Note tick marks in the calendar

Beware of tick bites: What should be considered in a tick bite
Those who travel in nature should protect themselves from ticks. The small bloodsuckers can transmit Lyme disease and in certain areas also tick-borne encephalitis (TBE). The "Wort & Bild Verlag" spoke with Hans Haltmeier of the "Apotheken Umschau" about the dangers of tick bites.

How best to protect yourself from a tick bite
Anyone who wants to protect themselves from a tick bite should choose body-covering clothing for a trip into nature. If the stockings are pulled over the trouser legs, you deny the common wood buck, the most common type of ticks in this country, the access to the skin. In addition, so-called repellents promise to repel the animals.

Enter the tick engraving in a calendar. (Image: klickit24 - Fotolia)

If you discover a tick with yourself or your children, it should be removed as soon as possible. "For example, in Borrelia it comes only after 12 to 24 hours to a transfer. The best way to do this is to grasp the tick with tweezers or a tick card on the stinging apparatus and then pry it out. It is important that you do not squeeze the animal. By the way, it does not matter if part of the stinging apparatus gets stuck in the skin, "explains Haltmeier.

Observe skin area with tick bite for six to eight weeks
You can not look at the animals if they transmit a disease. Therefore, it is important to observe the skin area well with the tick bite. "A tick bite without further symptoms is actually no reason to go to the doctor immediately. But you should still take it seriously. Therefore, the tick bite should best be entered in a calendar and then watch the spot for six to eight weeks, the expert said. "If you have reddened your skin or if you feel very sick overall, then you should go to the doctor."

Ticks can transmit Lyme disease and FSME. In Lyme disease occurs in 70 to 90 percent of cases, the characteristic Wanderer on. In addition, only one antibody test can provide certainty as to whether there is an infection with Borrelia. If this is the case, the person receiving antibiotics. If left untreated, Lyme disease can cause serious symptoms such as muscle and joint pain (Lyme arthritis) or an attack of the central or peripheral nervous system (neuroborreliosis) even years after the tick bite.

It is different with FSME, against which there is no causal treatment. "TBE is generally more dangerous for adults than for children. Anyone who lives in a risk area should definitely consider taking a vaccine, "advises Haltmeier. "In Austria, for example, nearly 90 percent of the population have been vaccinated, and the TBE disorders have fallen dramatically there. In Germany, only about 30 percent of the population is vaccinated, even in high-risk areas. "(Ag)