The simplest surveys show that ideas about the dangers of ticks and the tick-borne encephalitis they carry are often quite vague, not only among children school age, but also among adults. That is why newsletters and stands with the headings “Beware of Ticks!” are actively used in clinics, kindergartens and schools.

So, let's see what you need to know first about ticks and the dangers to humans associated with their bites...

Be careful: ticks!

Ixodid tick bites are one of the often underestimated dangers that a person may encounter when going out into nature, staying in rural areas and even just while walking in the green areas of cities in the spring and summer. When bitten by these arthropods, a person can become infected with deadly infections, and the treatment of the diseases they cause is complex and does not always end successfully.

This means that to protect against tick bites you need not only to behave competently in nature (this is not enough!), but also to take special measures, which we will talk about a little later.

Ticks and tick-borne encephalitis

Ticks are arthropods belonging to the class of arachnids. Today there are more than 54 thousand species in the world (and some experts believe that the real number of tick species, taking into account the forms that have not yet been described, may be many times greater).

Different types of ticks differ significantly in their lifestyle, feeding methods and habitats. Most of them are completely harmless to humans, and some are even beneficial for agriculture.

The blood sucking of ticks in itself, although unpleasant for humans, does not pose a significant danger. In only a small number of people, stings can cause severe allergic reactions. Those types of ticks whose bites are extremely painful and allergenic are not very common in Russia.

The greatest danger is caused by infections whose pathogens develop in ticks and can be transmitted to humans through a bite. Of these infections, the two most significant are:

• Tick-borne encephalitis;
• Lyme borreliosis (Lyme disease).

Both of them can lead to death or disability of an infected and sick person if he is not promptly provided with medical assistance.

In addition to these diseases, ixodid ticks also carry anaplasmosis, Marseille fever, tularemia and some other diseases.

The most dangerous tick-borne disease is tick-borne encephalitis. This disease is quite difficult to treat, and due to brain damage, irreversible neurological and mental disorders are possible, and in the most severe cases, death of the sick person.

Note

In Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, the main vector species of tick-borne encephalitis are:

• Dog tick (Ixodes ricinus), common in the European part of Russia, Ukraine and Western Europe;
• The taiga tick (Ixodes persulcatus), living in Siberia and Far East.

Carriage of the virus has also been recorded in some other species of ixodid ticks, but their epidemiological significance is much lower.

Dog and taiga ticks are very similar in appearance, and only a specialist can identify the differences between them.

For example, the photo below shows a dog tick:

And here is the taiga tick:

Moreover, in natural conditions It is difficult for a non-specialist to distinguish the types of ticks that carry encephalitis from the types that do not carry the virus. Therefore, it is generally accepted that any forest tick can potentially infect a person through a bite, and ixodid ticks themselves are often called encephalitic in everyday life, which is not entirely correct.

Where do ticks live and how do they bite?

Note

Ticks can also move to humans from domestic animals (for example, when milking cows) and attack from the branches of low bushes, but this rarely happens.

The tick sucks blood for a long time - from several hours, if it is a small immature individual (nymph), to 3-4 days, if it is an adult individual (imago). Females feed especially for a long time, as they need a large amount of food for the development of eggs. The digestive system and body of the tick are adapted to receiving large amounts of blood, and therefore, during feeding, the size of the arthropod can increase several times, and the weight - hundreds of times.

The eggs hatch into larvae that attack mainly rodents and insectivorous mammals, and after saturation they molt into nymphs. Nymphs feed on hares, dogs, cats, hedgehogs, and less often on ungulates and humans, then molt and turn into adults. At this stage, males, after saturation, often mate with females directly on the host's body, and fertilized females repeat the reproductive cycle.

The photo shows a mouse with several ticks embedded in its skin:

It is adult ticks that most often attack humans. However, any individual at any stage of development can be infected with the tick-borne encephalitis virus.

To move to a new stage life cycle, and also for reproduction, each individual must drink blood once.

The largest numbers of ticks inhabit meadows, vast forest clearings, river valleys, and pastures, including mountain ones. However, they are very numerous in parks (including within large cities), in summer cottages and in gardens, in forest belts. The higher the grass is in a particular place and the less often the soil is plowed there, the more favorable the conditions for the life of ticks.

In Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus there is a peak in tick activity and greatest number their bites are recorded in May, June and July. In the southern regions, bites can be observed as early as the end of March, and in the northern regions they are registered until August.

Where and when can you become infected with tick-borne encephalitis?

1. In the park, in vacant lots between houses;
2. In the garden, in the garden, on the plot;
3. In the forest or on the river bank;
4. In a meadow, pasture during a hike or picnic;
5. In a mountain valley (for example, in Altai or Sayan Mountains).

The main conditions for the existence and activity of ticks are the presence of grass, in which they hide and from which they attack people, as well as various shelters on the ground - leaves, pieces of wood, stones, just cracks. The higher the grass in a particular place and the more shelters on the ground, the more ticks there are, as a rule, and the higher the likelihood of their attacks.

