Symptoms after a tick bite in a person 335. Why a tick bite is dangerous: symptoms in humans and possible complications

With the onset of warming, there is a high probability of finding a tick bite on the body. In summer, this problem becomes especially relevant and occurs more and more often. A bite can cause a lot of harm to health and can become a serious threat to a person’s life, so the problem should be taken seriously.

How to protect yourself from a tick bite? What to do if you are bitten by a tick? Let's take a closer look at these issues.

Forest tick: how to recognize the threat

The consequences of such a bite are extremely severe (in case of infection and refusal of treatment):

Paralyzes the body.
Breathing problems occur.
Decreased brain activity.
Death.

If a person has suffered from a sterile tick, the complications may not be so dangerous:

The affected area rots.
An allergic reaction occurs.
Swelling appears, angioedema is possible.

It is impossible to independently determine whether an infectious tick has embedded itself or not. Their appearance and color do not depend on whether they are infected or not. If bitten by an infected tick, timely treatment can save the victim's life.

How long does it take for symptoms of a tick bite to appear in humans?

The first symptoms appear after 2-3 hours in the form. After a week or later, the symptoms described above may appear.

How is a tick bite different from other insect bites?

How to find out which insect bit and left characteristic marks on the skin? There will be only one spot, there will be no similar ones in the neighborhood, the redness will increase every hour, and an allergic reaction may occur. Bedbugs, for example, bite in several places at once, and fleas too. The bite of a mosquito and midge is much smaller than that of a tick.

Can a tick bite without sucking?

Can a tick bite through clothing and tights?

Why do ticks drink blood and how much do they need?

Ticks drink blood in order to get enough and leave offspring. Females will not be able to lay eggs in a hungry state; they definitely need blood. How long can a tick bleed? From several minutes to several hours, and females, as a rule, stay on the victim’s body longer. It should be noted that most of the time the tick is on the skin of a person or animal, looking for a place to suction, so if the tick has not yet latched on, you need to brush it off as soon as possible (no need to squash it on yourself like a mosquito, you can get an infection under the skin) . On average, an adult sucks blood for 1-2 hours, after which it disappears.

How much blood can a tick drink at one time?

Hungry individuals of the ixodid tick weigh from 2 to 15 mg, and sated ones from 200 to 1200 mg, which is many times greater than their own weight. In one bite, a tick can pump out up to 1000 mg of human blood. The size of a hungry tick does not exceed 4 mm, and a well-fed one can reach 3 cm, becoming similar in size to a corn seed.

The photo compares two ticks - one that has recently sucked and one that has drunk blood.

Does a tick die after being bitten?

Some people seriously think that a tick dies after it bites a person, but this is not at all true. Apparently it is confused with a wasp or a bee, which dies after being stung. The tick, on the contrary, only benefits from the bite; this is its nutrition, which contributes to further development and reproduction. A hungry tick will not be able to leave offspring, so biting people and animals is a vital necessity for it.

How dangerous is a tick bite for humans?

A tick can serve as a carrier of a fairly extensive list of diseases, so after removing the tick, it is better to save it for tests to determine infections (encephalitis, borreliosis, called Lyme disease), this is done in the laboratory at the infectious diseases hospital. It is worth noting that the presence of viruses in an insect does not guarantee that the bite victim will also get sick. It is necessary to examine the insect for peace of mind if the result is negative, and for timely treatment if the infection is confirmed.

Most often transmitted and pose a huge threat to human life - and. Scientists have proven that the chance of becoming infected from a tick is unlikely, since 90% of ticks, according to research, are not infected. Although minimal, the chance exists.

Is it possible to get infected from a tick if it crawls across your body?

If a tick simply crawls across the surface of the skin, it is impossible to become infected from it. The first stage of infection begins precisely from the moment the tick suctions and injects an anesthetic substance under the skin. So if a tick is crawling on you, brush it off as quickly as possible and, if possible, with fire.

Bitten by a tick - what to do: first aid

If a tick is crawling on you, shake it off immediately, and if it has already attached itself, remove it as soon as possible and store it in a jar with moistened cotton wool or blades of grass to deliver it alive to the laboratory for studying and diagnosing infections.

