A child bitten by a tick: symptoms and consequences

Every person has seen a tick at least once in their life – it is a small dark crawling insect that clings to the skin of animals and humans. Despite its small size, the tick is not so harmless, as it can cause the development of dangerous infectious diseases. That is why any parents are very worried if a child is bitten by a tick. Moreover, it is quite problematic to notice the insect immediately after its bite. Most often, the tick is discovered when it is filled with blood and increases in size.

Symptoms of a tick bite

In spring and summer, many nature lovers can suffer from a tick attack. As practice shows, 20 to 30% of victims are children. A few years ago, May was considered the most active period for insect infestation, but over the past five years, due to climate change, the parasite has become dangerous throughout the summer and even with the arrival of autumn.

An insect can bite not only in the forest, but also in a park or a nearby public garden. It is good if it is not contagious. However, the degree of contagiousness cannot be determined externally, so it remains to observe the victim so as not to miss possible symptoms of the disease - tick infection.

This disease can affect anyone, regardless of age and gender. The disease negatively affects the function of the nervous system, causing the development of pain, paresis and paralysis, which can later end in death.

The tick is very light and small, so it is extremely difficult to notice its presence on the skin. During the bite, it releases a specific substance into the wound, which acts as a local anesthetic - thus, the victim does not feel this moment, but detects the insect only when examining the entire body.

Meanwhile, the tick-borne infection is already beginning, developing with the penetration of the pathogen with the insect's saliva. The first signs may appear in a day or in a few weeks.

At the site of the tick bite, redness and swelling may appear, with or without itching.

The child begins to have a fever - a high temperature appears, which is not brought down by regular medications and may not go away for several days. The child gets worse, there is a headache, he feels sick, vomiting may begin. The upper half of the body loses sensitivity, the limbs become weak.

Rarely, but still sometimes the disease proceeds latently, hidden. The baby begins to feel discomfort, a general feeling of weakness appears, he sleeps poorly. However, such a latent course conceals an even greater danger than the acute development of the disease. The exacerbation of infectious pathology occurs sharply, suddenly, which is often an excessive burden on the child's body.

To prevent the development of the disease, firstly, you need to neutralize the tick, provide first aid to the child. Secondly, you need to see a doctor and observe the baby for one month, recording any changes in the baby's health and well-being. At the slightest suspicion, you should immediately contact a medical specialist.

Consequences of a tick bite

After removing the tick from the skin, it is recommended to take the insect to the nearest representative office of the sanitary and epidemiological station, where it will be examined for infectious carriage. After such an analysis, you will know for sure whether the parasite posed a danger to your child.

If you damaged the insect when pulling it out, or simply threw it away, then the presence of infection can be determined by donating the victim's blood for testing. However, this analysis is carried out no earlier than 10 days after the tick attack. If the analysis is carried out earlier, its results will be incorrect.

What consequences can arise if a child is bitten by an infected tick?

• Viral encephalitis begins as a common cold: headache, fatigue, muscle and joint aches. Temperature gradually rises, dizziness. The incubation period for encephalitis is from 7 to 21 days from the time of the bite (not detection). If after three weeks the symptoms have not appeared, you can breathe a sigh of relief - there is no disease.
• Borreliosis (Lyme disease) is spread by ticks, which together with saliva deliver specific spirochete bacteria into the blood. The first sign of the disease is the appearance of a red spot or circle around the bite site, which is accompanied by slight itching. The incubation period of the disease is about 30-35 days, after which a state of discomfort, changes in the bite area, swelling of the lymph nodes closest to this area, fever, and pain in the musculoskeletal system appear.
• If the listed infectious diseases are not treated, heart failure, damage to the central nervous system and brain, and death may occur.

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What to do if a child is bitten by a tick?

