Take precautions when removing ticks

Dr. Elizabeth Pinkston / News Virginian
Published: May 18, 2007

What looked like the part of the tick that the doctor couldn't get may have been the tiny little bit of cement that the tick leaves behind after the mouth parts are removed. Even if it was a tiny bit of the mouth no harm is likely to have been done if the tick was attached less than 10 hours. If you do not know how long the tick was attached, you should keep a record of the date of the tick bite. If he develops any fever or rash in the next two weeks, he should be evaluated for possible Lyme Disease or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. These are both tick-transmitted diseases that will do no harm if antibiotics are used promptly.

There are several ways to remove ticks and many ways not to remove them. There are actually recently-patented notched tick-removal devices. You might ask around to see if anyone sells them, because you may need one again as the summer progresses.

The most important thing you can do if you live in a tick-infested area is to check everyone twice a day for ticks. At the end of the day, after coming in from outside, and certainly before going to bed, you should check the entire body and hair, particularly areas that ticks like most such as the neck, behind and in the ears and as well as behind the knees, in the belly button, under the arms, and in the groin, or occasionally between the toes. You should do this again in the morning in case you missed one the night before. Also check clothing as well as pets for ticks.

A tick is best removed by using a fine-tip pair of tweezers, or better yet, a notched tick-removal device if you have one. Take the tweezers and firmly, but gently, grasp the tick at the base where it enters the skin and pull up without twisting. The entire tick should come off. Do not grasp the tick in the middle because it will break in half and be much more difficult to get out. Do not worry about a tiny bit of mouthpart left in the skin (although what you think is mouth part may only be the black cement which has attached the tick.) Once the tick has been removed the residual part of the mouth cannot spread disease.

Ways NOT to remove ticks include using Vaseline (supposedly to smother it and make if fall off), kerosene, liquid soap, hot matches or nail polish. These will prolong the time the tick is attached and irritate the tick so it is more likely to inject its disease-producing venom.

When you pull off the tick, you may discard it after killing it. You do not need to save it for identification. The labs would be overwhelmed with all the ticks and the identification is not all that reliable anyway.

After removing the tick, you should clean the area thoroughly and apply an antibiotic ointment such as bacitracin. Then watch for signs of infection. The area itself may remain red and hard for days to even weeks; this is part of an inflammatory response to the tick. However, if there is an increasingly large area of redness and tenderness, you should see the doctor. Also, if there is a rash developing and spreading from around the site of the tick bite, you should see the doctor. Any fever that develops within two weeks of a tick bite should be investigated by a doctor to make sure it is not caused by a tick-transmitted disease. Although there are many viral illnesses in the summer months that can cause fever, these diseases are generally harmless, but those caused by a tick bite can be quite serious, even lethal, so it is important to check it out. Good luck tick picking!

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