As you know, the bites of bloodsucking ticks are extremely unpleasant, painful and highly undesirable. The fact is that these insects are carriers of various diseases, some of which are very dangerous for human he alth. Every year their number is increasing, so it is necessary to take all available measures to stop this undesirable trend. In this article, you will find out what kind of danger these insects pose, the activity of ticks by month, as well as the safety measures that should be taken when going to nature.
Effects of a bite
Ticks are carriers of a wide variety of protozoal, rickettsial, viral and bacterial diseases, which include tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis (Lyme disease), Crimean Congo hemorrhagic and spotted fever of the rocky mountains, typhus and relapsing fever, babesiosis, tularemia, ehrlichiosis and others.
Perhaps the most dangerous is tick-borne encephalitis - a viralan acute disease. It affects the nervous system, and as a result, significant and sometimes irreversible changes occur in the human brain.
Infection
Infection with encephalitis occurs through the bite of pasture ixodid ticks. This disease has a pronounced seasonality, which falls just at the peak of tick activity.
You can become infected with encephalitis not only from an insect bite, but also by drinking raw goat's milk, provided that the animal was grazed in places full of ticks. Another way of infection can be the destruction of blood-sucking insects with bare hands, when there are small cracks or micro-cuts on the fingers.
Disease symptoms
The first signs of the disease appear on the 7-14th day after the bite of the insect. First, a headache appears in the fronto-temporal region, then weakness, lethargy are felt, arms, legs and lower back begin to hurt. Sometimes the disease begins to manifest itself suddenly - in this case, the body temperature rises sharply, which can reach up to 39-40⁰ C. At the same time, redness is observed on the skin and mucous membranes. A little later, meningeal symptoms and stiffness of the muscles of the arms and neck appear.
Tick-borne encephalitis usually occurs within 5-8 days and is accompanied by high body temperature. With a severe development of the disease, a person has signs of damage to the nervous system, in which, in addition to weakness in the muscles, their numbness is felt, over time theybecome thinner and thinner. In especially severe cases, patients develop convulsions, and hearing and vision deteriorate sharply.
Recovery of the previous functionality of the muscles is very slow. This process can take years. With very severe disorders, it is no longer possible to completely restore motor function, so the person remains disabled for life.
Climate impact
The duration of activity of these blood-sucking insects directly depends on the climatic features of a particular area. In addition, it can vary significantly in time. For example, in the Perm region, the period of greatest activity of ticks lasts an average of 7 days in a young birch plantation and twice as long in an old forest. At the same time, in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, this interval is much longer - from 2 to 60 days, if we take into account the time for insects to leave the litter.
Usually, the colder the air temperature, the less individual activity of the encephalitis tick. It is also affected by weather conditions and relative humidity. For example, in Karelia, the greatest number of tick attacks is observed at temperatures from 5 to 15⁰ C and relative humidity of 55-80%. At 20 degrees and above, they generally go into the litter. But in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the period of tick activity proceeds with a combination of air temperature from 0 to 15⁰ C, as well as relative humidity, which starts from 60% and above.
Dangerous Season
Blood-sucking insects living in conditionstemperate climate, attack almost throughout the spring, summer and autumn. Knowing the activity of ticks for months, you can quite easily avoid their bites. In Karelia, European and taiga forest ticks become active already in early spring, when the air temperature rises above 3⁰ C. They can wait for their prey on last year's grass, in a pile of brushwood or on newly appeared thawed patches. The taiga tick remains active throughout June. In rare cases, it can be found in July.
The start of tick activity in the European zone falls in April. These insects can attack both people and animals until the very end of September. Sometimes they are found on hunting dogs even in October and November.
The smallest number of cases accompanied by an attack of blood-sucking insects is observed in the pre-dawn hours. And, in general, the time of activity of ticks is not limited, so they can show aggression around the clock, but the maximum number of attacks still occurs before dark. In addition, these insects are sensitive to both sunlight and cloudy weather.
Ticks are most active at the end of April and all of July. At this time, everyone who likes to walk in the forest or work there must take basic precautions to prevent the attack and suction of these dangerous insects.
How to stay safe
Prevention of encephalitis disease is to increase the body's resistance to its pathogen, as well as to conducteffective protection of people in general and each person individually. For example, before taking a walk in the forest, you must meet several conditions under which the possibility of insects getting under your clothes will be completely excluded.