Treat the wound with an antiseptic. If signs of an allergy are observed - severe redness and swelling of the bite site, immediately give the victim an antiallergic drug. You can purchase the drugs “Zirtex”, “Suprastin”, “Prednisolone”: the dosage regimen of the drugs is individual. The effect of one tablet is enough for a whole day. These antihistamines are actively used to eliminate the allergic consequences of a bite. Taking the tablet is not recommended if you are hypersensitive to the components. Hypokalemia, sleep disturbances, flatulence and negative nitrogen balance may develop.

If the encephalitis virus has entered the human body, the drug “Ribonuclease” is prescribed for treatment. The medicine is administered 6 times a day intramuscularly, in a hospital setting. The dose is prescribed by the attending physician. The use of Ribonuclease is not recommended for respiratory failure, tuberculosis and bleeding. There is a risk of developing allergic conditions.

How to remove a tick?

Using counterclockwise movements in a circle, as if unscrewing a self-tapping screw, pull it out of the skin using tweezers. Be careful that the head of the tick does not come off.
If you had to remove a bloodsucker in nature, and there were no tweezers nearby, this will help regular thread. With its help, the proboscis is tied near the very surface of the skin and pulled out with light jerks.
After removal, you need to make sure that the tick is intact, put it in an airtight container and deliver it to the sanitary and epidemiological station for analysis as soon as possible.
Lubricate the surface near the bite with any antiseptic.

People often advise treating the affected area with oil, kerosene, gasoline and other liquids so that the tick comes out on its own. This action is wrong - the tick will try to dive even deeper under the skin. But if the insect crawls out after this, its body cannot be examined in the laboratory.

What to do if the tick head remains under the skin?

The tick's head may remain under the skin if it is removed carelessly or too quickly. It looks like a small splinter, so some people are negligent about removing it, saying “the tick is dead, it no longer sucks blood, it will fall off on its own,” or they simply don’t notice. But this is not recommended. Remaining under the skin, the tick's proboscis will provoke inflammation and suppuration of the wound. Therefore, do not leave the head or proboscis of the tick under the skin, waiting for them to fall off on their own.

Take a sharp needle disinfected in alcohol and pick up the remaining proboscis and remove it. After a bite, a small wound will remain on the skin, which will heal quickly if the tick was not infectious. Treat the bite site with peroxide, then brilliant green or iodine. If, use Fenistil gel or a similar itching reliever. Try not to scratch the inflamed area to speed up the healing process.

To prevent the head of the tick from remaining under the skin, catch it as close as possible to the suction site

What disease can you get from a tick bite?

After a tick bite, a person develops various ailments - from ordinary irritation to severe or fatal illness:

Modern drugs can completely cure infections that are transmitted by ticks, provided they are detected early and treatment is started immediately.

Signs of infection with tick-borne encephalitis

According to doctors, the symptoms of this encephalitis are detected after 10-14 days from the moment the tick bite was discovered in the victim. What to do? There is no need to panic; often elevated body temperature and muscle pain can be a manifestation of the body’s protective psychological response after fear and anxiety.

Once the disease begins, it goes through certain stages:

Unreasonable and short-lived chills, increased body temperature up to 40 degrees. According to the clinical signs of the formation of encephalitis, this period is more similar to influenza infection.
After some time, the patient may experience symptoms: nausea and vomiting, attacks of severe headache. At this stage, all symptoms indicate a gastrointestinal disorder.
After a few days, the patient suddenly develops symptoms of arthritis or arthrosis. The pain in the head goes away and is replaced by aches throughout the body. The patient's movements become very difficult, and breathing problems arise. The skin on the face and body becomes red and swollen; purulent boils.
Further, the symptoms only worsen, because the infection enters the patient’s circulatory system and begins its destructive work. Delay can lead to death!

If an embedded tick is found on the body, it should be pulled out immediately. You can do this procedure yourself or go to the hospital. Health workers can easily remove it and run a series of tests. Only in laboratory conditions can one accurately determine whether this tick is dangerous. If treatment is necessary, you must unconditionally follow the recommendations and instructions of the attending physician so that the effectiveness of the treatment is maximum.

Treatment of tick-borne encephalitis

Many people, including children, face the problem of tick bites in spring and summer. It can cause encephalitis and other diseases. Ticks are representatives of a subclass of arthropods. They live everywhere. The greatest danger is posed by arachnids that live in the forest zone.

Danger of being bitten

There are many different mites. These animals have the following distinctive features:

up to 5 mm in size;
have 4 pairs of legs;
equipped with gnawing or piercing-cutting mouthparts;
They are active mainly in the warm season.

