The peak of tick activity begins with the arrival of spring heat and ends in the fall. All this time it is necessary to carefully examine the child, and myself too, for the presence of these insects.
Lyme disease (borreliosis)
This disease is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected ticks. The first signs of it are easily confused with the usual ARI – fever, lethargy. However, over time, the disease affects the nervous system, can cause disability and even death.
Alas, the disease is not treated, as well as, for example, HPV, a person remains a carrier for life, becomes registered in the clinic, regularly undergoes a medical examination. By the way, if an infected tick bit a cow, then the raw milk of this animal carries a danger.
Do not think that such cases occur somewhere far away in the taiga and tundra of other countries. Three years ago, my friend bit such a tick. During this time, she lost 25 kg, her vision dropped by several units, problems with facial muscles and heart began. Every six months she gives a lot of expensive tests to monitor the condition of the internal organs.
To exclude the likelihood of illness, you can either donate an insect or donate blood for the presence of antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi no less than 10 days after the bite.
This disease affects the brain and spinal cord, can lead to persistent neurological and psychiatric complications, and even to the death of the patient.
In our country, ticks-carriers of this disease were found in the Crimea and the forests of the Carpathians. The traditional places of their distribution in Russia are Siberia, the Urals, the Far East.
The first symptoms are similar to borreliosis – muscle pain, fever, nausea. However, after 6–8 days, damage to the nervous system begins.
One of the most reliable methods of prevention is vaccination. It is necessarily carried out, for example, by foresters or geologists. It should be remembered that vaccination should be done before the onset of tick activity.
During your stay in nature, you should wear closed clothing, preferably with elastic bands on the cuffs and legs. Shoes must also be closed. Do not forget about the headdress – after all, ticks are often attached to the hair part of the head.
Clothing is better to choose light colors – this is easier to spot insects than on dark ones.
Chemical Remedies
Typically, agents that scare ticks differ in composition and toxicity from anti-mosquito drugs. Often they should not be treated skin, and clothing.
I use the Moskitol tool (because of all I have discovered, only this is allowed for processing children’s clothes), the manufacturer declares that the clothes retain repellent properties for up to 15 days.
Being in nature, avoid being in tall grass (ticks do not jump from trees, usually they are on the grass at the knee level of an adult). A good option is to pre-clear the resting area to eliminate winter deposits of ticks.
Do not forget to examine yourself and children every half hour or hour. On returning home, it is better to take off your clothes in the corridor and shake them off in order not to bring an insect into the room.
During the bite, the tick releases a kind of anesthetic, so rarely feel the pain. After the bloodsucker gets drunk, he falls off from his master.
Not everybody can pull a tick on their own – someone uses oil, someone uses a string, and someone simply rotates an insect around its axis. Self-activity can be dangerous – the head will remain under the skin, which can cause an inflammatory process. I believe that it is better to turn to professionals – pull out a tick under the power of doctors in any emergency station or emergency room.
Honestly, I’m very much afraid of ticks, I’m right to be paranoid about this – I carefully work on my daughter’s clothes, constantly inspect them, even though we don’t go outside the city for now.
Warned, so armed, I hope my topic will be useful for you. I wish you never come across these dangerous insects!
