The Easiest Way to Remove a Tick
If you find a tick on yourself, your child or your pet, remove it as quickly as possible. Ticks can latch onto your clothes, skin or pet's fur as you hike through the woods, walk through tall grass or simply play in the backyard. Ticks often move to a warm, moist part of the body, such as the armpit, hair or groin, where they bite and feed by sucking blood. Though most are harmless, ticks can spread diseases such as Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Colorado tick fever.
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Instructions
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Use the tweezers to grasp the tick firmly by its head, getting as close to the mouth as possible. The tweezers should rest right next to the skin.
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Pull back slowly and forcefully. The tick's mouthpart, called the hypostome, is covered with sharp barbs that lock into the skin. They also secrete a glue-like substance that may make it difficult to remove the tick. Try not to crush the tick's body.
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Pluck the tick free from the skin and either toss it in the trash, flush it down the toilet or preserve it in a jar filled with alcohol if you want to further examine the type and potential health risks that the tick may present.
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Pull the mouth parts of the tick out with tweezers If they remain in the skin after you have removed the tick. if you cannot remove them, the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine suggests seeking medical assistance.
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Swab the bite area with alcohol, and wash with warm, soapy water.
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Tips & Warnings
Commercial tick removers are available, such as Sawyer Tick Pliers, Ticked Off and Pro-Tick Remedy. If you or a loved one is concerned about the tick spreading any diseases or are displaying any symptoms, such as fever, rash, headache or flu, take the tick to your doctor for further examination.
According to American Family Physician, never apply any substances to the tick, such as petroleum jelly, nail polish or nail polish remover. It also says you should not try to burn the tick with a match or hot needle.
References
- Photo Credit red fuzzy bug image by robert mobley from Fotolia.com
