Can a tick fall off on its own after drinking blood? How long does a tick sit on a dog?

What does a sucking tick look like?

In a hungry state, the body of the arachnid is flat, oblong, dark in color - brown, brown, black.
The body size of an adult does not exceed 3 mm. Females are always larger than males. During the feeding process, the chitinous cover expands, and the parasite increases in size. The abdomen becomes oval and convex. The body color becomes red or becomes lighter - brown, beige, gray. The size of the inflated tick is 11*8*5 mm. Sometimes the size reaches 2 cm. From the front there is a small head, 8 pairs of tenacious legs. A swollen tick is inactive and, after saturation, simply falls off to the ground. In the soil, a well-fed female lays eggs, the nymph continues to develop - molts. A photo of a tick that has drunk blood is shown below. Nymphs differ from adults in body size and the number of legs - 6 instead of 8.

You can see what a tick that has drunk blood looks like on a dog or cat. Parasites lie in wait for the victim in tall grass, thickets, and thickets. Initially, the pest clings to the fur, explores the area, and looks for places favorable for eating. Then he drinks blood for several days.

How a tick bites and where

The pest looks around for a while, looking for a favorable place to bite. This process takes approximately half an hour. It penetrates into places where the skin is thin and blood vessels are located closer to the surface.

armpits;
groin;
stomach;
small of the back;
breast;
behind the ears;
neck;
scalp.

On a note!
The tick bite itself is painless. The head penetrates the skin, the abdomen remains outside. A hungry tick is no more than 3 mm in size, so it often goes unnoticed. During feeding, the abdomen increases in size to 10 mm in diameter or more.

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 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 the tick bite is very itchy, 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 happens to a tick when it drinks blood?

The tick sucks blood for several reasons - to continue development, replenish reserves, lay eggs. The larvae live in the soil where they developed into eggs. They wait for the victim to drink blood. Most often these are rodents, reptiles, and amphibians. At the end of the meal, it falls to the ground, molts, and turns into a nymph. To move to the next stage of development, blood is again needed.

Tick drunk on blood

A fertilized female will not be able to lay eggs until a sufficient amount of blood enters her body. During the feeding process, her body inflates, increasing to 1-2 cm. The female becomes clumsy and vulnerable. The main goal of a fed female is to get to the ground and lay eggs.

Does the tick die after it drinks blood - the male yes, the female not immediately - as soon as she completes her mission of laying eggs. The adult does not bite again.

Bite sites

As already mentioned, they most often stick to areas with thin skin. Most often this is the head, where there is hair, the back of the head, behind the ears, armpits, groin, knee bends, and stomach.

If we talk about the bite itself, namely the sensations that a person experiences, then this process goes unnoticed for a person. Therefore, it is impossible to detect it before it suctions strongly. This happens for the reason that the parasite’s body produces a special anesthetic enzyme, which it injects when biting, so the person does not experience any pain or discomfort.

The very first symptom is itching, which most often allows you to detect a tick on your body. Less commonly, other symptoms may be observed, for example, drowsiness, general malaise, aching joints, etc.

How long does it take for a tick to stick?

It is worth saying that both females and males attack. But in this case, the bites are significantly different. The fact is that males need a minimum amount of food to be satisfied. They bite, quickly become saturated and fall off the body. Next, they look for females to mate with. It is precisely because of their rapid saturation that they are considered more dangerous. After all, their attacks go unnoticed in most cases and a person may not even realize that he has been bitten by a dangerous tick.

But females spend significantly more time on the body. The fact is that they need blood not only to satisfy their hunger, but also in order to form offspring. The offspring are formed inside the female during the period that she spends on the body. The female can latch on for three days and drink blood all this time.

But other situations are also possible when a female bites simply to satisfy her hunger. In order for her to be completely saturated, she needs about 20 ml of blood. The parasite can reach its normal level in several stages by sucking on a little blood and falling off, and then repeating the procedure several times.

If a tick bites: rescue methods

During a bite, the tick secretes a substance that provides an analgesic effect. Therefore, it is impossible to feel the “sucking bloodsucker”. There is only one way to know that a tick remains in the body. You need to examine yourself from head to toe. Particular attention is paid to the groin area, armpits, neck, abdomen, and scalp.

If you discover a blood-sucking parasite, do not panic. It is recommended to seek medical help. Doctors will carefully remove the tick. Then they will send it for analysis. This will eliminate the risk of human infection or promptly select the necessary therapy for the victim.

How long does a tick drink human blood?

The parasite can fall off at any time after it has become attached to the skin. The duration of meals often varies from a few hours to several weeks. On average, the pest remains on the human body for 3-8 days, the maximum period is 14 days. A tick that has drunk blood falls off on its own. But this does not always happen within the specified time frame.

The duration of the meal is also determined by how hungry the parasite is. If it has not been fed for several months/years, it may well remain on the skin much longer. Sooner or later, the parasite filled with blood disappears. During this time, it will most likely be detected, since within a few weeks of parasitism this pest develops more severe symptoms.

Sometimes
– signs of more dangerous diseases (borreliosis, tick-borne encephalitis).

Duration of tick feeding

How long does a tick stay on the body?

Females and males attack humans. Females are more voracious, since they need blood to form new offspring. The male can bite and fall off in a matter of minutes. A few milliliters of blood is enough to saturate it. Further stay on the body is advisable only if the female remains there. In other situations, the male unnoticedly unhooks and climbs out.

On a note!
The female can also bite and fall off, but this takes longer. To saturate females, up to 20 ml of blood is required. The parasite replenishes these reserves gradually. The time spent on the human body depends on the initial degree of saturation. If the female was not too hungry, she latches on for only a few minutes. In other cases it lasts up to 3 days.

When the tick falls off on its own, it means that it has completely quenched its thirst, and further stay on the body loses its meaning. If the attempt is unsuccessful, the parasite bites a second time and starts eating.

What happens after saturation

As already mentioned about females, they drink blood for quite a long time. Most often at this time they become noticed and manipulations are carried out to remove them. But if the procedure went unnoticed, then the tick disappears after the bite. Females lay offspring, males look for females to mate with.

When the parasite was not noticed on the body, the person observed the consequences in the bite area. Most often, symptoms such as redness, inflammation, and itching appear, which disappear after a while. But allergic reactions that occur in severe forms may occur; in such situations, it is imperative to consult a doctor and use the correct treatment.

When the tick has sucked and fallen off, redness, slight swelling, and slight itching remain at the site of the bite. The skin is restored within a few days. In the presence of an allergic reaction, special treatment is required - the use of local, systemic antihistamines, antiallergic drugs. If the tick has been infected, symptoms of the disease appear after 14–60 days.

Is it possible to miss a tick bite?

The arachnid bites with powerful jaws, but since they are miniature, the bite itself is not felt. The head quickly penetrates the skin, the parasite slowly sucks blood. Initially, the size of the tick is so small that even with an accidental touch you may not notice its existence.

After some time, the abdomen enlarges, becomes convex, oval, sticks out on the surface of the skin, resembling a wart or papilloma. If the parasite has attached itself to the back of the head, back, or groin, you may not notice it.

The body reacts to a tick bite in different ways. Depends on the sensitivity of the skin, the strength of the immune system, and the tendency to allergies. At the site of the bite appears:

swelling;
slight redness;
slight itching;
in the center, at the site where the parasite is attached, there is a dark spot with dried blood.

The tick bite
of the epidermis recovers on its own within a few days. With such a reaction of the body, you may not notice the bite and not know about its existence. If you have an allergy, the symptoms are more pronounced:

swelling;
large-scale redness;
inflammation;
incessant itching;
additional rash.

Manifestations of allergies cannot be ignored, but you may not know the cause if the parasite is no longer present at the scene of the “crime”.

How to recognize that an infection has occurred?

Another danger of tick parasitism on the human body is that at the initial stage it is impossible to determine whether the parasite is infected with an infection. Signs appear after a few weeks (sometimes after 10 days), the speed of onset of symptoms depends on the sensitivity of the body, as well as the person’s immunity.

The parasite's saliva or external surfaces often contain harmful microorganisms. However, they are not present in all individuals, but only in those that have previously bitten infected animals and birds. If such a tick attacks a person, then we can assume the development of dangerous diseases, since the probability of this is quite high. For an infection to manifest itself, it takes time to develop and spread in the body.

Such a period
called incubation: infection has already occurred, but symptoms have not yet appeared.

Signs suggesting the development of infection:

erythema, it can be quite large - up to 60 cm;
temperature increase (and this happens sharply and to extreme values): 39...40°C;

itching – the intensity of this manifestation can be high, itching is difficult to bear, resulting in scratching;
swelling is a natural reaction of the human body to a developing inflammatory process.

Erythema on the skin after a tick bite

What to do if you are bitten by a tick?

So, the danger of ticks and the likelihood of their bites are reported every year, but there are always those who still fall victim to them. What to do when you fail a tick bite As soon as a tick is found in the body, an irreconcilable desire arises to get rid of it - to rip it off, pick it out, twist the insect. It is strictly forbidden to take any actions towards the tick that could damage it. If you are not sure that you will be able to unscrew a tick without leaving half of its body, legs or proboscis in the wound, go to any medical facility. Here, a surgeon doctor or his nurse will easily carry out this procedure correctly in a matter of minutes. This is the most reliable and sure way to get rid of a tick.

The problem with removing a tick from the body is that the first portion of the insect's saliva acts like glue or cement - the proboscis is firmly fixed inside the wound. The strategy for removing a tick from the body is to first loosen or twist it, and only then pull it out. Advice about pouring oil or alcohol on a tick, or sprinkling salt, and thereby weakening it, is rather a myth.

If you remove the tick yourself, you risk damaging the insect, thereby only facilitating the spread of infection. In addition, the remaining tick particles in the wound will begin to suppurate, which is best avoided a tick bite Therefore, the main advice in what to do after a bite is to seek help from a specialized specialist.

It is recommended to send a tick removed from a wound for examination, but this is not as popular in our country as one would expect. Therefore, the victim will be advised to monitor his well-being and the site of the bite, and if there is the slightest reason for concern, contact an infectious disease specialist.

It is quite normal if redness at the site of a tick bite persists for up to two days. If it spreads in size and new erythemas appear, this is a very unfavorable signal.

A blood test for encephalitis and borreliosis in the first days after a bite is completely useless. The allotted time is not sufficient for the infection to spread and be detected in the blood. Over the next month, you need to pay special attention to your well-being, but at the same time not give in to panic.

Danger to humans

These blood-sucking creatures pose a great threat to humans, as they can infect dangerous diseases. In this case, it does not matter at all whether it is found on the body, or whether it drank blood and fell off on its own; it is its bite that is dangerous. Therefore, it is very important to contact medical institutions when it is detected.

If you manage to save the insect, you can submit it for analysis, which will show whether this individual is infected. If you remove it from the body yourself, then you need to put it in a glass container along with a piece of damp cloth, which will not allow it to dry out. Analyzes are carried out with live insects, which allows you to obtain accurate results. If the parasite is dead, burst, or there is only a fragment of it, then research can be carried out, but the result will not be accurate.

In cases where you have not noticed the tick itself on your body, then symptoms appear, consult a doctor immediately. These parasites can transmit diseases such as encephalitis and Lyme disease.

Lyme disease

This disease is manifested by such symptoms as fever, headache, body aches, weakness, and a cough and runny nose may also appear. These symptoms are similar to a cold or even the flu, so a person may not think about having a dangerous infectious disease. The main sign that you definitely need to pay attention to is the appearance of a large red spot on the body, which has a clear outline.

This disease affects the nervous and lymphatic systems. It is very important to start treatment at an early stage, since brain activity suffers, memory may deteriorate, and disturbances in thinking processes occur. The facial nerves are also affected as they are damaged.

If the correct treatment is applied, the disease can be completely cured. In situations where treatment is not applied, complications occur, which in severe forms are not always amenable to treatment.

Tick-borne encephalitis

This disease is very dangerous with complications. Encephalitis manifests itself with the same symptoms as the previous illness, only there is no reaction in the form of a circle on the skin.

If left untreated, the nervous system is affected; this process can occur as early as a week after infection. The person experiences severe headaches and epileptic attacks may occur. Next, internal organs are damaged, the liver, kidneys, etc. are destroyed.

Regarding children, the disease poses an even greater danger for them, since children cannot correctly describe their condition and talk about their feelings, which for parents does not allow them to create a complete picture and correctly respond to the situation. It is very important after each walk in nature to pay maximum attention to examinations and, at the slightest suspicion, consult a doctor.

In addition to the above diseases, ticks also carry other dangerous infections, which include typhoid, ehrlichiosis, fever, tularemia, etc. The diseases are treatable, the main thing is to seek medical help in time, then you can avoid serious consequences.

Hemorrhagic fever

By the name of this pathological condition, one can understand that its main symptom is a sharp increase in temperature to extreme values (39...40°C). In addition, signs characteristic of viral diseases appear. When a blood test is performed, leukopenia and thrombocytopenia are often diagnosed based on changes in its composition. One of the main signs of hemorrhagic fever is a violation of the integrity of the walls of blood vessels.

As a result,
their permeability increases, which contributes to redness of the outer integument.

Hemorrhagic fever after a tick bite

Viral infections

Tick-borne encephalitis is one of the dangerous viral infections that affects the peripheral and central nervous systems.

At the onset of the disease, chills and fever begin, then damage to the meninges, fever, vomiting, drop in blood pressure, and arterial hypertension occur. Possible death.

Infection with encephalitis occurs when the parasite sucks blood . The male tick sucks blood for a short time - several hours. But the female stays on the skin for many days. The incubation period of the virus lasts 1-2 weeks. During this period, the affected person may not experience any symptoms.

Next, a fever appears, which lasts acutely and is characterized by a very high temperature - up to 40 degrees . Severe headaches, dizziness, hallucinations, and muscle pain appear. Vomiting and nausea are possible. Confusion and deafness often occur. Complications of the disease include paralysis of muscles and nerves.

The disease is treated by administering ready-made antibodies, which are obtained from the blood masses of donors. In the first hours after the bite, it is especially important to administer immunoglobulin. Treatment with antiviral drugs, ribonuclease and interferon is also used.

Ixodid tick-borne borreliosis (Lyme disease) is transmitted by ixodid ticks using saliva. The incubation period of the disease is 7-14 days.

Early symptoms of infections are fever, inflammation of joint tissues, erythema migrans, and elevated temperature. The disease affects the organs of vision, heart, blood vessels, and central nervous system. The course and outcome of the disease depends on timely access to doctors. Chronic borreliosis is especially difficult to treat.

Treatment includes:

supportive and anti-inflammatory therapy;
taking antibiotics;
consumption of vitamins;
prescription of immunomodulators.

Medicines are prescribed that relieve intoxication and regulate the functioning of internal organs.

Tick-borne typhus is another disease transmitted by insects. The disease is especially often caused by taiga ticks in Siberian regions.

The incubation period of the disease is 4-5 days. Further, the disease manifests itself as muscle pain, fever, and tissue necrosis. The disease has a favorable prognosis. In most cases, Tetracycline and antiviral drugs are prescribed for treatment.

Microbial infections

Ehrlichiosis is an infection transmitted through the saliva of a parasite. A focal infection is caused when an insect attaches itself to a person.

If you find a mark from a tick bite, you must go to the hospital. When bitten, Ehrlichia penetrates the bloodstream and causes the development of an inflammatory process.

Monocytic ehrlichiosis is characterized by:

abdominal pain;
damage to the central nervous system;
nausea;
vomit;
hyperesthesia;
chills;
catarrhal symptoms;
feverish condition.

In case of illness, it is important to periodically check the blood picture - complications such as leukopenia, anemia, lymphocytopenia are possible . Whole blood and serum are taken for research. Treatment of the disease is prescribed even before laboratory results are obtained. The main drug in therapy is Doxycycline.

Ixodid ticks also cause granulocytic anaplasmosis. The disease is caused by an intracellular parasite carried by ticks. Together with the insect's saliva, anaplasmas enter the bloodstream and infect neutrophils.

As a result, various inflammations develop in the internal organs. The acute course of the disease is characterized by severe kidney damage - proteinuria develops. Treatment comes down to eliminating the pathogen and symptoms of the disease.

Rickettsial infections

Mountain fever is an infection caused by an Ixodid tick bite. The causative agent is rickettsia bacteria. The disease is expressed in general intoxication and fever.

Special signs of the disease are:

microinfarction;
pathological changes in blood vessels;
necrosis of cellular endothelium;
blood clot formation;
inflammatory process of arterioles.

As the infection progresses, an extensive measles rash appears. In the severe stage, the disease takes on a hemorrhagic form. The disease is accompanied by an inflammatory process in the kidneys and interstitial myocarditis.

Rocky Mountain fever is the most severe rickettsial infection.

At the onset of the disease, the following begins:

nosebleeds;
lymph nodes become inflamed;
joints are affected.

There is headache and prostration of consciousness. A characteristic sign of the disease is damage to the central nervous system. Pneumonia and gangrene of the extremities may occur.

The treatment of mountain fever involves antibiotic therapy and drug relief of hemorrhagic changes and thrombosis.

Medications to normalize the temperature and antibiotics Doxycycline, Levomycetin, Tetracycline are prescribed. Heparin is administered intravenously using a dropper. Treatment is carried out in a hospital inpatient unit.

Coxiellosis (Q fever) is a rickettsial disease caused by tick bites. The causative agent of the disease can be found in dry tick feces. A person becomes infected with a fever from a tick bite. The incubation period lasts up to 17-19 days.

Then the symptoms begin:

muscle pain;
wheezing in the bronchi;
bradycardia;
heat;
headache;
eye pain.

Treatment boils down to eliminating the pathogen with antiviral therapy and eliminating symptoms. Recovery with proper treatment occurs after 2-4 weeks. However, in some cases, a relapse of the disease is possible.

Protozoal infection

The tick is a carrier of protozoa, bacteria, and viruses, so the appearance of a protozoal infection after a bite is not uncommon. The intestinal form of infection affects the entire gastrointestinal tract. Very often, with a mild course of the disease, a person does not pay attention to periodic attacks of loose stools and abdominal pain. No intoxication or increase in temperature is observed.

In severe cases, the stool may contain blood streaks and be jelly-like. Extraintestinal forms of the disease are manifested by damage to the liver, lungs, and brain.

Treatment of the pathology includes the use of Doxycycline, antibiotics, Etoftamide, Chloroquine. The prescription of medications depends on the form of the disease.

To prevent diseases, it is important to follow preventive measures when visiting the park area. There is a wide variety of parasite species in nature. It is important not to leave exposed areas of the body without clothing when walking in the forest, and also, if possible, apply insect repellents to the body.

“I was bitten by a tick.” A doctor at the Botkin Hospital explains why we need to rush to remove it

According to Elena Yushina, this summer the activity of ticks differs little from last year - as usual, they wait for nature lovers in forests, parks and summer cottages. According to the St. Petersburg Rospotrebnadzor, since May, almost 5 thousand St. Petersburg residents have already suffered from ticks; by June 21, 8 cases of tick-borne encephalitis and 24 cases of borreliosis were registered.

— Elena Yuryevna, what should you do if repellents and other protective measures did not save you and the tick still managed to attach itself?

- It is necessary to remove the attached tick as quickly as possible in order to send it for examination - based on its results, tick-borne infections are prevented, which must be done quickly. For example, prevention of tick-borne viral encephalitis with immunoglobulin is carried out within the first 96 hours (4 days) from the moment of the bite.

One option is to immediately seek help from a medical facility, where the tick will be removed and sent for free examination. In St. Petersburg, adults can go to the nearest emergency room or to the City Infectious Diseases Hospital named after. Botkin (on weekdays from 9 am to 4 pm in the day hospital, the rest of the time, as well as on holidays and weekends - in the emergency department). Now, due to the pandemic, reception of victims of ticks is temporarily carried out only at the site at the address: Mirgorodskaya Street, building 3. Children under 18 years of age are admitted at the Children's Infectious Diseases Hospital No. 3.

If a tick has bitten a St. Petersburg resident at a dacha in the Leningrad region, you can go to the nearest regional hospital. Opening hours must be confirmed by calling a specific medical institution.

The second option is to remove the tick yourself and submit it for examination. This can be done by going to the emergency room or Botkin Hospital. In our hospital, the study is carried out free of charge. Victims of tick bites must go to a medical facility in person with a passport. When applying, the doctor must examine the patient to ensure that the tick was removed correctly and that tick-borne infections are excluded. Ticks from friends or relatives will not be accepted for examination. Whether hospitals in the Leningrad region accept ticks for free testing, you need to check in advance by phone. If not, you can submit it for a paid study to any private laboratory or return to the city.

— How to remove a tick yourself? What are the ground rules?

- It is removed using improvised means (tweezers or thread) or a special device - a lasso handle. The tick is grabbed near the skin and removed using twisting movements. It doesn't matter which way you turn. It is important to try not to crush the tick. After removal, the area is treated with any disinfectant that is on hand - alcohol, iodine.

— What tick-borne infections are usually tested for in ticks?

In our hospital, the causative agents of four infections are determined: tick-borne viral encephalitis, tick-borne borreliosis (Lyme disease), granulocytic anaplasmosis and monocytic ehrlichiosis. The result for tick-borne encephalitis is ready within 1-2 days. Time in this case is important, since prophylactic administration of immunoglobulin in the event of detection of the causative agent of TBE is carried out within 96 hours from the moment of the bite. Other infections are determined within 2-4 days. If pathogens of tick-borne infections are identified, the patient is invited for prevention by telephone or SMS notification,

— If a tick infected with one of these infections bites, does it mean that the person will definitely get sick?

- No not always. The likelihood of infection depends on various reasons, in particular on how quickly the tick was removed.

What should a victim do while waiting for the results of a tick test, especially if it lasts a long time - a week or more?

It is necessary to measure the temperature every day and examine the bite site for three weeks after the bite - this is the average incubation period of the main tick-borne infections (the time from infection to the appearance of symptoms - Ed.). The minimum is about three days, the maximum is about a month.

— What symptoms should alert you first?

- Most often - high temperature. Everything is individual, but, as a rule, it rises to 38 degrees and above. There may be a headache, weakness. With borreliosis, the site of the bite changes - so-called erythema - redness - appears there, which gradually increases in size and then can acquire a ring-shaped shape. When such symptoms appear, even if the test result is not yet ready, you should consult a doctor.

— What are fatal or severe cases of tick-borne encephalitis associated with? Is it the fault of a super contagious tick, a late visit to the doctor, or something else?

— Most often it depends on the virulence of the virus. The higher it is, the shorter the incubation (latent) period of the disease and the more severe the course of the disease.

— Naturally, what is usually feared most is tick-borne encephalitis, which can lead to serious neurological disorders and even death. Are there any emergency prevention measures after a bite?

The most reliable protection against tick-borne viral encephalitis is vaccination. Vaccination is carried out according to a standard or emergency scheme, it begins in the fall. There are no vaccinations against other tick-borne infections (borreliosis, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis).

If the arachnid fell off at home

In a situation where the parasite bites a person and falls off after a few hours, it often goes unnoticed. A red spot, slight inflammation, and slight itching remain on the body. The tick falls off if it has fully satisfied its need for food and replenished its nutritional reserves.

Tick drunk on blood

If a thick tick falls off at home, there is no future for it. The nymph will not be able to continue development because there is no soil. The female will not be able to lay eggs for the same reasons. After some time, the parasite dies. The tick is dangerous if it has not drunk blood, then it can bite again. There is no need to worry too much about where the tick goes in the apartment. Even if he is not discovered, he will soon die.

Where to go for help

If the parasite is still in the body and it is possible to consult a doctor, this should be done immediately. Under no circumstances should you waste time to get to your doctor. The infection begins to spread through the blood when the parasite first salivates. You need to go to the nearest clinic or medical center. The procedure for removing ticks in a public medical institution is carried out free of charge.

If the removal of the insect was carried out independently, under no circumstances should it be destroyed. The tick should be placed in a tightly closed jar or test tube and taken to the laboratory to determine whether it was infected. It is desirable that the pest be alive. If it was not possible to remove a whole and live tick, you need to place it on ice and deliver it for analysis.

The victim also needs to have his blood tested, even if there are no symptoms. The disease can have a long incubation period - a week or more. If the infection still gets into the body, you should under no circumstances delay treatment.

Danger from ixodid ticks

They are carriers of dangerous diseases. The most common are borreliosis and tick-borne encephalitis. Infection occurs during a bite. Borrelia are found in the saliva of the parasite, while the tick-borne encephalitis virus is found in the blood. The likelihood of infection increases with prolonged suction or improper removal.

It is impossible to say exactly how long it takes a tick to get drunk. If it remains on the human body for more than a day, the likelihood of contracting borreliosis increases. When bloated, his body becomes vulnerable. It bursts when pressed hard. When trying to remove it from the skin, the head may come off. Splashes of infectious blood enter a person's wound, causing infection with tick-borne encephalitis.

On a note!
If a tick has drunk blood, it increases in size and becomes noticeable. In areas dangerous for tick-borne encephalitis, it is not recommended to get the parasite yourself. You should immediately seek help at the emergency room or call the hotline. After removing the tick, it is sent to the laboratory for examination. If the result is positive, the victim is given immunoglobulin or an antibiotic. After 14 days you need to donate blood for analysis.

