Ticks

[Charlene]

So what is the right way to remove a tick? I've always heard you need to make sure you burn them after you remove them too.

[jason]

If you do not have a tick spoon, and to be honest, I know of no one who does, try using a bit of rubbing alcohol over the tick. This makes them a bit woozy and relaxed. then you can slowly, and very slowly, try pulling the tick with a pair of tweezers. You want to go slowly so the ticks head does not become detached from his body and lodged into the skin. Do not squeeze, crush or puncture the body of the tick. Use blunt tweezers.

[trader]

Get the tweezers as much between the head and your skin as you can. Pull fast and hard. That will help ensure a clean "break".

[Newanderthal]

Also, watch the area where the tick was attached during the next couple of days. If you get a round rash that looks like a bull's eye, go see a doctor. Actually, if you get bit by a tick and you are in an area that might have whitetail deer, go see a doctor. Tell them that you likely have Lyme Disease and would like to be treated. The treatment is a basic antibiotic. If you happen to end up with one of those doctors who isn't that bright and tells you that if you don't have a rash or don't test positive for Lyme Disease, please inform him/her that only one of the Connecticut Strain shows up on tests and only about half the cases of the disease even develop a rash.

[Luvoutdoors]

I didn't know that Newanderthal! I had heard that you could put liquid soap on a cottonball and smother the tick and it would back out. It didn't work though so we just use tweezers.

[faye]

I thought not all ticks carry Lyme disease. When I had a tick on my skin, I just use tweezers near to the mouth parts (and as close to the skin) and pull it out with a straight force but in a steady and gentle way. Afterwards I would clean the bitten area thoroughly with alcohol or another disinfectant.

[Charlene]

I've never even heard of a tick spoon, but I do like the idea of using rubbing alcohol. There are tons of white tail deer in my area and tons of ticks. How do they test for Lyme disease and what are the chances of a false negative? Is there a window in which you must be tested for it to show up as positive?

[DThewanderer]

I have heard that while burning the tick of might work that it is very dangerous. You would be much better of taking some of the other suggestions that you have heard here.

[DunandAway]

I've also heard of putting petroleum jelly on the tick. This causes them to smother and they will pull their head out of the skin and then you can dispose of them. Honestly, I've always just pulled them off and thrown them down the drain followed by a hot water bath. Then I disinfect the bite and place antibiotic ointment on it. Of course the tick has already had some of it's saliva in your bloodstream but at least it prevents localized infections. The tick that is supposed to carry Lyme disease is a deer tick which is extremely small (about the size of the end of an ink pen without the point out. Honestly, I would rather be treated and not need it than to not treat it and suffer with Lyme disease the rest of my life.

[wildmonger]

Ticks can be a problem. They like to crawl around before settling on a nice blood meal. Just flick 'em off at that point. In N. Carolina, I once had fifty or sixty walking around on my boots just on the edge of a major highway, not even ten feet off the road!
More commonly, you'll see one or two trespassing on your clothes in a threatening fashion. They look like little crabs. If their body's swollen to the size of a small dime, then you've been had, and the ticks head parts are already embedded like tree roots. To remove it, grab the body, and ever so gently over a few minutes, apply increasing pressure to separate it from your body. It's a miniature tug of war, because the tick wants to stay anchored with the same urge as a small boy wanting to eat a cheeseburger. You're encouraging it to let go, and if persistent, the tick will give up the struggle eventually - and won't leave any nasty body parts embedded in your skin to cause all kinds of havoc later, like infection.
Just keep telling it,"I'm bigger than you, and I'm going to show you who's boss around here!" Inevitably, he or she'll listen and pop out.
A glob of Vaseline will smother it, but that takes some time.
Lyme disease shows up most of the time without any sign of a tick, because the bite occurred months before and was not noticed. The rash which looks like an arrow target may be the first sign. Mental changes, arthritis and a host of other symptoms may result from that nasty little bite, and the only indication you need to ask for a blood test in the clinic is: a) were you outdoors in the last year? b) Are there ticks in your area? c) any rashes - but half the time, there'll be no rash.
good luck.