However, many neglect precautions and begin to think about possible infection not immediately, but only after some time, when the same tick can no longer be found, and it is too late to carry out prevention (it is effective only in the first 3-4 days after the bite).
In this case, there is only one option left - to monitor the condition of the injured person and, at the first symptoms of the disease, go to the hospital and begin treatment. After the bite encephalitis tick in case of infection of the body, the duration of the incubation period tick-borne encephalitis in a person it lasts several days - during this time it is impossible to tell from external signs whether the disease is developing in the body or not. And only the first characteristic symptoms usually clearly indicate that the disease has begun. Or, if the usual incubation period has passed and there are no signs of illness, you can rest assured that infection has not occurred.
How long a bite victim needs to carefully monitor his condition and what nuances are important to take into account will be discussed below...
Duration of the incubation period of tick-borne encephalitis
It should be borne in mind that the duration of the incubation period of tick-borne encephalitis is not a constant value - it is individual for each person, and depends on the following factors:
- The number of viral particles that enter the body during a bite;
- State of the immune system at the time of infection;
- The number of ticks that have bitten a person.
Cases have been reported in which encephalitis manifested itself within three days after the bite, but there is also evidence of the development of the disease 21 days after the tick attack. On average, the incubation period of tick-borne encephalitis lasts 10-12 days, and after this period the likelihood of getting sick is significantly reduced.
People with weakened immune systems should watch themselves especially carefully - they are more likely to get sick after a tick bite. In people with strong immunity, even an infection that has entered the body in most cases is suppressed by the immune system, and the disease does not develop.
On a note
Also at risk are people who have recently arrived in an area where tick-borne encephalitis is endemic. Old-timers in such areas may have developed immunity naturally- with rare tick bites and small amounts of virus entering the body. New arrivals do not have such protection, and if bitten, the likelihood of becoming infected is much higher.
Age also plays a role, although not a primary one. According to statistics, children are most susceptible to tick-borne encephalitis - in some areas they account for more than 60% of cases. This may be due both to the imperfection of the child’s body’s immunity compared to adults, and to the banal fact that a child more often finds himself in conditions of possible infection (while playing with peers) and is not so careful about his own protection from tick bites.
However, there is not one age group, the representatives of which would not be affected by tick-borne encephalitis at all.
As a result, after a tick bite, any affected person must be monitored for three weeks. If during this time the symptoms of tick-borne encephalitis have not developed, then you can rest assured that the danger of getting sick has passed.
On a note
There is another way of contracting encephalitis - through raw milk of infected goats and cows, or corresponding dairy products. Moreover, if goats themselves get sick when infected with the TBE virus, then in cows it multiplies in the body absolutely asymptomatically.
When infected milk is consumed, the incubation of the virus proceeds on average faster, and the disease manifests itself after about a week.
Now let's see what happens to the virus immediately after it enters the human body and how it develops during the incubation period...
Penetration of the TBE virus into the body and the initial stage of tissue damage
Once in the wound, viral particles (actually, these are RNA molecules in a protein shell) penetrate directly from the intercellular space into the host cells. Usually these are cells of the subcutaneous tissue and adjacent muscles (although when infected through dairy products, this can also be the gastrointestinal tract).
When entering a cell, the viral particle loses its envelope, and only RNA appears inside the host cell. It reaches the genetic apparatus in the nucleus, integrates into it, and in the future the cell will constantly produce, along with its components, proteins and RNA of the virus.
When an infected cell produces enough infectious particles, it can no longer perform its functions and function normally. Cells literally filled with viral particles are destroyed - as a result a large number of virions enter the intercellular space and spread to other cells, and the decay products of the dead cell (and partly the antigens of viral particles) cause inflammation. During the incubation period, the number of viral particles in human tissues constantly and very quickly grows.
The photo below shows what tick-borne encephalitis virus particles look like under a microscope:
If the immune system of an infected person is strong enough, it quickly identifies virus antigens as dangerous and begins producing antibodies that bind viral particles, preventing them from infecting new cells. In this case, no symptoms of the disease will appear - gradually the infection will be completely suppressed. But if antibodies are not produced (for example, the immune system does not identify the virus as a dangerous structure for the body), or there are not enough of them, then the viruses pass into the bloodstream and, along with it, are spread throughout the body.
Initially, tick-borne encephalitis affects and destroys the so-called reticuloendothelial cells that perform protective function. However, just three days after infection, the virus is able to penetrate the central nervous system.
It is the brain that is most favorable place for the virus to reproduce - and here it works in the same way, destroying cells and infecting new ones. But if subcutaneous tissue recovers quickly when damaged, then nerve cells lack this ability. This is why brain damage is dangerous for any organism - the cells of the brain and meninges do not recover for a long time, and their damage leads to permanent health problems.
Despite the fact that in the classic case, encephalitis begins quite abruptly and unexpectedly, sometimes changes in well-being occur already during the incubation period - the so-called prodromal symptoms. These include increased fatigue, weakness, drowsiness, poor appetite, and general malaise. These are the first signals that infection has occurred.
On a note
In the vast majority of cases, the infection goes undetected, and the disease takes on an erased asymptomatic form. Infection can only be guessed by the presence of antibodies in the blood of an apparently healthy person.
