What to Do With a Tick Bite - Learn to Remove a Tick in 7 Easy Steps

Ticks are a bunch of tiny insects and their main source of food is the blood of animals which includes humans. Ticks live in tall grasses, trees, leaf litter, shrubs and sometimes in your own backyard. Ticks can't fly or jump to attach themselves to the host's body. They wait till a suitable host walks by before they grasp the fur or skin of the host. Ticks have the amazing ability to dig into the host's skin to suck blood without detection as it does not cause any pain to the host in the early stages. The average time a soft-bodied tick stays on the host's skin is a couple of hours but the hard-bodied tick can stay on the host's skin for up to 2 weeks.

Although it is very rare to contract disease from ticks, they have been known to pass on the following disease to man:

- Babesiosis
- Rocky mountain spotted fever
- Lyme disease
- Human Granulocytic Ehrlichiosis (HGE)
- Human Monocytic Ehrlichiosis (HME)
- Colorado tick fever
- Relapsing fever
- Q fever
- Tick paralysis
- Tularemia

The type of disease contracted depends on the location, type of tick, duration of the tick's attachment to the host's skin and season of the year.

How To Get Rid Of Ticks Yourself

1. Apply some disinfectant like isopropyl alcohol to sterilize the tick bite region.
2. Wear a pair of PVC gloves if possible and use a pair of forceps or tweezers to clench the tick close to the skin of it's head. Be careful not to twist, jolt or crush the tick.
3. Apply a constant amount of pressure to pull the tick out until it lets go.
4. Use a sterilized needle to remove the tick's head or any other body part that got stuck in the skin.
5. Apply some antibiotic lotion onto the bite wound and area around it.
6. Clean your hands thoroughly with disinfectant soap like Dettol to kill any traces of bacteria on your hands and fingers.
7. If possible, store the removed tick into a container and bring it to a doctor for identification.

When To Visit A Doctor

- You cannot remove the tick or part of the tick from the skin.
- You develop a fever, rash, headache, muscle pains, joint pains or flu-like symptoms 2 to 14 days after the tick bite.
- You develop widespread rashes 2 to 14 days after the tick bite.
- You develop redness, pus, swelling or yellow drainage from the tick bite wound 1 to 2 days after the tick bite.
- You develop a red-ring or a bull's eye rash around the tick bite wound 3 to 30 days after the tick bite.
- You have difficulty moving your legs.
- You feel sickly and want to make sure your sickness is not related to your tick bite.