Also, the likelihood of bites is higher in wild areas where there are a large number of different tick hosts (rodents, insectivores and ungulates).

The tick-borne encephalitis virus does not pose a threat to the tick and does not kill it. Therefore, being infected at any stage of its life cycle, a tick can pose a danger to humans for the rest of its life.

Memo for parents

Tick-borne encephalitis can be contracted not only by a tick bite, but also by drinking fresh milk. Goats suffer from encephalitis, contracting it from ticks, and viral particles spread throughout their body and enter the milk. Consumption of such milk for food without heat treatment may cause infection. Cows, unlike goats, do not suffer from encephalitis, but the virus can also penetrate into their milk from biting ticks.

Geography of tick-borne encephalitis: the most dangerous regions

Tick-borne encephalitis has been reported in middle lane Eurasia and in some states of Australia.

The area of ​​distribution of the disease in Eurasia runs in a narrow strip from the North Sea in the west to the Sea of ​​Okhotsk in the east. Its foci and individual cases of infection are known in the Netherlands, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Poland, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Yugoslavia. The disease is widespread throughout Ukraine and Belarus, but in Ukraine more or less constant outbreaks are recorded only in Transcarpathia.

In Russia, the disease is recorded throughout the European part south of Karelia, in the Urals and in Southern Siberia. The spread of tick-borne encephalitis stretches across the entire country and reaches the Far East, covering the northern regions of Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China. Isolated cases of infection have been reported in Kyrgyzstan.

Among the regions of Russia, the most severe epidemiological situation is observed in the Sverdlovsk, Tomsk, Irkutsk and Omsk regions, the republics of Khakassia, Tuva and Buryatia, and the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The largest number of cases of bites and infections transmitted by ixodid ticks is recorded here. At the same time, in the Far East there is a maximum mortality rate of the disease with an overall lower incidence of infection.

What to do after a tick bite?

If a tick is found on the skin, it should be removed as quickly as possible. If it has not yet stuck, then you can simply shake it off, and if it has already stuck, then you need to remove it from the skin. This can be done in several ways:

After removing the tick, the wound must be treated with any antiseptic: an alcohol solution of iodine, hydrogen peroxide, medical alcohol.

Note

Laboratories in which relevant research is carried out operate at sanitary and epidemiological stations, hospitals and clinics in all major cities. The address of the nearest point where you can submit a tick for analysis can be found by calling the Rospotrebnadzor office in a specific area.

Specific prevention measures are effective only during the first 4 days after the bite, but in the best case, the victim needs to be administered immunoglobulin in the first two days.

If it is not possible to take the bitten person to a hospital or clinic, you must remember exactly (or better yet, write down) the date of the bite. In the future, when the first signs of illness appear, the victim should be taken to a medical facility as quickly as possible, and the doctor should be informed of the date of the bite. This will help you take the most effective treatment measures.

Emergency prevention of Lyme borreliosis is not required, since this disease is relatively easy to treat and can be quickly treated when the first symptoms appear.

Signs of infection with tick-borne encephalitis and other tick-borne infections

After a tick bite, it is necessary to carefully monitor the condition of the bitten person for at least a month, and if signs of tick-borne infections appear, promptly take him to the hospital.

The incubation period for tick-borne encephalitis and Lyme borreliosis lasts 7-14 days, but for Lyme disease it can in some cases be significantly longer - up to a year or more.

The main symptoms of tick-borne encephalitis:

• Typical fever with increased body temperature, malaise, nausea, pain in the head and muscles;
• Impaired coordination of movements;
• Fainting, dizziness;
• Neck stiffness.

Similar symptoms develop with Lyme disease, but its most unambiguous sign is the so-called erythema migrans: a large red spot at the site of the bite, surrounded by a clearly separated ring. At the site of erythema, many patients experience pain, itching or burning.

Also, with Lyme disease, allergic reactions are pronounced: skin rash, flu-like syndrome.

Any of these signs most likely indicates the onset of the disease. The sooner treatment is started, the higher the likelihood of a successful outcome.

Treatment in case of infection

Treatment of tick-borne encephalitis is quite difficult due to the lack of means that can quickly eliminate the viral infection in the body. In medical practice, immunoglobulin preparations are used, but at the stage of acute manifestation of symptoms, these drugs are no longer effective.

High dosages of interferons used for intravenous infusions can have a positive effect, but do not guarantee the destruction of the pathogen, but only provide some protection for cells that have not yet been affected. For this reason, even in a clinical setting, the likelihood of curing the disease is not absolute.

The later and the more severe the condition the patient is brought to the clinic, the higher the likelihood of developing irreversible mental disorders and death.

Treatment of tick-borne encephalitis involves strict bed rest with limited physical activity, parallel symptomatic therapy to normalize the patient’s condition, antihistamines when allergies occur.

