How to protect yourself from ticks?
You can find ticks not only in the woods, park or square, but also on any lawn. Most often they sit in the grass at a height of 20-60 cm and only occasionally tend to climb low shrubs.
Ixodic ticks can carry pathogens of dangerous human and animal diseases, including tick-borne encephalitis, borreliosis (Lyme disease), and Miyamoto disease. Pathogens enter our body during the absorption of ticks.
What can be done to prevent tick from hook on?
If you are going for a walk, first of all take care of the appropriate clothes: the safest will be long-sleeved clothes, light color, it is very desirable to wear pants and tuck them into socks.
For protection, use a repellent - a special remedy that scares away ticks. It can be in the form of aerosols, ointments, etc. Follow the instructions for use. Be sure to pay attention to its duration and do not forget to reuse.
On the walk, stay closer to the centre of the trail and do not go into the grass on both sides: that's where the most ticks are.
When a tick hooks on to your clothes, it remains stationary until you stop moving, sitting or lying down. It is then that the attacker begins to look for a place to attach to the body - slowly moves from the bottom up. This process can take from 30 minutes to three or more hours, or even several days. Inspect yourself and your close ones every two hours of walking. It is almost impossible to feel a tick bite: the animal releases an anesthetic that anesthetizes the bite. Careful examination is required, as the attacker may be the so-called nymph - a young, very small tick.
As soon as you return home, examine the children, animals and yourself again: it is best to do it in a white bath with good lighting.
Clothes you take off should be thoroughly cleaned and washed. Do the same with the things you used on a walk. Simple shaking will not help get rid of ticks.
Inspection plan
- Start the inspection from the bottom, from the foot, and gradually climb up:
- line of socks;
- popliteal cavity;
- lower line of briefs (groin), upper line of underpants;
- the lower line of the bra, the upper line of the bra;
- shirtband;
- the line of hair on the head, ears;
- hair and scalp - feel them with your hands.
Important! Your health depends on the thoroughness of the examination. Such a simple inspection should become a habit.
What to do when the tick has already sucked
See a doctor immediately. The emergency room will help you remove the tick and advise on further action.
If there is no doctor nearby, remove the tick yourself. To do this, you can use a special device for removing ticks, sold in veterinary pharmacies ("tick pick"). You need to press it to the skin, push it under the tick, gently shake the bloodsucker from side to side (because the proboscis is securely "cemented" in the wound by the saliva of the insect), and then slowly unscrew the attacker (you can twist in any direction convenient for you).
If you do not have a device, do it with your fingers wrapped in a gauze napkin or tweezers or a loop of thread. Remove the tick slowly - without jerks!
It is important to remove the tick along with the proboscis. If it comes off, remove the remnants with a sterile needle.
After removing the tick you need to lubricate the wound with antiseptic, and wash your hands with soap.
What to do next
Not all ticks carry dangerous pathogens, but their bites can threaten a person with about 150 diseases.
The removed tick should be placed in a vial, test tube, other clean container, put a small piece of grass there and close the lid tightly. Under the direction of an infectious disease doctor, ticks are tested in the laboratory network for the presence of Borreliosis pathogens.
Also, monitor your condition for three weeks: measure your body temperature daily, and in case of an increase or redness on the skin, which continues to increase - see a doctor immediately.
Information from the Public Health Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.