and patience. It will be useful when extracting large individuals. To make the procedure successful, it is recommended to perform the following actions:

  Tick ​​extraction thread

The remote bloodsucker must be placed in a glass container with a tight lid and delivered to the laboratory for research.

Removing a tick with tweezers

Attention. Tweezers during the removal of the bloodsucker must be kept strictly parallel or perpendicular to the skin.

Tick ​​Twistles

  Tick ​​twistlers are very effective.

Other ways to remove tick

  1. Wrap fingers with a handkerchief or gauze to make it easier to hold the tick.
  2. Grab it near the border with the skin and remove it with smooth twisting movements.
  3. Disinfect the wound or rinse with water.

If for any reason the tick cannot be saved for analysis, it should be destroyed, boiling water or burning it on the fire.

Attention. If it is not possible to remove the bloodsucker on its own, it is necessary to contact the nearest emergency room.

Medical workers will provide first aid for a tick bite: they will professionally extract it and send it for research, they will disinfect the wound and tell you how to proceed. The doctor will inform you on what symptoms should be addressed in the coming month.

What to do after removing the tick?

For people who are predisposed to allergies, a tick bite can cause a strong response from the body. Often, swelling of the face develops, there is difficulty in breathing and muscle pain. In this case it is necessary:

  • give an injured antihistamine: Suprastin, Claritin, Zyrtec;
  • provide access to fresh air, undo clothes;
  • call an ambulance.

All other diagnostic and therapeutic measures are carried out only in a hospital.

  Tick ​​tests for diseases are recommended as soon as possible.

If the tick could not be kept alive, for early diagnosis of the disease it is recommended to donate blood to detect immunoglobulins for infections. The analysis is carried out quickly, the result is usually ready in 5-6 hours. If there was a vaccination, it is necessary to indicate its date when giving blood. The presence of antibody vaccines can be misleading to medical professionals.

Disease caused by tick bite

  Encephalitis and borreliosis - the most common diseases caused by tick bites

For Russia, tick-borne encephalitis, Lyme borreliosis and zoonotic infections are the most significant diseases from a tick bite. Consider them in more detail.

Attention. Infection with the virus occurs through the tick bite. Often, the transmission of the pathogen by the alimentary route is recorded — through infected cow or goat milk, which has not been boiled.

Asymptomatic disease occurs very often and can reach 85–90% in some foci. Prolonged bloodsucking significantly increases the risk of pronounced pathology. The virus tolerates low temperatures well, but rather quickly dies when heated to 80 ° C.

Tick-borne encephalitis infection is seasonal. The first peak of the disease occurs in May-June, the second is recorded in August - early September.

During the bite, the pathogen immediately enters the human blood through the salivary glands of the tick, where it is in the highest concentration. After a few hours, the virus penetrates the victim's central nervous system, and after 2 days it can be detected in the brain tissues. The incubation period for encephalitis with a tick bite is 14-21 days, and for infections through milk it is not more than a week.

Symptoms of tick-borne encephalitis

Asymptomatic form of the infection is registered in the majority of victims, and only in 5% - pronounced. Tick-borne encephalitis most often begins suddenly with the manifestation of the following symptoms:

  • body temperature increased to 39-40 ° C;
  • strong headache;
  • sleep disturbance;
  • nausea, vomiting;
  • diarrhea;
  • redness of the skin of the face and upper body;
  • weakness, decreased performance.

Such symptoms are characteristic of the febrile form of the disease, which disappears after 5 days. The defeat of the central nervous system in this case is missing.

  Symptoms of tick-borne encephalitis - this is how a person falls ill after a tick bite

Meningeal and meningoencephalitic forms of pathology are much more severe. The patient complains of lethargy, apathy and drowsiness. There are hallucinations, delusions, impaired consciousness, convulsions like epileptic seizures. Meningoencephalitic form can be fatal, which is rare in recent years.

Periodic muscle twitching indicates damage to the peripheral nerves. Polyradiculoneuritic form of encephalitis develops, in which the general sensitivity is disturbed. When polyencephalomyelitis form of the disease are observed paresis of the hands and feet.