Lyme disease can also be treated in a hospital setting, but with the use of antibiotics. Its causative agent is sensitive to tetracyclines, penicillins, and cephalosporins, so the doctor’s choice is quite wide. If there is a risk of complications in the joints, heart or nervous system, long courses of bicillin are administered.

Lyme disease can become chronic if treatment is ineffective. In this case, the disease is often complicated by arthritis, osteoporosis and other joint lesions.

Ways to prevent tick bites and tick-borne encephalitis infection

Competent behavior in nature and compliance simple rules provide reliable protection against tick bites.

In particular, in the second half of spring and the first half of summer, after being in nature, especially in places with unmown grass, you need to conduct a mutual inspection of the body. Adults examine children, and then each other, special attention It is given to the legs, back, buttocks, groin, armpits, scalp and behind the ears. When detected, ticks are shaken off or removed from the skin.

It is advisable to carry out such inspections every 1-2 hours. In this case, ticks can be detected immediately after they hit the body, even before suction.

In places where “Attention, ticks!” or similar signs are installed, it is better not to walk unless necessary, and after a walk you must inspect the body.

Directly in nature, you should stay away from tall grass and bushes.

In the most epidemiologically dangerous regions, it is advisable to get an anti-encephalitis vaccination, which will provide reliable protection from illness even with a bite.

Prevention measures also include informing the population about the rules of behavior in nature and preventing tick bites. For this purpose it is useful:

• Conduct classroom hours and discussions in schools on the topic correct behavior schoolchildren in nature;
• Conduct consultations with parents in preschool educational institutions and schools about precautions to protect against tick-borne encephalitis;
• To produce noticeable and eye-catching health bulletins, stands, posters, leaflets, booklets, folders with drawings and photographs, which are hung or distributed in clinics, hospitals, schools and kindergartens, in the entrances of houses;
• Conduct briefings for educators in kindergartens and teachers in schools, vacationers in various sanatoriums, prepare orders in advance for conducting such briefings;
• At the beginning of the tick season or before it, publish advisory articles in newspapers and reports on local television channels with warnings about the danger of bites and recommendations on how to avoid them;
• Make notifications in schools about the need to vaccinate students and their parents in epidemiologically dangerous regions;
• Involve students in educational work - develop information stands and make warning signs, conduct thematic biology lessons with demonstrations of live ticks.

The picture below shows a version of an information stand on the topic of tick-borne encephalitis:

Be careful in nature, beware of ticks and help protect your loved ones from them!

Useful video about the danger of ticks to humans

It became not scary, not ashamed and not sad to grow out of something. Or outgrow it. As it is, so it is. As it will be, so it will be. This is especially true for the legs. Only children really have nothing to put on them. Once - and immediately there is nothing. And then you urgently have to run for new boots right through the April puddles, right in heavy winter boots - again they made it. And right in the store ask them to cut off the label. And at the same time buy sneakers, not believing and sometimes even horrified by their new size.
Buy sneakers with fashionable light bulbs on the soles. To dream that someday we will walk in the warm darkness and never get lost. Among the many fashionable light bulbs, I always recognize my own legs, which still grow and grow, fly and fly...
Nothing threatens my legs anymore, and therefore it’s not scary. You can calmly turn in your hands some flowered sandals from a box signed with a marker that has long since dried. Sandals with heels from one hundred centimeters - is it really true that I walked like this in the summer a hundred years ago? And maybe I’ll go again? It's good to have legs that are no longer afraid of anything. Everything in the world is knowing, wise feet.
It’s good to have yourself not sad and not ashamed that the only jeans in the world that you love are no longer mine, they don’t fit me, no matter how hard you try to squeeze into them in the summer before eighth grade. Between yesterday and today there are vast distances of time. But not now. What do I need now some favorite jeans? All the stores are now jam-packed with your favorites.

Sunday, May 12, 2019

Of all the holey baked goods, drying is the driest, which is confirmed by its self-explanatory name. The bagels are a little larger and a little softer, they look like a ram’s horn closed on itself, like a large curl of the fleece of a winning ram and producer, an honored participant in the exhibition of national economic achievements. It’s a pity to even cut such a haircut: what if this is not the limit?
Bundles of baked goods and bagels hung pleasantly and attractively on the necks of peddlers and on the pot-bellied samovars of the Moscow merchants. We drank tea in the morning, we drank it in the afternoon, we drank it in the evening. The samovars lost weight, the dried-up beads scattered, they were dipped in boiling water, and they took care of their old Moscow teeth. They took care of the leisurely, fat life, the merchant Kustodieva, her cat and her radiant neckline.
They drank tea until they were completely exhausted, and relieved their sorrows and misfortunes with crackers and bagels. They didn’t count them, they didn’t share them, like the tiny little girl Zhenya from the fairy tale “The Flower of Seven Flowers”: two bagels with cumin for dad, two bagels with poppy seeds for mom, two bagels with sugar for herself and one small pink one for brother Pavlik. What kind of pink one is this, do they really exist? And why is it small and only one?
Of course, as a child, what I most wanted was pink bagel, and not some incomprehensible cumin one. But pink bagels, like seven-flowered flowers, were found only in Moscow at that time.

