How To Properly Remove A Tick

I found out this weekend that there are many in the medical field who DO NOT KNOW how to remove a tick. There is a huge population of nurses who know very little about removing a tick and even less about Lyme Disease symptoms. Since May is Lyme Disease Awareness month, what better way to promote awareness than to teach you how to properly remove a tick...and YES, it does make a difference.

"The recommended way to remove an attached tick has changed in recent years. Researchers have found that Lyme disease germs are usually in the tick’s gut rather than in its mouth. Therefore, getting all the mouthparts out of the skin is not considered as important as keeping the tick from injecting more germs from its gut. After a tick has been feeding for a few hours, it regurgitates germs from its gut into the bite site. Thus, it can take several hours for a tick to transmit Lyme disease. Remove ticks promptly. Some ticks have germs in their saliva and can transmit Lyme and other diseases as soon as they bite.

The old methods of burning the tick with a hot match, or covering it with nail polish, Alcohol, lighter fluid, or other chemicals, can cause the tick to vomit more lyme bacteria into the bite site. Using fingers or blunt tweezers to remove it can squeeze the tick’s abdomen and also inject more bacteria into a person. A research study found that all these methods make a person more likely to contract lyme disease. Remove ticks with fine-pointed tweezers, available at some drug stores, or a tick remover tool, available on the internet or from the Lyme Association of Greater Kansas City. It is difficult to remove the tiny nymphs with tweezers without squeezing the tick’s body. Nymphs cause most cases of lyme disease.

The safest way to remove a tick is by sliding something under it, such as a credit card (which doesn’t always work) or a tick remover. Grasp the tick as close to the mouth (the point of attachment) as possible and pull it straight out slowly, allowing the tick about a minute or 2 to release itself. It doesn’t need to be turned or twisted out. If mouth parts are left in the skin, they can be removed with a sterile needle or by a doctor. If they are not removed, they will work their way out of the body in a few days, but may cause itching. If you are camping and must remove a tick by hand, use a leaf or tissue to avoid touching the tick with your bare hands. Don’t squeeze the gut. After removing a tick, disinfect the bite site and tool, and wash your hands with antibacterial soap.

A camping first aid kit should include a tick removal tool, a needle, rubbing alcohol, cotton balls, antibacterial soap, and a container or small zipper bag to save a tick for testing. You may also want tape to seal the container securely. after removing a tick, call the doctor. Some physicians prescribe antibiotics for tick bites; others wait to see if disease symptoms develop. Ilads (international lyme and associated diseases society) doctors recommend a minimum of 6 weeks of antibiotic treatment for an em rash or other early symptoms of LYME disease, because LYME can become chronic and debilitating with shorter treatment courses. (see www.Ilads.org) .

Lyme blood tests within a few days of a tick bite are not useful, since it usually takes a person several weeks to develop antibodies. Diagnosis is based on signs, symptoms, and exposure to ticks.

The Lyme Association of greater Kansas City sells a tick removal kit in a plastic pill bottle. It contains a tick remover tool, instructions, 2 alcohol wipes, a tick identification card, and a tiny zipper bag to save the tick for testing. People have told us they like the tick remover tool because it is easier than tweezers for removing tiny young nymphal ticks safely and is also good for removing adult ticks. It also works well for removing ticks from pets. It can be ordered by sending a check for $5 made out to: “LYME ASSOCIATION” AND MAILED TO:
LYME ASSOCIATION, P.O. BOX 25853, OVERLAND PARK, KS 66225
WHAT TO DO WITH THE TICK
AFTER REMOVAL, YOU MAY WANT TO SAVE THE TICK FOR IDENTIFICATION AND TESTING. CERTAIN TICKS ARE MORE LIKELY TO CARRY CERTAIN DISEASES. BLACK-LEGGED (DEER) AND LONE STAR TICKS CARRY LYME DISEASE IN THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN STATES. TICK TESTS FOR DISEASES, ALTHOUGH NOT 100% RELIABLE, ARE MORE ACCURATE THAN HUMAN TESTS, WHICH ARE NOT VERY RELIABLE, ESPECIALLY IN THE CASE OF LYME DISEASE. HOWEVER, A TICK CAN SOMETIMES HAVE A NEGATIVE TEST AND STILL BE CARRYING LYME DISEASE. A POSITIVE TEST PROBABLY INDICATES THAT THE TICK IS CARRYING THE DISEASE, BUT IT DOESN’T ALWAYS MEAN THAT THE TICK TRANSMITTED THE DISEASE. SOMETIMES AN INFECTED TICK THAT IS ATTACHED FOR ONLY A SHORT TIME DOES NOT TRANSMIT LYME
BACTERIA.

WHEN YOU REMOVE A TICK, USE A MAGNIFYING GLASS TO LOOK AT THE COLOR OF THE LEGS. IF THE LEGS ARE BLACK, IT IS PROBABLY A DEER TICK. IF THEY ARE RED OR ORANGE, IT IS PROBABLY A LONE STAR TICK. BOTH CAN TRANSMIT LYME DISEASE, BUT LONE STAR TICKS OFTEN CARRY A STRAIN THAT IS MORE LIKELY TO PRODUCE NEGATIVE ANTIBODY TESTS.

TICKS MAY BE SENT TO BE TESTED FOR DISEASES TO: IGENEX LABS, PALO ALTO, CA (800) 832-3200; MDI, MT. LAUREL, N.J. (877) 269-0090; OR NJ LABS, NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ (732) 249-0148. CALL FOR MAILING INSTRUCTIONS. THEY PREFER LIVE TICKS BUT WILL TEST DEAD TICKS. DON’T KILL IT WITH ALCOHOL, SMASH IT, OR BURN IT IF YOU WANT IT TESTED. THE TICK MUST BE KEPT MOIST IN THE CONTAINER WITH A FEW BLADES OF GRASS OR A COTTON BALL DAMPENED WITH WATER. AS OF MARCH, 2004, THE COST OF TICK TESTING IS:

IGENEX $55 FOR LYME, EHRLICHIA, BABESIA, OR BARTONELLA ($220 IF YOU WANT ALL 4). IF BITTEN BY SEVERAL TICKS, THEY TEST UP TO 20 TICKS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE.

MDI $155 FOR LYME OR EHRLICHIA, $127 FOR BABESIA; BARTONELLA TESTING IS ALSO AVAILABLE.

NJ LABS $60 FOR LYME, OR $175 IF THE TICK HAS BEEN DEAD OVER 2 WEEKS OR KILLED WITH ALCOHOL. THEY DON’T TEST FOR CO-INFECTIONS, JUST LYME.

IF YOU PREFER TO DISPOSE OF THE TICK, YOU CAN KILL IT BY PUTTING IT IN A CONTAINER AND THEN ADDING A COTTON BALL SOAKED IN RUBBING ALCOHOL. YOU CAN THEN DISPOSE OF THE DEAD TICK IN THE TRASH. TICKS DON’T DROWN. FLUSHING IT DOWN THE TOILET WILL NOT KILL IT."

(You can find this article and more at the Lyme Association of Greater Kansas City.)

Fight Lyme Disease...Ignorance Is Contagious!