How to protect yourself from ticks: epidemiologist named simple and effective methods

With the arrival of warmth, ticks wake up. As a rule, the first period of their activity starts in early April and lasts until mid-June. In August comes the second period, which is completed by October. The maximum activity of arthropods is observed at the time when the average daily temperature is set at +10…15 degrees.

By the way, mites are not insects, they belong to the class of spiders.

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Where is the most common place to meet a tick?

Mites are found in the field, forests, meadows, in city parks and squares and even in transport – there they can get from a bouquet of wildflowers, elements of clothing. These arthropods are moisture-loving, they prefer moderately shaded and humid deciduous and mixed forests with dense vegetation.

doctor-epidemiologist of the branch of the Israeli clinic “Hadassah” in Skolkovo

“Many ticks can be seen on the slopes of forest ravines, along forest edges, in willow thickets along the banks of forest streams. The most favorite place of their concentration – trails and paths with overgrown grass roadsides, because ticks are attracted by the smell of people and animals. This is where they most often wait for their prey”.

What are the dangers of ticks?

Ticks can carry dangerous diseases such as tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis, or Lyme disease.

The tick-borne encephalitis virus can cause inflammation of the brain and nerve tissue. It is a serious illness that can lead to severe consequences, including nervous system disorders.

Borreliosis is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which can be transmitted through a tick bite. Lyme disease can lead to a variety of symptoms, including body rashes, arthritis, neurological complications and other problems.

How can I protect myself from tick bites?

To protect yourself from tick bites in the woods, at the dacha or in the yard at home, you need to follow certain recommendations.

Wear protective clothing. Cover your body with dense clothing: long-sleeved shirts with well-fitting wrist cuffs, long pants, tight shoes. Moreover, it is desirable to tuck the pants into socks. Do not forget about the headgear, because ticks like to hide in the hair.
Choose light-colored clothes. Insects can be seen on it much better.
Use repellent. Apply special products containing diethyltoluamide (DEET) or picaridin to exposed skin and clothing. This will help repel parasites.
Check your body. After walking in the woods or grassy areas, thoroughly inspect your body, clothing, and shoes for ticks. Comb out your hair with a fine-toothed comb.
Create a barrier. If you are in a country house, clear the area of grass and bushes, build a recreation area with wooden decking or spread gravel around the house.

How to check yourself for ticks?

After spending time in nature, it is recommended to pay special attention to certain areas on the body. Ticks more often prefer the following areas:

waist and lower back area;
groin area and inner thighs;
armpit and hamstring areas;
the area behind the ears;
scalp.

How do I remove a tick myself?

The mite clings to the skin of the victim with legs equipped with suction cups and sharp claws, after which it digs into the skin with its proboscis. Most often arthropods are sucked to those parts of the body that have thin skin and good blood supply – axillary and hamstring hollows, neck, scalp. Then it plunges its proboscis into the skin and, cutting through it, gets to the subcutaneous blood vessels, from where it sucks blood.

In most cases, the very process of the bite remains unnoticed by the person, as the tick releases a special anesthetic liquid into the human body.

Sucked to the body of the tick must be removed immediately after detection, trying not to tear off the proboscis immersed in the skin. The most convenient way to do this is to use curved tweezers or surgical clamp. The arthropod should be grasped as close as possible to the proboscis, then it is carefully pulled up, while rotating around its axis in a convenient direction. Usually after one to three turns, the tick is extracted entirely together with the trunk.

If there are no tweezers at hand, you can use a thread. It should be tied in a knot, as close to the skin as possible, and then slowly stagger sucked parasite to the sides, pulling up.

Proceed slowly as the proboscis may remain in the skin.

In case you don’t even have a string, use your fingers. Wash your hands, wrap a clean bandage around your fingers and grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible. Rotate it around its axis and then slowly pull it out. Do not force the arthropod in any way, be careful.

After removal, place the live tick in a jar. Then treat the bite site with antiseptic (it can be alcohol or iodine) and wash your hands thoroughly.

It is recommended to take the tick to the nearest Center of Hygiene and Epidemiology (they are in every region of Russia), where it will be checked for the presence of infectious agents. If the parasite is infected with viruses, you will be prescribed the necessary treatment.

Victims of bites are shown an emergency injection of immunoglobulin.

If you can not remove the arthropod yourself, you will be helped in any trauma center. Also in a medical institution should be contacted if the removal of the insect his proboscis remained in the skin.

It should be noted that Rospotrebnadzor of the Russian Federation annually approves the List of administrative territories of the subjects of Russia, endemic for tick-borne viral encephalitis, i.e. places where the risk of infection is high. For example, Moscow is not included in this list, and in the Moscow region, out of 53 municipalities, two are endemic: Dmitrovsky and Taldomsky districts.

What about vaccination?

Specific preventive measures exist only for tick-borne encephalitis – it is a prophylactic vaccination. A full course consists of three vaccinations. Start vaccination in the fall, approximately in October-November, and the last vaccination should be done in the spring (in March-April).