Lyme Disease (Lyme borreliosis)

Distributed in the northern regions of Russia. The pathogen enters the blood of a person with a bite of ixodic ticks and can persist in the body for years. The first symptoms of the disease include:

  • headaches;
  • temperature increase up to 38-39 ° C;
  • fatigue, weakness and apathy.

1-3 weeks after the tick bite, a seal and an annular erythema appear at the site of suction, which can reach 20–50 cm in diameter.

  Circular erythema - the main symptom of borreliosis

Attention. Despite the fact that a few weeks after the bite, the red spot disappears without a trace, it is necessary to analyze the presence of the causative agent Lyme borreliosis, since the disease has serious complications and can be transmitted from pregnant to baby.

Quite often, the central nervous system, heart, muscles and ligaments, joints and organs of vision are involved in the pathological process. Late diagnosis and late treatment can lead to chronicity of Borreliosis, which often ends in disability.

Ehrlichiosis

The disease is also tolerated by ixodic ticks. The main reservoir of the Erlichia is considered to be reindeer, with dogs and horses intermediate.

Ehrlichiosis can be asymptomatic as well as clinically bright, even fatal. Common signs of illness include:

  • fever;
  • increased sweating;
  • weakness, drowsiness;
  • nausea up to vomiting;
  • rigor.

In the acute phase of ehrlichiosis, anemia and a decrease in the level of platelets and leukocytes in the blood are observed.

Return tick fever

The infection is usually registered in the south of Russia, in Armenia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan. The disease always occurs suddenly and begins with a bubble at the site of the tick bite. Then other symptoms are added to skin manifestations:

  • fever;
  • increased body temperature;
  • aching joints;
  • nausea and vomiting;
  • headache.

Gradually, the vial becomes bright red, a severe rash appears on the patient's body, the liver increases, the skin and the whites of the eyes turn yellow.

  Tick-borne Rash

The disease is wave-like. The acute phase usually lasts from 3 to 5 days, then the condition of the victim returns to normal, the temperature drops. After a few days, everything repeats. Such attacks can be many. Each subsequent proceeds with less severity.

Coxiellosis

This is one of the most common zoonotic infections in the world. As a carrier of the disease can be both farm animals and wild. One of the distributors of the pathogen is a tick, most often ixodic. He is able to maintain rickettsiae in the body for a long time and transmit them to offspring. The first symptoms appear 5-30 days after the tick bite:

  • increased sweating;
  • high temperature;
  • dry, exhausting cough;
  • loss of appetite;
  • redness of the face and upper body;
  • migraine, weakness and drowsiness.

Often, KU fever is accompanied by pneumonia, lower back pain and muscle pain. The temperature in the first days of the disease can change during the day several times. Such a disease is treated only in a hospital setting, the therapy lends itself well and recovery occurs quickly. Complications are rare, the outcome of the disease is often favorable. A person with coxiellosis develops strong immunity.

Treatment of tick bite victims

If a tick has bitten and an infection has been detected by the test results, immunotherapy is given to the patient on the basis of a doctor's prescription. Further treatment depends on the type of pathogen that has entered the body.

Therapy for patients with tick-borne encephalitis

Specific treatment of tick-borne encephalitis today does not exist. When signs of damage to the central nervous system, the victim must be hospitalized to provide him with medical care. The treatment regimen includes:

  1. Bed rest during the entire fever time and a week after its termination.
  2. In the first days of the disease, immunoglobulin administration is indicated. To achieve the best result, it is necessary to apply the remedy as early as possible, preferably in the first three days after the tick bite.
  3. In general cases, the patient is prescribed corticosteroids, blood substitutes.
  4. With meningitis, higher doses of vitamins B and C are administered.
  5. With the deterioration of the respiratory functions of the victim shows artificial ventilation of the lungs.

During the recovery period, nootropics, tranquilizers and testosterone imitators are prescribed to the patient.

Antibiotics may be prescribed as an addition to the main treatment for a bite victim. Antimicrobial drugs are used to suppress pathogenic microflora that can cause various complications.

