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Sick from a Tick Bite: Symptoms of Tickborne Illness | Ticks

What should you do if you get a tick bite? How can you identify tick bites and symptoms? When should you call your doctor about a tick bite?

Identifying Tick Bites

Tick bites don’t always cause disease, but when they do, it can be serious. Ticks aren’t like bugs that bite you and then fly away or scoot off. When one gets on your body, it sets up camp. It finds a place to eat, then burrows its head into your skin and starts feeding. And it will stay there for several days.

Most likely, you won’t feel anything because the bite doesn’t hurt, and it isn’t usually itchy. Because ticks are often very small, you might not see it either. At first, it might just look like a fleck of dirt. As it feeds though, it swells up and can be easier to find.

You might get a small red bump where the tick bites you. Some people’s bodies react to ticks with 1 to 2 inches of redness around the bite. That red area won’t get any bigger, unless it’s really a rash, which is a sign of disease.

Ticks typically bite people in warm, moist, or hairy areas, like the scalp, skin behind the ear, armpits, groin, and skin between your toes.

Tick Bite Symptoms

What are the symptoms of a tickborne illness? Tickborne diseases can cause a range of symptoms, including:

  • Rash
  • Fever
  • Fatigue
  • Headache
  • Muscle pain
  • Joint swelling and pain

If you experience any of these symptoms after a tick bite, it’s important to consult your healthcare provider. They can determine the appropriate treatment based on your symptoms, history of exposure, and in some cases, blood test results.

Treating a Tick Bite

What should you do if you find a tick attached to your skin? Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible. Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don’t twist or jerk the tick. After removing the tick, clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water. Dispose of the tick by flushing it down the toilet.

If you would like to have the tick identified, you can place it in a zippered plastic bag or sealed container with a moist cotton ball or paper towel and bring it to your healthcare provider.

When to Call the Doctor

When should you call your doctor about a tick bite? Consider talking to your healthcare provider if you live in an area where Lyme disease is common. Call your doctor if you develop any of the following symptoms:

  • Rash
  • Fever
  • Fatigue
  • Headache
  • Muscle pain
  • Joint swelling and pain

Early treatment is key for many tickborne diseases, so it’s important to seek medical attention promptly if you have any concerning symptoms.

Preventing Tick Bites

How can you reduce your chances of getting sick from a tick bite? Here are some top tips for preventing tick bites:

  1. Wear long-sleeved, light-colored clothing with tightly woven fabric. This gives ticks less area to target and allows you to see ticks on your clothing.
  2. Tuck your pants into your socks, shoes, or boots so that ticks cannot easily get under your pant legs.
  3. Use EPA-registered insect repellent containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus (OLE), para-menthane-diol (PMD), or 2-undecanone.
  4. Treat clothing and gear with products containing 0.5% permethrin.
  5. Check for ticks when returning from the outdoors, as they can ride in on your clothing or pets.
  6. Shower within two hours of coming indoors, as this may help wash off unattached ticks and is a good opportunity to do a tick check.
  7. Discuss using tick prevention products for your pets with your veterinarian.

By taking these simple precautions, you can reduce your risk of getting sick from a tick bite. Remember, early treatment is key, so be sure to seek medical attention if you develop any concerning symptoms.

Diseases and Allergic Reactions

Ticks can carry a variety of diseases, some of them serious. Tickborne illnesses can cause a range of symptoms, including rash, fever, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, and joint swelling and pain.

In addition to diseases, ticks can also trigger allergic reactions in some people. A bite from the lone star tick, for example, can lead to a meat allergy.

If you experience any concerning symptoms after a tick bite, it’s important to consult your healthcare provider. They can determine the appropriate treatment based on your symptoms, history of exposure, and in some cases, blood test results.

Tick-Borne Illnesses and Flu-Like Symptoms

Many tick-borne illnesses can cause flu-like symptoms, such as fever, chills, and body aches. This can make it challenging to diagnose the specific illness, as the symptoms may seem like a common case of the flu.

However, it’s important to seek medical attention if you experience these symptoms after a tick bite, as they could be a sign of a more serious tickborne disease. Your healthcare provider can order the appropriate tests and provide the necessary treatment.

Remember, early treatment is key for many tickborne diseases, so don’t hesitate to reach out to your doctor if you have any concerns.