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

They say: “Don’t confuse God’s gift with scrambled eggs.” Don’t mix rare, valuable (talent) and primitive, quick-to-hand breakfast in one bowl. Throw in mugs of sausages too - for a complete triumph of cholesterol. Or is it no longer harmful? What are scientists saying this time?
It’s good that we didn’t know anything about cholesterol plaques and all sorts of other scary things funny words. As a child, I always asked my parents to keep the yolks semi-liquid so that I could dip bread in them, it would be tastier. And my parents most often complied with my request, but sometimes they overbeared. And then breakfast’s eyes came out hard, flat and motionless. Indifferent eyes. I was disappointed. If breakfast is so primitive, then why does it cause such deep childish feelings in the heart?
In the second grade, I was already quite able to fry eggs myself, the way I needed. No gift from God was required for this, only the frying pan was too lazy to scrub later. Do you remember what kind of frying pans they were? Some even have a crooked bottom - as if they started bending a part at a defense plant, and then threw it away without bending it. And then they decided that nothing should go to waste in the household, even if it was just utensils or something...
The handle of such a frying pan became hot, instantly turning the utensil into an instrument of torture. And there, at the factory, not a single bright mind, not a single gift from God, thought of making a plastic cover over the metal handle - so as not to hiss, get burned, not to scribble a potholder on a typewriter as a gift, not to follow the wise advice from a tear-off calendar: wrap the kettle handle with insulating ribbon - and simply, conveniently and freely fry your eggs.

Monday, May 6, 2019

One day, my classmates and I were playing rubber band in the schoolyard. They jumped up and down furiously. Most likely, it was an empty lesson, otherwise we would have gone to our yard. What to do when free in the school yard? Although we had a real one - fenced with a beautiful stone fence, cozy, with poplars. Looks like it's ancient.
And so we jumped. It was already May after all the holidays, and our feet were light. And the boots were forgotten, and special ones stood idle metal scrapers at the back door - to clean off the copious spring dirt from the soles. And our bodies were light, in only a brown uniform; under the wind, which flutters the ends of the pioneer tie in different directions, throwing them right in the face. And we are like birds - we take off, we do not belong to any rules except those that we have assigned to ourselves.
It is impossible to explain to someone who grew up in a warm climate what this means: in one form only, in May. In May! We only go without outerwear in the summer, and even then not always. But in May, when you haven’t been released anywhere yet, and you’re already without a jacket, this is almost a violation of natural law. And the head is somehow made different, lighter. When you calmly pass by the locker room, and you have absolutely nothing to leave there. And it doesn’t fit into the light head, nothing fits in except bouncing.
And so we jumped. One of the figures was called “birch tree”. And the next more complex level is “birch tree with leaves”. And at that time the birch trees were already beginning to bloom with all their might - sharply, rapidly, before our eyes, as if they were stunned. As always in our area.
They were covered with leaves - small, sticky, very fragrant and bright. Yes, fragrant and bright - both are felt especially keenly after an endless winter. After the recent snowfall, outerwear and muddy boots.

Friday, May 3, 2019

Funny word - soap. If you listen to him carefully. Even funny.
It’s fun to receive as a gift from a long trip an old soap for ladies and gentlemen, which smells so fragrant through the cover that it’s as if I’m back in a museum about the life of St. Petersburg in the early twentieth century. I stand and read on the wall yellowed advice from a fashion magazine - for beauties who want to be in trend: you should wash your hair no more than once a month...
Those ladies and gentlemen had a life-giving soap, unshakable and mysterious, like their photographs on thick cardboard, like their elusive and otherworldly faces - sometimes tender, protected by hats and veils, sometimes mustachioed and self-confident.
What kind of wizards were the Krestovnikov brothers? Did you try to make it fragrant to the very soapy heart, without deception, like a merchant’s word? Or like it is now: on the cover it’s all dominatrix and domination, but you wash your hands once and there’s nothing. Boring, slippery, gray and damp; not at all perfumey.
One of the most scary stories, told in the pioneer camp after lights out, was not about a black sheet and a coffin on wheels, but about how one boy brushed his teeth with soap. Whether out of curiosity, or for the reason that there was neither Cheburashka paste on hand, nor mint chalk in a round cardboard box called "Tooth Powder"? Nobody knows now and no one will tell.

