The sand flea is the smallest among the many fleas found on the planet. The body of an adult will barely be more than 1 millimeter. Usually these parasites are found in the sand, but they need the flesh of a living person to reproduce. The fertilized female penetrates the skin to ensure proper maturation of the eggs. Naturally, this is accompanied by various infections and inflammations in the victim’s body.
Important fact! Sand fleas can only be picked up in tropical countries, so they do not pose a serious threat to the inhabitants of our region.
These insects are not able to live in the cold. Sarcopsillosis is a disease that causes fleas to burrow into the skin. The sand flea is widespread in Nigeria, Brazil, Vietnam, and African countries. These fleas do not live in Russia, but you can easily pick them up while traveling.
Description of the sand flea
Please note! Due to its critically small size, the sand flea cannot be seen with the naked eye.
You need to know the “enemy in person” in order to recognize the danger in time. That is why we present photographs not only of the blood-sucking animal itself, but also photographs of its bites.
Upon closer inspection, you will notice how much the sand flea resembles a rat flea. The tiny flattened body consists of three parts: head, abdomen and chest. The parasite has six limbs. It's amazing that, despite their small size, these babies are able to jump to a height of up to 50 cm from the surface. All this is thanks to the good development of the hind legs. The sand flea's body is covered with hard hairs and bristles and is dark or black in color. Fleas hunt at night, when most potential victims are asleep. These are the hours when they are most active.
What does an insect look like?
These are quite small parasites that are very difficult to see in the sand; they resemble small black grains. The size of their body does not exceed 1-2 mm, so if you do not observe the flea and see that it is moving, then it is difficult to determine the parasite. The shape of the body is oval, flattened on the sides, the head is small, and there is a white spot on the back. The flea has 3 pairs of legs, the back pair is the strongest, with their help the insect makes a jump and can jump a distance of 3 centimeters.
The color of the parasite is dark in color; it can be dark brown, brown, or black. The body is covered with a shell, which is quite hard and protects it from external damage. Also, thanks to the shell, the parasite is very difficult to crush. The sand flea's diet is quite varied, including organic food, plants, animal tissue and human skin and blood.
On the head there are eyes, which are not only an organ of vision. It is like a sensory organ that is capable of detecting temperature changes, heat and cold, and also sensing the presence of food from a distance. The oral apparatus is quite well developed; they easily bite through the skin of animals and people, and with the help of special tubes they reach the blood capillaries. You can see what a flea looks like in the photo.
Why are sand fleas dangerous for people?
Sand parasites not only feed on human blood, but also live inside the body, in its skin. Males attack not only humans, but also warm-blooded animals to feed.
Male sand fleas do not pose a serious danger to humans, but they can cause discomfort and discomfort.
Females are a completely different matter. They live in the skin until the eggs inside it mature. Human blood is food for offspring. The parasite grows several times as the eggs mature, and sometimes can reach the size of a pea with a diameter of 7-8 mm. The tissues around the parasite begin to become inflamed and rot, just imagine what a person feels, because all this happens under the skin. After the eggs mature, the female throws them out of the wound and dies.
Sand fleas cause a disease called tungiasis. It is especially common in India and African countries, where people almost always go without shoes. Practice shows that male tourists become infected more often than women. The fact is that women are more sensitive to the rules of staying in such countries.
It is important to know! The female, which is located under the human skin, causes the appearance of: ulcers, ulcers, inflammation, redness of the skin. But serious complications should be expected only after the death of the female.
Her body, remaining under the skin, begins to rot. This process causes severe itching, inflammation, unbearable pain, and if no immediate measures are taken, the resulting wound may become infected. As a result, inflammation can result in gangrene.