When the amount of multiplying virus begins to clearly interfere with the normal functioning of the body, the first symptoms of the disease appear. If tick-borne encephalitis corresponds to the Far Eastern subtype, then severe damage to the nervous system occurs quite quickly. Due to the degradation of nerve cells, epileptic seizures, muscle weakness and atrophy, and paralysis may occur.
Mortality in patients with Far East quite high - this is a quarter of all cases of the disease. In Europe, the probability of death from encephalitis is much lower - only 1-2% of patients die.
Is a person contagious during the incubation period?
Today only two are known possible ways infection with tick-borne encephalitis - through the bites of infected ticks, as well as through milk and dairy products from infected goats and cows. If a person gets sick with tick-borne encephalitis, then he is not contagious to others. This applies to both the incubation period and the time of the most severe manifestations. The disease will not be transmitted by communication (airborne droplets), touching or through mucous membranes.
The same applies to pets - the owner cannot get an infection from a sick dog that has been infected by a tick (it is useful to keep in mind that dogs in most cases become infected from ticks not with encephalitis, but with piroplasmosis).
So you don’t have to worry about the danger of a person bitten by a tick for others - transmission of TBE from person to person is simply impossible. Even if infected, a person will not be dangerous to his loved ones, you can communicate with him, stay in the same room and care for him - the virus will not be transmitted either by airborne droplets or by contact.
The first symptoms of the disease that you should pay attention to
When monitoring the condition of an adult or child who has been bitten by a tick, you should pay attention to even a slight deterioration in well-being. Increased fatigue over several days of the incubation period can already become one of the first prodromal symptoms of the disease.
On a note
As a rule, tick-borne encephalitis begins abruptly. Often patients can even name a specific time when they felt ill. Classic first signs of the disease:
- The temperature rises sharply;
- Progressive headaches are observed;
- Swelling of the face appears;
- Sometimes severe nausea and vomiting occur.
Such primary symptoms are characteristic of the relatively mild European subtype of encephalitis. For the more severe Far Eastern variant, in addition to the above manifestations, already at the beginning of the disease, double vision, difficulty speaking and swallowing, and difficulty urinating are characteristic. Pathologies of the nervous system may immediately be observed - for example, deterioration in the mobility of the neck muscles. Patients are very apathetic and lethargic, any communication increases their headache and causes even more discomfort. In the future, such symptoms only intensify, especially without timely treatment.
It is especially dangerous if signs of brain damage immediately begin to appear. Difficulty in movement, seizures and convulsions may indicate a severe form of the disease, which requires urgent hospitalization. However, in the same way, any progressive symptom should be a signal to immediately go to the hospital.
Doctor's help is no less important with the relatively “mild version” of tick-borne encephalitis (European). This is absolutely not a disease in which you can rely only on the strength of your body. Vitamins, exercise and Fresh air, of course, are useful, but they definitely will not cure tick-borne encephalitis. Self-medication and delay are absolutely unacceptable for this disease.
Sometimes situations arise when immediate delivery of a person to a medical facility is impossible. In such cases, you need to place the patient's bed in a darkened but well-ventilated room. It is recommended to give him plenty of water. Food should be homogeneous so as not to cause unnecessary headaches by chewing. If urgently needed, painkillers can be used. Both at the very beginning of the disease and later, it is necessary to provide the sick person with maximum physical, mental and spiritual peace.
On a note
When transporting to the hospital, it is important to position the person comfortably in the car to reduce shaking. In this case, the car should be driven at low speed and sharp turns should be avoided. It should be noted that the more time passes from the onset of the disease, the harder the patient tolerates any movement. Therefore, when the first symptoms occur, you should consult a doctor as quickly as possible.
Further development of tick-borne encephalitis and its possible consequences
The high temperature with which the disease usually begins lasts for about a week from the end of the incubation period. But this period can reach up to 14 days.
At the height of the disease, the symptoms of encephalitis can vary greatly, depending on its form. In turn, the more severe the form will be, the more the virus multiplies in nerve cells.
In the mildest form - febrile - there are no symptoms of brain damage at all, and only standard infectious manifestations are observed. Therefore, this form of encephalitis can sometimes be confused with the flu.
The most common form of CE, meningeal, is similar in symptoms to meningitis. Patients suffer from severe headaches, increased intracranial pressure and photophobia. This changes the composition of the cerebrospinal fluid. However, the meningeal form, for all its danger, is also treatable.
The disease is especially severe in the meningoencephalitic form, which has a high mortality rate. Multiple small hemorrhages are found in the brain, gray matter dies, convulsions and seizures are observed. Recovery is possible, but it can take years, and full recovery is very rare. Due to necrosis of brain tissue, a decrease in intelligence may develop, which leads to disability and the development of mental disorders.
There are other forms of tick-borne encephalitis - poliomyelitis and polyradiculoneuritis. In this case, the virus is localized mainly in the spinal cord, causing a complex of motor disorders. This may be tingling or numbness of the muscles, a feeling of “running goosebumps”, weakness of the limbs. If the outcome is unfavorable, the disease can result in paralysis and death.
Statistics show that about a third of patients who had symptoms of serious damage to the nervous system completely restore their health. It's about about all of the above forms of encephalitis. However, the mortality rate for severe forms of the disease ranges from 20 to 44%, depending on the region. A separate group of patients (from 23 to 47%) are people who have pronounced consequences after the disease, including disabled people.
