Why are ticks so dangerous?
Ticks in themselves are not dangerous: they own no poisonwith which they harm their host and blood loss is not a problem for humans either. Instead, the danger of ticks lies in the Transmission of pathogens. If a specimen is infected with a pathogen, it can get into the host’s body from the tick’s salivary glands via the lancing device.
The following diseases are most commonly transmitted by ticks in Germany:
- TBE (early summer meningoencephalitis): Doctors also speak of tick encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain caused by ticks. The trigger is the TBE virus.
- Lyme disease
: The cause of the tick-borne disease is borrelia bacteria. Doctors also refer to it as Lyme disease.
The following diseases are less common:
- Anaplasmosis
- Tortoise relapsing fever Lyme disease
- Neoehrlichiose
- Fleckfieber (Rickettsiose)
- Babesiose
- Alpha-Gal Syndrome
- Tularemia
- Crimean Congo fever
The Risk of infection caused by ticks varies depending on the type of tick. While the alluvial forest tick is more likely to attack forest animals and domestic animals, the common wood tick is more dangerous for humans.
What types of ticks are there in Germany?
Worldwide there are over 900 species of ticks.[3] The most common in Germany include:
- Common wood tick (Ixodes ricinus): He is responsible for the majority of tick bites in Germany and is mainly active in summer.
- Auwaldzecke (Dermacentor reticulatus): It occurs mainly in the cold season in east and south-west Germany and prefers the blood of animals.
- Hyalomma-Zecke (Hyalomma marginatum): The species, which recently immigrated from Asia and Africa, has strikingly striped legs and is up to one and a half centimeters tall.[4]
Tick bite or tick bite? Ticks have a barbed prick tool (hypostome) with which they suck out the blood of their host. So the correct term is tick bite.
Tips: How can you protect yourself against ticks?
Ticks can be pretty scary. However, you do not have to do without being outdoors. Pay attention to the following tips for comprehensive protection against ticks:
Prevention is better than aftercare
Be careful early on not to allow the ticks access. Wear long clothes and sturdy shoes, and pull your socks over your trouser legs. Light-colored fabrics offer additional protection against ticks because you can spot the animals better there before they crawl under your clothes. Use anti-tick sprays as well and carefully search for the crawling animals after each time you are outdoors.
When the tick has already bitten
Remove the parasite as soon as possible. Tick tweezers, a tick card or a tick lasso are suitable for this. Grasp the crawler as close to the skin as possible, being careful not to crush it. Do not unscrew the tick and do without a quick jerk. Instead, pull it straight up slowly and in a controlled manner and then disinfect the area with alcohol or an ointment containing iodine.
Watch the puncture site
If the redness does not go away or even spreads, it is imperative to see a doctor. The same applies to flu-like symptoms such as fever and body aches or if the skin is very painful, swollen or throbbing.
What to do with the tick
For your own safety, it is advisable to kill the tick after removing it. However, do not crush them with your fingernail, as doing so could come into contact with pathogens. Instead, toss the tick in hot water or pierce it with a fine needle and eventually throw it away in the toilet.
Tick protection through vaccination
There is currently no vaccination against Lyme disease, but you can get vaccinated against TBE. Three pikes are necessary for the basic immunization: One at the beginning, the second after one to three months and the third after five to twelve months. [5] You will need to have your vaccination refreshed every three to five years.[6]
[1] Foundation for Quality and Efficiency in Healthcare: Tick bite. Url: https://www.gesundheitsinformation.de/was-sind-zecken-und-wie-entfernt-man-sie.html
(09.02.2021).
[2] University of Hohenheim: What are ticks? Url: https://www.uni-hohenheim.de/uploads/media/00_Zecken_Wanderausstellung_2009_klein.pdf
(09.02.2021).
[3] Federal Association for Health Information and Consumer Protection – Info Gesundheit eV: Ticks – where and how they live. Url: https://www.bgv-zeckenschutz.de/zecken.html
(09.02.2021).
[4] Federal Ministry of Education and Research: Tropical ticks in Germany: How great is the danger? Url: https://www.bmbf.de/de/tropische-zecken-in-deutschland-wie-gross-ist-die-gefahr-6773.html
(09.02.2021).
[5] Robert Koch Institute: Answers to frequently asked questions about TBE vaccination. Url: https://www.rki.de/SharedDocs/FAQ/FSME/FSME-Impfung/FSME-Impfung.html
(09.02.2021).
[6] ibid.
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