Life cycle
During its life, the sand flea goes through 4 stages of development. A female can lay 200-300 eggs, which develop over the course of two weeks. Next, the larva appears, its size is about 3-4 mm, it has no head and legs. At this stage, the larva must receive nutrition for further development. Her diet includes organic waste. The larval stage lasts two weeks, during which time it becomes covered with a cocoon and passes into the next stage of the pupa. The pupa develops over three weeks and degenerates into an adult. But it is worth saying that if the pupa feels unfavorable conditions, for example, inappropriate temperature or lack of food, then it can remain in this stage for a year.
As such, there is no laying of eggs; the female, during saturation with blood, ensures the maturation of her offspring. When the eggs have reached maturity, she shoots them, but at the same time she may not stop the feeding process. After laying eggs, the female lives for another 10 days and then dies. The average lifespan of an adult is six months, but much depends on external conditions. Favorable conditions that are suitable for reproduction and life activity are when the temperature is 25-32°.
What are the symptoms that you are infected?
No matter how strange it may be, having crawled under the skin, the female may not betray her presence in any way for 1-2 weeks. Remember, we said that the size of the female is less than 1 mm and while the eggs in her begin to grow, it is impossible to see her. In turn, inflammation begins to appear only after a significant increase in the parasite. The sand flea often affects the following areas of the human body:
- legs;
- feet;
- wrists;
- buttocks and groin;
- back;
- stomach.
This is not a complete list of body parts that are susceptible to damage. In fact, the entire human body is vulnerable. Cases have been recorded in which the flea affected the skin on the pubis, back of the head, eyelids, and lips.
The most common symptoms:
- From the hole in which the female has settled, liquid and products of her vital activity are often released;
- Severe itching, which increases significantly in the dark;
- Unbearable pain, in which a person is unable to fully move;
- The skin around the affected area begins to peel off;
- The wounds begin to emit an unpleasant odor, but only in very advanced cases;
- A person involuntarily scratches the affected areas of the skin due to severe itching. Microbes enter the wound, causing an abscess and suppuration. In the worst case, gangrene and tetanus appear;
- Flea infestations can lead to deformation and amputation of limbs, elephantiasis, pneumonia, necrosis;
- Part of the swollen parasite with eggs may peek out from the wound;
- A dark dot can be seen in the center of the affected area.
Danger to humans
When parasites live in their usual natural environment, they are exposed to bacteria, viruses, rickettsia, sporozoans and other dangerous microorganisms. When a person is bitten, the infection enters the bloodstream and thus becomes infected with dangerous diseases. A person may encounter diseases such as gangrene, tetanus, tissue necrosis, pneumonia, thrombophlebitis, lymphostasis, and tungiasis. Of course, they are also dangerous for animals, since they often attack them.
A very common disease is tungiasis, which most often affects the poor. Due to the hot climate, they do not wear shoes, so infection with parasites occurs frequently. Symptoms are manifested by severe inflammation, the skin begins to peel off, wounds appear and the person is bothered by severe pain. The inflammatory process begins already at the stage of the female’s bite; symptoms from the infection do not appear immediately. The infection in the body goes through an incubation period, which can last up to 2 weeks.
Sand flea bites
The pain and severity of sand flea bites are similar to those of regular mosquitoes. When bitten, you may feel a slight itch and notice slight redness. Human skin is very elastic, and the size of the bite hole is so small that it cannot be seen. You can only feel a slight swelling in this place.
A person does not pay attention to such symptoms, mistakenly believing that he was bitten by some other insect. This is the main cunning of the sand flea. After a few days, the health condition begins to deteriorate sharply, and the symptoms become more severe. Most people are unaware that a parasite develops under the skin, and scratching it only increases the infection. The combination of these factors leads to the fact that a person begins to treat the symptoms on his own, without understanding the main cause of itching and redness.
