With the arrival of summer, the danger of tick bites increases. These insects can wait not only in the forest, but also in the city. They have an extraordinary instinct and can instantly "rush" at an animal or person as soon as they approach him.
Ticks are most active from April to September, but many of them can, after surviving the first frost, become active again. They love the coolness and try to live in places where the sun does not beat down and the temperature does not exceed the threshold of +20 ° C.
Ticks are small in size, in a hungry state their length does not exceed 4 mm, while females are slightly larger than males. At the moment when the tick is drinking blood, its size can reach up to 3 cm.
Tick bite
Ticks wait for victims on the ground, while putting forward their front paws, which have special senses that can react to odors and heat. When the prey approaches, the tick seizes on it with its front paws. But, having reached the body, the tick is in no hurry to bite, it can take up to several hours before this happens. If at this moment he is found, then the bite can be avoided.
Having chosen a place for suction, the tick with chelicerae (oral appendages) bites through the skin, and then inserts a hypostome into the wound (a special outgrowth of the proboscis, all covered with peculiar hooks, designed to attach the tick to the animal). During the bite, the tick injects painkillers with saliva, so this moment almost always remains uncaught.
Male ticks stick on for only a few hours, and then fall off, often remaining unnoticed by the victim, while females stay on the body for several days. But the threat of infection, for example, with tick-borne encephalitis, does not depend on the sex of the insect.
What to do if a tick is found on the skin
Having found a tick, do not panic and try to immediately get rid of the insect that has sunk into the skin. Ticks are firmly fixed in the middle of the wound and therefore, it must be loosened slowly. In a hurry, there is a high probability of leaving the tick's head in the wound.
When pulling out a tick, do not use tongs or tweezers, just gently pull the insect clockwise. Some people manage to put a loop on the body of the tick and pull out the threads to the sides to pull it out.
Before starting the procedure, smear the tick with vegetable oil and wait 10 minutes, and then remove. Do not lubricate the tick with alcohol-based liquids.
Actions for a tick bite
Often a tick bite is detected after it has fallen off. A red speck with a diameter of about one centimeter appears at the site of the bite. If the bite is from an infected insect, then serious health problems may occur. In particular, tick-borne encephalitis, which affects the nervous system, can cause brain inflammation. Treatment of the disease is quite complicated and deaths are not uncommon.
Signs of a tick bite can be the usual fever and muscle pain, all very similar to an acute respiratory illness.
Lyme borreliosis may not appear until 6 months of age, and nevertheless, an infection develops in the body. This disease is usually accompanied by a fever and early treatment can prevent kidney and heart damage.
In any case, after a tick bite, you need to visit a doctor who can determine what kind of bite and prescribe treatment for you in time.
