How to Care for a Tick Bite
Ticks can be one of the downsides to enjoying the outdoors during warm summer months. These small bugs burrow into the skin and suck your blood, leaving red welts and sometimes infecting the skin. While these bites may be painful and unattractive, they can be easily cared for.
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Things You'll Need
- Rubbing alcohol
- Soft rag
- Tweezers
- Soap and water
- Bag of ice
- Towel
- Neosporin
Instructions
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Wash the red area with rubbing alcohol and a soft rag. Inspect the area, most commonly on the head, neck and legs, for a tick. If a tick remains, and some can stay there up to a few weeks after first biting, it will appear as a small black area at the center of the red welt.
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Remove the tick before proceeding with caring for the bite. Take a pair of tweezers and get them as close to the skin as possible. Slowly and gently pull the tick directly out of the skin without twisting or pinching. If the tick is crushed or broken, be sure to dig out all parts to avoid infection. Flush remains down the toilet.
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Clean the area again with soap and water. Ticks carry many agents that cause further infections. When they are released, they may leave remnants of these unwanted germs.
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Place several cubes of ice in a plastic baggie or wrap them in a thin, wet towel. Cover the red welt with this ice until it melts. This should help ease the swelling and pain of a tick bite.
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Dry the skin around your tick bite and cover it with a healing skin lotion. Many people choose products like calamine lotion or Neosporin. These topical ointments help speed the process of healing. In addition, people suffering pain may want to use a topical anesthetic.
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