Tick bite? What you should do to reduce your chances of getting sick

Internal Medicine

(SACRAMENTO)

Tick bites can make people sick and may spread Lyme disease and many other illnesses. A bite from one type of tick can even lead to a meat allergy. Tick exposure can occur year-round, but ticks are most active during warmer months (April-September). If you spend time outside walking, hiking or gardening, it’s important to know what to look for – and what to do if you are bitten or find a tick on your skin.  

Below are some steps that you can take after a tick bite to reduce your chances of getting sick and how to get treatment promptly if you do get sick.

If you find a tick attached to you

  • Tick Removal: Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin as you can. Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don’t twist or jerk the tick. After removing the tick, clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water. Dispose of the tick by flushing it down the toilet. If you would like to bring the tick to your health care provider for identification, place the tick in a zippered plastic bag or sealed container with a moist cotton ball or paper towel. Check out these tick removal guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Consult with your health care provider: Consider talking to your health care provider if you live in an area where Lyme disease is common. Call your health care provider if you get any of the following symptoms:
    • Rash
    • Fever
    • Fatigue
    • Headache
    • Muscle pain
    • Joint swelling and pain
  • Treatment: For tickborne diseases, treatment is based on symptoms, history of exposure to ticks, and in some cases, blood test results. Most tickborne diseases can be treated with a short course of antibiotics.

Top tips to prevent tick bites

If you are planning an outdoor activity, especially those in a heavily wooded area, it is important to follow a few simple precautions to protect yourself from tick bites.

  • Wear long-sleeved, light-colored clothing, with tightly woven fabric. This gives ticks less area to target and allows you to see ticks on your clothing. Make sure you tuck your pants into your socks, shoes, or boots so that ticks cannot easily get under your pant legs.
  • Use Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered insect repellent containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus (OLE), para-menthane-diol (PMD), or 2-undecanone. Treat clothing and gear with products containing 0.5% permethrin. Permethrin can be used to treat boots, clothing and camping gear and remains protective through several washings.
  • When returning from the outdoors, check for ticks. Ticks can ride into your home on clothing and pets, then attach to a person later, so carefully examine pets, coats, and daypacks.
  • Be sure to check your pets, too. You should discuss using tick prevention products for your pets with your veterinarian.
  • Shower within two hours of coming indoors. It has been shown to reduce your risk of getting Lyme disease and may be effective in reducing the risk of other tickborne diseases. Showering may help wash off unattached ticks and it is a good opportunity to do a tick check.

Diseases, Symptoms, Fever, Allergic Reactions, & Flu-Like Symptoms

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors

  • How to Identify Tick Bites
  • Tick Bite Symptoms
  • How to Treat a Tick Bite
  • When Should I Call My Doctor?
  • How to Prevent Tick Bites

A lot of bites from little critters looking for their next meal are no big deal. You get a small red bump, maybe it’s itchy, and you move on. But if you have a tick, you want to know about it.

Ticks carry a lot of different diseases, some of them serious. Usually, early treatment is your key to a full and fast recovery. That means you need to know what to look for if a tick bites you.

Tick bites don’t always cause disease, but when they do, it can be serious. Photo: Moment/Getty Images

Ticks aren’t like bugs that bite you and then fly away or scoot off. When one gets on your body, it sets up camp. It finds a place to eat, then burrows its head into your skin and starts feeding. And it will stay there for several days.

Most likely, you won’t feel anything because the bite doesn’t hurt, and it isn’t usually itchy. Because ticks are often very small, you might not see it either. At first, it might just look like a fleck of dirt. As it feeds though, it swells up and can be easier to find.

You might get a small red bump where the tick bites you. Some people’s bodies react to ticks with 1 to 2 inches of redness around the bite. That red area won’t get any bigger, unless it’s really a rash, which is a sign of disease.

Ticks typically bite people in warm, moist, or hairy areas, like the:

  • Scalp
  • Skin behind the ear
  • Armpit
  • Groin
  • Skin between your fingers and toes

Once a tick finds a place to feed, it will stay there anywhere from a few days to 2 weeks. Ticks bite once and use that site to feed on your blood until they’re full. A tick will fall off on its own once it’s full. You won’t get multiple bites from a tick. Most tick bites are painless and cause only a minor reaction. Only sometimes do they transmit disease.

