I have a tick bite? What do I do?

05~31~19

Ouch! That bugger bit me! What do I do now!?! You're out enjoying a day in the park and you come home to find that you have a tick bite. What do you do?

First, here's what not to do...

WHAT NOT TO DO:

DO NOT burn its bum with a match!
DO NOT rub it with vaseline!
DO NOT try to remove it by applying essential oils topically!
DO NOT grab it by the bum and rip it off of you!
DO NOT crush a tick with your fingers!
DO NOT leave it attached to you and wait for it to detach on its own!
DO NOT throw away the tick!

All of these will actually cause the tick to regurgitate (vomit) inside of you. This increases the risk of transmission of tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease, Ehrilicia, Bartonella, and Babesia, just to name a few. And you don't want to throw away the evidence, so don’t throw away that tick.

So, how do you remove a tick properly?

FOLLOW THESE STEPS:

DO use fine-tipped tweezers or a tick removal tool to grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible.
DO pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don’t twist or jerk the tick; this can cause the mouth-parts to break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, remove the mouth-parts with tweezers. If you are unable to remove the mouth easily with clean tweezers, leave it alone and let the skin heal.
DO thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water (after removing the tick).
DO place the tick in a ziplock bag with a cotton ball that has a few drops of water on it or immediately freeze the bag.
DO contact your doctor immediately if you develop a rash, fever, or flu-like symptoms within a few weeks of removing a tick. Be sure to tell the doctor about your recent tick bite, when the bite occurred, and where you most likely acquired the tick.

Why am I saving the tick?

What if you start having weird symptoms? What if you were bit in an area that has a high prevalence of tick-borne illness? What if you are just scared s*!#less that that tick may have just given you Lyme + co-infections? Well, you can send you tick off for testing so you can sleep at night!

HERE'S THE SKINNY:

Tick Report offers expedited testing on ticks.
IGeneX offers fee based tick testing.
Ticknology offers fee based tick testing.
The Bay Area Lyme Alliance offers free testing! But the results can take a while. So if you are in a rush use one of the other options listed.

Just remember that you may never even know that you have been bit by a tick. They can be as small as the period at the end of this sentence. If you would like more information about the symptoms of tick-borne illness, visit the Lyme disease section of this website or give our office a call.

THANKS FOR READING! PLEASE REACH OUT WITH ANY QUESTIONS AND BE SURE TO CHECK remedy health OUT ON INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, AND PINTEREST.

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