What are the symptoms after a tick bite in a person? Tick ​​bites - first signs, symptoms in humans, what a bite looks like, consequences and prevention

With the onset of warming, there is a high probability of finding a tick bite on the body. In summer, this problem becomes especially urgent; ticks are becoming more common. A tick bite can cause irreparable harm to human health, cause disability or even death, 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.

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

• paralyzes the body;
• breathing problems occur;
• brain activity decreases;
• Possible death.

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

• suppuration of the affected area;
• the occurrence of an allergic reaction;
• the appearance of edema, even Quincke's edema is possible.

It is impossible to independently determine whether an infectious tick has embedded itself or not. Their appearance and color does not depend whether they are infected or not. If you are bitten by an infected tick, prompt 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 suck blood? 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 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 on a cat’s body – one that has recently been sucked on and one that has already 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 cannot 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 “Zyrtec”, “Suprastin”, “Prednisolone” (smear the bite site): 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?

1. 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.
2. If you had to remove the bloodsucker in nature, and there were no tweezers nearby, an ordinary thread will help. With its help, the proboscis is tied near the very surface of the skin and pulled out with light jerks.
3. After removal, you need to make sure that the tick is intact, put it in an airtight container and deliver it to the clinic for analysis as soon as possible.
4. 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:

1. 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.
2. After some time, the patient may experience symptoms: nausea and vomiting, attacks of severe headache. At this stage, all symptoms indicate a gastrointestinal disorder.
3. 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, and purulent abscesses appear at the site of the bite.
4. 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

Mid-spring is the beginning of the peak season for the activation of ticks, from whose attacks no one is immune, so it is important to know the signs of a tick bite on a person in order to carry out emergency prevention or preventive treatment. Everything you need to know about the signs of a bite, consequences, methods of treatment and prevention is in our article.

• taiga Ixodes Persulcatus;
• European forest Ixodes Ricinus.

The absence of eyes is compensated by a highly developed sense of smell and touch; the increased sensitivity of these organs allows the animal to react with lightning speed to the proximity of the prey. During feeding, the rear part of the female's body stretches, allowing it to absorb a volume of blood many times greater than the body weight of the hungry individual. Males are less bloodthirsty: males attach for a short time, replenishing the deficiency of nutrients.

VIDEO: How ixodid fauna representatives attack

Pincer attacks: features

If you are bitten by a tick, characteristic symptoms in humans they appear only after a certain time. How serious the consequences of an attack by a blood-sucking relative of insects can be is determined by a number of key points:

The reaction to a tick bite depends on the combination of the conditions described above. The consequences of attacks by arthropods are diseases of natural focality, including infection:

• encephalitis;
• borreliosis - neurological syndrome of Lyme disease;
• typhus, relapsing fever;
• hemorrhagic fever;
• Q-fever;
• tularemia;
• monocytic erchiliosis.

An attack by a female or a male is equally dangerous. The attack by a male is short-lived and painless, so the wound is difficult to notice immediately. Cases of encephalitis infection, when victims deny the possibility of contact, are a clear example of a male attack.

Ticks suck blood from humans, plunging their heads into the skin, first cutting the layers of the dermis, simultaneously injecting an anesthetic, and fixing themselves inside by means of a hypostomome - a special outgrowth resembling an anchor.

• belly;
• neck/back of the head/ears;
• lower back/back;
• chest;
• armpits;
• groin

The result of a tick attack is microtrauma of the skin. A tick bite, symptoms are manifested by the development of an inflammatory process caused by the action of the components of the animal’s saliva. The most “harmless” consequences are local allergic reactions, accompanied by redness of the suction area. When the effect of the anesthetic wears off, the skin begins to itch.

After an attack by a borreliosis carrier, the bite site acquires a pronounced reddish tint, caused by intense expansion of the capillaries. After a while, an additional bright red border appears around the round or oval spot, and the area inside turns blue or white.

A tumor after a tick bite or the formation of a lump-shaped seal is explained by two reasons:

• allergy to the composition secreted by the salivary glands. Signs of a tick bite in an allergic person are determined by the degree of aggressiveness of the allergens secreted by the animal’s saliva plus the individual immune response;
• improper removal of the arthropod - part of the proboscis remains inside. The immune system recognizes a foreign protein compound, including a defense mechanism, the body reacts with swelling of the affected area, and an abscess may occur.

Even when you are sure that the attacked tick is 100% a carrier of pathogens, the first signs appear only after a certain period of time.