The photo below shows the consequences of tick-borne encephalitis (atrophy of the muscles of the shoulder girdle against the background of the polio form of TBE):
With this in mind, it becomes quite obvious that for any obvious signs health problems during the incubation period of tick-borne encephalitis, it is necessary to deliver the victim of a tick bite to a doctor as soon as possible to clarify the situation and begin treatment. The sooner treatment begins (if it is required), the significantly lower the risk of possible severe consequences of CE.
Treatment of tick-borne encephalitis
The main method of treating the disease is a course of injections of specific anti-encephalitis gamma globulin. This substance is a protein from the class of antibodies that neutralizes tick-borne encephalitis viral particles in the body, preventing them from infecting new cells. The same immunoglobulin is also used for emergency prevention of the disease.
Ribonuclease is often used in treatment - a special enzyme that “cuts” the RNA strand (and this is the hereditary material of the virus), blocking its reproduction. If necessary, the patient may be prescribed interferon, a special protein that enhances the cells’ own protection from damage by viral particles.
There is usually no need to use all three drugs at once, but such a need may arise if a severe form of the disease develops.
Despite the level of severity of symptoms, strict bed rest is indicated for all patients with tick-borne encephalitis. The more a person moves, especially in initial period illness, the higher the chance of complications. Any increased intellectual activity during the acute period of the disease is also prohibited. At the same time, it is important to increase the duration of sleep, eat varied and sufficiently high-calorie foods.
Normally, the patient must be treated in a hospital for 14 to 30 days. The minimum period of treatment for CE is required for the mildest (febrile) form of the disease, the maximum for meningeal form is from 21 to 30 days.
After this time, patients usually fully recover and can return to their normal lives. However, for two months after recovery, you should choose the most gentle daily routine for yourself and not overwork yourself. The body will still need time to fully recover.
For more severe forms of tick-borne encephalitis, the period spent in hospital is between 35-50 days. The patient can either be completely cured or suffer serious complications in the form of impaired motor functions, muscle numbness, and mental disorders.
Resumption of well-being in such cases can take from six months to several years, and sometimes the consequences of encephalitis remain with a person for life.
It is important to know
Sustained positive dynamics in the first days of treatment do not guarantee recovery. There is a two-wave form of encephalitis, when after a week of imaginary improvement a new acute febrile period begins. Therefore, during treatment you must strictly adhere to the doctor’s recommendations to avoid relapse. With the correct actions of the patient, in most cases, complete recovery is observed, but for this it is important to treat interaction with the doctor as responsibly as possible.
Incubation period of other tick-borne infections
In general, the most dangerous period after a tick bite is two weeks. Taking into account possible fluctuations in the duration of the incubation period, it would be optimal to monitor the condition of the affected person for 21 days after removing the tick. Of course, there have been precedents for later manifestations of disease after a bite, but these cases are very rare. Therefore, if three weeks have passed since the tick attack, and everything is fine, then we can confidently say that no infection has occurred.
Despite the danger of tick-borne encephalitis and the need to monitor your condition after a tick bite, it is worth considering that infection, fortunately, occurs quite rarely. Not all ticks carry encephalitis, even in areas where this disease is endemic. For example, in Siberia and the Far East, only 6% of ticks are infected with the virus.
Most often, those who have been severely bitten become infected. Such risk groups include tourists, foresters, hunters - these people can regularly remove 5-10 ticks from themselves. If a person is bitten by one tick, then the risk of getting sick is minimal. With a high probability, nothing terrible will happen after such a bite, so there is no need to panic. But it is imperative to monitor your well-being, just as you must consult a doctor if obvious symptoms of the disease appear during the standard incubation period.
Blood-sucking ticks are carriers of numerous infections and belong to the class of especially dangerous ones. Infection occurs directly through the bite of an arthropod. The most serious infections carried by ticks are encephalitis and borreliosis.
The peak of registered bites occurs in the first half of summer, but tick activity is observed until late autumn. The tick can get caught on clothing and then work its way to exposed skin. Often penetration dangerous tick occurs through the sleeves, at the bottom of the trousers, in the collar area.
Classification of ticks
These representatives of arthropods rarely reach 3 mm in size; the size of mites generally ranges from 0.1 to 0.5 mm. As befits arachnids, ticks lack wings.
Ticks are classified into two main groups:
- Sterile - those individuals that are not carriers of any infections;
- Infected ticks that are carriers of viral, microbial and other diseases (encephalitis).
It is worth noting that most often ticks begin to bite in early spring and late autumn. Please note that not all ticks are carriers of infectious diseases. Despite this, even a sterile tick can lead to serious consequences. This is why it is so important to know what to do in specific situation when attacked by a tick.
Tick bites are the first signs in people
As a rule, the first sign of a bite is the presence of an insect attached to the victim's body. Most often, areas of the body hidden under clothing and places with a well-developed capillary system are affected.
A tick bite is usually painless, and this fact goes unnoticed even after the tick finishes drinking blood and falls off the skin.
The first signs after a tick bite may appear after 2-4 hours. These include:
- headache;
- weakness;
- photophobia;
- drowsiness;
- chills;
- aching joints;
- pain in the muscles.
If there is redness during the bite, this may be a normal allergic reaction. But red spots that reach 10-12 cm in diameter may be a symptom. They can appear either after 2 days or weeks later.
Overly sensitive people may experience signs of a tick bite such as:
- nausea;
- vomiting and stomach upset;
- Strong headache;
- dizziness;
- wheezing breathing;
- hallucinations.
