Health

Ticks are mites that can transmit various diseases to humans. Simple preventive measures allow you to avoid these infections.

HOW CAN I PROTECT MYSELF FROM TICKS?

When you walk in the undergrowth and tall grass, be careful not to expose any bare skin. Wear long sleeves, trousers, socks, a hat or a cap. You can also use repellent products to apply to your clothes (not to the skin). Ask your pharmacist for advice. When you return from your outdoor activities, systematically check that there are no ticks on your clothes, your body, your hair, on those of your children and on your dogs or cats. It is also recommended to clear your garden of dead leaves and maintain it regularly.

Three tips against ticks: go out covered, then after the walk, examine yourself from every angle and if you have a tick, remove it with a tick remover, a kind of crowbar but... small, or tweezers.

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I HAVE BEEN BITTEN BY A TICK?

You can remove it using special tweezers available in pharmacies. These tweezers allow you to completely remove the tick (body and head). If the tick is not removed entirely (the head remains planted in the skin), you must consult a doctor quickly. It is then recommended to note the date of the bite and to monitor in the days that follow the appearance of an erythema migrans, a red ring most often between three and several tens of centimeters that slowly spreads from the point of the tick bite. On the other hand, flu symptoms should lead you to consult quickly.

You should also consult a doctor if you were bitten during your pregnancy, if the bite concerns a child under 8 years old and if the tick has remained implanted for more than 36 hours.

WHY SHOULD I MONITOR THE APPEARANCE OF POSSIBLE SYMPTOMS?

Ticks feed on the blood of different wild animals (small rodents, deer, etc.). When the wild animal is carrying bacteria, the tick sucks them up simultaneously with the blood and stores them. It can thus store bacteria from several different types of animals and transmit them during a future bite. Several diseases can be transmitted by a tick bite. Infectious diseases, linked to bacteria or viruses, can be transmitted by ticks, and some can have serious consequences. Lyme disease is the best known and most easily diagnosed.

WHAT IS LYME DISEASE?

It is an infectious disease transmitted by parasitic insects such as ticks. It results in redness and inflammation of the skin, accompanied by fever and joint pain. These symptoms develop, depending on the case, between a few days and a few weeks after infection by the tick.

The search for antibodies directed against the bacteria (in particular by a technique called ELISA) or DNA molecules of the bacteria can help to make the diagnosis. This disease, if not treated in time, can develop into neurological and cardiac manifestations. The prescribed treatment is usually based on antibiotics.
Ticks remain active all year round, regardless of the season. However, there is a decrease in their activity above 25°C and below 7°C.

Our advice: consider preventively treating your pets (dogs, cats), because their ticks could bite you. Your risk of contracting Lyme disease would be the same as that caused by a tick bite from a wild animal.