Symptoms of arthropod damage

Externally, the first signs of a tick bite appear:

• headache;
• chills, fever;
• development of tachycardia, decreased blood pressure;
• gagging;
• deterioration of general health, apathy;
• swelling of the affected area;
• muscle weakness, numbness of the limbs;
• difficulty breathing;
• decreased/loss of appetite;
• photophobia - painful perception of bright light by the eyes.

Rare cases of allergic reactions are accompanied by angioedema and temporary paralysis.

The latent period of borreliosis, ehrlichiosis, encephalitis, and anaplasmosis is a month. The swelling after a tick bite may persist long time. The absence of fever is a favorable sign. The onset of the inflammatory process and the formation of an abscess becomes a reason to see a doctor. Independent manipulations - cauterization, heating, use of ointments are fraught with complications; consultation with a specialist is necessary.

VIDEO: Tick bite, what to do and how to prevent

Encephalitis: alarming symptoms

There are no characteristic signs of a tick bite on a person confirming 100% infection with the disease. Only laboratory staff can confirm or deny the fact that the bloodsucker is infected. An attack by infected arthropods implies a gradual proliferation of pathogens, given the absence of pronounced manifestations of the disease. The first signs of an encephalitis tick bite in a person will appear after 8-10 days. The presence of immunodeficiencies and chronic diseases can accelerate the development of symptoms of the disease, so health worsens after 3-4 days.

The onset of any form of pathology manifests itself similarly to the flu:

• febrile condition, accompanied by high temperature up to 39.9°;
• body aches - muscle/joint pain;
• decreased vitality of the body;
• headache.

Active reproduction of pathogenic bacteria provokes fever, the duration of the period is 6-10 days. Possible various options developments of events. A mild course of the disease implies recovery, rapid restoration of the body, and the production of antibodies that prevent re-infection. A rare occurrence is the change from a febrile form to a chronic course of the disease.

After the fever stage, a short remission may also occur, then the viral attack resumes, accompanied by similar symptoms of fever. Overcoming the blood-brain barrier by the virus causes damage to cells of the nervous system. This stage of encephalitis is characterized by the appearance of symptoms of meningitis. Viral attacks alternately disrupt the functioning of internal organs.

Certain signs are characteristic of different lesions:

1. The meningoencephalitic form is characterized by the appearance of hallucinations, pronounced mental changes, paralysis, paresis, and epileptic seizures.
2. The polio form is distinguished by a number of signs characteristic of polio, which causes loss of the ability of the muscles of the neck and arms to move (paralysis).
3. The polyradiculoneurotic form is accompanied by damage to the peripheral nerves, loss of sensitivity of the leg muscles, and the development of severe pain affecting the groin area.

An unfavorable outcome implies a significant reduction in the patient's quality of life. The result may be dysfunction of the musculoskeletal system. Progressive symptoms cause epilepsy of varying severity, hyperkinesis, severe mental disorders, severe asthenia - the person becomes disabled.

First aid

It is forbidden to pull the bloodsucker, use gasoline, kerosene, oil, vinegar, pouring chemicals into the affected area. Such manipulations are fraught with the death of the animal, relaxation of the oral apparatus, the entry of the full volume of dangerous microbes into the blood, and an increased risk of developing diseases.

The wound will need to be treated with an antiseptic composition, minimizing the intensity of the manifestation characteristic features defeats. Swelling has appeared, breathing has become difficult - it is advisable to give an intramuscular injection of Prednisolone.

The ideal option is to examine a living individual through microscopy, finding out whether the victim was attacked by a sterile or infected individual. The damaged body is also covered with ice and delivered to laboratory specialists. The research is carried out by employees of Rospotrebnadzor, the lists of addresses contain relevant websites.

Prevention and treatment of infections caused by blood-sucking arachnids

Symptoms and treatment of encephalitis exclude antibiotic therapy, meaning:

• mandatory hospitalization in a hospital;
• compliance with bed rest, including the period of fever plus the entire subsequent week, after the disappearance of acute influenza symptoms;
• prescription of prednisolone, ribonuclease, rheopolyglucin, polyglucin, hemodez;
• the manifestation of signs of meningitis is eliminated by increased dosages of drugs containing vitamin B, ascorbic acid;
• breathing difficulties are alleviated by the use of mechanical ventilation methods - intensive ventilation of the lungs;
• restorative treatment measures include courses of anabolic steroids, nootropic drugs, and transquilizers.

Treatment of Lyme borreliosis requires the mandatory use of antibiotics that help stop the negative consequences of infection by quickly reducing the activity of spirochetes, the main causative agents of the disease. When an infection provokes dysfunction of the nervous system, the patient requires mandatory hospitalization.

