How can I tell if I was bitten by a tick?

      

　　In recent years, the news of being bitten by ticks has been frequent. If you are accidentally bitten, how can you identify whether you have been bitten by a tick? If you are really unfortunate enough to be bitten, how should you deal with it correctly? To this end, NetEase Health contacted Liu Fang, chief physician of the Department of Dermatology at Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, and asked her to interpret it for everyone.

　　Smell the tick color change: How to identify if you have been bitten by a tick?

　　What are the characteristics of a tick bite? How can I quickly identify whether I have been bitten by a tick? In response, Liu Xiang, deputy chief physician of the Department of Dermatology at Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, said to NetEase Health that being bitten by a tick has the following obvious characteristics:

　　1. Mole-like: The bite is like a black mole that suddenly grows. The front limbs and mouthparts of the tick bite the patient's skin, and the bite does not loosen on the skin. It even bites into the dermis and subcutaneous tissue, revealing only a black tail on the outside of the skin. It looks like a black mole, but it is not there after being bitten by mosquitoes.

　　2. Obvious redness and swelling: Ticks will bite the skin and engulf blood, skin cells and dander, so there will be redness and swelling around the tick bite, which means that the inflammation of the patient's bite will be heavier, and the patient will be accompanied by pain, itching or no feeling.

　　3. Hard texture: Since ticks are beetle-like, the surface of the skin at the bite of a tick feels hard to the touch.

　　Doctor's advice: What should I do if I get bitten by a tick?

　　In the early stage of being bitten by a tick, we must first make an identification judgment. Once it is confirmed to be a tick bite, we must remove the tick from the body as soon as possible. So how to remove the tick? Dr. Liu advises:

　　"After being bitten by a tick, you can't take it off with forceps or pull it out with your hands. We can use some ointments, such as white Vaseline, hand cream, etc. I usually use compound triamcinolone acetonide cream for my patients, which contains a small amount of hormones, antibiotics, etc. After applying the medicine, there will be some irritating smell, and the bug will let go. In addition, you can apply some Badobang ointment, Davibang ointment, alcohol, iodine, hand cream, etc. on the bite. If you have anesthesia at home, Lydocoine gel is also effective, which can make the tick loosen its forelimbs and mouthparts, and then it will fall off by itself."

　　Dr. Liu reminded that ticks can spread Borrelia burgdorferi through their mouth organs. After the spirochete enters the blood and lymphatic system, it manifests as chronic wandering erythema. The patient's clinical symptoms are joint pain, fever, and multiple wandering erythema all over the body. At the same time, there is obvious lymph node enlargement, and the whole body is uncomfortable with cold-like symptoms. If the patient's condition reaches this stage, we will treat the patient with systemic anti-infective treatment. The preferred drug is penicillin.

　　Running around and telling everyone: How to prevent being bitten by ticks?

　　"Northerners call ticks grass crawlers, dog turtles, etc., which are more common in pastoral areas and grassy places." Dr. Liu said that in order to prevent tick bites, it is best to wear long-sleeved trousers and fully enclosed shoes in grassy places, and the cuffs should be tight, and the hem should be indented, so as to avoid ticks from getting into the gaps in the clothes. In short, try not to expose your skin to avoid being bitten by ticks. Tick bites themselves are not terrible, but secondary Lyme disease is the scary thing.

　　(Editors in charge: Li Jin, Li Yangyang)... Source NetEase News