If you are bitten by a tick, measure your body temperature every day for 10 days! Its increase 2-9 days after the bite may indicate that you have become infected infectious disease!
Symptoms of a tick bite
Most often, the first symptoms begin to manifest themselves 7-24 days after the bite. There have been cases where a sharp deterioration in the condition was observed after 2 months. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor your health status.
If the tick has not been infected, then the redness and itching quickly disappear without a trace, and no other symptoms appear. If the insect has been infected, then after the tick has bitten such symptoms as general weakness, chills, drowsiness, body aches, joints, photophobia, and numbness of the neck appear.
Please note that the affected area is painless, with only slight round redness.
The severity of symptoms may vary. How tick bites manifest depends on age, individual characteristics, general condition person, on the number of sucking insects.
The main symptoms of an encephalitis tick bite in humans:
- Body aches
- Frequent headaches
If you have such symptoms, you can’t put anything off; you should immediately go to the clinic.
| Description of symptoms | |
| Temperature | One of the most common symptoms of a tick bite is an increase in body temperature. This occurs within the first hours after the bite and is an allergic reaction to insect saliva entering the body. An elevated temperature may appear after 7-10 days, when the bitten person forgets to think about the experience. If during this period it is recorded heat, this is a sign of the development of an infectious process. |
| Redness after bites | This symptom is characteristic of Lyme disease. The tick site is redder and resembles a ring. This can happen 3-10 days after the defeat. In some cases, a skin rash occurs. Over time, the redness after the bite changes in size and becomes much larger. Over the next 3-4 weeks, the rash begins to gradually subside and the spot may disappear completely. |
| Rash | The rash that occurs due to a tick bite, also known as erythema migrans (pictured), is a symptom of Lyme disease. It looks like a bright red spot with an elevated central part. May also be dark red or of blue color, making it look like a bruise on the skin. |
The earlier treatment is started, the better the prognosis. Therefore, it is important to get vaccinated on time, to insure against tick-borne encephalitis, so that injections with immunoglobulin and subsequent therapy are free of charge.
What does a tick bite look like on a person's body?
The tick attaches to the human body using a hypostome. This unpaired outgrowth performs the functions of a sensory organ, attachment and blood sucking. The most likely place for a tick to attach itself to a person from bottom to top is:
- groin area;
- stomach and lower back;
- chest, armpits, neck;
- ear area.
Bites can often manifest themselves in different ways. Let's look at the photo of what a tick bite looks like on a human body:
If, after removing the tick, a small black dot remains at the site of suction, this means that the head has come off and must be removed. To do this, the affected area is treated with alcohol and the wound is cleaned using a disinfected needle. After removing the head, you need to lubricate the wound with alcohol or iodine.
Be sure to save the tick (put it in a plastic bag) so that a laboratory test can be carried out to determine whether it was an encephalitis tick or not. The severity of the consequences for the bitten person or animal and further therapy depend on this.
It is necessary to understand that a small tick bite can lead to serious problems with health. Thus, encephalitis can cause paralysis of the limbs and lead to death.
If you are close to the city, go to the emergency room immediately; specialists will remove the tick without unnecessary risk. But there is a risk of crushing it when you remove it yourself, and if the crushed tick turns out to be infected, a large amount of the virus will enter the body.
The further course depends on how quickly the person reacted to the defeat. If he ignored the symptoms and did not see a doctor, the prognosis is extremely unfavorable. The fact is that tick bites can only manifest themselves after a while.
Consequences for the body
A tick bite can cause a number of diseases in humans. Naturally, if you do not pay attention to this, serious consequences are possible.
Below is a list of possible consequences of tick-borne infections in the form of lesions:
- nervous system – encephalomyelitis, various options epilepsy, hyperkinesis, headaches, paresis, paralysis;
- joints – arthralgia, arthritis;
- cardiovascular system – arrhythmia, blood pressure surges;
- lungs - a consequence of pulmonary hemorrhages;
- kidney – nephritis, glomerulonephritis;
- liver – digestive disorders.
In severe forms of the listed infections, loss of the ability to self-care, decreased ability to work (up to group 1 disability), epileptic seizures and the development of dementia are possible.
Diseases that can occur from bites
- Tick-borne encephalitis
- Tick-borne typhus
- Hemorrhagic fever
- Borreliosis. The causative agent of this disease is spirochetes, which are spread in nature, including by ticks. The disease occurs in a chronic form, affecting almost all organs and systems. When treating borreliosis (Lyme disease), antibiotics are mandatory! They are used to suppress pathogens. Lyme borreliosis is caused by a microorganism from the group of spirochetes.
- Tick-borne encephalitis. An infectious viral disease transmitted through tick bites, characterized by fever and damage to the central nervous system. The consequences of a bite from an encephalitis tick can be very disastrous. In some cases, after suffering from encephalitis, people become disabled.
- Tick-borne typhus. The rash from typhus is initially often called pink, although this first symptom appears only on fair skin. The next stage is the blanching of the rash, and later it turns red and darkens again. In severe cases of typhus, where hemorrhagic elements are visible, bleeding into the skin (petechiae) often develops.
- Hemorrhagic fever. The danger lies in severe and sometimes irreversible damage to vital organs. All people with suspected hemorrhagic fever are subject to hospitalization in the boxed department of the infectious diseases hospital.