The greatest danger to people comes from the bites of blood-sucking ticks, since in this case the transmission of pathogens is possible dangerous diseases from a source (animal) to a susceptible organism (human). Every year, about half a million cases of attacks by these arachnids are recorded. School-age children often face a similar problem.

Most often, bites are recorded in the Urals, Siberia and the Volga region. In most cases, people are bitten by non-disease-causing arthropods. Encephalitis ticks are detected less frequently. An attack by sterile arachnids is also dangerous, as it can cause a severe allergic reaction and sensitization of the body. The bite most often occurs in spring or summer. IN winter time Ticks hibernate.

These animals do not like high humidity, so in rainy weather the risk of arthropod attack and infection is reduced. A tick bite is painless. This is due to the fact that these arachnids, along with saliva, inject an anesthetic that reduces the sensitivity of the skin. These animals choose for blood sucking those parts of the body where the most delicate skin is. Most often, ticks attach themselves to the head, folds of the arms and legs, and groin.

Blood-sucking tick bite

A tick bite is dangerous for every person, regardless of their level of immunity. These arthropods are carriers of many diseases of viral and bacterial etiology. Against the background of a bite, the following may develop:

tick-borne encephalitis;
Q fever;

Lyme disease;
tick-borne borreliosis;
Marseilles fever;
anaplasmosis;
smallpox rickettsiosis;
tsutsugamushi fever;
paroxysmal tick-borne rickettsiosis;
blue disease;
tularemia;
ehrlichiosis;
relapsing fever;
babesiosis

Sensitive people sometimes develop severe allergic reactions, including angioedema and anaphylactic shock. Rarely does the condition of a person bitten by a tick remain unchanged. In Russia, diseases such as encephalitis and borreliosis most often develop. They have a lot in common.

Risk factors for being bitten

A tick bite can happen anywhere. This often happens in the forest, in the country, when visiting parks and squares. Predisposing factors are:

walks in the forest during the period of maximum activity of arachnids;
failure to comply with protective measures;
living near a forest;
tourism;
picking mushrooms and berries;
hunting animals in spring and summer time of the year;
organizing picnics in nature.

The greatest likelihood of being bitten occurs in April and May. During this period, ticks are very hungry. The risk of being bitten increases when visiting forests with thick grass. These animals live at a height of no more than 50 cm. The assumption that they fall from trees is false. There are none at this altitude. Very often, bites occur when sitting on stumps, walking along the edge of the forest, in ravines and in any other sunny places.

The risk group includes young children, adolescents, military personnel, shepherds, agricultural workers, mushroom pickers, and hunters. Women and children most often face this problem, as their skin is more delicate. The risk of being bitten increases in the absence of personal protective equipment. Most often, these arachnids attack people with exposed areas of the body. This is why it is so important to keep your legs, arms, neck and head covered. This reduces the access of mites to the skin.

Clinical signs of a bite

The suction process itself is asymptomatic. Subsequently, local and systemic symptoms appear. Their severity depends on the age of the bite and the presence of an infectious agent. A red spot appears at the site of the arachnid's penetration. Often it has a point in the center. Local signs Tick bites in humans include redness.

The size of the hyperemia can be 10-20 cm. The color of the spot often changes. If a tick bite causes borreliosis, then over time a crust or scar appears on the affected skin. The clinical picture is most pronounced if the animal is infected with the encephalitis virus. In this case, symptoms of a tick bite in a person include chills, fever, nausea and vomiting. They resemble the flu and ARVI.

Development of tick-borne encephalitis

After a bite, the encephalitis virus enters the blood. It then enters the central nervous system, where it causes damage to the brain and spinal cord. The consequences of a tick bite in humans include the development of meningitis, meningoencephalitis and paralysis. Sometimes the disease does not occur. This is observed in people with immunity to this virus.

The population in endemic areas has low susceptibility to the causative agent of encephalitis. There are febrile, focal and meningeal forms of the disease. The asymptomatic period from the moment of the bite is 1-2 weeks. Sometimes signs appear at lightning speed. The initial symptoms after a tick bite in a person include pain in muscles and joints, weakness, cramps, general malaise and redness of the face.

In the febrile form of the disease, body temperature rises. If an encephalitis tick bites a person, symptoms such as sweating, loss of appetite and palpitations are possible. Very often, an attack by these arachnids ends in inflammation of the membranes of the brain. If you do not consult a doctor, the sensitivity of the skin increases sharply.

