 Show ANSWER: If you find a tick on your skin, remove it as quickly as possible. But removing the tick correctly is also critical. Ticks can transfer disease-causing organisms (germs) in one bite. That bite can result in various illnesses, including Lyme disease. These illnesses are often mild, but if left untreated can have long-lasting effects. For this reason, it’s important to be aware of the presence of tick habitats, guard against tick bites and know what to do if you get bitten. Antibiotic treatment usually succeeds in getting rid of the infection, especially when started early. There are steps you can take to prevent ticks from getting to your skin in the first place. Try to avoid areas where ticks are found, such as tall grasses, shrubs and leaf litter. When you go outside, wear long sleeves and pants, as well as sock and shoes. If you think you may come in contact with ticks, protect yourself further by spraying exposed skin with a repellent containing DEET or picaridin. You also can apply permethrin to your clothing. Remember to check yourself, family members and your pets for ticks after being outdoors. To remove a tick that is embedded in the skin, grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible, using tweezers if available. Pull upward with a steady, continuous motion. To ensure the whole tick is removed, try not to twist it or jerk it. If mouth parts of the tick remain in the skin, leave the area alone and let the skin heal. Your body will expel the mouth parts over time. After removal, clean the area with an antiseptic, such as rubbing alcohol or soap and water. Place the tick in a plastic bag in case you develop any symptoms that may be caused by a tick-borne infection. Early symptoms can include fever, chills, headache, joint pain and gastrointestinal upset, which can occur in various combinations. Sometimes, a characteristic rash may occur, as well. If you experience any of these and may have been exposed to ticks, see your health care provider right away. Bring the tick with you, if possible. If you live in an area where Lyme disease is highly prevalent — most commonly the Upper Midwest and Northeast U.S. — and the tick that you’ve removed is swollen and engorged, discuss with your health care provider whether an antibiotic such as doxycycline should be prescribed to prevent Lyme disease. Lyme disease, which can cause headache, fever, joint pain and other flu-like symptoms, often is accompanied by an expanding red area that sometimes clears in the center, forming a bull’s-eye pattern. In later stages, Lyme disease can cause lingering joint pain and inflammation, heart palpitations, and various neurological problems. Lyme disease, which is the most common tick-borne illness in the U.S., is transmitted by the bite of an infected black-legged tick, commonly known as a deer tick. But it’s important to be aware that the black-legged tick also can transmit other organisms, including those that cause anaplasmosis and babesiosis. Also, different ticks can transmit other illnesses, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiosis and tularemia. See your health care provider if you develop symptoms after being bitten by a tick — even if the symptoms have come and gone. Often, antibiotics may be able to treat the infection. — Dr. Bobbi Pritt, Infectious Diseases, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
Ticks are parasitic bugs that look for warm-blooded hosts, like you or your pets. A tick will attach to your skin using its mouth parts and remain there until it’s removed, which can be quite difficult because of how strongly they grip to your skin. Ticks bites are often harmless, but these creatures can also carry disease (such as Lyme disease) and a risk of infection. That’s why it’s important to remove ticks as soon as possible. In the process of removing a tick, you may find that the tick’s head remains stuck under or on top of your skin. If this happens, you need to have a game plan to remove the rest of the tick safely. Let’s cover ways to do so. Before you get started, cleanse the tick bite with rubbing alcohol so you don’t end up scraping bacteria into the area. TweezersYou can start by using fine-tipped tweezers to remove the tick’s head.
NeedleIf a tweezer doesn’t work, or if you don’t have one available, you can use a sterilized needle.
Unsafe methodsOther methods of taking out a tick’s head, such as scraping with a credit card, may introduce bacteria to the area of your tick bite. So, if you’re able, stick with sterilized first aid materials (like tweezers or a needle) to protect your body from infection. Don’t try to twist or jerk a tick’s head that’s underneath your skin. Removing a tick’s head from your pet’s skin may be a little trickier, especially if your furry friend has thick fur or hair.
You might have gotten the whole tick with your first attempt at removing it. If you can stomach it, look at the tick to see if it’s moving its legs. If it is, the tick’s head is still attached and you got the whole thing out. You may notice you’ve decapitated the tick in the process of removing it. The tick’s head may even still be visible partly outside your skin. If that’s the case, it’ll be easier to tell once you’ve completed the job. You’ll know you got the tick head out if you are able to see the tick’s head on the point of the needle or the edge of your tweezers. It’s not a pleasant thought, but it’s possible that the tick’s head will break apart under your skin. If that happens, you’ll need to gently tug under your skin’s surface to try to get all of it out. Don’t “dig” around under your skin, as that can actually spread bacteria. Leaving a tick’s head embedded in your (or your furry friend’s) skin doesn’t increase your risk of tick-borne disease. However, a tick’s head left embedded in your skin can increase your risk of infection. The tick’s head and mouth parts are covered in germs that you don’t want to leave inside your skin. When your skin heals over the tick bite, it may also create a hard bump over the area where the tick’s head was. The tick’s head may fall out by itself, or it might not. It’s best not to leave it up to chance. In general, you should always save the body of a tick that you removed for 30 days in case it needs to be tested later on. Ticks are wily and can sneak out of small spaces. You can suffocate a tick in a towel soaked in rubbing alcohol, and keep it in a small, sealed container (like an airtight glass jar) until the risk of any infections or complications has passed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends never crushing a tick with your fingers. There are some situations where, even after removing a tick, you need to seek attention from a medical professional. Be ready to call a doctor if:
The CDC says that symptoms of Lyme disease appear anywhere between 3 to 30 days after a tick bite, but on average it takes about 7 days. If you see a tick’s head lodged under your skin, your child’s skin, or your pet’s skin, it can give you a creepy-crawly feeling. However, that doesn’t mean it’s time to panic. You will most likely be able to remove the tick’s head with a little patience. If you aren’t able to completely remove a tick’s head, you should see a medical professional. A tick’s head left under skin doesn’t increase your risk of Lyme disease or other tick-borne illnesses, but it does increase your risk of some bacterial infections. |
How to remove a tick from a human
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