Rules of conduct in tropical countries if you are planning to go there on vacation:
Try to wear shoes on the beach . This way you will protect your feet, which are the most vulnerable places;
Sunbathe on some kind of mat, but not on open sand . The best option for this are special sun loungers. When resting on them, you will be at a certain distance from the sand, which significantly reduces the risk of infection;
Get vaccinated . Having penetrated the skin, which contains toxic substances, the flea is unlikely to want to stay there. If you are planning a trip to southern countries long before your vacation, vaccination will become a reliable protection. You may have to take a course consisting of several injections during a certain period between them. Be sure to consult your doctor, do not vaccinate yourself!
Choose modern hotels . In such hotels, specialists are aware of this danger, so they do everything possible to prevent guests from becoming infected with a dangerous parasite. Usually hotels have a qualified doctor who can provide first aid.
Precautionary measures do not provide a 100% guarantee that you will not catch a sand flea. But the likelihood of infection with this parasite is significantly reduced!
Habitat, appearance, lifestyle and method of reproduction
The process of reproduction of the penetrating flea
The parasite was initially described in Brazil almost immediately after Columbus's voyage.
Interesting!
The first bites were recorded on Christopher Columbus's caravel "Santa Maria".
According to the place of the first description, the insect was called Brazilian. With ships, the parasite gradually spread throughout all tropical countries and today is found in Africa, India, and Thailand. Sand fleas are common in Vietnam. These insects today can be found wherever there are suitable climatic conditions for them.
Appearance
A very small parasite, whose closest European relatives are rat fleas. Unlike “native” ectoparasites, the sand flea has very long hind legs and a short body. Below is a comparison photo of a cat flea (left) and a piercing Brazilian flea (right).
Treatment for sand flea bites
There is a misconception that sand fleas can be cured using traditional methods and there is no need to see a doctor. Know that no lotions or ointments will help you! Therefore, you should not waste precious time on this, because the parasite can only be removed surgically. But no one will send you for surgery without a confirmed diagnosis and positive tests for the presence of a parasite under the skin.
Removing a sand flea on your own is difficult, so it is strictly not recommended to do so. Careless attempts to remove a swollen parasite may result in the parasite being crushed. In this case, the contents of the flea's stomach will enter the wound and can lead to blood poisoning and a significant complication of the disease.
During surgery, surgeons open the wound by cutting off the top layer of skin from the affected area. After this, the parasite is carefully removed and the wound is disinfected. If a person has been subjected to numerous attacks, the process becomes several times more complicated.
As soon as you notice a bite on the body:
- Take antihistamines to prevent an allergic reaction. They are used not only externally, but also internally;
- Treat the bite site with any antiseptic;
- See your doctor immediately.
How to remove a parasite
In this case, it is impossible to do without the help of doctors, since the removal is carried out surgically. During the procedure, the wound is cut, then the parasite is treated with chloroform, which leads to its death. Then the body is removed using tweezers or a needle. The wound is disinfected and a bandage is applied. The doctor must prescribe antibiotics and antihistamines.
Treatment in Vietnam and Thailand uses drugs that relieve symptoms. For example, ointments with an analgesic effect are used to relieve itching. They also relieve swelling; Fenistil gel is well suited for this. It is mandatory to consult a doctor if you experience symptoms such as fever.
RABIES: HEDGEHOG ATTACK (MOSCOW REGION)
A walk in the forest can be dangerous even in central Russia. Not everyone knows that in the forests of the Moscow region there is a possibility of encountering wild animals, and the bite of a seemingly harmless hedgehog sometimes threatens with the most serious consequences. This year, 215 cases of rabies among hedgehogs have already been identified.
What to do: You need to beware of those animals that themselves come into contact with humans. You should not pick up a hedgehog, as you can become infected with rabies by pricking yourself on the needles. When bitten by an animal, the wound must be treated with soap and water to wash off the viruses. The hedgehog must then be immediately taken to the laboratory. If the doctor prescribes a vaccination, do not refuse in the hope that everything will work out. Symptoms of rabies - drooling, hydrophobia, convulsions - appear at the stage when it is no longer possible to save a person.
Photo: Getty Images
