How to protect yourself from ticks

Summer is a great time to relax in nature. Unfortunately, not only people think so, but ticks too. And meeting them in the same area can end very unpleasantly. We tell you what measures to take to protect yourself from bites, and how to remove a tick if it has already managed to bite into your skin. 

Main

• Ticks of the Ixodid family carry two dangerous diseases: Lyme disease (or borreliosis) and tick-borne encephalitis. The risks of infection depend on the region.
• To reduce the likelihood of a tick bite, wear closed clothing when going outdoors: long-sleeved shirts, elasticated pants, high socks. You can also treat your clothing and camping equipment with special tick-repellent products.
• If a tick does bite, carefully remove it and see a doctor. But there is no need to take the culprit for examination: tick analysis is not indicative.

Why are ticks dangerous? 

Ticks are animals from the arachnid class that feed on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles. The most dangerous to humans are ticks of the ixodid family: they carry bacterial and viral infections. Most often, these are:

• Lyme disease or borreliosis . A disease caused by Borrelia bacteria. It develops in several stages. During the first 3-30 days, a person begins to complain of a rash in the form of a red circle around the bite, malaise, weakness, fever, muscle and joint pain. Later – 3-10 weeks after infection – pain throughout the body, vision problems, muscle weakness on one or both sides of the face begin. The third stage, after 2-12 months, can be accompanied by chronic atrophic acrodermatitis – discoloration and swelling of the skin on the back of the hands and feet. The main danger of Lyme disease is that some symptoms may persist even after treatment, including arthritis, increased fatigue and memory problems. 

• Tick-borne encephalitis . A disease caused by a virus of the same name. Symptoms appear a week after the bite: weakness, high temperature, headache, general malaise. More serious consequences occur if the infection affects the brain: changes in behavior, seizures, confusion, loss of the ability to move a part of the body. 

The tick is also scary because it is difficult to feel its bite – this animal injects anesthetics with saliva. And it does not attack right away – having got on the body, it first looks for a place not hidden by clothing. Areas with thin skin are convenient for the tick, the most vulnerable are the neck, the area behind the ears, armpits, and the back of the head. 

When and where can you encounter a tick?

Ticks are active from April to September, until it gets cold. But the most dangerous months are May-July, when the ground begins to warm up: this is when Rospotrebnadzor registers the first requests for help. 

Ticks do not tolerate hot weather above 20 degrees and direct sunlight. Therefore, they live in forests where there are many coniferous, deciduous trees, as well as thick grass and bushes. Ticks are also found in cities : they hide in lawns, parks and along roadsides. 

You can also encounter these animals at home if you accidentally bring them in on the fur of a dog or cat, a bouquet of flowers from the dacha, a broom of dried flowers or leaves. Outside of nature, the tick will not die instantly, but will continue to wait – it can bite even if several days pass. 

How to prevent tick bites

There are no simple one-time protective measures that would allow you to safely walk on the grass all summer. Yes, there is vaccination – but it only helps develop immunity to encephalitis, and will not save you from a bite or Lyme disease. Therefore, every time before and after a trip to nature or a walk in the park, it is worth using several safety rules.     

Choose the right outfit

Ticks are unable to bite through a layer of clothing. Therefore, in the forest or on a picnic, it is better to wear clothes that do not leave exposed areas of skin. 

• In hot weather, you can choose a shirt as the top, and in cool weather, a sweatshirt or hoodie. The main thing is that the cuffs fit tightly to the arms – this will make it more difficult for a tick to crawl under them.
• The lower part of the body can be covered with any pants with tight cuffs, for example, joggers. Moreover, it is better to pull high socks directly on top of the elastic band – this way you will make the tick’s work doubly difficult.  
• It is worth covering your head with a scarf or a cap, since ticks can bite in the back of the head as well – hair does not scare them. 
• No matter how hot it is, when going out into nature it is better to choose closed shoes, such as light sneakers or trainers. 
• Give preference to light-colored clothes and shoes. It will be easier to notice and remove the tick. 

Use special means

In addition to clothing, you can protect yourself with tick-repellent sprays. This way, ticks will not only not be able to penetrate your skin, but will literally avoid you. These products can also be useful if you plan to walk on the grass in the city, for example, while walking your dog or taking a summer photo shoot in the park, and are not ready to dress according to all the rules.  

