HEN ATTACK TICKS
Many animals or parasites can cause pathologies by bite or sting. The tick, this small animal that can cling to your skin during a walk in the forest, is not the least harmless. If the presence of the parasite is noted, it should be removed quickly to avoid serious complications.
WHAT IS A TICK ?
The tick is a small parasite which is not very dangerous in Europe provided it is removed quickly. It is indeed a mite called Ixodes . It lives anchored on the skin of mammals, birds or reptiles, and feeds on their blood thanks to a rostrum. The tick is not immediately dangerous but on the other hand, it can transmit to its hosts and in particular to humans, diseases that are called "vector", the best known being Lyme disease.
Get Rid of Ticks, without specific products or tick pliers
- Apply a dab of liquid soap on a cotton ball.
-Cover the tick with the cotton ball soaked in soap and dab it for a few seconds (15-20 sec), the tick will spontaneously come off and stick to the cotton when you remove it.
This is great because it works in places where it is sometimes difficult to use tweezers: between the toes, in the middle of a head full of dark hair, etc ...
HOW DOES LYME DISEASE MANIFEST ITSELF ?
The Lyme disease is a difficult diagnosis delayed because, at a time when symptoms appear and forgot (even we did not see) the tick attached to the skin during the last holiday!
It is an infectious disease caused by a bacterium ( Borrelia , of which there are several species) that can affect several organs, mainly the skin, joints and the nervous system.
Although already observed for many years in Europe, this disease was described in 1975 following numerous cases of arthritis (inflammation of the joints) in children and adults in a city of Connecticut in the United States (Lyme) . In France, it is estimated that one new case per 6,000 inhabitants per year, with many undiagnosed cases.
THERE ARE THREE PHASES IN THE COURSE OF THE DISEASE ...
The disease progresses in three phases:
- The primary phase between 2 and 32 days after the tick bite. A lesion appears, a redness of the skin called chronic erythema migrans, which is at the level of the tick bite. It is a red "halo" which slowly expands in a centrifugal fashion (from the center to the periphery) as the center becomes lighter. Its diameter can vary from 3 to several tens of centimeters (on average 15 cm). It may disappear or go unnoticed.
- The secondary phase appears a few days or weeks later (we can clearly see that this manifests itself very far from the initial bite) in the form of skin lesions (redness, nodules on the earlobe in particular), joint pain with real arthritis (red, painful) or neurological complications (pain, paralysis, etc.) or cardiac complications. You can see everything which leads to a lot of exams ...
- The tertiary phase is a chronic form with the same symptoms which persist ...
HOW IS THE DIAGNOSIS MADE ?
The disease is very polymorphic, that is, with many symptoms that are sometimes difficult to relate to the bite of the tick several months before.
If you've been bitten or noticed a tick, remember it and report it to your doctor, even several months later if you have "weird" symptoms. This will avoid a good number of examinations, often unpleasant ( lumbar puncture , ...). Your doctor will then order a simple blood test ( serology ) and the diagnosis will be made. If, on the other hand, the tick bite has gone unnoticed, the diagnosis will be made after a series of tests, examinations ... until a doctor thinks of Lyme disease! "
IS THERE A TREATMENT FOR LYME DISEASE ?
Yes there is a curative treatment for this disease which is based on taking antibiotics . The faster this antibiotic treatment is administered, the more effective it is. The doses, as well as the type of antibiotics, must be adapted to the stage and to the manifestations of the disease. These antibiotics can also be administered as a "preventive or prophylactic" when a tick has been stuck in the skin for several days.
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