Therapy for patients with borreliosis

Treatment for Lyme borreliosis provides for the administration of antibiotics. They are used to suppress spirochetes - pathogens. The most commonly used drugs are penicillin and cephalosporins. An antimicrobial agent of the tetracycline group is prescribed for erythema.

  Antibiotics are used to treat borreliosis.

When a neurological disorder occurs, the victim is hospitalized. In the hospital, conduct a comprehensive therapy, which includes:

  • blood substitutes;
  • corticosteroids;
  • testosterone mimics;
  • nootropic drugs to improve cerebral circulation;
  • vitamin complexes.

The outcome of borreliosis depends on the timeliness of tick bite detection, the correct diagnosis and early initiation of therapy. Illiterate treatment often leads to the chronic phase of Lyme disease, which is relieved with great difficulty and may result in disability or death of the victim.

Attention. For the treatment of protozoan infections, drugs are used that exclude the further growth and development of protozoa.

Complications after a tick bite

Summarizing all the above, we can draw a very disappointing conclusion about the effects of a tick bite. As you can see, infections affect the most important systems of the body:

  • lungs - with the development of symptoms of pneumonia and pulmonary hemorrhage;
  • liver - a violation of the digestive system, problems with the stool (diarrhea);
  • CNS - with frequent headaches, hallucinations, paresis, and paralysis;
  • cardiovascular system - arrhythmia appears, jumps in blood pressure;
  • joints - arthritis and arthralgia are formed.

The effects of a tick bite can develop in two ways. With a favorable outcome, loss of working capacity, weakness and lethargy continue for 2-3 months, then all body functions are normalized.

With a moderate illness, recovery lasts up to six months and longer. A serious form of the disease requires a rehabilitation period of up to 2–3 years, provided that the ailment proceeded without paralysis and paresis.

With an unfavorable outcome, a persistent and long-lasting (or permanent) decline in the quality of life of a tick stung victim is noted. Manifested a violation of motor function. The clinical picture is significantly worsened under the influence of nervous and physical fatigue, pregnancy, regular intake of alcohol.

Persistent violations in the form of epileptic manifestations and spontaneous convulsions lead to the incapacity of the patient.

Disability as a result of a tick bite

As you know, there are 3 groups of disability. The degree of damage to the body after being bitten by a tick is determined by a special medical commission:

  1. Disability group III - mild paresis of the arms and legs, rare epileptic seizures, inability to perform highly skilled and requiring accuracy and attention to work.
  2. Disability group II - bright paresis of the limbs, partial paresis of the muscles, severe epilepsy with mental changes, asthenic syndrome, loss of ability to self-care.
  3. Disability group I - acquired dementia, severe motor impairment, persistent and complete epilepsy, common muscle paresis, loss of self-control and the impossibility of independent movement.

In severe cases, inadequate treatment of infections caused by tick bites or the complete absence of therapy may be fatal.

Prevention of tick bites

The main and main measure to prevent diseases transmitted by bloodsuckers is vaccination. The event significantly reduces the risk of infection after tick bites. Vaccination is necessary for people living in epidemiologically dangerous areas or people whose work is related to forestry.

  Vaccination - the main measure of prevention of diseases caused by tick bites

Council Despite the limited risk group, vaccination is better for everyone. After all, it is unknown where "lucky" to meet with the tick.

Primary vaccination is allowed from an early age. Adults can use domestic and imported drugs, children - only imported. You should not buy the vaccine yourself and bring it to the vaccination room. It will not be led anyway. The drug requires very strict storage rules, compliance with a certain temperature and light conditions, which is impossible to perform at home. Therefore, it makes no sense to buy an expensive drug and store it in the refrigerator.

There are two vaccination options:

  1. Prophylactic vaccination. It helps protect against tick bites for a year, and after additional vaccination - at least 3 years. Revaccinations are performed every three years.
  2. Emergency vaccination. Allows you to protect yourself from tick bites for a short time. For example, such a procedure will be necessary for an urgent trip to regions with high tick-borne activity. It is recommended to take jodantipirin while in epidemiologically dangerous areas.

The introduction of the vaccine is carried out only after a detailed survey, visual inspection and temperature measurement. Persons with inflammatory diseases are not vaccinated until full recovery.