VIDEO: How to properly remove a tick from a person

Basic principles of drug therapy

1. To prevent the initial signs - the formation of a characteristic reddish spot, tetracycline drugs are intended - antimicrobial agents that allow you to effectively treat infections of various origins. The use of bacteriostatic agents helps to minimize late-stage complications.
2. The development of neurological syndrome of tick-borne borreliosis is stopped by courses of intravenous injections of antibiotics of the penicillin group, cephalosporins.
3. The disturbed water balance is restored by using saline solutions, vitamins, prednisolone, agents that stabilize blood circulation in the brain, and taking anabolic steroids.

You need to know the following facts:

• Vaccination against encephalitis is guaranteed to protect against the disease.
• After 10 days, the blood is tested using PCR methods. Polymerase chain reaction identifies microorganisms that provoke the development of encephalitis and Lyme borreliosis.
• Two weeks later, a test is performed to determine the presence of antibodies that prevent infection with encephalitis.
• After a month, the presence of Lyme borreliosis antibodies can be detected.

The choice of antigenic material for vaccination, indicated for any person who is a resident of a disadvantaged region, who has a profession that requires frequent stay in forest areas, includes several types of vaccines produced by Russia, Switzerland, and Germany.

Vaccination with human immunoglobulin is a paid service. Free administration of gamma globulin is indicated for individuals, in accordance with the terms of the encephalitis treatment program provided for by the voluntary health insurance policy.

Russian-made vaccines

1. The use of concentrated culture purified inactivated dry vaccine is indicated for children over four years of age. The developer is the M.P. Chumakov Institute.
2. The administration of the drug Encevir, produced by the Microgen research and production association, is permitted from the age of 18 years.

Vaccines from the Austrian manufacturer BaxterVaccine AG

• the use of FSME-IMMUN Inject is indicated for the age category 1-16 years;
• The drug FSME-IMMUN Junior is used in a similar way.

German drugs

• Encepur vaccine for children, approved from the first years of life;
• use of Encepur for adults, indicated from 12 years of age

Vaccinations are given to everyone interested, given the absence of contraindications. Primary vaccination can be given to children during the first year of life, preferably using imported drugs. A timely vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis is an effective preventive measure that allows you to minimize the symptoms and consequences of a tick-borne attack.

VIDEO: What to do if bitten by a tick

The spring-summer period is an ideal time for a pleasant time in nature, and for ticks - best time to attack a person. You can meet these arthropods in the park, in the forest, and even in your summer cottage. In addition to the unpleasant sight of a tick attached to the body, such an encounter can lead to infection with severe infectious diseases, including tick-borne encephalitis, Lyme disease and others.

There are more than 40,000 species of ticks in nature. Among them, the most dangerous to humans are blood-sucking ixodid ticks. They resemble small brown bugs with four pairs of legs and a proboscis (the size of a hungry individual is about 5 mm; a saturated tick usually increases significantly). During a bite, pathogens of infectious diseases enter the human body along with the saliva of the tick.

However, not all ticks are carriers of infections. Many of them are sterile, that is, they do not contain viruses and bacteria dangerous to humans (the number of infectious and non-infectious ticks varies depending on the region). But since appearance It is impossible to determine whether a tick is infected or not; you must always remain vigilant.

Both female and male arthropods bite people. This usually happens after the end of a long autumn-winter hibernation - ticks wake up and need blood. Their food source can be both animals and humans.

Hunting for potential food takes place in the following way: a tick, using hooks on its legs, climbs onto blades of grass or sticks sticking up and waits for a victim, if one appears, the arthropod grabs it with its front legs and begins to look for a place suitable for a bite. Those people who think that a tick can fall on its head from a tree are mistaken; these animals cover no more than 10 m of distance in their entire lives and certainly do not climb trees. They can be found on the neck and head only because, once on the human body, they always move upward in search of an open and “juicy” area of ​​skin.

Where do ticks live?

The favorite habitats of ixodid ticks in nature are moist and shaded areas:

• ravines;
• meadow bottom;
• forest edges;
• willow thickets along the banks of forest reservoirs;
• edges of forest paths.

As a rule, people do not feel the very moment of the bite, but discover the tick when it is already firmly attached to the body. This is explained simply: when the victim’s skin is punctured, the arthropod, along with saliva, releases active substances into the wound that have some analgesic effect.