The consequences of a tick bite include the development of a focal form of encephalitis. It leads to paresis, paralysis, impaired consciousness, hallucinations, radiculitis and other pathologies. If a sick person is not treated, he may become disabled. The spinal cord and brain are affected. Often peripheral nerves are involved in the process.

Providing assistance in case of a bite

Not everyone knows what to do if bitten by a tick. It is advisable to detect it as soon as possible. In the suction state, the animal can remain on the skin for several days. What to do if you are bitten by a tick is known to every experienced infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist. The following rules must be observed:

You can’t ignore a tick on your body;
consult a doctor quickly;
use tweezers or a clamp to remove;
use twisting movements;
do not pull too sharply so as not to tear the head away from the body.

First aid for bites can be provided by loved ones. The easiest way is to use thread. Not everyone knows what to do at home if a tick is found on the body. First you need to tie a small knot. Its size should match the width of the arachnid's body. The knot must be placed between the head and body of the tick and the loop must be tightened.

After this, you should carefully pull the thread. For a tick bite, first aid includes treating the wound surface with iodine or alcohol. If necessary, remove the detached head of the arachnid using a sterile needle. Not everyone can do this. It is necessary to treat the skin so that there is no purulent inflammation.

Not every person knows where to go if they are bitten by ticks. After removing the arachnid, it must be placed in a jar and taken to the laboratory. There he will be checked for the presence of the encephalitis virus and other pathogens. You need to know not only how to treat a tick bite, but also when to see a doctor.

You need to visit a specialist (neurologist) if you have symptoms of the disease in the form of fever, chills, headache and nausea. Even if first aid for a tick bite is provided correctly, this does not exclude the development of encephalitis. Complaints appear 5-3 days after suction.

Examination and treatment tactics

Treatment after a tick bite is carried out after clarification of the diagnosis. To do this, you will need the following research:

linked immunosorbent assay;
polymerase chain reaction;
neurological examination;
general clinical tests;
cerebrospinal fluid examination.

Epidemiological history data are of great importance. After a tick bite, treatment can be carried out in a hospital setting. Hospitalization is indicated for the development of encephalitis. Emergency aid for unvaccinated people includes immunoglobulin and antiviral drugs (Anaferon, Rimantadine, Yodantipirin).

If not treated promptly, the consequences of a tick bite can be very serious. The most dangerous of them is meningoencephalitis. If encephalitis develops after a tick bite, not everyone knows what to do in this situation. Treatment for such patients includes:

compliance with bed rest;
use of immunoglobulin;

use of Ribonuclease, interferon inducers or Ribavirin;
inhalation of humidified oxygen.

If a tick is attached, the bite can lead to increased pressure inside the skull. In this case, diuretics are used. Neuroprotectors are often included in the treatment regimen. Medications that improve microcirculation and painkillers are often prescribed. It is necessary to cleanse the body of the virus and prevent complications.

The symptoms and treatment of encephalitis are known to every experienced neurologist. The prognosis is most often favorable. It is determined by the degree of damage to the brain and spinal cord. The most dangerous tick bite is one that leads to focal encephalitis. People are discharged from the hospital if their body temperature remains normal during treatment for at least 2 weeks. In the future, clinical observation is required.

How to prevent a bite and infection

It is necessary to know not only what first aid should be for a tick bite, but also preventive measures. It can be specific and non-specific. The main methods of protection are:

vaccination;
use of repellents;
compliance with safety measures when visiting the forest.

To prevent human infection with tick-borne encephalitis virus, immunological drugs are used. The most commonly used vaccines are Encevir and Encepur. 3 doses are required. In Russia, culture-inactivated vaccine is often used.

Specific prevention does not avoid the bite itself, but it prevents its dangerous consequences. To prevent arachnids from sticking to the skin, you must adhere to the following rules:

treat exposed skin and shoes with repellents;
carry out processing summer cottages acaricides;
tucking pants into socks;
don't leave open areas skin;
use thermal underwear;
wear trousers with cuffs;
wear gloves and a cap;
do not stay in one place for a long time when visiting the forest;
don't sleep on the grass.

After hiking, it is recommended to examine yourself and your loved ones. Ticks can be brought with clothes or bedspreads. They also need to be inspected or processed. When a person is bitten by a tick, the symptoms are dangerous, so organizational measures are very important. preventive actions. These include installing posters, notifying the population in the media, and exterminating arachnids in parks and squares.

