How do you protect yourself properly against ticks?

Posted: September 04, 2024
Dr. med. Wolfgang Bachmann
Dr. med. Wolfgang Bachmann

General practitioner

Do you itch all over when you walk through bushes and grasses?

We all come into contact with unpleasant inhabitants from time to time. We have already reported on endoparasites that live in our bodies, such as maggots and tapeworms.

Today it's all about a small, crawling ectoparasite that we have to deal with on the outside:

The tick.

Widespread and yet barely visible

Where do you find ticks and where do they find us? These parasites are found all over the world. They feed on the blood of all vertebrates, including us humans. If they only drank blood, this would not be a problem for us. Unfortunately, they also act as carriers of pathogens to humans and animals. Not every bite leads to infection, but the risk is always there. 

Once the tick has chosen its host, it crawls to the warmest place, such as the armpit, groin or back of the knee. In animals in particular, it can hide well in thick fur. Once attached, it feeds on the host for up to 15 days. Once it is full and round as a ball, it drops off again.

Tick bite or tick sting? It is a bite!

The common disease vector

Not every tick contains pathogens. However, if this is the case, an otherwise harmless tick bite can become very dangerous. A tick can transmit up to 50 pathogens. The most common and best known are TBE and Lyme disease.

TBE

Tick-borne encephalitis is usually transmitted by ticks and can cause severe damage and even be fatal due to the resulting meningitis.

Transmission occurs directly after the bite, as the virus is in the tick's saliva. Overall, between 1 and 3 % of ticks are infected with the TBE virus. TBE manifests itself as meningitis in around 50 % of those infected. The incubation period is between 5 and 28 days.

Initial symptoms are similar to those of flu, such as fever, nausea, stiff neck or sensitivity to light. TBE can only be treated symptomatically. The disease usually heals without any consequential damage. In severe cases, however, it can also lead to comatose states and even death.

The classic vaccination is available to prevent TBE.

Lyme disease

Lyme borreliosis is also transmitted by a tick bite, but can also be transmitted to humans by horseflies, flies, mosquitoes or fleas.

An infection can often be recognized by a clear reddish circle around the bite site, but this is only visible in 1 / 3 of those affected. In certain areas, up to 30% of ticks can be infected with the bacteria Borrelia. According to studies, the risk of becoming infected with Borrelia bacteria from a tick is 2.6 to 5.6 % and only a small proportion of these develop symptoms (0.3 to 1.4 %).

Transmission after the bite occurs on average after 12 to 24 hours. This means that the risk can be further minimized after rapid removal. The symptoms are also similar to those of influenza. In severe cases, the nervous system is attacked, paralysis or organ dysfunction is caused and meningitis or heart disease is triggered. Most infected patients can be successfully treated with antibiotics. Nevertheless, around 10 to 20 % of patients report persistent symptoms (months to years) after treatment, such as symptoms of fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, sleep disorders and impaired mental function.

We do not yet have a vaccination for Lyme disease.

➤ 485 cases of TBE were registered in Germany in 2017!

What can you do to prevent tick bites and thus dangerous infectious diseases?

  • Be careful in the bushes: ticks prefer to be found on the edges of woods, in parks and gardens. There they lurk on grasses, shrubs and bushes. Incidentally, ticks do not fall from trees - that's a myth.
  • Conventional insect sprays: There are special tick sprays or insect sprays that also repel ticks.
  • Long pants: This makes it more difficult for ticks to find a suitable spot.
  • Body check: After hiking, a trip to the park or a visit to the lake, you should check your entire body for ticks.
  • Pets as carriers: Check your pet regularly for parasites, as they can also infect humans in this way.

➤ 1 in 100 TBE patients dies as a result of the disease!

What natural remedies can you use to defend yourself?

1. coconut oil:

Coconut oil contains lauric acid, which is found in natural coconut oil. The deterrent effect of the acid on ticks has been proven in laboratory tests. It was observed that ticks fell off skin treated with coconut oil as quickly as possible. The potential protective effect lasts up to 6 hours. Coconut oil can also be used on pets.

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2. black cumin oil:

Black cumin oil is very versatile in its application. It is often used for hay fever or to repel ticks, for example. The essential fatty acids, vitamins and high essential oil content have a deterrent effect on ticks, as they do not like the smell. In 2014, a Bavarian school pupil discovered the deterrent effect of adding the oil to food rather by chance and won a prize in the "Jugend forscht" competition.

In a subsequent in-vitro study, it was observed that black cumin oil has a good effect in combating ticks, as ticks avoid the oil. To protect against ticks, it can be used internally (altered skin scent) and externally (altered odor due to essential oils). Black cumin oil also helps dogs and can be administered to them, but not to cats! The oil is poisonous for cats, as they cannot break down the terpenes (secondary plant substances) it contains.

