Why it's pointless to immediately get a blood test after a tick bite
And what you need to do in the first few hours.
Illustrative photo. Photo: "Nasha Niva"
Mikita Salavey, an infectious disease specialist at the admission department of the Minsk City Clinical Infectious Diseases Hospital, reminded on Facebook about the main rules for a tick bite.
If you have been bitten by a tick, after its removal, you should take a single dose of doxycycline (200 mg for adults, 4.4 mg/kg, but no more than 200 mg for children).
"Even children and pregnant women can take a single dose of doxycycline! Taking it for more than 1 day for prevention is pointless – it won't protect you more effectively, but it will harm your microbiota," the specialist emphasizes.
It's useless to submit the tick to a laboratory.
"We treat people, not ticks! Even if the result comes back 'bad', your strategy doesn't change: a single dose of doxycycline within the first 72 hours + monitoring your well-being and the bite site for exactly one month."
There's no need to rush to get blood tests immediately, because there are no "magic" tests.
"Early tests will not show infection. Antibodies for tick-borne encephalitis appear no earlier than 2 weeks after the first symptoms, and for Lyme disease – only 4-6 weeks after the appearance of migrating erythema (rash) on the skin," the doctor explains.
Symptoms in the first few days are not an infection, says Salavey.
"A red spot in the first few hours or mild malaise is simply an allergy to the tick's saliva. Any infection has an incubation period – it is never less than 3 days."
Immunoglobulin does not work.
"According to protocols in Belarus, anti-tick immunoglobulin is not used for the prevention of tick-borne encephalitis – it is ineffective. The only real protection is vaccination," the doctor warns.
Now reading
Another Belarusian with a fabricated biography came under the scrutiny of Polish investigators. He positioned himself as an opposition leader 13
Another Belarusian with a fabricated biography came under the scrutiny of Polish investigators. He positioned himself as an opposition leader
Young man from Mogilev dodged the draft at home, but ended up going to fight for Russia and disappeared. His mother hopes he is at least a prisoner of war 88
Young man from Mogilev dodged the draft at home, but ended up going to fight for Russia and disappeared. His mother hopes he is at least a prisoner of war 8
"Months in the cabin, neglected myself. And started asking: maybe my wife will work too?". Why emigration breaks up families and what to do to fix everything 3434
Comments