People prone to allergies may develop a severe allergic reaction at the site of the bite with itching and redness of the skin. In rare cases, a tick bite can lead to and. Symptoms of these conditions are as follows: swelling of the face, difficulty breathing, a sharp deterioration in health, loss of consciousness, etc. In addition, as a result of a tick bite, a person may experience an increase in body temperature, aches in the muscles and joints, chills, and severe drowsiness.

In general, the severity of the body’s reaction to an arthropod bite depends on the state of health. For allergy sufferers, young children, and the elderly, the reaction can be very violent. In healthy adults, contact with a tick may not affect their well-being in any way, and they will learn about the fact of a bite only after seeing an incomprehensible formation on their body.

What should I do if bitten by a tick?

Since the likelihood of contracting dangerous infections increases significantly with prolonged contact of the human body with a tick, the main thing that needs to be done is to remove the arthropod. But the removal procedure should be carried out correctly so as not to crush or damage the tick, since this can further contribute to infection. In addition, the tick can and even should be examined in the laboratory for the fact of infectiousness, and for this it must remain intact.

Therefore, if you do not have the skills to remove ticks, but there is a possibility, it is better to contact the nearest medical institution, where they will expertly remove the arthropod and give recommendations on how to remove ticks. further actions. In addition, you can ask all your questions regarding tactics of behavior in the presence of a tick on the body by calling 103 (by calling ambulance).

The best way to remove a tick is special device m, which is sold in pharmacies. This could be a “lasso pen”, UNICLIN TICK TWISTER, etc. If there is no pharmacy nearby, you can use ordinary cosmetic tweezers or sewing thread.

The person who will remove the tick must take care of his own safety - wear rubber gloves or wrap his fingers in a bandage. It is also advisable to prepare in advance Plastic container with a lid or a plastic bag for the tick (so that it can be delivered safely to the laboratory).

The removal procedure itself must be carried out as follows:

• Grab the arthropod with tweezers or a special device as close to the proboscis as possible (this is the part of the animal’s body that is in the skin). If a thread is used, a loop should be made from it, which must be carefully tightened over the head of the tick embedded in the skin.
• Smoothly pull up. In this case, you should not apply great force, as this may simply cause the tick to burst, and all its contents will end up on the skin and into the wound. In addition, with a sharp jerk, the arthropod’s proboscis remains in the wound, which can cause inflammation and even suppuration.
• After removing the tick, wash the skin with soapy water and treat it with any product containing alcohol. There is no need to apply a bandage. If the head of an arthropod remains in the skin, you should try to remove it from the body with a sterile needle like a splinter.

Important: sunflower oil, fatty ointments, airtight dressings and others folk remedies control of ticks are not effective; their use only takes up precious time.

After removing the tick, it is advisable to do the following:

• Mark on the calendar the date when everything happened.
• Call your general practitioner or family doctor, explain the situation and ask about the need and timing of blood tests and taking some preventive measures (in some cases, to prevent the development of tick-borne encephalitis, immunoglobulins are administered to victims of tick bites, antiviral drugs are prescribed, etc.) .
• Take the tick to the laboratory. Information about laboratories can be found on the website of Rospotrebnadzor in your region.

It is necessary to visit a doctor in the following cases:

• If there are signs of inflammation in the bite area (swelling, redness, etc.).
• If, between 3 and 30 days after the bite, red spots appear on the skin.
• If your body temperature rises, muscle pain, unmotivated weakness and other unpleasant symptoms appear (these signs are especially important to monitor during the first 2 months after the bite).

Consequences of a tick bite

Ixodid ticks are carriers of the following infectious diseases:

• Tick-borne, in which the patient, due to damage to the gray matter of the brain, experiences various neurological disorders, mental disorders, and even death is possible.
• Tick-borne borreliosis() - a polymorphic disease that affects the skin, lymphatic system, joints, heart and other internal organs. Borrelia, the causative agent of borreliosis, is most often found when examining ixodid ticks.
• Monocytic ehrlichiosis, which is characterized by neurological disorders, general intoxication syndrome, inflammation of the respiratory tract and other pathological manifestations.
• Granulocytic anaplasmosis. This disease resembles an intestinal infection and is quite mild. People with weakened immune systems may develop complications from the nervous system and kidneys.