Acaricides are used to combat blood-sucking ticks. These are chemicals that are sprayed onto the grass to kill arachnids. Such drugs as Force-Site, Baytex, Akaritoks, Sipaz-super are in great demand. They should not be confused with repellents. The latter serve to repel ticks. These include Reftamide Anti-mite, Barrier, Fumitox Anti-mite, Pretix and Acrosol.

Similar prevention is carried out for residents living in endemic areas. Thus, ticks are capable of transmitting pathogens of bacterial, viral and protozoal diseases. At the same time, they are a reservoir of infection. The bite of these arachnids can be prevented by following simple measures security.

The mite is a subclass of arthropods from the class of arachnids; the body length of a medium-sized individual is 0.5 mm.

Insect activity begins in spring and early summer; the risk of being bitten increases in warm, dry weather. When bitten, an anesthetic substance is injected into the body through the wound, as a result of which the insect’s attacks go completely unnoticed by humans.

Ticks are known as carriers of tick-borne encephalitis, borreliosis and other dangerous diseases. If a person is bitten by an infected tick, the virus quickly enters the bloodstream and infects the entire body.

Preventive examination

After the walk, inspect the body for ticks:

the area that is located behind a person’s ears;
neck, rib cage and armpits;
groin area and genitals;
small of the back;
scalp.

The main danger to humans is contracting diseases, carried by ticks:

tick-borne typhus;
tularemia;
ehrlichiosis;
tick-borne encephalitis;
Q fever;
Lyme disease.

At the site of the bite, redness and swelling occur; in some cases, allergic reactions may occur.

Symptoms of a tick bite in humans

The tick has a peculiar organ - a hypostome (proboscis), with which it pierces the skin of the victim and attaches itself inside the wound with the help of special saliva, which simultaneously anesthetizes (that’s why a person does not feel the moment of the bite) and secures the proboscis in the wound. The mite size is about 0.3-0.4 mm, females are 1 mm larger. By sucking blood, the tick increases in size by 2-3 times.

We can identify the main symptoms in humans associated with a tick bite; they can appear after 2-3 hours, namely:

chills;
redness of the place where the bite was;
fear of light;
headache;
increased weakness and drowsiness;
painful sensations in human joints.

The following symptoms of a tick bite in humans may include the following:

skin rashes;
severe itching;
an increase in human body temperature to 39-40 degrees Celsius;
there is a decrease in blood pressure;
there is a clear ;
You can observe an increase in lymph nodes, namely regional ones.

In addition to these symptoms, it is necessary to consider the presence secondary signs, which provoked the tick with its bite, namely:

nausea;
profuse vomiting;
hoarse voice;
heavy breathing and shortness of breath;
severe headache accompanied by dizziness;
the presence of peculiar nervous disorders, for example: hallucinations.

Ticks are carriers of many diseases, including tick-borne encephalitis, tick-borne borreliosis (Lyme disease), rickettsiosis and other infections. When you find a tick attached, remove it as soon as possible! You cannot delay removal. The longer a tick drinks blood, the more infection it gets into the body.

The first signs of Borreliosis and tick-borne encephalitis

Lyme disease (borreliosis):

Tick-borne encephalitis:

general and muscle weakness in the neck, arms and legs;
feeling of numbness in the neck and face;
chills, increased body temperature;
nausea, vomiting;
severe headache;
staining the skin of the face, neck, oral mucosa and eyes red.

If these symptoms appear, you should urgently consult an infectious disease specialist or clinic physician, emergency department infectious diseases hospital, and in serious condition - to an ambulance.

What does a tick bite look like on a person: photo

The area around the bite varies in color from pink to reddish, depending on the body's reaction. In the center there will be a noticeable deepening of the skin.

What to do if you are bitten by a tick?

Since ticks are a carrier of serious diseases, when you return home after going to a park or forest, you should not immediately lie down on the sofa. It is important to carefully examine yourself and your loved ones for ticks on your body.

If a tick is found, it must be removed from the human body as soon as possible. There are several ways to do this at home.

You can try to “unscrew” the insect from the skin. In this case, movements must be made counterclockwise. You need to keep the tick as close to the skin as possible to prevent the abdomen from tearing. Wrap your fingers in a bandage or gauze.
Another variant - using improvised means, such as thread from clothing. She needs to tighten her proboscis as close as possible to skin distance and, performing rocking movements, slowly remove the tick. Some people remove ticks with their fingernails or matches.

