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Autumn is conducive to walks in the woods, especially in search of mushrooms. It is worth protecting yourself against ticks and the Lyme disease they spread. Especially since more and more ticks in Polish forests are spreading the disease. From January 1 to September 15 this year, 10,727 cases of Lyme disease were confirmed in Poland. This is the data presented in the latest summary published by the National Institute of Public Health - National Institute of Hygiene. During the same period last year, there were 8771 such cases.
Lyme disease, also known as Lyme disease, is caused by spirochetes of the genus Borrelia. In the first period, most infected people develop a non-painful erythema with a translucent area in the center. The skin lesions are sometimes accompanied by flu-like symptoms, such as fever or subfebrile states, a feeling of waking up, fatigue, headaches, muscle and joint pain. It is essential to go to the doctor, who will prescribe appropriate therapy based on antibiotics. Unfortunately, too often the first symptoms are ignored or unnoticed. The disease goes into a latent phase. When symptoms return, they wreak havoc on the body. Arthritis, encephalitis, meningitis, facial nerve palsy, optic neuritis, paresthesias, or tingling and numbness in the limbs, myocarditis, pericarditis and endocarditis can occur.
It is best to avoid contact with ticks by protecting your body. Before going out to the forest or park, wear long pants, a long-sleeved sweatshirt, a hat that also protects the neck and ears, taller shoes above the ankle to cover all places accessible to ticks. When you return home, it's a good idea to inspect yourself carefully, check your entire body, especially those places that are most favored by arachnids - armpits, knee bends, elbows, behind the ears.
If a stuck tick is found, it should be removed from the body as soon as possible. Do not grease it with grease, burn it with a cigarette, twist it or squeeze it out. The tick should be gently grasped with tweezers at the very skin and pulled upward. Instead of tweezers, you can use miniature suction pumps or plastic forceps, which can be purchased at most pharmacies. After removal, the sting site must be carefully disinfected. The removed tick can be returned for examination for Lyme disease. To do this, put a moistened piece of cotton wool and the tick itself into a container. The test costs about 150 pln.
If you have a suspicion that the tick that bit you may have been infected, and it's been a while, it's worth taking a test. The test for Lyme disease is performed by determining the level of antibodies to the bacteria in the blood. However, they are formed even after six to eight weeks after the bite. The Lyme disease test should be 2-step and involve 2 different diagnostic techniques. The first screening test gives an indicative result, and only the second test gives confirmation. Unfortunately, modern diagnostic tests are quite expensive and so far have not been covered by reimbursement.
If we often visit the forest, it is worth vaccinating against another disease spread by ticks - tick-borne encephalitis. The vaccine will protect us from the serious complications that an infected tick can cause.
