Tick ​​bite

Mareike Müller is a freelance writer in the medical department and assistant doctor for neurosurgery in Düsseldorf. She studied human medicine in Magdeburg and gained a lot of practical medical experience during her stays abroad on four different continents.

More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.

Anyone can get a tick bite (also colloquially known as a tick bite). However, people who are in the forest or tall grass in summer are particularly at risk. Ticks can transmit diseases through the bite. Therefore, you should remove the tick and watch the tick bite. Read everything you need to know about tick bites here.

ICD codes for this disease: ICD codes are internationally recognized codes for medical diagnoses. They can be found, for example, in doctor's letters or on certificates of incapacity for work. A84A68

Tick ​​bite: description

A tick bite is often colloquially called a tick bite. This is incorrect as ticks have a stinging device rather than a biting device. They cut into the host animal's skin with their mouthparts. They then stab it with a tongue-like device to suck blood.

The tick

Ticks are arachnids. They have eight legs and are three to four millimeters tall. When they soak up blood, they can grow up to an inch and a half. They have a rounded body with a back shield and a small head on which the mouth tool sits. This allows them to suck blood - as parasites (parasites), ticks need different animal species or humans as a source of food.

Ticks hatch from eggs as larvae, then grow into so-called nymphs and finally develop into adult ticks. They feed on blood at all stages, with the exception of adult male ticks - these do not suck blood. Adult females lay eggs after the last blood meal.

Tick ​​bite: where do ticks lurk?

Ticks become active on spring and summer days at temperatures of around 10 ° C, i.e. between March and November in our latitudes. Their main activity is in May and June and September and October. They prefer to prick in the morning and early evening.

Ticks mainly live by the wayside, in tall grass, in scrub and undergrowth. People can encounter them when they are in the forest - for example jogging, cycling, hiking or camping - as well as in the garden while playing or working.

Tick ​​areas

You can find out in which areas of Germany ticks are widespread under Tick areas.

Tick ​​bite: symptoms

You can find out how to recognize a tick bite in the article Tick bite: Symptoms.

Tick ​​bite: causes and risk factors

Ticks have a sensory organ in their front pairs of legs, Haller's organ. This enables them to perceive their surroundings and recognize potential victims through vibrations, body heat and fragrances. If an animal or human brushes the blade of grass on which the tick is sitting, it attaches itself to it with its clipper. The popular belief that ticks can drop or jump from trees is not true.

As soon as a tick gets on a host's skin, it first stabs a pit. This then fills with the victim's blood and the tick sucks from it for hours to days. She uses her saliva to inject an analgesic substance into the skin so that those affected do not notice the sting.

Tick ​​bite: how can you protect yourself?

There are a few things you can do to ensure good tick protection:

Make sure you wear sturdy shoes with long socks when hiking or walking in the forest. It is also advisable to put on long trousers and tuck them into your socks. In this way, the tick cannot find any skin to sting and can be found and removed more quickly. Afterwards, worn clothing should be washed at 60 ° C or tumble dried.

Use insect repellants, such as those available against mosquitoes, for example. They change the body odor, temperature and moisture of the skin. As a result, ticks can no longer locate people. The duration of action of the repellents is limited. In addition, you should not only wet exposed areas of skin such as your arms with them, but also your clothes and your head.

If there are ticks in your area, you can prevent them from multiplying by treating your dogs and cats with tick remedies for pets throughout the season. This means that the female ticks cannot soak up blood and then lay eggs.

You should also design your garden in such a way that ticks cannot find suitable living conditions there. Short-cut meadows, grasses and hedges and remove any damp areas.

Tick ​​vaccination

As diseases can be transmitted by a tick bite, vaccination is recommended. You can find out more about this under tick vaccination.

Tick ​​bite: examinations and diagnosis

If you have or suspect a tick bite, see your doctor. A tick bite in children should be checked by the pediatrician. The doctor will first ask you about your medical history (anamnesis). He will ask you the following questions, among others:

• Have you been walking in the woods or tall grass lately?
• Have you removed an animal from your skin?
• When did you first notice the sting?
• Do you have pain at the injection site?
• Do you feel exhausted or do you have a fever?
• Are you vaccinated against TBE?
• Can you move your arms and legs normally?

Your doctor will then do a physical examination. He first takes a close look at the tick bite. He pays attention to whether a tick or another animal can still be seen. Then he looks at the area around the sting and pays attention to redness, swelling, overheating and pain. In addition, he scans, among other things, nearby lymph nodes.

Your doctor may do a blood test. If diseases were transmitted with the tick bite, the pathogen can be detected in the blood sample. In addition, possible reactions of your immune system to the pathogens can be determined in the blood.

Usually the tick that bites you is not checked for possible pathogens. Because even if a tick carries Borrelia or TBE viruses, for example, this does not necessarily mean that it has also transmitted these pathogens to you.

Tick ​​bite: you should pay attention to this yourself

If you have been in the forest or in tall grass, for example on a walk or picnic, you should then search your body for ticks. Ticks usually crawl up the legs, but they can also be found on all other parts of the body. They prefer protected areas of skin so that their host cannot find them and remove them. Therefore, if necessary, they crawl around on your body for several hours until they find a suitable spot. They often stab in the back of the knees or under the arms. A tick bite on the head is also possible.

Small children and school children are often affected by a tick bite because the offspring like to be in the woods and meadows. You should therefore search your children for possible tick bites if they have been outdoors in the warm season.

Remove the tick

How to do if you discover a tick on your body read under Removing ticks.

Tick ​​bite: treatment

You can find out how a tick bite is treated under Tick bite - what to do?

Tick ​​bite: disease course and prognosis

In most cases, the prognosis for a tick bite is good. A tick should be removed quickly and gently. This can reduce the risk of inflammation and disease transmission. An infected tick bite, for example due to the colonization with bacteria, takes a little more time to heal.

Tick ​​bite: consequences

Sometimes ticks transmit diseases. This includes:

• TBE (early summer meningoencephalitis)
• Lyme disease
• Tick ​​bite fever
• Bouttonneuse fever
• Human granulocytic Ehrlichiosis

In some cases, tick paralysis occurs. This is understood to mean signs of paralysis in the body, which often recede quickly. Such paralysis after a tick bite occurs only rarely in Germany; it is widespread on other continents than the European one.

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