If the tick does bite, it should be carefully removed. But how does this actually work?

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Removing ticks correctly - the little 1x1

This is what you should do:

  • Be quick: Remove a tick as soon as you discover it.
  • Correct technique: Grasp the tick with tweezers or similar (also possible with fingers) as close to the skin as possible and remove it slowly and in a controlled manner. If a part of the tick is still visible in the skin, this is usually only the biting tool, which is shed by itself and no longer transmits pathogens. If you have any questions, you should consult your naturopath or doctor.
  • Disinfect the wound after removal: It is best to dab the puncture site with alcohol.

You should definitely refrain from doing this:

  • Do not twist the tick out, ticks have no thread.
  • Do not squeeze the tick, as this could cause pathogens to enter the wound.
  • Do not remove with a strong jerk.
  • Do not sprinkle the tick with oil, nail polish remover, alcohol or similar. This actually increases the risk of infection, as the tick releases the viruses into the blood during its death throes.

Conclusion:

The fact is: the milder the climate, the more ticks there are. Due to generally rising temperatures (global warming) and a mild winter, the risk of tick-borne infectious diseases such as TBE, Lyme disease etc. increases. The Red Cross is already warning of an increased risk of ticks in summer.

The first symptoms of an infection caused by a tick bite are usually very similar to those of flu and can appear up to 3 weeks after a tick bite. If you experience these symptoms and are aware of a past tick bite, you should consult a doctor or naturopath. A circular red spot (erythema) around the tick bite can also be a warning sign.

Ticks should always be removed immediately. However, it is even better to prevent a potential bite at an early stage. There are classic insect sprays as well as natural remedies such as coconut oil or black cumin oil. Please note that no product can provide 100% protection and you should always check your body for ticks. This will significantly reduce your risk of infection!

 

Sources (in English):

Schwantes, U., Dautel, H. & Jung, G. (2008, April). Prevention of Infectious Tick-Borne Diseases in Humans: Comparative Studies of the Repellency of Different Dodecanoic Acid-Formulations Against Ixodes Ricinus Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae). Parasites & Vectors, 1(1):8, doi: 10.1186/1756-3305-1-8

Aboelhadid, S. M., Mahran, H. A., El-Hariri, H. M. & Shokier, K. M. (2016, January). Rhipicephalus Annulatus (Acari: Ixodidae) Control by Nigella Sativa, Thyme and Spinosad Preparations. Journal of Arthropod-borne Diseases, 10(2):148-58

Estrada-Pena, A. & De la Fuente, J. (2014, August). The Ecology of Ticks and Epidemiology of Tick-Borne Viral Diseases. Antiviral Research, 108:104-28, doi: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2014.05.016

Estrada-Pena, A. (2015, April). Ticks as Vectors: Taxonomy, Biology and Ecology. Revue Scientifique et Technique, 34(1):53-65, doi: 10.20506/rst.34.1.2345

Kaiser, R. (2016, June). [Tick-borne Encephalitis]. Der Nervenarzt, 87(6):667-80, doi: 10.1007/s00115-016-0134-9

Paules, C. I., Marston, H. D., Bloom, M. E. & Fauci, A. S. (2018, August). Tickborne Diseases — Confronting a Growing Threat. The New England Journal of Medicine, 379:701-703, doi: 10.1056/NEJMp1807870

Rosenberg, R., Lindsey, N. P., Fischer, M., Gregory, C. J., Hinckley, A. F., Mead, P. S. et al. (2018, May). Vital Signs: Trends in Reported Vectorborne Disease Cases — United States and Territories, 2004–2016. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 67(17): 496–501, doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6717e1

Melia, M. T. & Auwaerter, P. G. (2016, March). Time for a Different Approach to Lyme Disease and Long-Term Symptoms. The New England Journal of Medicine, verfügbar unter: [https://hopkinsinfectiousdiseases.jhmi.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Time-for-a-different-approach-to-Lyme-disease-and-long-term-symptoms.pdf]

Bouquet, J., Soloski, M. J., Swei, A., Cheadle, C., Federman, S., Billaud, J., N., et al. (2016, January). Longitudinal Transcriptome Analysis Reveals a Sustained Differential Gene Expression Signature in Patients Treated for Acute Lyme Disease. American Society for Microbiology, doi: 10.1128/mBio.00100-16

Suhr, F. (2019, April). Achtung, Zecken! Statista, verfügbar unter: [https://de.statista.com/infografik/17538/registrierte-faelle-von-fsme-in-deutschland/]

Semenza, J. C. & Suk, J. E. (2018, February). Vector-borne Diseases and Climate Change: A European Perspective. FEMS Microbiology Letters, 365(2):fnx244, doi: 10.1093/femsle/fnx244