How to protect yourself from tick bites?

Going to the unfavorable zone, you should choose clothes of light colors:

  • a shirt or jacket with cuffs and a tight-fitting collar, pants tucked into boots;
  • anti-encephalic suit;
  • tight hood with strings, protecting ears and neck from ticks;
  • clothing should be treated with insecticidal agents.

  The best way not to “meet” the tick is to strictly observe all preventive measures.

For repelling ticks, special insecticidal agents based on DETA are produced, however, repellents are not effective enough and require application every 2 hours. You can handle them open areas of the body and clothing.

Acaricides are more effective. Drugs used for contact destruction of ticks. They can handle only outerwear worn on underwear.

Attention. Often on sale are acaricides for application to the skin. However, they should be used very carefully. Possible severe allergic reaction and poisoning.

Tick-borne encephalitis insurance

Recently, insurance of expenses related to a possible disease of encephalitis after a “meeting” with a tick has become widespread. Such a measure is often used as an adjunct to vaccination or as an independent measure.

  Insurance costs associated with treating a tick bite will not hurt anyone

Insurance will help pay for expensive treatment of tick-borne encephalitis and other infections carried by bloodsuckers.

Attention. The article is for reference only. Competent diagnosis and treatment of diseases is possible only under the supervision of a specialist.

Before delving into the theory of determining infection in the blood of a person infected with encephalitis after a tick bite, it is necessary to somewhat generalize the knowledge. The fact is that there are many types of ticks at the present stage, so you need to know what exactly you are dealing with. Among the most common types of ticks that pose the greatest danger are the following representatives:

  • encephalitis. As a rule, insects of other species can fall into this category, as carriers of diseases are ticks of all varieties. The key danger of this group of insects lies precisely in the infection, which can get into your body with a bite. Moreover, it is impossible to determine by the appearance of a tick whether it is infected or not. Therefore, you will have to resort to the help of doctors;

The most difficult thing for any person is to distinguish a healthy tick from an encephalitis infected tick.However, the most common insect species in our country need to know without fail.

The appearance and size of encephalitis tick

Later, when the tick finds a victim and sticks, fixing itself on the surface of its skin, as it saturates with blood, it seems to swell up. Moreover, the males, after being filled with their "dinner", leave the victim's body themselves, but females (if they are preparing for childbirth) can stay in one place for one and a half weeks. And all this time they will drink blood and deprive a person or an animal of energy.

How to find out if an encephalitic tick has bitten or not? It is necessary to carry out the analysis, since the effectiveness of further treatment depends on it. That is why in no case should you throw a tick that you removed from a skin area.

It should be referred to the laboratory where the diagnosis will be carried out. What is the certain complexity of the process, is that reliable results of the study can be obtained only two weeks after the bite.

Another important point to remember is the universality of the symptoms of encephalitis. This greatly complicates the process of diagnosing the disease. The thing is that the infection can be confused with manifestations of diseases such as serous meningitis, acute polio, typhus, etc. In this case, it is recommended to pay attention primarily to the localization of the affected areas of the body.

Do not panic: the tick is not always a carrier of encephalitis.  For greater certainty, of course, donate blood for analysis a week and a half after the bite. However, there are cases when the symptoms of the disease manifest themselves much earlier. When should I contact an infectious disease specialist immediately? For this, a number of the following features should be observed:

  • redness of the bitten place and the appearance of blistering;
  • increase in body temperature to +40 degrees, constant chills;
  • rash all over the skin;
  • weakness and headaches;
  • aches in the bones;
  • temporary loss of consciousness and photophobia;
  • nausea and vomiting, as well as general disorder of the digestive tract;
  • modifications of some morning organs - in particular, the spleen or the liver can significantly increase in size;
  • skin may have a yellowish tint.

However, these symptoms are considered to be initial when it comes to encephalitis. In the future, the virus will develop rapidly and penetrate into the lymph nodes, and most dangerous, into the cerebral cortex. Hence, mental disorders, and loss of consciousness, and even signs of epilepsy. And sometimes people do not promptly turn to specialists, because the symptoms almost completely disappear for some time, and then appear with a new force. Whatever it was, after a tick bite, be sure to check in the clinic. It is necessary to take this issue seriously, because if encephalitis is not cured in a timely manner, a person is at risk of death.