Prevention
- It is best to get vaccinated earlier, because after infection the vaccine is prohibited. The vaccine is indicated for those who live in a disadvantaged region and are professionally associated with the forest.
- First of all, when going to tick habitats, you need to dress properly. Clothes should have long sleeves, trousers, and you should also put something on your head, preferably a hood. Thermal underwear can be very convenient, as it fits perfectly to the body and prevents insects from crawling into secluded places.
- When going to an area where ticks are found, be as “armed” as possible, take all the necessary things that you will need in case of a tick bite.
- When moving through the forest, stay in the middle of the paths, avoiding tall grass and bushes.
It often happens that a person going for a walk in the forest or an area with tall grass does not even suspect that this will become a fatal mistake.
Many diseases transmitted by ticks often cause severe forms of disability, a significant reduction in life expectancy, and if the problem is detected late and treatment is started, it can even lead to death.
How dangerous are tick bites?
Ticks can become a source of dangerous diseases
This is where the ticks wait for them.
- tick-borne encephalitis;
- spotted fever;
- Omsk hemorrhagic fever;
- Crimean hemorrhagic fever;
- tularemia;
This is far from full list diseases that can develop after a tick bite in a person. Among other things, it should be borne in mind that often a person who has become a victim of a tick does not even know about it. These creatures produce saliva containing a high concentration of an anesthetic substance. In this way, insects can burrow into the skin unnoticed.
Despite the fact that it is difficult not to notice a tick that is swollen at times, it often happens that the insect falls off the wound before the person who has become its victim pays attention to it.
Therefore, the victim simply does not have the opportunity to go to a medical facility for vaccination, which leads to the fact that after a short incubation period, a disease begins to develop that can affect the rest of a person’s life. For more information about the danger ticks pose to humans, watch this video:
Even following all preventive safety measures does not allow you to 100% protect yourself from a tick bite. Considering that winters have become increasingly mild in recent years, many insects survive the cold well, this contributes not only to an increase in their numbers in a particular area, but also to the rapid expansion of their habitat.
Among other things, during the bite process, a significant amount of saliva enters human tissue. This may cause severe allergic reaction.
Tick-borne encephalitis
There are 4 main forms of the disease, including focal febrile meningeal and paralytic. Each of the forms has its own degree of expression. The most favorable are the meningeal and febrile forms of the disease. They rarely cause severe problems. Only sometimes do these variants of tick-borne encephalitis acquire a chronic form and contribute to the development of severe encephalomyelitis, which causes a significant deterioration in the quality and duration of life.
Focal and paralytic forms of encephalomyelitis often cause the development of extremely severe complications, and lost functions due to damage to the brain and spinal cord cannot always be restored even with the most modern treatment.
The danger of this pathology lies in the fact that the central nervous system organs are primarily affected, which can have both immediate and delayed consequences.
As a rule, the characteristic manifestations of this disease begin to increase after the completion of the incubation period, the duration of which can range from 5 to 25 days. Regardless of the form of the disease, it always begins acutely. The characteristic symptomatic manifestations of this period of tick-borne encephalitis include:
- increased body temperature;
- drowsiness;
- apathy;
- chills;
- severe headaches;
- photophobia;
- discomfort when moving the eyeballs;
- skin redness;
- stiffness of the neck muscles;
- nausea and vomiting.
Subsequently, the symptomatic manifestations of the disease depend on the form of its course. With the meningeal variant of the disease, an increase in neurological disorders is observed, including facial asymmetry, nystagmus, and general hypertension. Often patients have a change in the level of consciousness and loss of sensation in the limbs.
In the paralytic form, symptoms increase rapidly, which often ends in death.
In addition to the feverish state, the patient always has a disturbance of consciousness, convulsions, and motor agitation. In the future, such brain damage can cause irreversible paralysis and other abnormalities, which, provided the patient survives during the acute period, are then extremely difficult to reverse. For information on the consequences of tick-borne encephalitis, watch this video:
It is worth noting that approximately 10% of people bitten by a tick and infected with encephalitis develop Kozhevnikova epilepsy syndrome, which is characterized by severe attacks accompanied by muscle contractions in half of the body, myoclonus and periodic generalized convulsions. In this case, this condition has a progressive chronic nature, which leads to rapid disruption of brain function and subsequent death of the patient.
In addition, there are frequent cases of the development of upper poliomyelitis in people who have had tick-borne encephalitis.
This condition is accompanied by a combination of central and peripheral paresis, the presence of high reflexes and muscle atrophy.
Tick-borne spotted and hemorrhagic fevers
A tick bite under certain circumstances can cause the appearance of one or another type of spotted or hemorrhagic fever. These diseases, as a rule, have a clear connection to a specific area. They are provoked by certain types of microorganisms transmitted through a tick bite. 
For example, a group of spotted fevers develops as a result of infection of the human body with rickettsia. The most common types include:
- Mediterranean fever;
- tick-borne typhus of North Asia,
- Rocky Mountain spotted fever;
- vesicular rickettsiosis.
- Far Eastern tick-borne rickettsiosis;
- African tick-bite fever.
Although these diseases cause different types rickettsia, yet their clinical manifestations are similar. The most characteristic symptoms of spotted fevers include:
- papule formation;
- the appearance of a focus of necrosis and scab;
- fever;
- weakness;
- myalgia;
- arthralgia;
- insomnia;
- redness of the skin;
- rash;
- liver enlargement;
- conjunctivitis;
- scleritis;
- hyperpigmentation of the skin at the site of the rash.
