Tick removal

[Bercy]

Other than picking a tick off your body (which has already been done), what is the proper/medical way to remove a tick that has bitten?

Thanks.

[Bourbon]

I have heard two ways. One is to light a match and let it burn for a quick second, then CAREFULLY touch the tick. It will release and should be easy to remove. Another is the pick with tweezers. You need to make sure you remove the head. If you just pull it off with your hands, the head could come off and still remain attached. Really make sure you get the whole head. If someone knows of a better way, then I am all ears.

[Bustin' Ducks]

reckon a chain saw is to aggressive??

[Bourbon]

Depends on the location of the bite and how good your insurance is

[spoonie]

i like to wash down with flea and tick shampoo this makes those little guys release and wash right down the drain

[mississippi_duc_htr]

My 9 year old son had rocky mountain spotted fever this past spring from a tick. we never saw the tick on him and thought he had gotten bitten by a spider. You could see the bite mark. A couple of days after we noticed the bite on his shoulder it raised a whelp about the size of a baseball. around the bite, a red streak ran off too one side around under his armpit. It looked kinda like a baseball sittng on a golf tee. We took him too the doc still thinking it was aspider bite. Something I cant tell you what told me too tell my wife too have a lyme's test ran on him. The doc office called at the the end of the week and told me that he didnt have lymes diease (whew) I thought too myself thank goodness, then came the old "but" he did test positive for R.M.S.F.. The doc also thought it was a spider bite and didnt really want too test him for lymes but my wife insisted and she said ok it cant hurt anyway. I am so glad she did. So if any of you or yours get bitten out there. Make sure you keep a check on it we havent had a case of the fever over here in quite awhile. Now alot of you might think dang that some bad luck but accually it was good that we found out when we did and nothing more than him having too stay in while taking his meds. It wasntbad @ all. Oh yes the meds they give you for it is used too treat anthrax. He never missed a lick other than a few baseball games and he is doing fine!!!!!!

[Anatidae]

'Depends entirely on what part of your body it's attached too........i.e., if it's in a place you can't see.......'don't reckon I'd wanna see how good my aim is with the tip of a hot match .....'close' don't quite cut-it.......ya know what I mean?

Leave the thang on there until shampoo takes affect? Yeah, RIGHT!! Look........when there's one on yo 'thang', the last thing you want is for that sucker to dig a hole to China........he's comin'-off, RIGHT NOW!!

Ya'll ever had to inspect yourself with a magnifying glass, tryin' to find the really microscopic ones? (I'm talkin' 'bout ticks, 'Travis') 'Talk about feel silly........wanna make sure nobody EVER sees you doin' that!

[Delta Duck]

Mississipp, glad to here that your son came out of it fine.

You could just leave it on until it gets the size of a butterbean then they will come off easy.

I'll never forget a couple of years ago my baby girl came running to me yelling daddy, daddy. Mama dog has a bean growing out of her head.
Sure was a big fat tick the size of a marble right in the middle of her head.

[BSO]

This is from the American Lyme disease society web page. :

If you DO find a tick attached to your skin, there is no need to panic. Not all ticks are infected, and studies of infected deer ticks have shown that they begin transmitting Lyme disease an average of 36 to 48 hours after attachment. Therefore, your chances of contracting LD are greatly reduced if you remove a tick within the first 24 hours. Remember, too, that the majority of early Lyme disease cases are easily treated and cured.

To remove a tick, follow these steps:


Using a pair of pointed precision* tweezers, grasp the tick by the head or mouthparts right where they enter the skin. DO NOT grasp the tick by the body.
Without jerking, pull firmly and steadily directly outward. DO NOT twist the tick out or apply petroleum jelly, a hot match, alcohol or any other irritant to the tick in an attempt to get it to back out. These methods can backfire and even increase the chances of the tick transmitting the disease.
Place the tick in a vial or jar of alcohol to kill it.
Clean the bite wound with disinfectant.

*Keep in mind that certain types of fine-pointed tweezers, especially those that are etched, or rasped, at the tips, may not be effective in removing nymphal deer ticks. Choose unrasped fine-pointed tweezers whose tips align tightly when pressed firmly together.

Then, monitor the site of the bite for the appearance of a rash beginning 3 to 30 days after the bite. At the same time, learn about the other early symptoms of Lyme disease and watch to see if they appear in about the same timeframe. If a rash or other early symptoms develop, see a physician immediately.

[judge jb]

take your drivers license or a credit card and with heavy even pressure scrape against his head and remove him this way...... apply heavy pressure to the skin..... seen this on TV last spring and have had a chance or two to try it..... has worked so far.....

judge jb