Tick bites often cause a reaction on your skin, even when they’re not infected or disease-causing. Typical symptoms of a tick bite may include:

  • A small hard bump or sore
  • Redness
  • Swelling

Unlike other bites, tick bites don’t usually have fluid or pus in them, unless they’re infected.

Most diseases from ticks also give you flu-like symptoms, such as:

  • Body aches
  • Chills
  • Feeling very tired
  • A fever
  • A headache

With Lyme disease, you may also have joint pain.

Only some diseases from ticks give you a rash. What it looks like depends on which kind you have.

Lyme disease: Most people with Lyme disease get a rash, but not all of them. It shows up within 3-30 days after you were bitten, but it usually takes just over a week.

You’ll see a round or oval area of redness around the bite. At first, it may look just like a reaction to the bite, but the rash gets bigger over days or even weeks. Typically, it reaches about 6 inches wide. It might feel warm, but it’s not usually painful or itchy.

Most people think of the bull’s-eye rash when they hear about Lyme disease. That happens in less than half the cases, and it comes after the rash has been around for a while.

On lighter skin, the faint color and border of the rash might be more noticeable. But on darker skin, it may be less visible.

You could also notice a crusted center within the rash. If you have darker skin, this may look like a deeper-colored patch of skin. On lighter skin, it may appear as a red scabby area.

Lyme disease rashes can show up in different shapes and colors. Rashes on light skin tend to be redder and bluer, while rashes on dark skin may be a deeper blue or purple. But everyone’s rash will look slightly different.

Rocky Mountain spotted fever: Most people with RMSF get a rash 2-5 days after they first get symptoms. It won’t look the same on everyone, but it usually starts as small, flat, pink spots on your wrists and ankles.

It spreads from there to the rest of your body. In about half the cases, the spots turn red or purple after about a week.

While the spots may be more noticeable on lighter skin, they may be fainter on darker skin. This means that Rocky Mountain spotted fever can be easily missed in people with dark skin.

Southern tick-associated rash illness: With STARI, you get a rash just like Lyme disease: a red bull’s-eye with the bite in the center.

Tularemia: There are different types of tularemia, but with the most common one, you get a painful open sore where the tick bit you.

Ehrlichiosis: Children get the rash more often than adults. The rash can vary from small, flat, red, or purple spots to red areas of skin covered with small bumps.

If you find a tick still on your skin, follow these steps:

  1. Remove it. Don’t touch the tick with your bare hands. Gently pull it straight out with tweezers. Don’t twist or squeeze it. Make sure you’ve removed the whole tick.
  2. Save it in a sealed container. It helps to have a doctor look at or test your tick so you know if it was carrying diseases.
  3. Wash your hands and the site of the bite. Once the tick is gone, use soap and water to make sure you’ve cleaned off any of the tick’s saliva.

It’s important to start treatment for diseases from ticks as soon as possible. If your tick bite is infected or you’ve gotten a disease from it, your doctor may prescribe antibiotics to help get rid of the infection or disease.

Call or see your doctor if you:

  • Can’t get the tick totally out
  • Get a rash (Even if the rash goes away, that doesn’t mean the disease is gone.)
  • Have any flu-like symptoms, with or without a rash
  • See red streaks, or yellow fluid oozing from the bite, meaning the bite is infected

Some people have more serious reactions to the bite itself. Go to the emergency room if you have:

  • Anaphylaxis. This is a life-threatening reaction that needs medical care right away.
  • Tick paralysis. If you have this, you will be unable to move. Paralysis usually goes away within 24 hours of removing the tick.

Call 911 or go to the emergency room if you have any of these symptoms:

  • You can’t move your arms, legs, or part of your face.
  • It’s hard to breathe.
  • Your heart feels like it’s fluttering, skipping beats, or beating too hard or too fast.
  • You have a severe headache.
  • You feel weakness in your arms or legs.

