Diseases carried by mites: symptoms. What diseases does the tick endure?

In the spring-summer period, the question of ticks is especially urgent. What are these creatures, what diseases does the tick carry to people, dogs and cats, how to remove the pest? These questions are discussed below.

Characteristics of ticks: who are they and where do they live?

Ticks are small arachnids that dig into the skin to feed on blood. In total there are about thirty thousand species.

In nature, ticks live in wet places: deciduous forests, lawns with high grass, swampy terrain. The most active these parasites show throughout the summer.

Getting to the open areas of the skin, they begin to feed on the blood of a living being. But, unlike a mosquito, which can be chased or slapped, it is not easy to get rid of a tick. He sucked to the skin, and if you remove it incorrectly and leave his head in the body, even after death, the bloodsucker will excrete poisonous substances and infect the body.

What diseases does the tick carry to people?

If you notice the tick in time and extract it from the body, then there will be no consequences for the body. But if you do not find the parasite, then the person will begin to weaken and may become ill with one of the serious diseases.

Diseases carried by mites, in man manifest themselves in different ways:

• Tick-borne encephalitis. There are two forms: light or first, which is characterized by nonspecific fevers with headache, muscle pain and fatigue, and severe or second, which is accompanied by the involvement of the central nervous system as a result of aseptic meningitis, encephalitis, myelitis. Complications are possible only in the absence of treatment.
• Lyme disease. Diagnosed on the basis of symptoms, physical manifestations (eg, rashes) and the possibility of contact with infected mites. Antibiotics, as a rule, help. But if you did not start treatment immediately, then Lyme disease can cause serious problems with the joints, the nervous system and the heart.
• Spotted fever. Infections most often occur in the peak activity of ticks. This is a serious or even fatal disease, if not treated in the first few days after the detection of symptoms. Possible complications: inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), inflammation of the heart or lungs, renal failure, serious infection, which will lead to amputation of the affected limb, death.
• Tularemia. It is a rare infectious disease. Highly contagious and potentially lethal. Treatment is amenable in the shortest time after the detection of symptoms with the help of antibiotics. Possible complications: pneumonia (pneumonia), infection around the brain and spinal cord (meningitis), irritation around the heart (pericarditis), bone infection (osteomyelitis).
• Ehrlichiosis. It is diagnosed on the basis of symptoms, clinical analyzes. Without timely treatment, erlichiosis can have serious consequences for a healthy adult or child. People with weakened immune systems have a higher risk of serious and potentially life-threatening consequences: kidney failure, respiratory failure, heart failure, convulsions, coma.
• Relapsing fever. It is characterized by episodic attacks of fever, which lasts several days, and then passes, with the subsequent one more attack. This process can be repeated one to four times. Given the proper treatment, most patients recover within a few days. Long-term complications are rare, but include various diseases in the field of neuropathy.
• Babesiosis. The disease destroys the red blood cells and causes a special type of anemia, called "hemolytic anemia", which can lead to jaundice (yellowing of the skin) and dark urine. The disease is especially dangerous for people who have a weak immune system for various reasons (for example, cancer, lymphoma or AIDS), there are other serious diseases (for example, the liver or kidneys). Possible complications: low and unstable blood pressure, severe hemolytic anemia (hemolysis), very low platelet count (thrombocytopenia), disseminated intravascular coagulation, which can lead to blood clots and bleeding, malfunction of vital organs (eg, kidneys, lungs, liver ), Death.

Symptoms of diseases carried by ticks

Some people have an allergic reaction to a tick bite. It can be mild, with a few irritating symptoms. In rare cases, there is a strong allergic reaction (anaphylaxis).

Many of the diseases from tick bites are flu-like symptoms, such as fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, muscle pain and so on. Manifestations can begin as the first day after a tick bite, and only for the third week.

Examples of possible symptoms for specific tick-borne diseases

What diseases carry pincers dogs and cats?

As mentioned above, mites "hunt" for all living things. That is, dogs and cats can also bring home an uninvited guest.

Diseases carried by mites in dogs can exhibit various symptoms:

• Granulocytic anaplasmosis. Most of this disease affects dogs from eight years and older. Symptoms: fever, lack of appetite, lethargy, muscle pain. In rare cases, vomiting and diarrhea, coughing, convulsions are possible. The incubation period lasts from a week to two.
• Babesiosis, or pyroplasmosis. The dogs of the fighting breeds are the most exposed. Common symptoms: lethargy, refusal of food, fever. A dog previously treated for this disease can be a carrier of the disease for a long time. Infection occurs in the first twenty-four hours. The incubation period lasts from one week to three.
• Lyme disease, or borreliosis. Most often the disease occurs without the appearance of obvious symptoms. But loss of appetite, enlarged lymph nodes, lameness is possible. Infection occurs after twenty-four hours of finding a tick on the dog's body. The incubation period lasts a month.
• Monocyte erlichiosis. There is no precise data on the incubation period. And the symptoms can be absolutely any. The severity of the disease is due to the general health of the dog.
• Hepatozoonosis. Disease, which is transmitted not as a result of a tick bite, but when a parasite enters the digestive tract of a dog. Possible symptoms: chills and fever, pale mucous membranes, weight loss, lethargy, muscle pain.
• Infectious cyclic thrombocytopenia. The incubation period lasts from eight to fifteen days. Possible symptoms in severe form of the disease: chills and fever, pale mucous membranes, pet apathy, nosebleeds, enlarged lymph nodes.
• Demodecosis. Symptoms: loss of hair, baldness of some parts of the body, small wounds.
• Ear mites. Symptoms: permanent itching in the auricle, its redness, the presence of an abundant amount of dark brown or black sulfur, constant head-washing.

And what diseases do ticks carry to cats? In fact, many owners of cats who live in the city, believe that if the animal does not go out into the street, then the tick is not afraid of him. The parasite can get into the apartment in several ways. For example, through an open window or things of the owner. Diseases carried by mites to cats may be different:

• Demodecosis (the symptoms are the same as in dogs).
• Tick of cheyletiella. Possible symptoms: skin peeling, baldness of some parts of the body, the appearance of wounds.

• Cat's scabies. Symptoms: wounds on the body as a result of constant itching of the itching, hair loss.
• Lyme disease (see details above).
• Ear mites (see details above).

How to pull a tick?

If you are not sure whether you can pull the parasite out of your skin, that is, extract it completely, it is better not to carry out this procedure at home, but to get to the nearest medical facility. After all, the diseases that the mites suffer can spread through his head.

You can remove the bloodsucker with the following tools:

• Curved tweezers;
• Surgical clamp;
• A special hook for extracting ticks from the body (you can find it in the pharmacy).

How to remove the tick correctly:

1. The tool is wiped with alcohol for disinfection.
2. The forceps or clamp is placed as close as possible to the proboscis of the parasite.
3. The mite is captured and slightly tightened.
4. The tool is rotated about its axis in one direction.
5. After a few turns, the parasite is removed together with the proboscis.

If you do not have the right tools, then the tick can be removed with a simple thread. To do this, make a loop on the end of the thread and put it on the mite. Then pull the yarn, gently shaking it from side to side.

What can not be done when you pull a tick?

Pull the parasite out of the body in no case it is impossible with the help of sunflower or other oil. Diseases carried by mites can be transmitted and together with substances that will regurgitate the parasite due to occlusion of the proboscis oil.

Do not use the following substances:

• Corrosive liquids (for example, ammonia or gasoline);
• Compresses;
• Various ointments.

While extracting the tick, do not do the following:

• To bring the fire closer to the parasite;
• Sharply pull out the instrument;
• Use a dirty tool;
• Raskvyrivat mite and wound with a needle;
• Crush the parasite with your fingers.

What to do after being pulled out of the skin of a tick?

Regardless of when the parasite was removed (it is understood, after what time after the bite), it is recommended to do the following procedures:

1. A few days to monitor the temperature and well-being in general.
2. Follow the place of bite: whether the swelling, redness, swelling, and so on.
3. Call your doctor if you have found any malaise or tick was removed after a long time.
4. Take those medicines that the doctor will prescribe.

If you want to make sure that the diseases carried by the tick are not terrible for you, that is, you did not have time to get infected, you can take a blood test. Only once it has no meaning. Some diseases can be detected only a couple of weeks after an unpleasant contact with the parasite.

How to reduce the risk?

Why do mites suffer diseases? There is no answer to this question. But you can not prevent infection from the parasite. For this, there are a number of preventive measures.

General measures to reduce the number of ticks in a specific locality:

• Treatment of the site with special chemical preparations in early spring with the aim of destroying adult individuals and laid eggs.
• Destruction of rodents and pests.
• Bevel of high grass (lawn mowing and weed removal).
• Burning the fallen leaves that have remained since the winter.
• Planting some species of plants in which insecticides are developed, which repel ticks. An example is the Caucasian, Dalmatian and Persian chamomile.

Preventive measures for humans

1. Avoid prolonged stay in the forest, on the swamp and in the tall grass.
2. Sites in which there may potentially be mites, visit fully clothed (high collar and headgear mandatory).
3. Use special tools that are designed to scare off ticks. These can be sprays, acting on the principle of repellents, or electric repellers, emitting special ultrasonic pulses, irritating the hearing of ticks. Human and animal hearing does not catch them.
4. After walking in potentially dangerous places, inspect your clothes and skin.

Preventative measures for animals

1. From time to time, treat your pet with special medications that are sold in veterinary pharmacies and pet stores. These can be shampoos, sprays, drops and medications.
2. Put on a cat or dog collar, which scares fleas and ticks.
3. When you come home, look around your pet. Even in the city there may be ticks that do not stick to a man, but can to a dog.

Always be watchful and attentive in nature, inspect yourself, your relatives and pets after walking. In time, the detected and removed tick will not do much harm.