If you like outdoor recreation, you should know that there is such a danger lining you as a tick bite. With proper luck, you will only get by losing a couple grams of blood. But if luck is not on your side, there is a risk of being infected with several dangerous diseases at once.

Incubation period after tick bite

The incubation period after a bite can be different and depends on the disease with which the tick infected you. So, the most dangerous are Lyme disease (borreliosis) and tick-borne encephalitis.  If bacteria of the first disease got into the body, its symptoms will appear in about a week.

A tick’s saliva’s entry into the bloodstream through a bite can cause many diseases.

But the signs of encephalitis can appear in the period from 2 to 4 weeks after the bite of the bloodsucker, and sometimes even after 2 months. It depends on the state of human immunity. However, there are other diseases that are transmitted through tick saliva.

What does a tick bite look like on a human body?


  The most harmless manifestation is a slight redness around the place where the arthropod was found, or the complete absence of marks on the skin, except for a small hole in the place where the proboscis was located

In some cases, with an increased tendency to allergies, the bite site may swell, possibly a burning sensation and itching, the appearance of a lump. Such manifestations usually disappear in a week without a trace. If you are bitten by some types of soft mites, the affected area of ​​skin can be very sore.

If the body is hypersensitive to the saliva of ticks, symptoms such as:

  • chills, headache, fever;
  • muscle weakness;
  • swelling;
  • feeling of numbness in the limbs;
  • dyspnea;
  • coordination problems, fatigue;
  • missing appetite;
  • paralysis.

Such signs require immediate treatment to the doctor.

Tick-borne encephalitis

As already mentioned, in the period from 4 days to 2 weeks this infection may not manifest itself. But after this period the person begins to burn from a fever with a temperature of up to 38–39 degrees, to feel strong pain in the muscles and eyes. Infected nausea, vomiting, severe headaches.  There is a reddening of the face, neck, hands, upper chest and eyes. This acute period lasts 2–10 days and is characteristic of the febrile form of encephalitis, which occurs most frequently.


  Symptoms of tick-borne encephalitis almost completely repeats the signs of a cold, so quite often the disease is diagnosed at an advanced stage

After the acute phase, there is a break when the patient becomes much easier. But it is precisely at this time that irreversible changes can occur in the central nervous system and brain.  Since these symptoms are almost identical to the signs of flu, it is very important that you see a doctor right away if it appears.

Video: what is tick-borne encephalitis

Borreliosis (Lyme disease)

As mentioned above, the first, which indicates this disease, is a rash of a specific type of large size (from 10 to 60 cm in diameter) - ring-shaped erythema. A bitten can feel itching, burning, pain at the puncture site. Such a rash can last from several days to several months. Gradually, the rim of the spots becomes swollen and as if convex.

  The rash can reach 60 cm in diameter

After the occurrence of cyanosis, the bite begins to scar, a crust appears on it, which falls off over time. About 14 days after the bite, the skin becomes healthy looking. After the appearance of the rash begins the first stage of the disease, lasting 3-30 days. At this time, the infected:

  • feels muscle pain, weakness, pain in the head;
  • gets tired quickly;
  • suffers from sore throat and runny nose;
  • feels nauseous and stiff muscles in the neck.

After this active phase, the patient forgets about the disease for almost a month. At this time there is a lesion of the joints and the heart. Quite often, the rash is interpreted as a sign of a local allergic reaction, and the acute phase is mistaken for SARS or overwork. In the absence of visible symptoms, a latent form of Lyme disease begins, the serious consequences of which will only appear in a few months.

Video: Lyme disease symptoms

Monocytic ehrlichiosis

This infection, which enters the body with tick saliva, was first identified in 1987. Its danger is that it provokes inflammatory processes in various internal organs, and a person can both fully recover and die, depending on the course of the disease.


  Patients with monocytic ehrlichiosis often suffer from headache, which is mainly attributed to the beginning cold.

The incubation period ranges from 1 to 21 days, and the acute phase of the disease can last for 2-3 weeks. Symptoms of Ehrlichiosis resemble a cold — a strong increase in temperature (up to 39–40 degrees) with chills, dizziness, pain in the head, muscles and joints, and abdominal pain (in the abdomen).

If the nervous system is affected, the infected can feel:

  • nausea;
  • dizziness;
  • increased sensitivity to any external stimuli (hyperesthesia);
  • facial nerve insufficiency;
  • serous inflammation of the soft membranes of the brain (aseptic meningitis).

About a third of all cases of ehrlichiosis are characterized by a two-wave course of the disease. Moreover, if the second wave lasts one to one and a half weeks, then in about half of the cases the patient develops encephalitis, and 1% of the diseased can suffer from meningoencephitis. Some victims have noted inflammation of the upper respiratory tract mucosa (catarrhal symptoms). An extremely small percentage of those infected with this infection may suffer from maculopapular rash on the body.

Tick-borne relapsing fever

The average incubation period for this disease is 4–20 days, but most often 11–12 days. Immediately after the bite, a red spot appears in its place, and then a papule (pimple filled with a clear liquid), whose diameter reaches up to 0.5 cm. A convex red rim can be observed around the papule. This symptom can last up to 2-3 weeks.


  Numerous cherry-colored papules appear 1–2 days after papule formation at the bite site.

This disease manifests itself in seizures (10–12, sometimes more), following one after another after a certain period of time. Each outbreak is characterized by the following symptoms:

  • increased body temperature to 38–40 degrees, combined with chills and intense thirst;
  • weakness and pain in large joints;
  • strong headache;
  • delirium, agitation, hallucinations.

The first attack lasts 1-3, at least 4 days. A day after the break (apyrexia), the next attack begins, lasting from 5 days to a week. Apyrexia after it is 2-3 days. Each subsequent attack lasts less, and the intervals between the acute phases of the disease - longer.

This disease is curable and in most cases does not give complications. But sometimes (especially with the African species of infection) can develop:

  • iridocyclitis, iritis (damage to the organs of vision);
  • meningitis;
  • neuritis;
  • acute toxic hepatitis;
  • pneumonia;
  • toxic psychosis.

Even fatal.

Tularemia

This acute infectious disease most often affects lymph nodes, skin, in some cases also the pharynx, eyes and lungs. The incubation period ranges from 1 to 30 days, but most often - 3-7 days. This disease exists in different clinical forms, each of which depends on the site of infection. Thus, the mite saliva provokes the development of the bubonic form, which is a regional lymphodenitis. In this form of the disease, the lymph nodes in the entire body are affected. The primary symptoms are increased body temperature (up to 40 degrees), chills, pain in the head, muscles and joints, redness of the eyes and mouth. Fever can be remitting (with sharp fluctuations in temperature - up to 2 degrees or more), intermittent, in which periods of normal and elevated body temperature alternate, or wave-like (two - three waves).


  Inflamed and greatly enlarged lymph nodes - one of the characteristic signs of tularemia carried by ticks

When tick-borne tularemia lymph nodes in the armpits, groin, neck, thighs are affected. Their size can grow to volumes of chicken eggs.  The contours of the lymph nodes become clearly defined, and they themselves feel very painful, but over time the pain disappears. After a few months, the size of the buboes decreases to complete extinction, although their suppuration is also possible.

There are other diseases transmitted through the saliva of ticks, but they are much less common.

In the summer, ticks are activated. You can pick them up anywhere, because they live in trees, bushes, in the grass. They adapt to different environmental conditions, surviving even in unfavorable arctic climates.

Blood is the food of ticks, and for a long time they can do without it. They need it for laying eggs. It takes 2 years to develop. Under warm climate conditions, this cycle is shortened, and under adverse conditions it rises.

An unpaired outgrowth of a hypostome, which performs the function of a sucker, helps the skin to attach to the mite It is easier to attach to him in such areas: neck, abdomen, groin, waist, chest, ears, because in these places there is very thin skin. The tick is easy to catch in the area where the hair grows: on the head, armpits.

What is dangerous tick bite for a person is the fact that it is difficult to detect. It often happens that a person notices a problem when the tick has already fallen off.

