Everyone and their Great Aunt Edith seem to have friendly advice on how to remove a tick. The trick is knowing how to sort the myths from the facts—getting tick removal wrong could be dangerous. For example, burning a tick with a match and painting over it with nail polish are not safe ways to remove ticks (no matter what Aunt Edith says). Methods such as these can increase the risk of contracting Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. So, let’s take a look at how to remove a tick the right way.
The Importance of Using Safe Tick Removal Techniques
The proper way to remove a tick is unlike removing any other type of insect from the body. While you can simply brush away most bugs, a tick attaches to the body, bites the skin, inserts a barbed feeding tube, and begins drinking blood. Ticks differ from most biting bugs in that they burrow into the skin and remain attached to the body even after biting. Because many ticks carry diseases, they can pass these diseases to their human host while attached. Certain unsafe removal methods can cause the tick to salivate and regurgitate into the bite site, which may increase the risk of disease transmission. This is just one reason why it's essential to learn how to remove a tick safely.What Are the Incorrect Tick Removal Methods?
As noted, removing a tick improperly can be even more damaging than leaving the tick to disengage on its own. In addition, it can increase your chance of contracting a tick-borne disease and infection. The following methods are NOT the proper way to remove a tick:- Applying heat to the tick’ body with a hot nail or match.
- Covering the tick with petroleum jelly, alcohol, nail polish, or gasoline.
- Killing the tick while it’s still attached to the skin.
- Crushing, squeezing, twisting, or puncturing the tick.
- Handling the tick body with bare hands.
Proper Tick Removal Methods
While you may be eager to remove a tick from your body or your child’s body as quickly as possible, it’s important to have the right supplies on hand first. Here’s what you’ll need:- Pointy tweezers – Choose tweezers with a pointed tip, not square. Your typical eyebrow tweezers likely aren’t pointy enough and might tear the tick’s body.
- Rubbing alcohol or soap and water – You will use this to clean the site thoroughly once the tick is removed.
- Clean the area surrounding the tick bite with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.
- Take your pointed tweezers and place the point down into the skin so you can grasp the insect as closely as possible to the tick’s head.
- Use slow, firm motion and apply steady pressure to pull the tick straight up and out of the skin—avoid jerking or twisting. If the tick breaks, make sure to go back to the bite site to remove the remaining head. If you are unable to remove the head, seek medical attention.
- Once removed, avoid handling the tick with bare hands. Use the tweezers to place the tick’s body into a container with a blade of grass if you wish to keep it alive to send away for testing. Or safely dispose of the tick by flushing it down the toilet.
- Use rubbing alcohol or soap and water to clean the bite area once again.