How to prevent tick-borne borreliosis from ruining your life

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Ticks are most active in late spring and early summer. It is during this period that it is easiest to catch borreliosis (aka Lyme disease).

What is tick-borne borreliosis and why is it dangerous?

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection. Bacteria – Borrelia – enter the human body from the salivary glands of a tick that has burrowed into the skin. Fortunately, not everyone, but only ixodid.

This family is generally extremely unpleasant. In addition to Lyme disease, ixodids carry tick-borne encephalitis and some other diseases: babesiosis, tick-borne fever. The Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation recommends submitting the tick to a laboratory to find out whether it belongs to a dangerous species. True, the analysis will not greatly affect further actions, so there is no particular point in testing the insect.

And even if the tick is ixodid, there is still a chance to remain healthy.

Not every ixodid tick carries Borrelia.

But if you are still contagious, the prospects are not pleasant. Tick-borne borreliosis is dangerous complications, which appear several weeks or even months after the bite. These include:

• Joint problems. Bacteria that enter the body cause inflammation of the joints. At first it manifests itself as pain and swelling. Over time, the situation worsens until the development of arthritis and forced limitation of mobility.
• Neurological problems. Numbness and weakness in the limbs, impaired motor activity, temporary paralysis of one side of the face, inflammation of the meninges (meningitis) – this is just a short list of complications associated with neurology.
• Cardiovascular problems, in particular severe arrhythmia.
• Inflammation of the liver (hepatitis).
• Inflammation of the eyes.
• Extreme fatigue.

These complications can be deadly. Therefore, it is very important not to miss Lyme disease and not refuse treatment.

How to understand that you have tick-borne borreliosis

The first sign of a possible infection is the tick bite itself. If you are lucky enough to remove an arthropod and take it to the laboratory, great: they will dispel or, on the contrary, strengthen your suspicions. But if it was not possible to dissect the bloodsucker in the laboratory, begin to closely monitor the skin and well-being.

1. Keep an eye on the bite site

A red raised spot and swelling, like a mosquito bite, is normal. Such a skin reaction, even if the swelling is great, goes away within a few days and is not a sign of borreliosis.

An obvious symptom appears at the site of the bite after 3–30 days.

This is the so-called erythema – a red spot surrounded by white and red rims. If you find it on your skin, immediately contact your doctor: you have tick-borne borreliosis.

However, not every person infected with Lyme disease is such a target. So other signs are also important.

2. Monitor how you feel

For Lyme disease, a few days after the bite appear:

• fever and chills, which at first glance are causeless, because there are no traditional signs of ARVI such as a runny nose, cough, or sore throat;
• weakness, increased fatigue;
• headache;
• pain, body aches;
• slight difficulties with neck movements;
• swollen lymph nodes.

The presence of these symptoms does not indicate for certain that there is borreliosis. The fever and aches may be due to other reasons. But if you observe two or more signs and remember that you were recently bitten by a tick, be sure to consult a doctor.

See your doctor even if symptoms come and go.

This too It happens with borreliosis. The disease continues to spread silently, only to one day seriously ruin your life.

How to treat tick-borne borreliosis

First, you need a doctor to make a diagnosis. Unfortunately, this may take time. If there is no obvious sign of erythema, Lyme disease is confirmed with a blood test. You just have to wait with it, because antibodies to the disease are produced only a few weeks after the bite.

If the diagnosis is confirmed, the doctor will prescribe you antibiotics. Which ones exactly depends on your age and how long ago the bite occurred, as well as the severity of your symptoms. Usually, are used doxycycline, amoxicillin, cefuroxime, but other options are also possible. In difficult cases, when the disease has already affected the nervous system, antibiotics are prescribed intravenously.

Most often, borreliosis is completely curable. To do this, you just need to start therapy on time.

But even after successful therapy, the so-called post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome can develop. It includes weakness, increased fatigue, regular pain in muscles and joints. Scientists don’t know why this happens.

Why it is impossible not to treat tick-borne borreliosis

At first glance, the question sounds strange. This is if you don’t know how insidious Lyme disease is.

It happens that after discovering erythema, a person cannot immediately see a therapist. Meanwhile, the erythema disappears, and the remaining symptoms appear so implicitly that the bitten person decides: “I recovered on my own!” And he no longer consciously goes to the doctor. This is a huge mistake.

Borrelia, without even making itself felt, continues to multiply in the body, slowly affecting various organs and systems.

Problems with joints, heart, and nervous system are gradually increasing. The patient, who has already forgotten about the bite, runs uselessly between the therapist, cardiologist, neurologist, rheumatologist, who also do not understand what is happening. And if one day some particularly attentive doctor nevertheless establishes the main cause of the disease, it may already be too late: Borrelia will corrode the body so much that it will be impossible to cure the person.

Hence an important rule: if there is the slightest suspicion of borreliosis, a test is necessary. And if fears are confirmed, treatment is mandatory.

How to protect yourself from tick-borne borreliosis

Lyme disease is one of those diseases that is easier to prevent than to treat. Therefore, remember the important safety rules.

1. Dress appropriately when going outdoors. You should wear a long-sleeved sweater, loose pants and high-top shoes. Tuck your pants legs into your shoes or socks if you’re wearing sneakers. T-shirts and shirts – into trousers. It’s good if the clothes are light and monochromatic: it’s easier to spot a tick against such a background. Headwear is required.
2. Use repellent. The most effective against ticks are those containing permethrin and the chemical compound diethyltoluamide (DEET). Just spray it on your clothes, not your skin.
3. Make a habit of examining yourself and those around you. At least once every half hour, carefully examine your clothing and exposed areas of the body to see if there are ticks on them.
4. Stay away from bushes and tall grass. These are the places ticks prefer.
5. When you return home, wash your clothes at a temperature of at least 60°C. Mite larvae may remain on it, which are difficult to notice.
6. Immediately after your visit to nature, take a shower and bathe your children. During the procedure, carefully examine and feel the body, especially the scalp under the hair and the area under the knees. If a tick has stuck, you need to remove it as quickly as possible. The longer it remains on the skin, the higher the risk of getting sick. Lyme infection is unlikely if the tick has been attached for less than 36 to 48 hours.
7. Take preventative antibiotics if your doctor prescribes them for you within 72 hours of the bite.