If you did not have the opportunity to go to a medical facility and have the tick analyzed, then it is advisable to monitor the affected person for a month.

It is also worth knowing that the incubation period for Lyme disease from the onset of infection to the onset of symptoms is usually 1-2 weeks, but it can be much shorter (several days) or longer (months to years). In the case of tick-borne encephalitis, it is generally accepted that from the moment the virus enters the bloodstream until the onset of the first manifestations of the disease, from 1 day to a month passes. On average, the period is 1-3 weeks, since the forms of development of the disease are different.

Consequences of a tick bite for humans

A tick bite in itself is not dangerous to humans. Serious consequences after a bite can only occur if the insect has been infected.

A tick can be the source of quite a large number of diseases, so after removing the tick, save it for testing for infection. tick-borne infections(tick-borne encephalitis, tick-borne borreliosis (Lyme disease), if there is a possibility for other infections), this can usually be done in an infectious diseases hospital. You need to understand that the presence of an infection in a tick does not mean that a person will get sick. A tick analysis is needed for peace of mind in case of a negative result and vigilance in case of a positive result.

Here is a list of diseases that ticks can transmit:

Lyme borreliosis;
Tick-borne hemorrhagic fevers;
Ehrlichiosis;
Anaplasmosis;
Tick-borne typhus;
Smallpox rickettsiosis;
Tsutsugamushi fever;
Q fever;
Paroxysmal tick-borne rickettsiosis;
Human babesiosis.

The most common in Russia and pose a serious threat to human health are tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis. Of course, the likelihood of becoming infected from a tick bite is not too high, because 90% of ticks, according to research, are sterile. However, it is present.

Consequences of an encephalitis tick bite

Unfavorable outcome:

Persistent decrease in quality of life with progression of symptoms (continuous progression, abortive - recurrent).
Persistent organic syndrome with a significant decrease in quality of life in the form of motor function defects without progression of symptoms.
Contribute to the progression of symptoms: drinking, stress, overwork, pregnancy, etc.). Long-term persistent changes in the form of epilepsy, hyperkinesis are the reason for determining disability groups III, II, I.

Favorable outcome:

Chronic weakness, lasting up to 2 months, followed by complete restoration of body functions.
Moderate infection with recovery up to 6 months.
Severe infection with a recovery period of up to 2 years without paresis or paralysis.

Helpful information

If you have saved a live tick for analysis, it will be taken in the laboratory at the infectious diseases hospital or at the sanitary and epidemiological station.
If you are vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis, this provides protection against infection with the virus.
10 days after the bite, you can test the blood using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis.
After 14 days, the blood is tested for antibodies to tick-borne encephalitis.
Borreliosis antibodies can be detected in the blood only 30 days after infection.

Prevention

Of course, you shouldn’t deprive yourself of the pleasure of walking outside the city under the canopy of trees, because ticks can also be found in the city. Simply, when going into the forest, you need to adhere to certain rules of prevention in order to protect yourself as much as possible from these blood-sucking insects:

Avoiding places where ticks accumulate, which prefer to live in damp thickets of plants.
Take special care during peak activity of such dangerous insects, this is the period from early May to mid-September.
Wearing closed clothing, and open areas body - rubbing special creams and remedies against tick bites, which will not allow insects to have access to the open human body.

Prevention of consequences associated with a tick bite is based on:

Vaccinations ( preventative measure), it cannot be used if a person is infected.
Specific immunotherapy is a therapeutic measure (administration of immunoglobulin only in case of infection or suspected infection after a bite).
Using special clothing and devices to prevent ticks from getting on the body.
Using products to repel and kill ticks.
Health insurance to pay for possible treatment.

Also remember that when bitten, the infection is usually not transmitted immediately. The longer a tick stays on the body, the greater the chance of contracting encephalitis or borreliosis.

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 of tick-borne encephalitis in humans is several days - during this time external signs It is impossible to say whether a 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 the 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 the most favorable place for the virus to multiply - 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 occurs quite quickly nervous system. 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 possible routes of infection with tick-borne encephalitis are known - 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 stress and fresh air, of course, are useful, but they certainly won’t 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. We are talking about all the forms of encephalitis listed above. 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 if there are any obvious signs of health problems during the incubation period of tick-borne encephalitis, it is necessary to as soon as possible take the victim of a tick bite to a doctor 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. How more people moves, especially in the initial period of the disease, 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 still needs time to full recovery.

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.