7 myths about ticks that cause people to suffer and die every year
Tips In Safety / / January 02, 2021
Myth 1. "Ticks are found only in deep forest"
Unfortunately no. The tick can be caught even in the city park. They love Mites Habitat wet places: ravines, glades and lawns in the shade, overgrown next to water bodies. Ticks live in the grass: they sit on the upper part of the shoot and wait for their prey. During the active season of these arachnids - from April to September - even your own lawn can be dangerous. If the house or summer cottage is located near the forest, trim your lawn in time: ticks do not live on low grass. Approximate height Forest tickthat suits them - up to 1.5 meters.
Myth 2. "It's good that I got vaccinated against ticks: there is nothing to be afraid of."
Only partly. Vaccination can help protect yourself from encephalitis. In this case, if you are bitten by an encephalitis tick, you will not get sick. However, ticks carry WHAT DISEASES DO THE TICKES? many different infections:
- Lyme disease or tick-borne borreliosis. It affects the nervous system and causes heart problems.
- Human monocytic ehrlichiosis (MECH). Destroys internal organs: lungs, liver, kidneys, cardiovascular system.
- Human granulocytic anaplasmosis (GACH). It proceeds with a high temperature, as a strong intoxication.
- Crimean hemorrhagic fever (KGL). It provokes redness of the skin and bleeding.
- Tularemia. It causes an increase in lymph nodes, accompanied by diseases of the heart and stomach.
- Recurrent tick-borne typhus. It proceeds in the form of attacks of fever, it can provoke jaundice.
This is only part of the diseases that ticks can transmit to humans. All of them are unpleasant and can be accompanied by complications, and in some cases - lead to death. That is why you should not underestimate the danger of being bitten by these arachnids.
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Myth 3. “Ticks attack white. I'll put on a dark one - and everything will be okay "
No one remembers exactly where this urban legend came from. But they retell it with joy to each other. And the irony of the myth is that ticks do not distinguish colors at all: their visual apparatus is too primitive. In fact, it is better to do the opposite: wear light-colored clothing when going outdoors. This will not in any way affect your attractiveness to ticks, but it will be easier to spot the parasite on a white background. Try to leave fewer exposed areas on your body. And after a walk, carefully examine each other's skin.
Myth 4. "If you immediately pull out a tick, it will not have time to infect me"
Unfortunately, a couple of minutes are enough for infection. The tick plunges its proboscis into human skin and releases the secretions of the salivary glands. If he is infected, together with saliva, particles of viruses or dangerous bacteria enter the bloodstream: for example, Borrelia, if we are talking about Lyme disease. After that, the tick begins to be saturated with blood, and the infectious agent that has entered the human body begins to multiply. In addition, it can be difficult to understand exactly when the mite has stuck to the skin. They can be on the human body for some time, looking for a comfortable place. And the bite may not be felt at all, since the ticks secrete an anesthetic secret.
Myth 5. "You can get a tick yourself: you just need to drip vegetable oil on it"
Or grease with Vaseline - the bloodsucker will immediately unhook. And even better - with alcohol or vinegar, so the villain will definitely loosen his grip! There are many popular ways to get rid of a tick, but they are more harmful than useful. The fact is that oil or alcohol does not kill the parasite at lightning speed. He begins to choke and in convulsions goes even deeper into the skin.
In addition, it is possible to understand what the tick was infected with only with the help of a laboratory test. And for him it is necessary that the one who bit was alive. Therefore, you can remove the parasite yourself only if you are sure that you will do everything carefully. For example, using special tick removal tweezers that you can buy at the pet store. Place the removed pest in the test jar and close.
Myth 6. “The tick has bitten, but I feel good. It means that it has passed! "
Even if you removed the tick from your body a few days ago, but are still as vigorous as a cucumber, this is not a guarantee that the danger has passed. The incubation period for tick-borne infections can Tick-borne infections be up to 30 days, and sometimes even reach several months. Moreover, even if the symptoms have not yet appeared, there is no guarantee that the disease will pass easily. Therefore, you need to see a doctor and get tested in any case.
Myth 7. "I will apply insect spray and not a single tick will touch me."
You can apply a repellent - it won't get any worse. But if he copes with mosquitoes and midges just fine, then with ticks everything is much more complicated. The point is that ticks are not insects. Together with spiders, they are representatives of the arthropod class. They have completely different mechanisms of functioning, so a repellent toxic to mosquitoes will not be able to scare them away.
Anti-tick remedies are called acaricides. These are pesticides that can harm humans, so acaricides are never applied to the skin. The most that you can do with them is to process the clothes. But this is also not recommended when it comes to small children.
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