Sunday, April 28, 2019

"Stars of Orion" - a competition of children's illustrations for the works of Yuri Koval. When I accidentally found out about him, I immediately invited Igoryan to participate. Igoryan doesn’t draw very often, but he is very expressive. And here especially Koval. Dear Koval. Igoryan agreed.
This season's theme: "Clean Door". We have read it no less than “Vasya Kurolesov” and “Nedopesk”. The drawing, in which the hero of the story “The Violet Bird” threatens a painted hen from Uncle Zu’s who flies onto a birch tree, received the great approval of the artistic elder sister.
- Composition! - Evelina said significantly. - There is a competent composition here. The stripes on the vest harmoniously echo the birch tree. And Yuri Koval is similar. That's exactly what it looks like!
And it really is similar. And the cap... The log has to be explained to those who haven’t read it, but Koval is similar. I had no doubt about the chicken. Igoryan always made the faces of animals look like they were alive. But he didn’t know anything about the composition, it just happened.
Sent. A lot of works came to the competition. It is very good that children read and love Yuri Koval. This is the real salvation of the world. And it was very pleasant to learn that Igoryan’s drawing with a rhyming birch tree and a vest made it to the finals. And the works of the winners will be illustrated in a real book - a real "Clean Door". It would be a complete miracle. But miracles do happen in life.

And I was the most ordinary child in literature; I didn’t like stories about forest people. I loved adventures, fairy tales like “Carlson” and about my peers at all times. I missed descriptions of nature, which so develop hearing, taste and style; I didn't think they would ever come in handy.
I can’t say that Rispalna read aloud in a special, expressive voice. And I don’t believe that she never interrupted her reading to rein in the uncontrollable Vadim Tarabarov from the last desk. Yes, I’m sure that she constantly pulled back Tarabarov, who by April had completely become insolent and stunned, and a stake on his head, even in his mother-in-law’s diary - the result was the same. And we were all glad when one day he left for another school...

Diseases of tick-borne encephalitis and tick-borne borreliosis are easier to prevent than to treat!

All people, regardless of age and gender, are susceptible to infection with tick-borne encephalitis and tick-borne borreliosis. Persons whose activities involve staying in the forest are at greatest risk. Tick ​​bites of citizens mainly occur in forests, forest parks, gardening plots, and cemeteries.
How can you get infected?
- The causative agent of the disease is transmitted to a person in the first minutes of sucking on a tick infected with the virus along with anesthetic saliva;
- Infection can occur when the virus is rubbed into the skin by crushing a tick or scratching the bite site;
- When consuming raw milk from goats (most often), sheep, or cows, in which the virus may be in the milk during a tick attack. It should be emphasized that not only raw milk is contagious, but also products made from it (cottage cheese, sour cream, etc.). There have been documented cases of human infection with the tick-borne encephalitis virus from consuming raw goat milk.
Ticks do not attack from trees or tall bushes, but crawl from bottom to top. It is in grassy environments that ticks have better protection from the sun's rays and lie in wait for their prey. Sometimes people can suffer from ticks brought into the house with flowers, branches, on clothes, or when ticks are carried by animals (cats, dogs).
How can you protect yourself from tick-borne infections?
The most reliable means of preventing tick-borne encephalitis is immunization of the population, which is carried out late autumn and early spring.
When going outdoors, do not forget about personal preventive measures to protect yourself from ticks. Conduct self- and mutual inspections of clothing every 10-15 minutes to detect ticks.
Against tick attacks, it is recommended to use personal protective equipment - acaricidal preparations (causing the death of ticks), which are applied to clothing, repellents (deterrents): “Reftamid taiga”, “Moskitol-anti-tick”, “Tsifox”, “Medifox-anti-tick”, “ Picnic-Antiklesch”, etc. (before using the drugs, you should read the instructions).
It is necessary to dress in such a way as to reduce the possibility of ticks crawling under clothes; it is better that the clothes are light and plain, ticks are more noticeable on them:
- upper part clothes should be tucked into trousers, sleeve cuffs should fit tightly to the arm;
- trousers tucked into boots, knee socks or socks with a thick elastic band;
- a hood or other headdress (scarf, the ends of which should be tucked under the collar) is desirable on the head.
Remember that goat milk can only be consumed after boiling; prepare products from boiled milk!
If a tick bite occurs, you must seek medical help from a medical institution at your place of residence for a doctor to prescribe medications for preventive purposes, as well as for medical observation for three weeks with thermometry, following the doctor’s recommendations to prevent fatigue and physical activity.

REMINDER FOR THE POPULATION
CAUTION, TICK!

With the beginning summer season, hiking in the forest and fishing begins and it’s time for the activation of ticks - carriers of tick-borne encephalitis, Lyme disease, KU fever and other ailments.
The peak of bites usually occurs in May–June, but the danger of bites remains until late autumn.
Success in preventing tick-borne encephalitis can be achieved through the use of the complex preventive measures: chemical treatment the most dangerous areas of the territory, immunization of the population, as well as immunoprophylaxis for persons bitten by ticks.
If you are not vaccinated and a trip to the forest cannot be postponed during the epidemiological season (end of April - June), you must definitely use personal protective equipment, as, in general, during any trip to the forest. First of all, you need to dress correctly. When going into the forest, wear long sleeves that fit snugly around the wrist. Tuck your trousers into high boots (the shoes should cover your feet and ankles, allowing you to tuck your clothes into them). Be sure to wear a hat. Choose light-colored clothes so that
It was easier to notice the tick. While in the forest, you should not sit or lie down. In addition, you need to use personal protective equipment - acaricidal preparations, which are available in the form of special pencils and aerosols. They must be applied to clothing according to the instructions for use.
Drugs applied directly to the body that would protect against
no ticks. Mosquito and midge repellents are powerless against ticks! After going to the forest, you definitely need to examine yourself, or better yet, have someone else examine you. If a tick does stick, you must immediately contact a medical facility.
Remember, ticks are always near us, as determined by nature, and humans cannot do anything about it. Main task a person - learn to live in these conditions and not go into the “house” where ticks live as an uninvited and unprepared guest.

