SEASON FOR COCKNEYS - When are they most active?

They inspire fear and trepidation, even though they are not much bigger than the head of a pin, especially when you return from a nature excursion or a simple walk in the woods. Ticks, wake up from their winter sleep as soon as it gets a little warmer, mercilessly attacking anyone who enters their territory. Will they achieve their goal? That depends entirely on you!

How can you protect yourself and loved ones from ticks and tick-borne diseases? Prevention is better than cure, and the following solid dose of knowledge will help you do just that. 

Where do ticks live? When does the tick season start?

They usually inhabit green areas - forests, meadows, wet thickets, but you can also catch a stowaway in a square, park or even in a home garden. Their activity depends on the ambient temperature. The tick season usually begins in late March/April and lasts until November. A long and cold winter can significantly reduce the number of ticks and effectively delay their appearance. Otherwise, we can expect ticks already in winter.

How do you protect yourself from ticks?

If you don't want to give up the pleasure of communing with nature? You don't have to. Ticks insert themselves through the skin, so it is important that when you go, for example, to go mushrooming in the woods, you should properly cover it. Material is important. Ticks don't like synthetics, probably just like you! But in this case, it's worth the sacrifice and wear long flexible pants, a fleece sweatshirt and boots that tightly cover your feet. Going a step further, anti-tick clothing, made of specially impregnated materials, is becoming widely available. Fabric that is completely safe for humans becomes deadly to ticks, mosquitoes and other insects, which die after contact with it.  

Quite unlike in fashion, the color of your clothes doesn't matter. Ticks react to your scent, specifically the smell of sweat. However, it is worth wearing light-colored clothing, on which the opponent will not be able to hide.

If you don't want to dress in long pants on a hot day try some of the many repellents available, known as repellents. Of the natural remedies, you can try oils such as lavender or clove.  

What diseases do ticks transmit?

Ticks feed on blood, so they are equipped with a mouth organ adapted for sucking blood, equipped with numerous teeth positioned opposite to the direction of the puncture, which allows the tick to anchor itself in a person's skin. While sucking blood, the tick injects saliva into the person's tissues, with which pathogenic microorganisms enter.

Since ticks transmit both 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.

A tick is a small arachnid, but the health problems it can cause are really extensive.

Lyme disease

It is a multisystem disease caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi.

There is no vaccine against Lyme disease, so all that remains is prevention, i.e. using effective methods to prevent tick bites.

In the case of a tick bite, a tick insertion - remove it, observe the site and/or test for Lyme disease infection. The disease is so insidious that it can reveal itself years later, often already advanced, when we don't even remember being bitten by a tick. Your vigilance should be aroused by uncharacteristic symptoms, such as:

• chronic fatigue,
• headaches and joint pains,
• joint inflammation,
• abnormal heart function.

Boleriosis over an extended period of time can cause significant deterioration of health and even pose a serious threat to life. When you suspect a boleriosis infection consider consulting a specialist. At the CM Luxmed boleriosis outpatient clinic, we offer a comprehensive diagnosis of Lyme disease, conduct rare tests, and establish treatment plans. You consult the effects at every stage of the ongoing boleriosis treatment process.

Tick-borne encephalitis

Is a systemic infection caused by the TBE virus transmitted during a bite from an infected tick.

A vaccine protects against contracting tick-borne encephalitis. The full cycle of vaccination consists of 3 doses administered at intervals, according to the manufacturer's recommendations, after which immunity is obtained for 3-5 years.

In the context of vacations and vacations, but also short weekend getaways out of town to nature, it is worth considering this possibility and protect yourself and your children from this dangerous disease.

You will be tested for Lyme disease infection at our laboratory collection points.