Repellents

These are applied to exposed skin: you can spray them directly on your body, and if you want to protect your face, first spray your palms with the product, and then transfer it to your forehead, nose, and cheeks. Repellents may contain different active ingredients: DEET, picaridin, IR3535, lemon eucalyptus oil (OLE), paramenthane diol (PMD), or 2-undecanone. When choosing a product, it is important to study the label in detail: see how long it lasts and whether its working time depends on the air temperature, contact with water, and physical activity. 

Repellents can leave a sticky feeling on the skin. Also, not all of them are equally safe for children, for example, products with OLE and PMD in the composition are not recommended for use under 3 years of age due to the risk of skin and eye  irritation .

Permethrin

This is an insecticide that is sprayed on clothing, insect nets, sleeping bags, shoes and boots. It should not be sprayed on bare skin. Permethrin should be applied to clothing and other items outdoors 24-48 hours before use to allow time for it to soak in and dry.  

This product remains active for several weeks and can even withstand washing. Be sure to read the label carefully – check the recommendations for storing clothing and equipment treated with permethrin.   

Inspect everything upon returning home 

Thick clothing and special means reduce the risk of bites, but do not eliminate them. Therefore, after you return from a walk or picnic, it is worth :

• Carefully examine your clothes, shoes and gear . While the tick is crawling on things, it cannot transmit the infection. But having penetrated the apartment in this way, it is quite capable of settling there and biting in a few days. If you find such a spider on trousers, sneakers or a backpack, destroy it, for example, by flushing it down the toilet. Clothes for prevention and destruction of hidden ticks can also be washed immediately , but be sure to use a high temperature mode (at least 54 degrees). Cold and warm water are not scary for them. 
• Check the fur of animals . If you were outdoors with a dog or cat, ticks could have latched onto them. By the way, they are no less dangerous for pets: they can infect them with the same infections as humans, such as Lyme disease or tick-borne encephalitis. Special repellents for cats or dogs can protect animals during walks – these are sold in the form of sprays or collars.    
• Inspect yourself from head to toe . This check won’t be superfluous, even if you took all the precautions in nature. You need to examine everything, including the space behind the ears, the navel, the armpits, the area between the legs. To get to hard-to-reach places, use a hand mirror.  
• Take a shower . Water can wash away ticks from the skin that have not yet had time to attach. These animals can crawl on a person without doing anything for even several hours, but it is better not to risk it and get under water as soon as possible after returning home.

What to do if a tick bites you

The main thing is to act quickly, but not to panic. Trying to crush or remove the tick with dirty hands can only make the situation worse. You should also not pour gasoline or oil on it: they will clog the tick’s airways, causing it to release more infected saliva into the wound. 

Carefully remove the tick

This can be done using tweezers, thread, a special tick extractor, or simply your fingers with a sterile bandage. The algorithm is as follows :

1. Using clean hands and a tick-catcher, grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible. 
2. Pull up without sudden movements and turn the tick in any convenient direction 1-2 times. This should be done as carefully as possible so as not to crush it accidentally. If the tick breaks, suppuration and inflammation may occur at the site of the bite. 
3. If you notice that the tick has not been pulled out completely and some part of its body remains in the wound, treat the area with alcohol and then remove everything with a sterile needle (first heat it over a fire).
4. Wipe the bite site with an antiseptic, do not apply a bandage. In the future, it is enough to treat this place with iodine: if there are no parts of the tick left in the wound, it will heal in a week. 
5. The tick itself can be destroyed immediately, for example, by flushing it down the toilet, pouring alcohol on it, or burning it.     

See a doctor

There is no need to take the removed tick to the lab: its examination for viruses and bacteria will not answer the main question – whether you have been infected or not. An infected tick may simply not have had time to “share” its dangerous saliva. And a “safe” tick may not be the only one: suddenly you picked up a second tick in the same place, but it quietly drank your blood and ran away.   

It is better to immediately go to an infectious disease specialist for a consultation: he will carefully examine you , ask about symptoms and determine the further plan of action. For example, he may prescribe emergency prevention of tick-borne encephalitis. 

There will be more than one meeting with a specialist – it is worth visiting him several times during the month. The fact is that the symptoms of diseases transmitted by ticks do not always appear immediately. And when they appear, they can be unnoticeable, as they are similar to the signs of a cold: 

• rash; 
• fever; 
• fatigue; 
• headache; 
• muscle pain; 
• swelling and pain in the joints. 

If you suddenly missed the moment and did not seek help immediately after the bite, and later you have similar symptoms, do not self-medicate – seek help from a specialist.