 

You can lower your chance of tick bites by preparing yourself before you go outside and knowing what to look for once you’re back inside. Use these tick tips to protect yourself:

  • Know where ticks lurk. You’re most likely to come into contact with ticks in long grassy, brush, or in wooded areas. You can even get them from brushing up against an animal that has one. Be on the lookout when you camp, garden, hunt, or spend time outdoors.
  • Treat clothes with permethrin. Products with 0.5% permethrin help repel ticks. You put it on your clothes, shoes, and gear, not skin.
  • Treat skin with insect repellents. If you know you’ll be in a tick-friendly area, use products with DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE), para-menthane-diol (PMD), or 2-undecanone on your skin to help make sure ticks and other bugs buzz off.
  • Hike smart. When you’re outdoors, try to avoid places where you’ll rub against trees, plants, or grass. Walk in the center of trails.
  • Do tick checks. Spend time looking for ticks on your body, pets, clothing, and gear after you come in from time outdoors. Use a mirror for hard-to-see areas of your body, and don’t forget to check your scalp.
  • Wash off. Taking a shower within 2 hours of being outdoors can reduce your chance of getting a tick-borne disease. Running water and scrubbing with soap can help remove ticks from your body. Wash laundry on hot to rid your clothes of any hidden ticks.

 

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Tick bite.

Tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis. Symptoms, prevention and treatment

A carefree holiday in nature can be overshadowed by a tick bite.

In the hot weather of the spring-summer season, ticks wait for their prey, sitting in the grass or bushes. When a person appears, insects move from foliage to clothes, move along it in search of an open area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe body to which they can attach. To bite, ticks choose warm, moist areas of the skin where the blood vessels are not deep (neck, head, armpits, buttocks, the area between the shoulder blades, earlobes, calf muscles).

When bitten, ticks inject an anesthetic into the skin of the victim, so this goes unnoticed.

After saturation, the males quickly fall off the person, and the females can stay on their prey for several more days, having managed to lay up to 2 thousand eggs and increase to 10 mm in diameter.

Attention! Very often, ticks are carriers of such dangerous diseases as systemic borreliosis and tick-borne viral encephalitis!

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90 032 Symptoms of encephalitis

Tick-borne encephalitis is a seasonal viral disease. Encephalitis enters the human body after the bite of an infected tick or when drinking milk from infected cows or goats.

On average, clinical signs of the disease appear one month after the encephalitic tick bite.

Depending on the manifestation of symptoms, tick-borne encephalitis develops in 3 forms:

  • focal form – observed in 20% of patients;
  • febrile form – occurs in 50% of patients;
  • meningeal form – in 30%.

With focal form of tick-borne encephalitis (the most severe form of the disease), the infection penetrates into the substance of the spinal cord and brain. The following signs of a tick bite are observed: chills, convulsions, a strong increase in temperature (above 40 degrees), the appearance of lethargy and drowsiness.

Depending on which part of the brain or spinal cord is affected, symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, cardiac and respiratory disorders, paralysis and paresis of the muscles of the shoulder and neck, impaired voluntary movements, etc. may be present.

Febrile encephalitis lasts up to 10 days. The disease is undulating in nature, then subsiding, then reappearing in the form of a fever. But weakness, palpitations and sweating persist for a long time.

Menigeal shape . With this form of the disease, inflammation of the membranes of the spinal cord and brain occurs. Within 2 weeks, the patient has a severe headache (in which pills do not help), neck muscle tension, vomiting, fever, fever.

Systemic tick-borne borreliosis (or Lyme disease)

Lyme disease was first identified in the US city of Lyme in 1975.

Borreliosis agent – the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which belongs to the spirochetes. The causative agent of the disease enters the cells of the body and remains dormant for 10 years. This explains the chronic nature of the disease. A patient with borreliosis is not contagious for others, since the infection is transmitted to a person only through a tick bite.

Symptoms of borreliosis

The disease begins 1-2 weeks after infection. In its development, the disease goes through 3 stages. Moreover, stages 1-2 are considered early, and stage 3 is chronic.

Stage 1 borreliosis lasts about a month. Signs of a tick bite resemble acute respiratory infections. A person has a fever, general malaise, body aches, muscle pain and weakness appear.

The main symptom of stage 1 is the appearance near the bite of a round red spot (erythema) with a diameter of 15-20 cm. Over time, the spot may increase in size.

Stage 2 disease lasts for 6 months. Skin lesions in the form of ring-shaped elements, urticaria are characteristic.

Infection spreads throughout the body through the blood and lymph circulation, resulting in damage to the nervous system, joints or heart.

With inflammation of the cardiovascular system, severe arrhythmias, pericarditis and myocarditis (dizziness, palpitations, chest pain and shortness of breath) are observed. There may also be a decrease in sensitivity.

Stage 3 borreliosis . The disease becomes chronic. The consequences of borreliosis are heart disease, severe inflammation of the joints, combined with extensive damage to the nervous system.

