Five Precautions for Tick Bites During Spring Outdoor Activities! Remember the Tick Photos and Tick Bite Scars.

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Spring Outdoor Activities and Tick Bite Warning! Learn About SFTS (Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome)

In the warm spring, it’s the season when hiking, camping, and walking pets become more frequent. But there is something you need to be especially careful about at this time of year: wild ticks.

It is easy to think that a tick bite only causes itching, but in fact, ticks can be carriers that transmit life-threatening viruses. A representative example is Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (SFTS).

What is SFTS?

Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome

Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (SFTS) occurs when a person is bitten by a wild tick infected with the SFTS virus, usually the Asian longhorned tick. In Korea, it mainly occurs from March to November, and is especially concentrated in May and June, when the weather is nice and people go out a lot.

SFTS Key Symptoms and Prevention Measures

These are the four main symptoms. If you have these symptoms after outdoor activities, be sure to check whether you have tick bite marks on your body! The fatality rate of SFTS in Korea is about 19–32%, and it is especially fatal in older adults. Also, in the case of SFTS, the fatality rate is high and there is no vaccine or special treatment, so preventing infection is very important!!

1. High fever of 38°C or above, severe fatigue

2. Digestive symptoms: vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, etc.

3. Hemorrhagic symptoms: gum bleeding, low platelet count

4. If symptoms are present but left untreated, it can progress to severe illness such as kidney failure and multi-organ failure.

The most important thing is to prevent tick bites, right?

Before outdoor activities, please do the following to avoid tick bites.

Source: Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency

1. Avoid direct contact with bushes and grasslands

• Wear long sleeves, long pants, socks, and a hat

• Minimize exposed skin

Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency

2. Shower immediately after outdoor activities and wash your clothes

• Even if a tick attaches to your body, prompt removal lowers the infection rate.

3. If you go out with your pet, a tick check is a must

• Carefully check inside the fur around the ears and the inner legs, etc.

4. Use insect repellent

• Use tick repellents that can be sprayed on skin or clothing

5. If you are bitten by a tick, visit a hospital

• Even if there are no SFTS symptoms, seek medical care immediately if the bite area becomes swollen or you develop a fever

Please suspect SFTS in these cases!

1. Unexplained high fever, chills, vomiting, or diarrhea after recent outdoor activities

2. Abnormal blood test results such as decreased platelet count or decreased white blood cells

If you have suspicious symptoms, contact the nearest hospital or public health center and get tested immediately.

Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency: When bitten by a tick

Be careful before and after outdoor activities.

Spring is a pleasant season for outdoor activities, but preventing tick-borne infectious diseases is essential.

Since SFTS has no vaccine or treatment, prevention is the best approach, so please be sure to remember the precautions above.

If you add us as mutual neighbors, you can keep receiving useful tips on preventing seasonal infectious diseases.

This has been Merry Plastic Surgery Clinic, happy to meet you.

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