Most varieties of spotted fevers have a benign course. The exception is Rocky Mountain spotted fever. With targeted drug treatment, the manifestations of the acute period of the disease can be significantly reduced.
Hemorrhagic fevers that develop after a tick bite are more dangerous diseases.
As a rule, they develop as a result of certain types of arbovirus entering the human body.
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As a rule, an increased incidence of one or another type of hemorrhagic fever is observed in a certain region where there are natural foci of infection. The Omsk and Crimean varieties of hemorrhagic fever are considered the most dangerous. The characteristic manifestations of Omsk hemorrhagic fever begin to increase after the end of the incubation period, which lasts from 2 to 4 days. The patient has:
- a sharp increase in body temperature;
- deterioration of general condition;
- Strong headache;
- muscle weakness and pain;
- lethargy and apathy.
The virus in this case primarily affects the adrenal glands, nervous system and blood vessels. After the first acute period, the disease subsides and relapses. An increase in the number of the virus in the human body under conditions of reduced immunity can have fatal consequences. Some patients with this disease experience cardiac dysfunction.
In addition, approximately 30% of people injured by a tick bite and showing signs of Omsk hemorrhagic fever subsequently develop a severe form of pneumonia.
Damage to the nervous system often causes the development of meningoencephalitis. In addition, there may be signs of kidney problems. In severe cases, recovery may take a long time. Crimean hemorrhagic fever is an even more dangerous disease. It is accompanied by a two-wave fever. After completing the incubation period, which can last from 1 to 14 days, the victim of a tick bite begins to show the following symptoms:
- rapid increase in body temperature;
- hemorrhagic rash on mucous membranes and skin;
- hemorrhages at injection sites;
- gastrointestinal and uterine bleeding;
- hemoptysis.
Among other things, signs of damage to the brain and spinal cord may increase. Depending on the intensity and rate of increase of thrombohemorrhagic syndrome, the outcome of the disease depends. The mortality rate for this disease is extremely high.
The danger of Lyme disease after a tick bite
Often Lyme disease or tick-borne erythema acquires a chronic relapsing course, which leads to dysfunction of a number of organs and first leads to disability and premature death of patients.
Once in the bloodstream, the causative agent of the disease spreads throughout the body through the circulatory system, settling in the liver, eyes, heart, synovial membranes of joints and other organs. This disease usually has 3 main stages. The first phase of development is characterized by the appearance of a characteristic round-shaped rash at the site of the bite, which is called erythema. 
Additional lesions may appear on the skin depending on the speed and spread of Borrelia. The first stage of pathology development is always local in nature. Typically, the first local stage of development of borreliosis begins to manifest itself with severe symptoms after the end of the incubation period, which usually lasts from 1 to 30 days. At this stage, in addition to the characteristic spotty rashes on the skin, the following may be observed:
- general malaise;
- increased body temperature;
- enlarged lymph nodes;
- chills;
- headache
- vomit;
- nausea.
Often at this stage the disease stops and recovery is observed. This option is considered the most favorable. In other cases, the disease appears again approximately 2 to 10 weeks after the first acute period. This is the second stage of development of borreliosis.
Characteristic manifestations of the disease during this period include neurological disorders, including radiculoneuritis, meningitis and neuritis of the facial nerves.
Thus, a seemingly harmless tick bite can ruin a person’s entire future life.
In addition, approximately 4 - 5 weeks after activation of the pathological process, cardiac disorders begin to increase, including impaired ventricular conduction, atrial fibrillation, etc. As a rule, such conduction disturbances can be observed for 1 - 2 weeks, after which the condition normalizes . At the same time, at stage 2 of the development of borreliosis, cardiac dysfunctions that are fatal for the patient may develop, for example, dilated cardiomyopathy and fatal pancarditis. For more information about Lyme disease, watch this video:
The transition of the disease to phase 3 of development can occur a year, and sometimes 10 years after the tick bite. In this case, the patient progresses to encephalomyelitis, accompanied by increasing neurological disorders. In addition, there is progressive atrophic acrodermatitis and benign lymphadenosis of the skin.
Most patients develop polyarthritis. this leads to a gradual loss of a person’s ability to move normally, speak and even think.
Usually, with the progressive phase 3 of the development of borreliosis, the patient’s quality of life deteriorates significantly, and he requires constant care. Life expectancy is significantly reduced due to increasing disruption of various systems.
Ehrlichiosis as a consequence of a tick bite
Another dangerous complication of an ixodid tick attack is ehrlichiosis. There are several forms of this disease, which are provoked by different genotypes of the pathogen, transmitted to humans through a tick bite. 
The incubation period usually lasts from 8 to 14 days. After completing this phase, the patient exhibits the following symptoms of the disease:
- chills;
- increased body temperature;
- thrombocytopenia;
- increased activity of liver enzymes;
- muscle pain;
- headache;
- feverish condition;
- rash.
In severe cases, the disease can be complicated by respiratory distress syndrome, neurological disorders, renal failure and disseminated intravascular coagulation. Mortality at different forms ehrlichiosis reaches 10%.
Babesiosis after a tick bite
This disease is characterized by a progressive, severe course. Babesiosis is accompanied by increasing fever, anemia and general intoxication of the body. The disease is currently quite rare, so this pathology is detected too late. The incubation period of the disease lasts on average 1-2 weeks. 