What's next?

After the tick is saturated with blood and its body is completely filled with liquid, it detaches from the skin of a person or animal. The further life of the insect can develop according to two scenarios.

If a tick falls off on the street, it will continue its life cycle. The larva will turn into a nymph, the female will lay eggs. This will happen thanks to the soil and the natural habitat of these insects.

If a tick detaches itself in a person’s apartment, it most likely will not be able to continue its life. Of course, he will try to immediately hide in a secluded place, but even in the darkest corners of the apartment it is impossible for the female to lay eggs. If a tick drinks blood and is not in the right conditions, it will die. It must be remembered that when a tick is detected, it must be immediately placed in a test tube and sent for examination to the hospital.

Firstly, if the tick has not had time to get enough, it can bite again, and this increases the risk of contracting dangerous diseases.

Secondly, you need to immediately determine whether there are antibodies to the tick-borne encephalitis virus in the tick’s saliva. This disease can be very dangerous for a person, so with timely diagnosis, a person will avoid serious health problems.

Treatment at home

The danger of a tick bite is that self-medication in this case is unacceptable and can be fatal. Therefore, if you notice the appearance of early symptoms, you must immediately show the affected animal to a veterinarian.

Treatment of any infections, especially piroplasmosis (also known as babesiosis), should be carried out under the supervision of a doctor, since drugs to destroy pathogens are themselves toxic and should not be used without good reason. For the treatment of piroplasms, drugs such as Azidine, Berenil and Veriben are most often suitable.

Since piroplasmas destroy red blood cells and provoke excessive production of hemoglobin, which is fraught with damage to organs by decay products, plasmapheresis and hemodialysis are very effective in this case. The procedures are expensive, but they will certainly have a positive effect on the pet’s well-being.

In the future, after the cause of the disease has been destroyed, treatment consists of long-term cleansing of the body from intoxication. To do this, the dog is prescribed a course of vitamins, medications to support the heart, liver and kidneys, and saline solutions.

Actions of a tick after a bite

The parasite drinks blood from the dog to carry out the main tasks in its short life:

The life cycle of a bloodsucker consists of several stages: egg, larva, nymph, adult. During the nymph stage, the parasite must undergo several metamorphoses. In order to move from one form of existence to another, you need good nutrition. So the larva strives to receive its portion of blood to transform into a nymph, and the nymph into an imago. After the parasite has drunk blood at various stages, it must leave its victim and reincarnate in a secluded place.
Female arthropods need to eat well to carry out their main task - reproduction. After being bitten, she should lay a clutch of eggs in an inconspicuous place. If she succeeds, then the success of her mission is assured.

Ticks in dogs

If a tick on a dog drinks blood but is unable to leave the crime scene in time, its life is over. It can be damaged by a dog trying to scratch this place with its teeth or claws. Or the pet owner will find an attached or already dead tick among the fur. The total time the bloodsucker spends on the dog can be several days. And the shortest period of time in which he can accomplish his plans is about 6 hours.

The main methods of protection against tick bites

You should not risk your health by going into nature, even if the risk of infection is not too high. It is recommended to consider a number of preventive measures and choose the most appropriate option for yourself.

Vaccine

This preventive measure is used at different times, but it is better to inject the inactivated virus before the parasite activity increases. Then the immunity will have time to form. Vaccination is carried out according to the scheme, with the minimum duration of the interval between injections being 30 days, the maximum being 7 months.

Introduction of the vaccine against tick-borne encephalitis

Workwear

Through dense material the parasite will not be able to bite. If a bite mark is found, it means that the tick had already attacked earlier, but was able to fall off on its own. In the future, it is recommended to wear special closed clothing when going on a picnic or fishing. It is equipped with traps; the surface of the material is smooth, which does not allow the parasite to move around the body of a potential victim. Additionally, the suit is treated with repellent substances, resulting in a double protective effect.

Protective suits against ticks for the whole family

Insurance

This is not exactly a preventive measure. The insurance policy provides the opportunity to conduct a quick, high-quality and most complete examination in case of a tick bite. In addition, regardless of whether the parasite fell off on its own or was forcibly removed, if the diagnosis of tick-borne encephalitis or other diseases is confirmed (depending on what conditions are specified in the contract), treatment is carried out. Patient care is provided in certain medical institutions. Their list can be found in the annex to the agreement.