Memo for children and adults.
Be careful - ticks!

With the onset of the first truly warm May days after an endless winter, it evokes a completely natural desire to communicate with the awakening nature, to breathe in the heady aromas of the spring forest. Everything would be fine, but visiting the forest in spring and early summer is associated with a high risk of being bitten by a tick, and this is fraught with infection with such a dangerous disease as tick-borne encephalitis...

How does infection occur?
Ticks, being on branches or grass, when an animal or person approaches, can cling to it, and then get to open areas of the skin, most often the neck, scalp, back, armpits and groin areas, etc. Tick saliva contains an anesthetic substance that therefore its bite is painless, and long-lasting
time is not noticeable. Together with saliva, infected ticks transmit into the blood of a person or animal not only the tick-borne encephalitis virus, but in some cases spirochetes, which cause a disease clinically similar to tick-borne encephalitis - tick-borne borreliosis.

How to prevent ticks from biting
The main protective measure is to prevent ticks from being sucked on. To do this, use personal protective equipment: rational use regular clothing and deterrents (repellents). When visiting the forest, dress in such a way as to exclude the possibility of ticks crawling under clothes and on open areas skin, for
collar, hair. Every 1.5-2 hours of being in the forest, conduct self- and mutual inspections of outer clothing and open parts of the body.

The best protection against ticks is to follow safety precautions:
1. It is not recommended to climb into impenetrable thickets of low-growing bushes unless absolutely necessary.
2. When moving through the forest, do not tear off branches; by this action, you shake off ticks on yourself.
3. Legs must be completely covered.
4. Sports tights and pants must be tucked into socks.
5. A headdress is required.
6. Long hair It is advisable to hide it under a headdress.
7. After a hike in the forest, you need to check and shake off both outer clothing and underwear.
8. Examine the whole body.
9. Be sure to comb your hair with a fine comb.

How to remove an attached tick?
1. The tick’s body is carefully lubricated with oil and left for 15-20 minutes.
2. Then you need to make a loop from a strong thread and tighten it at the base of the tick’s proboscis.
3. Holding the skin with your fingers, rocking the tick, gradually pull it out, stretching the ends of the thread to the sides. You can grab the tick with tweezers or fingers wrapped in clean gauze as close to it as possible. oral apparatus and, holding strictly perpendicular
surface of the bite, rotate the tick's body around its axis, remove it from the skin
4. The bite site must be lubricated with 70% alcohol, 5% iodine, brilliant green or cologne.
5. If the tick is removed, but its head remains in the skin, then you need to go to the clinic for medical assistance. If it is not possible to contact, then you need to treat the area with 5% iodine and remove it like a splinter.
6. Ticks removed from the body must be placed in a bottle (in extreme cases, burned or poured with boiling water). You should not press them with your fingers, because... If the tick is infected, the virus can enter the human body through the mucous membranes of the nose, eyes and slightly damaged skin.
7. After contact with ticks, be sure to wash your hands with soap.
8. To determine whether a tick is infected, it is necessary to deliver it (in a bottle or jar) to the laboratory.

Good day and health to everyone! Tatyana Sukhikh is in touch with a “fresh portion” of, I hope, useful information for you. I think we all, like the unforgettable Alexander Sergeevich, would love summer if it weren’t for mosquitoes and flies. But there is another danger that awaits us, starting in May. So, beware of ticks, a reminder for parents - let's talk about how to relax in nature without unpleasant consequences.

I don’t know why this tick has become so active in the last decade, which is scary not because of its bite, but because of the possibility of becoming extremely infected. dangerous diseases for a person. I think they are conducting some kind of experiments on you and me: either incredible types of flu appear, or some other nasty thing. Before, believe me, as a resident of the Siberian region rich in flora and fauna, no one was particularly afraid of ticks, since there were no cases of infection.

And now spring has come and there is a campaign about ways to protect against little reptiles. What do you think happened to our planet?

Because kids preschool age, I hope, they do not walk through the forest and in the plantings on their own, but only accompanied by adults, then in kindergarten an introductory conversation “Caution! Ticks! In particular, I tell children accessible information about these insects, where they live, and why they are dangerous.

Children just need to know that if after a walk in the forest or park they have itching in the head, behind the ear, in armpit, then you definitely need to tell your mom about this.