To avoid becoming a victim of ticks, when visiting potentially dangerous places (parks, forests, etc.), you must adhere to a number of rules:

• Wear the correct clothes. It should be light so that ticks are visible, and provide maximum coverage and protection of the body from arthropods getting into the collar, under the trouser leg, or under the sleeve. Since ticks attack from below, pants should be tucked into socks and boots.
• Always use repellent. Today manufacturers offer a large number of protective agents against ticks, among them you can choose ones that are safe even for small children. There are also special suits impregnated with acaricidal substances. Upon contact with acaricides, ticks die and fall off clothing.
• Move along the widest possible paths, minimizing foot contact with grass and bushes.
• Inspect clothing periodically.
• After returning home, carefully inspect both clothes and body, paying special attention to the following places: ears, hairline, interdigital folds, popliteal areas, groin area, perineum, navel.

It may take varying amounts of time before the first symptoms of infection transmitted by a tick begin to appear – from one day to several weeks. This depends on the type of disease and many factors, such as immunity, age, duration of tick suction, etc.

These arachnids can be large enough or so small that they are almost impossible to see. There are approximately 850 various types ticks. Most of their bites are not harmful, but sometimes they can cause moderate to severe illness.

Subsequently, disturbances in the functioning of the cardiac and/or nervous system, kidneys, adrenal glands, liver damage and even death may occur.

Symptoms

The male drinks blood and falls off after about an hour. For a female, this process can take more than a week.

The first symptoms of major diseases transmitted by ticks usually resemble the flu

You should monitor for symptoms for several weeks after the bite. These include muscle or joint pain, neck stiffness, headache, weakness, fever, swollen lymph nodes and other flu-like symptoms, and a red spot or rash starting at the site of the bite.

Here are some symptoms of bites, which vary depending on the type of tick:

• Stopping breathing
• Labored breathing
• Blisters
• Rashes
• Severe pain in the area lasts several weeks (from some types of mites)
• Swelling at the site of the bite (from some types of ticks)
• Weakness
• Impaired coordination of movements.

If a person is bitten by an infected tick, the incubation period (the time between infection and the onset of symptoms) is about 5-7 days. Symptoms may vary depending on the condition of the body. Age and underlying health conditions may influence the severity of the infection.

Typical features may include a black spot at the site of the bite, fever, severe headache and rash. The black spot is a scab and looks like a small ulcer (2-5 mm in diameter) with a black center. They can be single or multiple and are sometimes very difficult to find. Usually appears after the onset of headache and general malaise. Lymph nodes in this area may be enlarged.

A rash is usually, but not always, a sign of an infected tick bite, but is rare. Appears as small red patches of skin, sometimes slightly raised, that begin on the extremities and spread to the torso, and can occur throughout the body, including the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.

Lyme disease (tick-borne borreliosis)

“Classic” migratory erythema rash with tick-borne borreliosis

Symptoms of early localized Lyme disease (stage 1) may appear a few days to a few weeks after infection. These are similar to flu symptoms and may include:

• Fever and chills
• General poor health
• Headache
• Pain in muscles and joints
• Neck stiffness (stiff neck).

You may also see a bull's eye rash, a flat or slightly raised red spot at the site of the bite. It can be large and increase in size. This rash is called erythema migrans. Without treatment, it can last 4 weeks or longer.

Symptoms may come and go. Without treatment, the bacteria can spread to the brain, heart and joints.

Symptoms of early widespread Lyme disease (stage 2) may occur several weeks to several months after the bite and may include:

• Numbness or pain in the nerve area
• Paralysis or weakness of facial muscles
• Problems with your heart, such as fast heartbeat, chest pain, or shortness of breath.

Symptoms of late disseminated Lyme disease (stage 3) may occur months or years after infection. The most common among them are muscle and joint pain. Other symptoms may include:

• Abnormal muscle movement
• Joint tumor
• Muscle weakness
• Numbness and tingling
• Speech problems
• Cognitive problems.

Tick-borne encephalitis

Most people who are infected show no symptoms at all—this is called the asymptomatic form. In other cases, the incubation period lasts from 4 to 28 days. Symptoms usually appear faster (within 3-4 days) if the disease is contracted through drinking milk or dairy products rather than through a bite.

They often appear in 2 stages.

In the first stage, symptoms are similar to the flu and usually last from 1 to 8 days, including:

• Fever
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Muscle pain
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea
• Vomit.

At the second stage, the central nervous system(brain and spinal cord). Symptoms may include:

• Encephalitis (cerebral swelling)
• Confusion
• Paralysis (inability to move)
• Meningitis (swelling of the membrane around the brain and spinal cord)
• Myelitis (swelling of the spinal cord).

The severity of the disease may increase with age.

In more severe cases, complications during the second phase can cause long-term damage to the brain, spine, or nerves, which can lead to:

• Memory loss
• Hearing loss
• Loss of coordination
• Death (in some cases).