Ticks still active. The number of Lyme disease and STD patients is increasing.

Tick activity begins in early spring and continues until late autumn. The higher the ambient temperature and humidity, the more tick activity increases. Ticks live all over the country. They can be found in various places, not only in forests, but also in parks, home gardens or allotments. They usually reside in bushes up to about a meter in height.
- Anti- tick prevention for both Lyme disease and CCH is similar. It's the use of repellents and proper attire, i.e. long-sleeved, when going for a walk. When you return home, you should carefully inspect your entire body," says Dr. Piotr Stępień of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Regional Hospital in Kielce.

The infectious disease specialist stresses that it is extremely important to remove a possible tick from the skin as soon as possible, mechanically (with tweezers, a special tick removal card or with a vacuum pump), without using other "folk" methods, such as lubricating the arachnid with butter, alcohol, etc...
- If an infected tick stays on our skin for less than four to six hours, the risk of infection is small, but if it is removed after a day, or even after a few days, it unfortunately increases significantly, the doctor stresses.
In the case of tick-borne encephalitis, symptomatic treatment is used, without antiviral drugs. The disease has two phases. The first symptoms resemble the flu. After a few days of relative improvement, a few percent of people develop a phase of neuroinfection, i.e. involvement of the central nervous system, accompanied by such symptoms as meningeal headache, neck stiffness, nausea, vomiting, and renewed fever, among others. This is then a condition that requires hospitalization.
In the case of Lyme disease, according to Dr. Piotr Stępień, causal treatment, i.e. appropriate antibiotic therapy, is used. Any case of Lyme disease, should first be consulted with a family doctor, who will refer the patient to an infectious disease clinic, if necessary.

One of the characteristic symptoms of Lyme disease is erythema migrans, which occurs in about 80 percent of cases of infection. Note that it can also be located in areas that are not very visible to us, such as the back or hairy scalp.
- Not every erythema after a tick bite is a migratory erythema," the infectious disease specialist adds, and suggests that in doubtful situations, in the evening after washing, the skin lesion should be outlined with a pen, and in the morning check if the infiltration exceeds the marked borders. If it does - this is a sign that it is probably erythema migrans and it is worth consulting a doctor.
Lyme disease has two forms: early and late. Initially, the patient may have flu-like symptoms, patients may have joint pain, facial nerve palsy - this is a signal that infection may have occurred, even if there was no erythema migrans. Specialized testing is then indicated, for the presence of specific antibodies. Treatment, Dr. Stępień explains, is based on targeted antibiotic therapy, and the earlier the stage of Lyme disease, the lower the risk of hospitalization. Hospital treatment is necessary, however, such as in the case of neuroborreliosis with meningitis.
Dr. Piotr Stępień reminds us that it is possible to be vaccinated against NHL (the vaccine is paid for), in the case of Lyme disease, unfortunately, it is not possible.

Source: wszzkielce.pl; PSSE Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski