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I remember standing in line at a coffee shop, after walking some dogs on a nature trail. I felt a sharp pain on my hip flexor and knew right away it was a tick
by kaycebasques 7y ago
I remember standing in line at a coffee shop, after walking some dogs on a nature trail. I felt a sharp pain on my hip flexor and knew right away it was a tick bite, even though I had never had one before. I rushed into the bathroom and lo and behold, it was a tick. In a panic I asked all the women in the coffee shop if they had tweezers. They must have thought I had a screw loose. None of them did so I rushed home to pull it off. I kid you not, as I pulled it, I heard its jaws (or whatever) snap. P.S. you don’t need to burn them unless they’ve already burrowed.
- narag 7y agoOil. Edit: I had a scary experience. After rain I was hunting in the woods with bushes a metre tall, shotgut over the head to avoid accidents. Then a snake hiss ahead, tried to turn right, another snake hiss that way, same to left and... same back. I panicked and got out of the bushes as fast as I could, I was panting. Then I noticed I was covered by hundreds of ticks. I shouted and my father came alarmed. He managed to brush all of them except one that I found at home. It took my mother about ten seconds to take it off with olive oil.
- kaycebasques 7y agoSo you just rub olive oil on it?
- narag 7y agoYes. We used some chemical powders for the dogs. I thought the same was going to be used for me too but, to my surprise the oil was very effective. The bug seemed to dislike it as much as I disliked the bug. It loosened the grip very quickly.
- refurb 7y agoMy understanding is removal by gripping the mouth parts is the only safe way to remove a tick. Coating them in oil blocks their oxygen exchange, so they release, but sometimes they vomit back into the bit when they do.
- narag 7y agoThat seems correct. In this particular case it was very recent so it hardly had anything to vomit.
- sideshowb 7y agoI believe this is not advised nowadays as oil makes the tick more likely to vomit, increasing risk of infection.
- bryanlarsen 7y agoI had dozens of ticks as a kid. Lyme disease hadn't spread to Canada yet, so it wasn't a big deal. I never once felt them bite; they produce an anesthetic so you don't feel it. Sometimes you could feel them crawling on you, but most of the time you didn't even feel that. And you didn't hear the jaws snap when you pulled it off, you heard the mouth parts tearing. You have to be careful pulling a tick off or the mouth parts will stay in your skin, causing irritation and inflammation.
- nicolaslem 7y agoYou should avoid pulling, instead hold it with a tool and turn it. After about two or three turns it usually comes right off.
- nate_meurer 7y agoI've heard of such a tool, but never seen one. Otherwise, twisting a tick using tweezers or your fingers is a great way to break its head off under your skin.
- _Microft 7y agoThere are "tick cards", sized like a credit card with narrowing cuts which you move long the tick until it comes off. Also very practical. https://www.amazon.de/s?k=tick+card https://www.amazon.de/s?k=tick+card
- tacotime 7y agoI've started to see "Tick Tornados" in local stores in the NE US. Have not used one but they seem to get good reviews.
- Darkphibre 7y agoI can confirm. I had a tick on my shoulder, which tore off. We didn't realize and the skin healed over, the mandibles eventually dissolved, and I was left with an 'air' pocket under my skin I could play with for the next 20 years.
- Causality1 7y agoNobody in the shop was carrying a multitool? Must be Europe or California.
- kaycebasques 7y agoEven though this comment is being downvoted funny enough Causality1 was correct. It was California.
- creato 7y agoI have multiple multitools and none of them have a tool suitable for grabbing ticks. The pliers are the closest, and probably aren't precise enough.
- Causality1 7y agoTicks hold tight enough most tweezers will slip off them rather than pull them out. Needlenose pliars work best.
- morley 7y agoI was told that if you find a tick on you, you should keep the bug in case you need to have it tested for Lyme.
- ceejayoz 7y agoI did that, and was told by the doc there's minimal chance of transfer unless the tick is attached for 24h.
- bduerst 7y agoYep. Put it between two pieces of scotch tape to prevent it from getting away.
- chidg 7y agoElsewhere in this discussion someone who deals with these samples has said that the scotch tape is a problem for the lab technicians.