Spring is blooming, and everything is recovering. April to October is the period when ticks and their associated diseases are active. Severe tick bites may lead to paralysis, respiratory failure, and death. Ticks can transmit a variety of diseases, such as fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome, Lyme disease, forest encephalitis, babesiosis, tick-borne typhus, etc. Members of the public should beware of tick bites when they go out on spring outings and embrace nature.
How to identify a tick?
Ticks are commonly known as ticks, ticks, grass crawlers, dog beans, generally reddish-gray-brown, oblong, dorsal and ventral flattened, the adult body is 2-10 mm long, similar to sesame grains, matchstick heads, rice grains the size, swelling like red beans after sucking full blood. Its egg-laying ability is not inferior to "Xiaoqiang", it is a very small parasite, ticks mainly live in forests, grasses, bushes, and can also parasitize pets, livestock, poultry, rodents and other body surfaces. Ticks tend to gather in leaf litter, grass tips, and can cling to their bodies if a person or animal passes by and comes into contact with them. The parasitic site is often selective, often parasitic on the part of the host's skin that is thin and not easy to be scratched. For example: the neck, behind the ears, armpits, inner thighs, etc. of animals or people. Therefore, you may come into close contact with ticks when walking dogs, camping, gardening, tea picking, and farming outdoors.
What are the dangers of tick bites?
Tick bites are usually painless when sucking blood, but can cause dermatitis at the bite site, which manifests as itching and rash. The symptoms of the rash are redness, swelling, blisters, ecchymosis, etc. After being bitten by a tick, most people experience mild dermatitis. However, a very small number of people with allergies can develop tick paralysis symptoms after being bitten by ticks, which can manifest as acute paralysis and even respiratory failure. In addition, ticks can carry a variety of viruses, bacteria, spirochetes and other pathogens, and can transmit a variety of infectious diseases, such as fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome, viral encephalitis, etc.
How can individuals protect themselves from ticks?
When going to outdoor activities or work, especially in grasslands, mountains and other places, it is advisable to wear tight-mouthed, bright-colored, smooth long-sleeved clothing, and clothes that expose the skin can be sprayed with DEET. Avoid wearing sandals and check your body for tick attachment, especially on the scalp, waist, armpits, groin, and below the ankles. Also, reduce contact with tick-carrying animals. If the tick is found to be attached, do not pull it hard to avoid the tick head from remaining in the body; you can apply alcohol to the tick to relax or die, and then take it out with pointed tweezers, and then treat it locally with a medical skin disinfectant such as iodine or alcohol. After being bitten by a tick, pay attention to your physical condition and seek medical attention as soon as possible if you have a fever or other uncomfortable symptoms.
Maintaining an environment of sanitation can help reduce tick breeding. Remove weeds and fallen leaves around the house in a timely manner, and clean the livestock pen on time. If you find that domestic animals and poultry carry ticks and other parasites on their bodies, do not pick them with your bare hands, because the mouthparts of the tick are very complex and have barbs on them, and once the tick that is sucking blood is not properly removed, it is likely to break its mouthparts in the skin, further causing skin inflammation. It can be removed with tweezers, domestic animals can be regularly medicated to kill ticks, and pets should be regularly checked for ticks attached to their body surfaces. (Xu Zhe)
Source: China Military Network
Forward: Wei Shujing
Review: Hao Lin