If a disease such as borreliosis is left untreated, it can lead to disability and even death.

With the correct diagnosis of borreliosis and adequate antibiotic therapy, there is a chance for recovery.

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First Aid in case of a tick bite

Immediately after a tick bite, try to go to the nearest emergency room. A qualified doctor will quickly and skillfully save you from an insect.

In specialized hospitals, if necessary, according to indications, emergency prevention of tick-borne encephalitis is carried out by administering immunoglobulin or another antiviral drug in the first three days after a tick bite. In order to prevent tick-borne borreliosis, a course of antibiotic treatment is carried out.

If the visit to the doctor is delayed for any reason, you can try to remove it yourself. However, it often happens that during self-extraction, the insect breaks in half, and the head remains in the wound.

It is necessary, by making counterclockwise movements, to “twist” the insect out of the skin. Keep the tick as close to the skin as possible to prevent tearing of the abdomen. In this case, the fingers must be wrapped with a bandage or gauze.

You can try to remove the tick with a thread: wrap the proboscis of the tick as close to the skin as possible and, performing swinging movements, slowly pull the insect out.

After the manipulations, the bite site must be treated with a solution of iodine or alcohol. The tick must be closed in a vessel with a tightly screwed lid and brought to the laboratory for examination for the presence of the borreliosis virus and tick-borne encephalitis.

What you need to know about a tick bite?

Even if you manage to get rid of a tick, pay attention to changes in your health. If you have a fever, a change in blood pressure or severe headaches, you must urgently make an appointment with an infectious disease specialist, take a blood test for tick-borne borreliosis and encephalitis.

In some cases, you may need to consult a cardiologist, neurologist, general practitioner, rheumatologist, infectious disease specialist.

The material was prepared with the participation of a specialist:

  • Kirichenko Alexey Viktorovich

    Traumatologist, orthopedist

    Second qualification category

Tick-borne viral encephalitis and its prevention – “Kuz Bass Children’s Clinical Hospital named after Professor Yu.E. Malakhovskogo”

Tick-borne encephalitis and its prevention are the most important topics in spring and summer for lovers of outdoor activities. Recently, however, bites of ixodid ticks have been observed on a massive scale in the centers of large cities. These blood-sucking insects feel great in landscaping, city parks, squares and alleys.

A small and seemingly harmless tick can cause a dangerous disease – tick-borne viral encephalitis. This infectious disease is manifested by fever, intoxication and damage to the central nervous system.

How to protect yourself from this disease? What to do if an infection occurs? What are the ways of treatment?

Encephalitis and ticks

Encephalitis is carried by the dog tick in Europe and the taiga tick in Siberia and the Far East. An infected tick retains the virus for life.

The infection quickly dies when heated, the action of ultraviolet radiation. May remain active for a long time in raw milk. It is believed that the disease caused by the Far Eastern subtype of the virus is more severe.

Tick-borne encephalitis disease

The tick-borne encephalitis virus is found in insect saliva. Transmission to a person or animal occurs at the time of the bite. It should be noted that even if the tick is removed immediately after it has attached itself, the risk of getting sick still remains. Tick-borne encephalitis develops within 2 to 3 weeks.

Infection is also possible when a tick is crushed on the skin – through small skin wounds and microtraumas, the virus will quickly penetrate into the bloodstream.

It is possible to pick up an illness when drinking unboiled goat or sheep milk, since the tick infects goats and sheep very often. In this case, family outbreaks of the disease may occur.

Signs and symptoms of tick-borne encephalitis

Usually, no changes occur at the site of tick bite. The incubation (hidden) period lasts from 2 to 21 days. Signs of encephalitis appear after this time.

When the virus enters the blood, symptoms of encephalitis appear, resembling flu: fatigue, fatigue, weakness, loss of appetite, there may be aching bones, fever. This is the so-called febrile form of the disease. It is believed that it proceeds quite easily, leaving no consequences.

The virus enters the brain through the blood-brain barrier. If this happens, then the neurological symptoms of tick-borne encephalitis are added to the fever.

Tick-borne encephalitis of the brain

Tick-borne encephalitis disease affects brain cells. The severity of damage to the nervous system determines the manifestations and prognosis of the disease. If the meninges are inflamed, then tick-borne encephalitis occurs in the meningeal form. In this case, a sharp headache, photophobia, tension of the occipital muscles join the febrile manifestations. It is believed that this form can also proceed without consequences.

