There is no need to take the tick to the laboratory. Information about his infections will not affect the treatment tactics or prognosis for the patient. And if the analysis shows that the bloodsucker is clean, this can cause harm by lulling vigilance.
Below we will look at why, despite the recommendations of the Russian Ministry of Health, it makes no sense to examine a tick and what really needs to be done in order not to miss a dangerous disease.
Why are ticks sent to the laboratory?
If you find a tick attached to your body, pull it out as quickly as possible. The less time he spends on you, the lower the risk of contracting dangerous diseases. As soon as the tick is removed, treat the wound with an antiseptic and wash your hands with soap.
After this, the Russian Ministry of Health advise place the blood-sucking substance in a hermetically sealed container with a piece of damp cotton wool or a napkin inside, and within two days take it to the regional infectious diseases hospital or laboratory for examination.
The fact is that ixodid ticks carry bacterial and viral infections that can cause dangerous diseases.
For example, tick-borne encephalitis, which, depending on the form Maybe cause fever, severe headache, myelitis and sciatica, various neurological disorders including confusion and sensory disturbances, and even result in paralysis and death.
No less dangerous is tick-borne borreliosis, or Lyme disease, in which a person first suffers from fever, fatigue, headaches and pain in muscles and joints, and if left untreated, various complications can develop – from paralysis of the facial muscles and meningitis to arthritis and chronic pain in muscles, joints and tendons.
True, in the memo from the Ministry of Health indicatedthat the presence of an infection in a tick does not mean that the person bitten by it will get sick, and the analysis is needed “for peace of mind in case of a negative result and vigilance in case of a positive result.”
The problem is that information from the laboratory will not affect the treatment tactics and prognosis for the patient. Moreover, it can cause harm.
Why a tick should not be taken to the laboratory
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Experts declarethat such measures are unjustified for several reasons:
- Just because a tick has viruses or bacteria does not mean it has infected you. When you find out that the bloodsucker is infected, you will worry, but you will not be able to do anything, since it is too late to get vaccinated.
- If microbes are not found on a tick, this does not mean that you can calm down. Where you picked up this blood-sucking creature, there could have been another one, infected, but you did not notice it.
- If you have indeed been infected, signs of infection will likely appear before test results come back. And there will be no point in waiting for them, because you need to see a doctor as soon as symptoms arise.
Moreover, even if the tick was indeed a carrier of the disease, in Russia carry out prophylaxis only against viral encephalitis, and only for those who have not been vaccinated against the disease and have not previously had it. Clinical recommendations indicate that for such people, in the first 96 hours after the bite, a single dose intramuscularly introduce immunoglobulin at a dosage of 0.1 ml/kg.
It must be said that this method is used only in Russia and Kazakhstan, and in Europe it is used only refused due to concerns that the administration of immunoglobulin may cause an antibody-dependent increase in infection. And so far there are no studies or meta-analyses in reliable scientific journals that would prove the benefits and confirm the safety of this method.
Regarding borreliosis, if the risk of infection is high, the doctor Maybe prescribe the antibiotic doxycycline immediately after the bite. But only if you live in an endemic region – where Lyme disease is common, the tick has been on you for about 36 hours and you are not allergic to the drug.
And even if you don’t get an antibiotic right away, but start therapy after symptoms appear, it’s okay will not happen.
Thus, even if the tick is found to have some kind of infection and this happens before you show the first symptoms, there is still nothing you can do to prevent the disease. And if the analysis shows that the tick is clean, you can be happy to miss the first symptoms of the disease, writing them off as fatigue or a cold.
Take note ✍🏻
What to do with a tick and what to do next
There are different options for how to get rid of a tick. You can flush it down the toilet, drown it in alcohol, burn it, or wrap it properly in adhesive tape and throw it in the trash.
If you just find it on your clothes or skin and it doesn’t have time to stick, just forget about it. If you remove a tick from your body, monitor your condition for 30 days. Contact your doctor if appeared the following symptoms:
- temperature increase;
- headache;
- pain in muscles and joints for no obvious reason;
- weakness;
- loss of appetite;
- nausea and vomiting;
- skin rashes.
Most diseases that can be contracted from ticks can be treated with a short course of antibiotics. But medications for tick-borne encephalitis does not exist. When this disease is detected, people are hospitalized, monitored, and treated for symptoms.
Be on the lookout 🧐