Ticks are tiny, bloodsucking parasites that often lurk in leaf litter and thick, low-lying vegetation. They may carry diseases such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever or Lyme disease. Keeping your skin covered in possible tick-infested areas does a great deal to help reduce the chance of contracting one of these diseases, but one should always inspect one's body carefully after passing through an area that may have been infected by ticks, If a tick is found, it should be removed immediately.
Instructions
1. Put on latex gloves to protect your hands from contact with any potentially diseased excretions from the tick. If latex gloves are not available, use whatever you can--a paper towel, a tissue, or dishwashing gloves might help.
2. Grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible with a pair of fine-tipped tweezers. Keep constant pressure on the tick as you pull it up steadily; don't yank. The tick may come away from your skin cleanly, but it's very common for the body to come away while its head and mouth parts, or the mouth parts alone, remain embedded in your skin.
3. Extract the tick's embedded head or mouth parts, just as if they were a splinter, by using either the fine-tipped tweezers or a needle. If you can't remove the mouth parts on your own, contact a physician and inquire whether it's safe to leave them in place. According to the Lyme Disease Foundation, some physicians hold that the mouth parts will come out on their own as skin cells naturally slough away.
4. Place the tick in a zip-close plastic bag and freeze it, marking the date of the bite and bite location on the body on a slip of paper, then putting the paper in the bag with the tick. The Lyme Disease Foundation recommends that you call a doctor to find out whether or not you should seek further medical treatment.
5. Swab the bite area thoroughly with alcohol or another disinfectant. Apply a band-aid or other covering to help protect the wound, then remove your gloves and wash your hands with soap and water.
Tags: mouth parts, your skin, come away, Disease Foundation, fine-tipped tweezers