Tick-borne encephalitis: consequences and complications

If nerve cells of the brain are damaged, focal forms of the disease develop encephalitis of the brain. They are the most dangerous, as they can leave severe complications of tick-borne encephalitis or lead to death. Subsequently, a violation of motor functions, a memory disorder, often people become disabled. Complications of tick-borne encephalitis can lead to disability.

TBE is treated only in a hospital, usually in an intensive care unit. Timely referral to the hospital can improve the prognosis of the disease!

Vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis

The most reliable measure of protection is vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis, in other words, vaccination. Mandatory vaccination is subject to people working in areas of risk for encephalitis: geologists, foresters, hunters, and so on.

Immunizations can be given both according to the planned and according to the emergency scheme. To form immunity by the beginning of the season, the first dose of the vaccine is administered in the fall, the second in the winter.

Emergency vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis

Emergency vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis (two injections with an interval of two weeks) is carried out if a person arrives at the outbreak, the spread of tick-borne encephalitis suddenly.

Dangerous period – spring and summer. In other seasons, emergency prevention of encephalitis is not carried out. A year later, those vaccinated are vaccinated again.

If a person is not vaccinated, but the tick still bites him, then a dose of immunoglobulin is administered prophylactically. Therefore, when a tick is sucked, it is imperative to contact medical professionals!

We are going on a hike

However, it is better to avoid the habitat of ticks unless absolutely necessary, especially in May-June. And if you are already going to the forest, then go along the beaten paths without climbing into the thicket. Wear long sleeves. Tuck your pants into your socks, wear high boots. Don’t neglect your headwear.

To make ticks easier to spot, light-colored clothing is best. Upon returning from the forest, clothes and the body must be examined.

Unscrewing the pincer

The tick can be removed with nail tweezers or a thread tied around the parasite’s head. The tick is removed by swinging – twisting movements. It is important not to crush the tick. Sometimes vegetable oil helps to unscrew the insect, put a couple of drops on the suction site.

The wound can be treated with any disinfectant solution (iodine, brilliant green, alcohol). After removal, the tick must be taken to a medical facility for analysis.

Help

After a tick bite infected with the encephalitis virus, it is necessary to carry out emergency prophylaxis within 3 days. Introduce anti-tick immunoglobulin at a dose of 1 ml per 10 kg of body weight or take iodantipyrine according to the appropriate scheme. Complications of encephalitis are so dangerous that it is better to make sure in advance.

But getting vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis after a tick bite is not only too late, but also contraindicated. If a person has already received a virus that is in the incubation period, the virus is still added to it (although it is a killed vaccine), there may be complications. Vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis is necessary before the tick season. If earlier tick-borne encephalitis was mainly distributed in the Far East and Siberia, now it is also in the European part of Russia. Here, people are at risk, because before this disease was not, and, consequently, immunity was not developed. The consequences of encephalitis in this case can be unpredictable.

Measures to prevent tick-borne encephalitis

The absence of antibodies a few days after the prophylactic administration of anti-tick-borne immunoglobulin, if the laboratory examination is carried out correctly, first of all indicates an inadequate dose of immunoglobulin. The dose is calculated as follows: 1 ml per 10 kg of body weight. A slender thin woman and a large man require a completely different dose. There are other emergency measures to prevent tick-borne encephalitis.

It is too late to take iodantipyrine or another drug that can be used for emergency prophylaxis against tick-borne encephalitis 7 days after the bite. The deadline is 5 days.

The most effective protection against encephalitis is vaccination, of course, carried out in advance.

In April-May, the peak of the number of ticks occurs. Ticks do not know how to fly, but they can climb bushes, tall grass, and also successfully plan with a gust of wind, focusing on the smell of a person that they feel 10-15 meters away. Therefore, there are always more ticks along the paths than in the depths of a forest or park.

When going to the forest, it is advisable to wear a shirt with tight-fitting cuffs, which is tucked into trousers, and trousers into socks, a scarf is tightly tied around the head.

The tick activity season is May-September, but much depends on weather conditions. It happens that ticks become active from April.

Vaccination consists of three injections, the course is designed for a year, but after the first two injections, you can count on the fact that a sufficient level of antibodies has been developed in the body.