Characteristic manifestations of babesiosis that developed after a tick bite occurred include:
- increased body temperature;
- nausea;
- vomit;
- headaches;
- greatest weakness.
Further, increasing intoxication of the body, including pallor of the skin, jaundice, enlarged liver and oligonutria, joins the clinical picture. In addition, symptoms of acute renal failure increase. Often it is severe uremia that causes death. In addition, signs of severe anemia, pneumonia and sepsis may appear.
Consequences of unprofessional tick removal
When a tick bites, people try to get rid of the insect as quickly as possible, which can also have fatal consequences. If the insect is removed incorrectly, its head and proboscis may remain in the wound. Usually a person can independently remove the head from the wound and treat it with a special antiseptic, but the proboscis remains. To learn how to properly remove a tick, watch this video:
If this part of the tick's body remains in the wound, the bitten person may become a victim of sepsis. The process usually develops quite rapidly. The tissues in the wound become inflamed and swollen. Then it begins to rot. The accumulation of pus in the wound becomes critical. It begins to melt the surrounding tissue.
Pus can enter the bloodstream, causing severe sepsis if a person does not promptly seek medical help, where doctors can drain the pus from the affected area.
In addition, strong antibiotics are prescribed. The duration of the course of medication should be determined by the attending physician. In the absence of timely medical care Possible death.
How to reduce the risk of serious consequences from a tick bite?
An important point is the further treatment of the wound with special disinfection solutions.
To prevent the development of tick-borne encephalitis, an immunoglobulin vaccination is immediately carried out, which reduces the risk of developing this life-threatening disease. Watch this video about the consequences of a tick bite:
With the onset of warm days, a person can expect not only a pleasant holiday, but also ticks that can carry various dangerous diseases. The tick catches on clothing, looks for open areas of skin, and digs into it. A person may not feel the bite, but it is extremely difficult not to notice the characteristic symptoms.
It is important to know what a tick looks like and what to do when bitten by a bloodsucker. Knowing the symptoms that indicate dangerous illnesses plays an important role. Study carefully next material, follow useful recommendations doctors
During the bite itself, the tick produces an anesthetic, so the victim does not feel it. After 20 minutes, pain impulses again enter the brain, and the person begins to feel unpleasant symptoms and itching.
What should I do if bitten by a tick
Before you figure out what to do with a tick, you need to study the symptoms of a bloodsucker bite and the danger it poses.
Symptoms and signs
What does a tick bite look like? In most cases, a person manages to notice a bloodsucker bite before the tick falls off. At the site of the vinegar, there is noticeable redness, swelling, burning, and a lump also appears, which, if everything goes well, will subside within a week. In rare cases, there is pain in the soft tissues, some people experience symptoms of an allergic reaction if there is hypersensitivity, allergy to tick bites. If the spot does not go away on its own, consult a doctor immediately.
In severe cases, when infected with dangerous diseases, patients affected by bloodsuckers experience the following symptoms:
- fever, chills, headache;
- shortness of breath, swelling of the skin;
- rashes all over the body;
- numbness;
- difficulty walking, paraplegia;
- lack of appetite, sleep disturbances.
Note! If the patient has vomiting, nausea, fever, swelling, rapid heartbeat, or loss of consciousness, it is necessary to immediately call doctors at home.
What are the dangers of a tick bite for a person?
In the worst situation, a tick can infect a person with the following infections:
- tick-borne encephalitis. It is a viral disease, the main symptoms include: hyperthermia, intoxication, damage to the human central nervous system (meningitis, encephalitis). The consequences of the course of the disease include: neurological pathologies that lead to personality changes, in some cases to disability, even death. The first signs of the disease are observed in the first seven days; prevention should be carried out for several days after the bite;
- hemorrhagic fever. It is an infectious disease caused by a virus. Signs of infection include: intoxication of the body, the onset of fever, subcutaneous hemorrhages, changes in the composition of the patient’s blood. Experts distinguish between Crimean and Omsk fever. If you consult a doctor in a timely manner, the prognosis is favorable. Treatment consists of taking antiviral medications, vitamins that strengthen blood vessels;
- borreliosis or Lyme disease. It is an infectious disease of a bacterial nature. General intoxication of the body is accompanied by a sharp increase in temperature, headache, constantly migrating rash, and fatigue. Bacteria are capable of infecting human organs and systems (especially the nervous and musculoskeletal, cardiovascular). Delayed assistance leads to disability.
Considering the danger of a tick bite for a person, be sure to pay attention to such a nuisance and, if necessary, visit a doctor.
How to pull out a bloodsucker
Learn about the main similarities and differences, and what to do if you are bitten by stinging insects.
What not to do:
How to treat a wound
In the first minutes, it is important to provide first aid for a tick bite. Wash your hands thoroughly soap solution, treat the wound with any antiseptic (alcohol or hydrogen peroxide will do). It is not recommended to apply brilliant green or iodine, this will worsen the view of the affected area and make it difficult to destroy the bloodsucker.
