Recognizing a tick bite: These are the signs

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Bloodsuckers
Recognizing a tick bite: These indications indicate an arachnid bite

Most tick bites often go unnoticed unless you look for them

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Anna Scheibe

Ticks are in high demand between March and November: They lurk in the grass, hide in bushes and wait for their next host at the edges of forests and streams. Once stabbed, they suck out the wearer’s blood – and usually go unnoticed.

First things first: Ticks don’t bite, they sting. It is only considered a bite if your skin is injured by an insect’s mouthparts moving towards each other. However, the arachnids have a stinging proboscis that they push into the skin of their host – so the correct term is actually a tick bite. But back to the topic: The tricky thing about a bloodsucker attack is that it is painless. Tick ​​saliva has an anesthetic effect on the skin of humans and animals. Even worse, however, is the fact that the parasites can transmit dangerous diseases such as TBE or Lyme disease. It is all the more important that you check yourself for a tick bite after every walk in the woods and meadows. You can find out what you need to consider here.

How to recognize a tick bite

The fact that tick bites are initially overlooked in many cases is partly because the arachnids prefer moist and warm areas of the body, such as the backs of the knees and skin folds. But between the fingers or toes and behind the ears are also popular places. And even the intimate area is on her menu. So they’re all hidden areas that don’t immediately catch our eye. For this reason, it is advisable to examine the entire body after every outing in the countryside. This applies to adults as well as children – and dogs. You can protect your pet in advance by giving it Administer black cumin oil against ticks. It is proven to have a deterrent effect on arachnids. For humans, however, there are special ones, for example Insect repellent sprays or coconut oil against ticks.

Initially, ticks are only a few millimeters in size and are therefore difficult to detect – unless you catch one in the act while it is still looking for a suitable hiding place on your clothing or body. The parasites actually consciously choose regions from which they believe they will not be found and removed so quickly. However, if you have already bitten, they will begin to fill up over time. And you can see that: after just a few days, ticks have increased in volume so that they can hardly be overlooked. As soon as you have discovered a tick on your body, it must be removed as quickly as possible – for example with a special one tweezers or Tick ​​map. The longer the bloodsucker stays on you, the greater the risk that diseases will be transmitted.

How to properly remove a tick

To ensure that the tick can be removed from the skin in one piece and does not get its head stuck in it, proceed as follows:

  1. Grab the tick’s head with the tweezers so that it lies directly on the skin without squeezing it.

  2. Hold the tick for a minute; sometimes the ticks let go on their own and pull out their proboscis.

  3. If the parasite doesn’t let go, use tweezers to carefully and carefully pull it out of the skin (vertically).

  4. If you can’t get the tick out of your skin, you can shake it very gently. But don’t turn!

How to evaluate a tick bite

After removing the tick, it is recommended to disinfect the sore spot – so that the skin does not become inflamed. The first thing to do then is to observe the wound carefully: it is not uncommon for a dark bruise to form around the puncture site, but this will disappear over time. However, if the wound starts to itch or if it becomes red after a few days (this is called erythema), there may be a Borrelia infection. If you suffer from fever, fatigue, malaise, headache or body aches after the tick bite, this is also an important indication of an illness with TBE viruses. If any of the symptoms mentioned occur, you should see a doctor as soon as possible. Even if parts of the tick are still in the skin after the tick has been removed.

How to protect yourself from a tick bite

When temperatures rise above ten degrees, ticks awaken from a kind of hibernation. For this reason, the arachnids in this country are active between March and November – i.e. from spring to autumn. Since they prefer to stay in tall grass, at the edge of the forest and in the bushes, you should check for a tick bite after every trip out into nature (whether on foot or by bike). You can see which areas in which the arachnids are more frequent on the map TBE risk areas from the Robert Kochs Institute. To prevent yourself from being stung in the first place, you can take the following protective measures:

  1. When walking or hiking through forests and meadows, always wear sturdy shoes, high socks and, ideally, long trousers.
  2. After your trip to the countryside, wash your clothes at 60 degrees in case one or more ticks are hiding in the textiles.
  3. Protect your skin and head with an insect repellent spray (can also be sprayed on clothing) or Coconut oil against ticks.
  4. Also think about an appropriate tick treatment for your pet – it is particularly suitable for dogs Black cumin oilunfortunately not for cats.
  5. Keep your lawn and your garden hedges short so that you do not create ideal living conditions for ticks.

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