Dangerous ticks

Their activity depends on the ambient temperature, and they're just waiting for the "first" warmth. They usually make their presence felt around the turn of March and April . This year, however, due to the warm winter, they began their activity in February.

What do we know about them?

Ticks typically inhabit green areas – forests, meadows, squares, and parks. They can also be found in home gardens. They feed on blood, which is why they have mouthparts adapted for sucking blood, equipped with numerous teeth positioned opposite the direction of the bite, which allows the tick to anchor itself in the skin. While sucking blood, the tick injects saliva into the human tissue, carrying pathogens.

Why are they dangerous?

Because ticks transmit viruses, bacteria, and protozoa, they act as vectors for numerous diseases known as tick-borne diseases. The main tick-borne diseases in Poland include Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis.

Lyme disease is a multisystemic disease caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. It can sometimes go unnoticed or ignored in its early stages, such as redness at the bite site, but it progresses to affect other organs.

There is no vaccine against Lyme disease, so the only option is prevention, i.e. the use of effective methods to prevent tick bites.

Perform laboratory tests for Lyme disease:

• If you have ever been bitten by a tick
• You are at risk of contact with ticks due to the nature of your work
• You have been bitten by a tick and you suspect an infection
• You have symptoms of Lyme disease, but you don't remember being bitten by a tick

Remember that early diagnosis is very important!

It helps to start treatment faster and stop the disease!

Tick-borne encephalitis is a systemic infection caused by the TBE virus, transmitted during the bite of an infected tick. The disease is particularly serious because the initial symptoms are nonspecific, flu-like, and often subside after a few days. In a certain percentage of patients, the second phase of the disease, involving the central nervous system, begins, usually a week after the fever subsides.

Vaccination protects against tick-borne encephalitis. The full vaccination cycle consists of three doses administered at intervals according to the manufacturer's recommendations, after which immunity lasts 3-5 years. You can get the vaccine at our clinics.

With upcoming vacations and holidays approaching, as well as short weekend getaways into the countryside, it's worth considering this option to protect yourself and your children from this dangerous disease. Vaccination is available at our clinics.