Preamble
As you know from my posts, my wife and I really love nature. We often walk in the woods and leave the city for "wild places". And it's all wonderful, beautiful and exciting, but...
Since my birth, doctors have been pessimistic about me, They told my parents in the direct text - "do not become attached to him, he will die soon." My childhood was not easy... really... but growing up I started weightlifting, which has a positive impact on my body and health. Of course, the problems did not disappear completely and the years of various antibiotics undermined my immune system without letting it grow (develop). That's why I have a lot of allergies and contraindications to medical drugs and food. One of the contraindications - I can not be vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis. With my lifestyle this is practically a "Russian roulette" :) In connection with this fact, I try to have as much information as possible about what can kill me (thanks to the Internet).
The Situation
Sometimes ago, it happened - I was bitten by an Ixodes tick (mite)...
We rested in a small village, around only the taiga - beauty!
So... how to remove the tick(mite) correctly I know. You just need to tie it (as close as possible to its head) with a thin strong thread and twist it, but not just pull it. If you just pull - the tick will "tear" and the head will remain in your body. If you try to pull it out with your hands or grab it by the body - you will crush it, and since the bacterias are in its stomach, you will squeeze them into the wound and get infected 99% (assuming the tick(mite) is infected, of course).
My further actions should not have been difficult, but... after removing the mite, it must be taken to the laboratory - where it will be checked for infections and bacteria. It turned out that in that village no clinic (either state or commercial) is engaged in this type of analysis. Hmm... really, why? People simply become disabled or die (of course "for unknown reasons")! Therefore, already at 5 am, we drove fast along the road home...
After eight hours of the race with time on the "broken in the trash" roads (the last hours of the trip were like jumps - ripped out the rear shock absorbers) we arrived. We gave the tick(mite) that we named "Vasya" in a research laboratory for tests :) We were told that the test results will be ready on next day...
Basic information about ticks!
Ticks(mites) - carriers of deadly diseases!
Preferred habitat - moderately damp places in deciduous and mixed forests with an abundance of undergrowth.
Ixodes mites bite people with pleasure.
Diseases
Tick-borne encephalitis:
One of the most "advertised" diseases carried by ticks. The first phase lasts an average of a week to two after a bite and very similar to the flu - headache, fever, fatigue, joint pain. That's why after the "recovery" people no longer associate the symptoms with a bite. For most people with a good immune system, everything is fine - antibodies enter the bloodstream, immunity works!
But everything is not so rosy for about 10-20% of people... after a free phase of symptoms, a second phase of the disease appears with the pathology of the central nervous system. A severe headache, aversion to light, dizziness, lack of concentration, speech/vision/moving difficulties. The result of this disease is often a disability, and about 5% of cases - death. Specific therapy does not exist (at least in Russia), the treatment is aimed at alleviating the symptoms.
Lyme disease:
Lyme disease, also known as Lyme borreliosis, is an infectious disease caused by bacteria of the Borrelia type which is spread by ticks. Early symptoms may include fever, headache and feeling tired. But besides this can be affected the nervous system, musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems, in rare cases - the genitourinary and respiratory systems. If these symptoms are not recognized immediately and timely treatment is not given - irreversible damage is possible: arthritis, dermatitis, personality changes - the third stage of the disease. But diagnosing Lyme disease can be very difficult, laboratory tests do not help much in the first phase of the disease when treatment is most effective.
Human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA):
A disease about which many doctors not only forget, but also do not know! The bacteria infect white blood cells called neutrophils, causing changes in gene expression that prolong the life of these otherwise short-lived cells. This causes inflammatory processes in the internal organs, leads to a weakening of the immune defenses of the body and, as a consequence, to the emergence of opportunistic bacterial, viral and fungal infections. For this disease is characterized by an acute onset - fever, weakness, headache and muscle pain. In about 80% of cases, hepatitis.
Next day
I was lucky enough! Bacteria and infections of the first two diseases in the tick were not detected. But there was a third... When I received the results, I was informed that there NO an infectious disease specialist in my home town who would conduct these analyzes. That is - yes, this bacteria is present in the tick, but whether it was transmitted to me - unknown and I can not find it out! I was offered the option - wait for the symptoms for about two weeks, and then, when the presence of the disease can already be diagnosed with "obvious" methods, go to the clinic.
But beforehand having information, I made another decision - a course of antibiotics. The fact is that by starting treatment in the first three days you completely "kill" the bacteria and do not let it multiply and hit the organs. Yes, antibiotics also reduce immunity, but a week course is much better for the body than waiting for the development of the disease and taking the medicine "by handfuls" for several months. In my case, it was "acceptable loss"!
Results.
It's been about a month... Everything is fine with me! Of course, I had to eat "healthy" to restore the intestinal microflora and take immunomodulating drugs, but...
So why am I writing this all? Who has the information - has the power! The power to influence the event in your life, change what seems to be uncontrollable!
After all, if you want something to be done well - do it yourself! Do not rely only on firefighters in a case on fire or unconditionally on doctors. We are all people, we are all mistaken or may not know something, even in the sphere where we must be specialists!
Whichever age you are - do not stop in self-development - continue to learn always!
Health to you and your family, friends! Our lives, for the most part, depend only on us!
To those who read this stream of thoughts to the end - homemade hot dog! :)
Sincerely, Terry Craft.