The area of ​​the skin after the bite begins to inflame and redden. Allergies are possible, but it does not cause pain. Tick ​​is not able to bite through clothes, it needs to get to the open area on the skin. They need to immerse both the proboscis and the head.

In borreliosis, the bite is characterized by more pronounced signs. It looks like a round spot, its diameter reaches 10–20 cm. Sometimes it increases, reaching 60 cm. Over time, it is surrounded by a red color border. In the center it becomes blue or white. The bite begins to resemble a bagel, a crust forms on the skin with scars that disappear after 2 weeks.

After detecting the bite mark, it is necessary to establish at what stage of development the tick is located. The adult form is called imago. It differs in that it has 4 pairs of legs. The female feeds on blood longer than the male, and can stay on the body for several days. It takes a few hours for a male to saturate. The larva, which is called a nymph, can also stick to the skin. The larva has 3 pairs of legs.

If a tick is found on the skin, it should be pulled out immediately. Doctors advise not to kill him, but put him in a jar, which is sent for analysis in order to identify the pathogen. Since the tick needs a little time to suck, timely detection allows you to avoid infection. If the tick does bite through the skin, the patient should be seen by a doctor within 30 days.

The incubation period after may be delayed for 2 months. The speed of symptoms is influenced by the blood-brain barrier. If it is weak, signs of the disease are detected earlier.

During the incubation period, the disease can be detected using antibody and PCR assays. The first technique shows when the infection has passed, and the second helps to identify a specific pathogen.

Symptoms of infection

These symptoms are more often found in children, the elderly, patients with a tendency to allergies, patients with immunodeficiencies. At first, the signs are little pronounced, but gradually strengthened.

The disease develops slowly. The victim's temperature rises, his heartbeat quickens, his lymph nodes are inflamed, and he has a rash on his skin. Discomfort is aggravated by severe itching.

The individual characteristics will depend on how many symptoms appear after a tick bite. A rash is an allergy to substances present in arthropod saliva. First, the bite site and the surrounding area begins to turn red. Then a burning sensation begins, the affected area swells. After that, rashes or seals appear.

Tick-borne encephalitis can be infected not only because of a bite. The pathogen can settle on the body of the animal and infect it. The person is then infected by drinking milk. First, the virus infects the internal organs, and then moves to the brain.

Tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis are treated at home if the disease is at the initial stage, otherwise urgent hospitalization is necessary. The patient is prescribed intramuscular injections and droppers. With the defeat of the nervous system of the patient is hospitalized.

Acarodermatitis is an allergy to substances secreted by arthropods when it is sucked to the skin. Such a reaction is manifested by inflammation and severe itching, then asymmetrical rashes appear. The patient may have small hemorrhages. Most often, the pathology affects the hands and feet.

Signs of akarodermatitis are found several hours after infection. To cure the disease, you must adhere to the rules of hygiene. The patient is prescribed special ointment, which is applied after hygiene procedures. If you start the disease, develops staphylococcus. Later, other tick-borne infections may occur. Acarodermatitis has the most favorable prognosis and is most easily treated.

After the bite, ehrlichiosis can develop. The disease is caused by a bacteria that the tick tolerates. Her symptoms, as with encephalitis, resemble a cold. The patient has chills, headache, pain in muscles and joints. The patient is constantly experiencing fatigue.

Prevention of ticks in humans

Preventive measures to prevent bites include treating the skin with special insect repellent products. They are recommended to be applied before outdoor recreation or visiting the forest. Upon returning home, you need to carefully inspect the body, paying particular attention to the areas in which the tick sucks most often.

Vaccination is recommended to avoid infection. The vaccination is administered three times: in November, after a month, and the last dose after another 3 months. It is important that the last dose be administered at least 14 days before the tick activity period. If the patient is infected, administration of immunoglobulin is indicated.

The pathogens carried by the tick can be divided into 2 types: bacteria and insect eggs. Both forms are dangerous, but bacterial infections are easier to cure. The settlement of the larvae under the skin, the carrier of which is a tick, is much more dangerous, and even deadly for children.

