How do you safely remove a tick? Doctors advise never to squeeze the animal

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Ticks can transmit diseases such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which left people dead after a party at a farm in Campinas (SP). The star tick is the host of the bacteria that causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever Ministry of Health/Reproduction Anyone who likes to walk in rural environments, where there are areas of forest and animals, is not free to return home with an undesirable “guest”, the tick . The death of three people from Rocky Mountain spotted fever, transmitted by a type of tick, after going to a party on a farm in Campinas (SP), raised awareness about events and activities in green areas, where these animals usually live. And is there a right way to remove a tick? See below how to prevent contact and what to do if it happens. How to avoid and what to do if you are bitten by a tick It is not easy to be bitten by a tick. In the rush to get rid of the bug, the person may want to crush it. Therefore, in addition to resorting to tweezers, to have more control in the withdrawal, you need to be calm. The infectologist Plínio Trabasso, professor at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp), explained that it is important to pull the tick vertically, to pull it out of the skin without it breaking and spreading more bacteria. If you squeeze the tick, it releases [mais facilmente] the bacteria that is inside your digestive tract. The bacteria takes advantage of the fact that the skin is injured – since the tick was there hurting itself – and penetrates the skin, he says. Rocky Mountain spotted fever is transmitted by a tick Adelcio R Barbosa/ Municipality of Contagem/Disclosure Another recommendation from Professor Trabasso is, in addition to long clothes, to use strategies to close the gaps between items. He [o carrapato] it goes after the blood, the skin, and usually enters through the bottom of the pants. So, a tip is to put the sock over the pants, he says. The tick bite is usually painless and, therefore, the infectologist also reinforced the importance of doing the self-examination to identify the animal stuck to the skin quickly, if possible before contamination. This contamination process is not like the Aedes bite, for example, where the bite already injects the dengue virus. Not here. The tick spends a long time sucking the person’s blood and during this feeding process it eliminates the bacteria, he explains. 📍 Risk areas In addition to knowing how to remove the tick correctly, it’s important to understand how spotted fever transmission occurs and to redouble attention in risk areas. Rocky Mountain spotted fever is transmitted mainly by the star tick, but it can also occur through another tick, as long as it is infected with a bacteria called Rickettsia rickettsii. Capybaras are hosts for the star tick, but they do not transmit the disease to humans. What they do is help spread the transmitting bug, including in urban areas. Santa Margarida Farm, in the district of Joaquim Egídio, in Campinas Social networks Doctor Moacyr Silva Júnior, from Hospital Albert Einstein, explained that some Brazilian regions are endemic, that is, they concentrate more records of spotted fever, such as Campinas and Piracicaba. In Brazil, the Southeast region is the most affected by the disease. Ideally, the Epidemiological Surveillance should already mark the risk locations, but always try to find out if the region you are going to is endemic or if the property has capybaras, possums or other animals that could carry the tick, he warns. 🤒 Assertive diagnosis Symptoms of spotted fever include fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, among others. Understand the symptoms and forms of transmission of Rocky Mountain spotted fever Because they are common symptoms in other illnesses, the diagnosis of tick disease is not always assertive. Thus, it is also important to notify the doctor about having had contact with the animal or frequenting risk areas. The big problem is the diagnosis because no one thinks it’s tick disease. The treatment is quite effective. There are seven days of antibiotics, explains infectologist Moacyr Silva Júnior. Even so, just because you’ve been bitten by a tick doesn’t mean you’ll have Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The specialist explained that not all ticks are infected and, even if they are, they do not necessarily transmit the disease in the bite. Therefore, the orientation is to remove the tick and observe, according to the doctor. ALSO READ: Avian flu: How do humans catch it? Answer questions Understand why direct cow’s milk can harm your health Understand what Rocky Mountain spotted fever is: Rocky Mountain spotted fever is mainly transmitted by the star tick

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