With the arrival of spring and milder temperatures, the desire to walk in the open air and in the woods returns, where it is easy for animals and people to be stung by ticks.
In fact, due to the increase in temperatures le ticks have already come out of their hibernation and several have already been recorded reports, on the peninsula and in many other states abroad, especially the United States. The ticks they are very often underestimated, in fact, as much as we worry that they sting our pets we forget that they can also sting people.
In general the tick bite non And dangerous for human health, but it should absolutely not be underestimated, as it can cause infections and diseases such asencephalitis (Tbe), la Lyme disease or the protective; The latter is still rare in Italy for now, but with cases doubled from 2011 to 2019 in the northeastern states of the United States. For this reason it will certainly be appropriate to recognize which are the symptoms and especially what to do if a person is bitten by a tick.
Tick bite: what diseases it transmits and the symptoms
As anticipated, the tick bite it is not dangerous for people, but in some cases it can cause infections e illnesses which they can reveal fatal especially for those suffering from immunosuppression, or for those with other risk factors. Among the infections that the tick can transmit we find the Lyme disease and the protective.
The Lyme disease is a properly transmitted tick-borne disease caused by four species of bacteria: Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia garinii, Borrelia mayonii, and Borrelia burgdoferi. THE symptoms main are fever; cold; fatigue and headaches and although it is treatable, the possible complications such as meningitis e arthritis.
The protectivehowever, is transmitted through parasites, le Babesie, which infect red blood cells and are spread by certain types of ticks. While most people show no signs of contagion, as they are asymptomatic, others develop flu-like symptoms, including:
- fever;
- chills;
- sweating;
- muscle aches.
But the disease can be grave or even fatal in people who have compromised immune systems or other risk factors. In any case, one should not underestimate the tick bite nor disease; in fact, as recalled by the Corriere della Serafor decades the disease was extremely rare in the United States, but it has now become endemic in 10 Northeastern states.
Tick bite: what to do and precautions
After learning what are the symptoms and diseases that the bite from the mint can transmit is important to understand what to do in case you get bitten. First of all non absolutely must crush herbecause by doing so you could inoculation the bacteria transmitted by the tick directly into the skin of the person who has been bitten.
It will therefore be necessary to remove the tick very delicately with some tweezers with a thin and sharp tip – not rounded – and of thealcohol, (or acetone, trichlorethylene, ammonia, oil). Then you have to disinfect the area and keep it under observation for one month.
In any case, it is good to adopt some precautionsto prevent tick bites. When going on long walks in the countryside or in the woods, it is preferable to walk on paths away from tall grass and from the bushes; dress appropriately with long pants, long-sleeved shirts, closed shoes and a hat; prefer light clothing to make ticks more easily identifiable and finally apply insect repellent products to areas not protected by clothing.