It is necessary to pay enough attention to the prevention of infections that can be infected by an insect bite. It is recommended to use repellents, and outdoor enthusiasts should get an annual vaccination. The main thing - do not ignore the symptoms that appeared after the bite. The danger is that they periodically disappear, leaving a false impression of recovery.

A common version that a forest mite falls on a person from a tree - oak, oddly enough is erroneous. Ticks hide where you do not expect to see them. On the branches of bushes, in the grass, along the edges of the trodden paths, in the thickets.

This bloodsucking arthropod has a very strong instinct and instantly “rushes” at a person or animal as soon as they appear nearby.

Ticks are activated from April to September - until the first frost. The most dangerous period is from the end of April to July. Ticks live in forest and park areas where there are no direct rays of the sun and the temperature does not exceed 20 degrees. So be careful when entering the place of forest coolness.

Pliers - the size of a match head. The blood of the female reaches the size of a pea. Mites are sucked into the skin of humans and animals with a proboscis. Moreover, the male does this for a short time and soon disappears himself; the female is very dangerous for humans and animals. And in order to get rid of it, it is necessary to intervene from the outside.

When it bites, it releases a special substance that acts on the principle of anesthesia. This means that you do not feel the moment of the bite itself. So you can not quickly respond.

What a tick bite looks like

Most often, a tick bite is detected before the tick has time to fall. This means that you will see a red spot - the usual reaction to the bite - and the top of the protruding calf. The usual diameter of redness is 1 cm. What a tick bite looks like - see photo below.

If you did not manage to pull out the tick completely (we will write how to do it a little later), and there are tentacles left, legs - BUT NOT A HEAD - do not try to pick out the rest. The body itself will reject it, it will be enough just to lubricate the affected area with green paint. But if the spot within a few days does not begin to disappear or decrease - this is already an occasion to consult a doctor.

What should I do if bitten by a tick

IMPORTANT!  To start, do not panic, otherwise do something stupid. Therefore, read carefully how to pull a tick.

Do not use tweezers or sharp forceps, all for the same reason. Carefully pull the insect slowly counterclockwise with your hands. You can also try to make a loop from the thread and slowly pull up, splitting its ends to the sides.

You can also try to lubricate the bite with sunflower oil and leave for 15 minutes. This should greatly simplify the procedure.

It is not recommended to use alcohol, vodka, acetone and other dubious liquids in this case - you need to get the tick alive out of the wound. If the head remains in the wound, more often than not, it promises trouble. From inflammation and decay to what people are afraid of ticks, encephalitis.

Therefore, try not to crush the insect, so that saliva and stomach contents do not get into the wound, and with them the ill-fated virus.

Symptoms of tick bites

Go into hysterics when tick bite is not worth it. First, not all and not every tick is infected with encephalitis. Even if the insect is contagious, it releases substance from days to three, and during this time you will have time to get rid of it.

But if redness after getting rid of the tick does not pass, you should go to the doctor. As well as the deterioration of health. Since the incubation (latent) period of encephalitis can last up to 3 months, after a tick bite, you should pay attention to your body. During this time, there may be headache, weakness, drowsiness, apathy, loss of appetite, temperature rise up to 37 - 37.5 degrees. Further, the disease begins to develop dramatically: fever appears, severe muscle pain, convulsions, nervous system disorder ... etc.

How to protect yourself from tick bites

Before going to the forest carefully prepare. Choose clothing made from thick fabrics with long sleeves and trouser legs. It is desirable that the bottom of the pants and sleeves were elastic. Socks should be long. It is desirable that they be stretched over the pants - although this is not an attractive sight. The neck is closed.

Use also special means to scare away ticks - “Deta”, “Taiga”, “Biban”, “DEFI-Taiga”, “Off! Extreme "," Gall-RET "," Gal-RET-cl "," Deta-VOKKO "," Reftamid maximum "and others.

Treat them to the place of possible insect penetration. Wrists, neck, waist, ankles.

MANDATORY!  After the walk, examine yourself and your companions for tick bites. Examine carefully the head, auricles, and the area behind the ears, neck, collarbone, armpits, arms, chest, back, and groin area.

In the case of a bite arthropod - act as you read above.