Under no circumstances should you remove the tick yourself; only an adult should help remove the bloodsucker.

We deliver the main information “blow” to moms and dads by preparing folders, thematic stands, health bulletins, etc. for parents. The main thing you need to know is how to minimize the possibility of encountering a tick and what to do if it manages to stick to the skin.

On sale you can buy a ready-made colorful poster or a whole booklet with texts and pictures about the “bloodsuckers”. Purchased materials are perfect for a stand, and you don’t need to bother. But if you want to do something unusual for a group or school class, you need to involve children and parents in the process of creating an information corner.

How to make the most interesting stand about ticks?

What goal do we pursue by designing visual materials for the population about some problem? It is clear that we want to comprehensively cover the problem and put useful knowledge and the desire to protect ourselves from something, in this case, from a small but terrible tick, into the human subcortex.

You need to attract a person’s attention so that the pictures motivate them to read the text. All those hackneyed safety posters, tinged with nostalgia for the Soviet past, “Beware of ticks!” It seems to me that no one is interested. Personally, I would like a reminder that is modern, attractive and memorable.

Because I am a teacher kindergarten, then I think I’ll start by looking for materials for an educational stand on the topic of ticks in my preschool environment.

Best creative way design a large poster for a preschool educational institution - a presentation on the topic of the danger of insects for children, which will logically end with the children creating a general drawing or making an applique or crafts.

We will do big project about the dangers of the spring-summer period, including ticks. It is better if this is a long-term project, for several classes. The first thing I will plan is a conversation with preschoolers about how summer is not only a time for relaxation, but also a danger posed by various natural factors. During the implementation of such projects it is mandatory research work preschoolers.

I’ve already written about preschool projects before, remember? So, to successfully start a project, children will need information about exactly what dangers come from the world around them. It is clear that the guys will find threats and ticks among them.

Then we will think together about how to protect ourselves from these dangerous bloodsuckers. Based on the results of our research, we will write instructions for children on how to behave in nature so as not to become “prey” for ticks. I am confident that such activities are most effective for acquiring important knowledge about the world around us and its threats.

It is clear that I will capture all the steps within the project in a photo; we will need them for the future stand, which will be the result of the project. Photos of children will definitely attract the attention of parents, and they will read the accompanying text, which is what I want to achieve.

We continue to work on the information stand

Having drawn up a reminder about safety precautions, which we will make together with the children, the next step will be to collect children’s drawings “Beware of ticks!” for the stand. Before the thematic drawing or applique class, the children will have sufficient knowledge about ticks, so they will draw good drawings, I’m sure.

For clarity, you can draw a poster with a picture of ticks, plot pictures about ways to protect against them, that is, to give children additional inspiration. Children's drawings are a window to the world; children understand life through drawing. Therefore, in order to consolidate the information received, it is imperative that the kids depict what they have learned about.

Here we have a reminder, drawings and photographs. Next is a presentation of the results of our activities to parents and, in fact, the design of the stand.

The text part needs to be composed accessible language so that parents receive material for conversations at home with their children, before and during walks in tick habitats.

Ideally, after completing the project, kids know as much about ticks as their parents, but without unnecessary information, of course. Why do they need to learn how many varieties of this class of insects there are, and what are the correct names for diseases caused by tick bites?

The children must learn and consolidate in their minds that this insect is tiny, that it lives in forests and plantings, and especially loves shaded areas and tall grass. When he bites, you almost won’t feel it, because he, the cunning one, injects a special anesthetic substance.

It drinks blood for a long time; when it gets on human skin, it looks for a more comfortable place where the skin is thin. For some reason they like to drink blood on the head, behind the ears, in the armpit, on the neck. To protect yourself from ticks, it is better to choose a sunny place for relaxation in a forest or field, where there is less tall grass. Ticks don't like the sun. Periodically you need to inspect each other for ticks. But we will not intimidate children. Our task is to protect them, and they should clearly know for the future that there are such ticks and how they are dangerous.

Food for thought...

As part of the project about the dangers of the spring-summer period, a consultation is required for moms and dads on this topic. I will tell you about the types of ticks, where they live, how best to dress for the forest and, most importantly, what to do if a tick does stick to a person’s skin.

When a bloodsucker is discovered, already clearly visible because it has already drunk blood, it is important not to panic or do anything stupid. You cannot rip it off, otherwise insect particles may remain in the skin, and if it is infected, then the person will become infected. If you remove the bastard correctly, then the likelihood of disease is minimal.

How to remove: it’s best to use a thread; you can always pull it out of your clothes somehow. We make a loop and put it on the tick, gradually pull it up and carefully pull it out. If you have tweezers, great, grab the “animal” with it and twist it around its axis and twist it out of the skin.

The most reasonable thing is to stock up on thread, tweezers and iodine for your walk in order to lubricate the bite site after removing the tick. By the way, there is special device for insect removal, I don’t remember the name, but you can find it on the Internet. It looks like a fork; we place a tick between the teeth and twist it.

