Most often, ticks attach to a person's clothing when they touch the branches of trees, bushes or sit on the grass. Ticks attach to people not only while they are outdoors, but also some time after visiting a green area, remaining on clothes and things. It is practically impossible to feel a tick bite: it secretes an anesthetic substance that numbs the bite. In addition, they can be brought into a person's home with bouquets of flowers, dogs, and other animals. Ticks do not live on trees, as is commonly believed, but on bushes and in tall grass.
What should you do to avoid tick bites?
- wear light, plain clothing with long sleeves that fits snugly to the body - this way ticks will be easy to spot;
- to cover one's head;
- use repellents – liquids and aerosols that repel ticks;
- while outdoors, check for ticks every 2 hours;
- after a walk, immediately change clothes and underwear, carefully inspect them and wash them;
- If you have a pet with you outdoors, it should also be examined before being allowed into the home.
Experts do not advise removing a tick yourself; performing this operation without proper practice is quite difficult, as you can crush the tick or not remove it completely.
But there are cases when it is not possible to consult a doctor. In this case, the removal is carried out independently: shaking the tick from side to side with fingers wrapped in gauze, tweezers or a loop of thread, which should be fixed between the proboscis of the tick and the human skin, slowly remove it together with the proboscis. If the proboscis remains in the wound, it is removed with a sterile needle. After removing the tick, the wound should be lubricated with an antiseptic, and hands should be washed with soap.
In any case, after removing the tick, contact your family doctor to receive an electronic referral to an infectious disease specialist.
Symptoms of Lyme disease:
- redness at the site of the tick bite (migratory annular erythema of red-pink color 5-6 cm in diameter (in the process of its development, the erythema gradually turns pale in the center, the zone of redness moves to the periphery, sometimes up to 50 cm), erythema is not observed in 30-40% patients;
- slight itching at the site of the tick bite;
- Often, along with erythema, a person experiences fever, headache, stiff neck muscles, aches throughout the body, and lethargy;
- If patients are not treated at an early stage, the disease becomes chronic, leading to long-term incapacity and disability.
Follow simple and affordable methods of protection against ticks, protect yourself and your loved ones!