Firstly, to prevent such a question from arising, it is necessary to take preventive measures even before a possible bite:

• During a walk in the forest, the baby's clothes should be as closed as possible - long sleeves and trousers that fit tightly to the body (elastic ones are possible), socks, a cap. It is important to remember that insects do not bite through a layer of clothing: for a tick to bite, there must be an open area of the body;
• Upon returning from a walk, you should carefully examine yourself and your child, preferably in the shower. You should pay attention to the head, neck, back, examine the groin area, legs and arms;
• Before going into the forest, treat your clothes and visible areas of your body with special repellent solutions that will repel insects. Among the repellents, the most famous are those based on diethyltoluamide - this is the Slovenian drug Biban, the Russian Defi-taiga, the Italian Off-extrim, etc. In addition, there are products that kill insects that end up on your clothes, but such solutions cannot be applied directly to the skin, but only to the equipment. These products are based on the substance permethrin: Permanon, Fumitox, Tornado, Pretix, etc.

However, the best method of prevention is considered to be vaccination – vaccination against possible tick-borne infection. In our country, there are several types of such vaccinations:

• inactivated tick-borne encephalitis vaccine – used for children aged 4 years and over, as well as for adults;
• Encevir vaccine – can be used by children from 3 years of age and adults;
• Austrian serum FSME-immune is used from the age of 16, and the FSME-junior version is used from the age of one year;
• German drug Encepur (children's and adult vaccine, used from the age of one year).

If you still didn't notice and the tick has firmly dug into the child's skin, then in no case should you panic: the child may also get scared after you, and this should not be allowed. You need to pull yourself together and try to remove the insect, following a certain sequence of actions:

• If possible, wear rubber gloves;
• Place a drop of a strong-smelling liquid (acetone, gasoline, etc.) or any vegetable oil on the parasite's body. You can also soak a cotton ball in a strong salt solution and apply it to the insect for 2-3 minutes;
• take tweezers and firmly grasp the tick close to the head;
• slowly and gradually, with shaking movements, pull it out in an upward direction, without twisting or making sudden movements. If you pull it sharply upward or to the side, you can tear out the tick, leaving its head inside the skin, which can subsequently cause inflammation.

After you have removed the parasite, you need to treat the wound with any antiseptic - alcohol, cologne, iodine, hydrogen peroxide, etc.

What you shouldn't do:

• leave the insect on the body (it will drink and fall off on its own);
• pierce it, cauterize it, tear it off sharply;
• try to separate the parasite from the body with your fingers (you can press and crush it).

Where to go if a child is bitten by a tick?

If you are not sure that you will be able to remove the insect from your skin yourself, you can call an ambulance, go to a trauma center or a sanitary and epidemiological station - they should definitely help you there.

It is also recommended to visit the sanitary and epidemiological station if you have removed the tick yourself - the insect can be placed in a tightly sealed jar and sent for examination within two days to find out whether it was dangerous. In the future, if your concerns are confirmed, sanitary doctors will tell you about your further actions.

The difficulty is that you will have to wait for the test results for about 10 days. Therefore, during this time, you need to monitor the behavior and well-being of the child. It is desirable that the baby observes bed rest, eats foods rich in vitamins (especially vitamin C). If the doctor suggests an injection (administration of anti-encephalitis immunoglobulin), then you should know that such a drug can be effective if it is administered within 4 days after the insect bite. This injection is used only in older children and adults.

If it is impossible to examine the insect, then the child's blood can be tested for the presence of an infectious agent. While the examination is being conducted, the doctor can prescribe preventive antibiotic therapy, using drugs such as Bicillin, Azitrox, Amoxiclav, etc. Observation by an infectious disease specialist should be mandatory during this time.

Nowadays, medical professionals have a large number of effective drugs that can eliminate the danger of illness after an insect bite. But it would still be reasonable to avoid tick infestation as much as possible, because there are also enough means and measures for this.

If a child is bitten by a tick, this should not be ignored, despite the fact that most of these insects are not dangerous. See a doctor without delay - this is really very important and serious.