A rather controversial method of removal is using sunflower oil. Say, we pour it on the tick, it suffocates and releases its grip. But doctors are against this method.

The aerosol also helps protect against ticks; it is also available for sale. Better yet, if your area is “tick-dangerous” and you have to work in plantings and forests due to your occupation, or you are a tourism fan, then get vaccinated. You sometimes look at your local newspaper and know how often there are cases of tick infection in your region. So think about whether there is any point in vaccination or whether the usual precautions will do.

So, it seems like we were talking about ticks. It's time to say goodbye! Subscribe, share, well, you know, right?

Sincerely, Tatyana Sukhikh! See you tomorrow!

Tick-borne encephalitis- natural focal viral infection, characterized by fever, intoxication and damage to the gray matter of the brain (encephalitis) and/or the membranes of the brain and spinal cord (meningitis and meningoencephalitis).

Your personal protection against tick-borne encephalitis

Knowledge about the disease and its vector.

Protection with clothing and chemicals.

Reasonable behavior in the forest, garden, park.

Correct actions when a tick is detected.

Preventive vaccinations.

What you need to know about tick-borne encephalitis

Tick-borne encephalitis is a natural focal viral disease with a predominant lesion of the central nervous system, often ending in intractable paralysis, sometimes death.

Ixodid ticks are carriers and reservoirs of the tick-borne encephalitis virus in nature.

Our area is natural hearth this infection.

About ticks

1. In our area, ticks are everywhere where there is grass and shrubs: in forests, gardens, parks, and on street lawns.
2. Ticks are most active in spring and summer, but tick attacks and infection with tick-borne encephalitis are also possible in autumn.
3. Ticks lie in wait for prey, hiding in the grass, on the branches of bushes at the side of the road or path.
4. The tick always crawls up! Having clung to clothing, the tick crawls under it and sticks to the body, choosing places where the skin is thin and close blood vessels- behind the ears, on the neck, under the arms, etc.
5. At the moment of a bite, the tick injects an anesthetic into the wound, so a person often does not notice the bite.

How to protect yourself with clothes

When going to the forest, garden, fishing, hiking, picking mushrooms and berries, dress correctly:

1. Regardless of gender and age, you must wear trousers, tucking them into socks, boots, and a shirt into trousers. Remember? The tick always crawls up! You can't be in the forest in a skirt!
2. The collar and sleeves of the shirt should fit snugly to the body at the wrist.
3. It is necessary to protect your head with a scarf, beret, cap or hood.
4. A special anti-tick suit made of thin impregnated canvas fabric reliably protects against tick suction.
5. Treat the waistband of trousers, edges of socks, collar, sleeves, and hood with Pretix. Upon contact with this substance, ticks die.

How to behave in the forest and when returning home

1. To relax in the forest, choose open, dry clearings. Clear them of dead wood and undergrowth. If this place will be used for several days or throughout the entire season, treat your clearing with special preparations (karbofos).
2. As often as possible, at least every 2 hours, perform self- and mutual examinations of outer clothing and open parts of the body.
3. When returning from a forest, garden, or park, remove all clothing and carefully inspect it and your body. Children should only be examined by adults!
4. Carefully check the flowers and herbs you bring home. With them you can bring ticks, which then attack a person and can infect those who do not go into the forest with tick-borne encephalitis.
5. Think about animals if you took them with you. Be sure to check them out!

How to remove a tick

1. Lubricate the tick with any fat to prevent it from breathing.
2. Using a loop of strong thread, gently swing it to remove the tick.
3. Lubricate the wound with iodine.
4. Wash your hands with soap.
5. Burn the tick if you do not plan to send it for research. In this case, place it in a glass bottle with a secure cap.

You cannot pick up a tick with unprotected hands, much less crush it!

Medical assistance related to tick removal, wound treatment, as well as the administration of anti-tick immunoglobulin can be obtained at the clinic at your place of residence, and in the evening, at night, on weekends and holidays- to the emergency department.

You can apply yourself for examination for tick-borne infections - Irkutsk, st. Karl Marx, 3; Irkutsk, st. Trilissera, 51.

All patients bitten by ticks are placed under medical supervision.

within 30 days:

• temperature is measured;
• well-being is monitored.

• limit physical activity;
• avoid overheating or hypothermia;
• Avoid drinking alcoholic beverages.

How to protect yourself with vaccination

To get vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis, you must go to the clinic at your place of residence.

Primary primary (standard) vaccination consists of two vaccinations given at intervals of 2 to 3 months. It is usually carried out in autumn-winter season, no later than 14 days before the start of the period of tick activity.

If necessary, rapid (emergency) vaccination can be carried out, even in spring and summer. In this case, the second vaccination is given 14 days after the first.

Get vaccinated only after consulting your doctor!

P.S. Remember: you can become infected with tick-borne encephalitis by consuming raw goat milk!