Seeking help from a medical center with insurance after a tick bite

Repellents

This is what repellents are called. They contain toxic substances. These can be insecticides, acaricides, or components of a combined action. Some areas are treated with repellents: the lower limbs in the area of the knee joints, hips, and chest. A ring barrier is created on each of these zones. The parasite has to change direction when it enters such areas.

However, the use of repellents does not guarantee complete protection. Against the backdrop of severe hunger, pests may try to overcome the obstacle. As a result, the parasite will still stick. For this reason, it is recommended to combine different preventive measures.

When applied to skin or clothing
the substance prevents the tick from moving.

Repellents that protect against tick attacks

How does a tick bite occur?

“Bitten by a tick” is one of the most common complaints from summer residents and tourists in the summer. Similar messages can be found in both spring and autumn. Contrary to popular belief, even in November some types of ticks remain active (especially if cold weather arrives late).

The parasite's bite is not the traditionally represented compression of tissue by the jaws. The parasite uses a special device to cut through the tissue of the victim, and then plunges its proboscis into the resulting cut. Since the proboscis is equipped with special hooks, if a tick bites into a person, it will be very difficult to remove it. The hooks will interfere with the normal removal of the insect's mouthparts.

Contact with a tick can last from 2–3 hours to a week. The duration of exposure depends on whether the tick is male or female. The longer the parasite's salivary glands are in contact with the blood, the higher the risk of infection.

Parasites can spread to humans from animals, but more often they crawl to them on their own or climb from blades of grass. It is very difficult to detect the insect, since due to its small size its movement is almost imperceptible. In addition, the insect hides well and looks for the most inaccessible places for its prey.

To understand where a tick can bite, you need to know the mechanism of “attack” of the parasite. The insect does not literally attack. Its movement is very slow, because the size of an individual that has not yet drunk blood is about 3–5 mm. The tick's hunting consists of passively waiting for the prey, and only occasionally can it chase it.

The parasite finds a potential source of blood through certain secretions. These are ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide, which usually accompany a living creature. Most of all, parasites focus on a sharp increase in carbon dioxide levels. The tick is able to monitor the level of substances in the air thanks to special cells located in the pits on its legs.

After detecting an accumulation of carbon dioxide, the parasite climbs high on the grass and stretches its front legs forward. He holds on to a blade of grass with his hind legs. The tick cannot jump, since its limbs are anatomically not adapted to this. He also cannot fall on the victim on his own, since he always reflexively holds on to what he is sitting on (be it a blade of grass or a branch of a low bush). There are only two mechanisms left for the tick to move onto the victim - by clinging with its front paws and by actively pursuing it. The first mechanism is more common, since it requires less energy for the tick.

On people, the tick most often climbs up the shins. If the grass is tall, it can immediately reach your knees. However, the parasite rarely remains in these areas. He begins to crawl upward in search of a more convenient place for suction. The insect selects places according to the following criteria:

no excessive heating of the skin;
protection from shaking off and attempts to remove the parasite;
an open, easily bitten area of skin;
abundance of blood vessels.

Based on all of the above factors, a person’s armpits win. Further, in descending order, the parasite can dig into the chest, abdomen, and groin. In people under 14 years of age, mites are often found in the scalp. Parasites can attach themselves behind the ears, on the neck and on the back.

After finding a convenient place, the tick clings firmly to the skin of the victim with its paws. It is held in one place by microscopic hooks located both on the chitinous shell of the body and on the limbs. Therefore, the parasite is very difficult to shake off.

The tick cuts through the skin with the help of chelicerae. These are two tourniquets that are part of its oral apparatus. The chelicerae are kept in a case, which protects them from the negative effects of external factors and from the protective functions of the victim’s body. The chelicerae have the shape of a fork with two teeth. Between them there is a proboscis.

When the parasite cuts the skin with chelicerae, making alternating movements with these sharp processes, the proboscis plunges into the resulting wound. It has spines that grow outward. They prevent the tick from being forcibly removed from the skin: if you try to pull it out rather than unscrew it, the spines will catch on the skin and the head of the insect may come off the body.

A tick bite is painless, since the insect introduces anesthetics into the body that are contained in its blood. Along with them, anticoagulants enter the blood, which thin it and make it more accessible for nutrition. There is also the effect of digestive enzymes. They digest some of the tissue around the wound, causing redness, burning, and sometimes inflammation to develop.