- ticks cannot bite through clothing, they will look for an open area of skin, so when going outdoors, wear a thick shirt and trousers;
- take care of protection open areas body (put on socks, button up sleeves). You can also spray yourself with insect repellents, particularly ticks. It is advisable to wear light-colored clothes; small bloodsuckers are visible on them;
- After relaxing in nature, carefully examine your clothes and body. The tick moves slowly, so it can be easily removed (do not handle it with your bare hands);
- If you find a bloodsucker on your body, contact an infectious disease specialist.
A tick bite can be dangerous to human health, even life. Be vigilant, if unpleasant symptoms occur, immediately consult a doctor or call an ambulance.
What to do if you are bitten by a tick? How to behave to prevent an insect attack? Find out the answers in the following video:
In summer, ticks become more active. You can catch them anywhere, since they live on trees, bushes, and grass. They adapt to different conditions environment, surviving even in the unfavorable arctic climate.
Ticks feed on blood and for a long time they can do without it. They need it to lay eggs. It takes 2 years to develop. Under warm climates, this cycle is shortened, and under unfavorable conditions it increases.
The unpaired outgrowth of the hypostome, which acts as a sucker, helps the tick to gain a foothold on the skin. It is easier for it to attach to the following areas: neck, stomach, groin, lower back, chest, ears, since the skin in these places is very thin. It is easy for a tick to get caught in the area where hair grows: on the head, armpits.
What is dangerous about a tick bite for humans is that it is difficult to detect. It often happens that a person notices a problem when the tick has already fallen off.
After a bite, the area of skin begins to become inflamed and red. Allergies may occur, but this does not cause pain. The tick is not able to bite through clothing; it needs to get to open area on the skin. They need to immerse both their proboscis and their head.
With borreliosis, the bite is characterized by more pronounced symptoms. In appearance, it resembles a round spot, its diameter reaches 10–20 cm. Sometimes it increases, reaching up to 60 cm. Over time, it is surrounded by a red border. In the center it takes on a blue or white tint. The bite site begins to resemble a donut; a crust with scars forms on the skin, which disappear after 2 weeks.
After detecting a bite mark, it is necessary to determine at what stage of development the tick is. The adult form is called an imago. It differs in that it has 4 pairs of legs. The female feeds on blood longer than the male and can remain on the body for several days. It only takes a few hours for a male to be satisfied. A larva called a nymph can also attach itself 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 it, but to put it in a jar, which is sent for analysis to identify the pathogen. Since the tick takes a short time to attach itself, timely detection allows you to avoid infection. If the tick does bite through the skin, the patient should be observed by a doctor for 30 days.
The incubation period after this may last for 2 months. The rate at which symptoms manifest 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 tests and PCR. The first method shows when the infection passed, and the second helps to identify the specific pathogen.
Symptoms of infection
These symptoms are more often found in children, the elderly, patients with a tendency to allergies, and patients with immunodeficiencies. At first the symptoms are mild, but gradually intensify.
The disease develops slowly. The victim’s temperature rises, the heartbeat quickens, the lymph nodes become inflamed, and a rash is noticeable on the skin. The discomfort is intensified by severe itching.
How long it takes for symptoms to appear after a tick bite will depend on individual characteristics. The rash is an allergy to substances present in the saliva of the arthropod. First, the bite site and the surrounding area begins to turn red. Then a burning sensation begins and the affected area swells. After this, rashes or compactions appear.
Tick-borne encephalitis can be contracted not only through a bite. The pathogen can settle on the animal’s body and infect it. In this case, a person becomes infected when drinking milk. The virus first attacks internal organs, and then moves on to the brain.
Tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis are treated at home if the disease is at an early stage, otherwise urgent hospitalization is necessary. The patient is prescribed intramuscular injections and droppers. If the nervous system is damaged, the patient is hospitalized.
Acarodermatitis is an allergy to substances secreted by arthropods while sucking on the skin. This reaction is manifested by inflammation and severe itching, then asymmetrical rashes appear. The patient may have minor hemorrhages. Most often, the pathology affects the arms and legs.
Signs of akarodermatitis are detected several hours after infection. To cure a disease, you must adhere to good hygiene. The patient is prescribed special ointments, which are applied after hygiene procedures. If the disease is started, staphylococcus develops. Other tick-borne infections may appear later. Acarodermatitis has the most favorable prognosis and is the easiest to treat.
After a bite, ehrlichiosis can develop. The disease is caused by a bacterium carried by a tick. Its symptoms, like those of encephalitis, resemble a cold. The patient develops chills, headache, muscle and joint pain. The patient is constantly tired.
Prevention against ticks in humans
Preventative measures to prevent bites include treating the skin by special means, repelling insects. They are recommended to be applied before outdoor recreation or visiting the forest. Upon returning home, you need to carefully examine the body, paying attention Special attention areas where ticks attach most often.
To avoid infection, vaccination is recommended. The vaccine is administered three times: in November, a month later, and the last dose after another 3 months. It is important that the last dose is administered at least 14 days before the tick is active. If the patient is infected, administration of immunoglobulin is indicated.
Pathogens carried by ticks can be divided into 2 types: bacteria and insect eggs. Both forms are dangerous, but bacterial infections are easier to treat. The settlement under the skin of larvae, the carrier of which is a tick, is much more dangerous, and even fatal for children.
It is necessary to pay sufficient attention to the prevention of infections that can be contracted from an insect bite. It is recommended to use repellents, and outdoor enthusiasts should be vaccinated annually. The main thing is not to ignore the symptoms that appear after the bite. The danger is that they periodically disappear, leaving a false impression of recovery.