To prevent the encephalitic tick, whose activity period falls on relatively warm seasons, from getting on the skin, you need to wear a special set consisting of tight trousers and a jacket with a hood. If this was not found, then ordinary clothes can be turned into protective ones - you just need to tightly fasten the cuffs and collar of the shirt, then tuck it into trousers, and them into socks or boots. Be sure to cover your head with a hood or a hat. Many will think that in hot weather it will be quite difficult to work or walk in such clothes, but believe me, this is really essential.
During the period of activity of ticks, being in a forest or park for a long time, it is necessary to periodically conduct mutual thorough examinations every one or two hours. Such a precautionary measure is quite reliable and affordable. During the examination, special attention should be paid to the auricles, skin folds, inguinal and axillary cavities, as well as other hairy parts of the body.
When going home, do not forget about a thorough check of clothes. Particular attention should be paid to places where there are seams and folds on the fabric, since insects that have not yet sucked could easily crawl there. Only fully convinced that there are no ticks, you can go into the room. At the same time, it is advisable to leave things and shoes outside the house. All clothes andunderwear is recommended to be removed, and then filled with water and washed thoroughly. These simple precautions during tick activity are very effective and available to everyone.
Action upon discovery
In the event that a dangerous insect nevertheless sticks, it must be immediately pulled out and certainly along with the head. There are several ways to remove ticks. One of them uses thread. First, you need to bandage the front of the bloodsucker right at the surface of the skin with it. Then gradually pull the ends of the thread simultaneously to the sides and up and thus pull out the sucked tick.
For the next method, you will need petroleum jelly, cream or vegetable oil, which you need to lubricate the insect itself and the area around it. The fat will block his respiratory organs, and he will relax his proboscis for a while. After about one minute, the tick should be thrown back, and, grabbing it right at the skin with two fingers or tweezers, pull it out with a sharp movement. So it can be painlessly removed without leaving the head. This is very important, since a tick that is not completely removed can cause an inflammatory process.
If the head of the tick still could not be pulled out, and it remained at the suction site, you will have to remove it with a calcined pin or needle. After such a procedure, the wound on the skin must be disinfected with iodine.
Precautions
At the peak of tick activity, lovers of forest walks should be extremely careful. Shouldremember that all insects found on the body or on clothing, as well as extracted from the skin, must be destroyed. They can be set on fire or placed in a disinfectant solution such as alcohol, Lysol or kerosene.
It must be remembered that in no case should you crush the ticks with your hands. Even small splashes from the salivary glands or cavity fluid of an insect can accidentally get into small wounds on the skin, mucous membranes of the nasal cavity and mouth, which may well cause infection with tick-borne encephalitis. After removing the bloodsucker, do not forget to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.
Chemical remedies
Special repellents called repellents have been developed against tick bites. Such of them as DEET (diethyltoluamide), kyuzol and carboxide have already proved themselves well. The first of the above substances is available in the form of a cream, an aerosol and a 40% alcohol solution. During the period of activity of ticks, before going to nature, you need to apply repellent to exposed parts of the body - hands, face and neck.
Not so long ago, another effective, convenient and safest way to protect yourself from a dangerous bite appeared - soaking clothes and hats with repellents. The effectiveness of this method lies in the fact that the chemical preparation remains much longer on the tissue, and not on the skin. However, it should be remembered that in some people, repellents can cause side reactions in the form of irritation of the mucous membranes of the nose and mouth. Therefore, chemicals must be used with great care.while respecting all the rules for their use.
Prevention
There is a special vaccine against tick-borne encephalitis, which is a drug made on the basis of a dead virus. It was first used in 1939. Since the early 1960s, a more advanced tissue vaccine has been available. It is painless and highly effective. Vaccinations are given with this drug, starting in October and ending in March-April, just before the onset of heat - the period of activation of ticks.
The vaccination course is carried out in four stages - three vaccinations are done in the fall, and the fourth in the spring. Passive immunization is also used, but only when an insect has already stuck to a person. In this case, anti-encephalitis gamma globulin is administered.
Mass destruction of dangerous insects
During the period of activity of ticks, disinfection of large areas is often resorted to in order to protect the population from infection with encephalitis. To do this, they spray special pesticides that destroy insects right in their natural foci.
But the processing of forest land is only the first step towards the improvement of territories. The next step is to create parks around the settlement. To this end, they carry out activities for thinning, clearing and cleaning windbreak, deadwood and stumps, since it is there that small mammals live, which are attacked by ticks. In addition, it is necessary to regularly mow the grass in places where bases and rest houses are located,sanatoriums, children's camps, etc.
