As soon as warm days come and the sun warms up, ticks wake up. They wait for us everywhere - in the park and garden, in a bouquet of wildflowers and in the middle of the metropolis. Therefore, every person should know how to remove a tick if you are “lucky” to encounter one. This information is especially useful for hunters, mushroom pickers and fishermen, and simply for hikers - that is, for those who often find themselves far from civilization. In this case, travelers will have to rely only on themselves.
If you are bitten by a tick - first steps
Advice. Special attention should be given to the armpits, ears, neck, abdomen and groin area. These areas with the thinnest skin and big amount The tick especially likes blood vessels.
In this case, you must go to the nearest emergency room as soon as possible to receive medical care. If this is not possible at the moment, you should try to remove the bloodsucker yourself using available means. At the same time, it is advisable not to tear it and pull it out alive.
What not to do
- squeezing out the bloodsucker;
- picking with a sharp object and other traumatic actions;
- cauterization with fire (match, cigarette);
- lubricating the tick with alcohol, gasoline, nail polish and other similar substances.
Attention. The latter method is dangerous because, under the influence of aggressive liquids that threaten life, the tick can relax its proboscis and all the blood, along with the pathogens, will be injected back.
There are several methods for extracting a bloodsucker, but not everyone knows about them. Therefore, below we suggest that you get acquainted with the safest and most effective of them.
Methods for removing a tick
It is especially difficult to pull out small ticks that have not yet drunk blood and have not grown enough in size. In this case, you will have to try especially hard and act very carefully and slowly.
Hand extraction
The tick should be placed in a container with a tight lid and taken for examination to identify infectious agents.
Removal with tweezers
Removing a bloodsucker with tweezers
The tick should not be tugged or pulled too hard. In the event of a rupture, the head will have to be removed, and this is a rather unpleasant procedure, often requiring the help of a physician.
Advice. Today in pharmacies you can freely purchase special tweezers for removing bloodsuckers. Such a device should be in every home.
Extraction with thread
Probably the most popular, but also the most time-consuming method. Requires some dexterity and skill. Convenient for removing large ticks. For getting good result Several conditions must be met:
With certain skills and the size of the tick is not too small, using a thread you can quickly pull out the bloodsucker without damaging it. This method is good if you don’t have tweezers at hand and the hospital is far away.
Set for twisting pliers
A tick remover should be in every first aid kit.
Removal with a syringe
There is another one interesting way removing the tick using a syringe. To implement it, you need to perform a few simple steps:
Removing a tick with a syringe is not always effective
You shouldn't rely too much on this method. It is effective only if the tick has not had time to penetrate deeply into the tissue. If the bloodsucker remains on the body for a long time, it is better to use a more reliable method.
Attention. By waiting for the tick to die, you will waste precious time, but if you are bitten, you cannot hesitate. This can cost not only your health, but also your life.
Therefore, you should not use oil or other fatty substances to remove the bloodsucker. There will be no benefit from this, and considerable harm can be done.
If the tick is not completely removed, what should you do?
Often, a person who encounters a tick for the first time begins to panic and get nervous, as a result of which he ruptures the bloodsucker when removing it. The severed head continues to infect the victim, since it is in the salivary glands that the maximum concentration of the pathogen is located.
You can try to remove the tick head at home. To do this, it is necessary to treat the affected area of skin with iodine to prevent further infection. Then take a regular sewing needle, sterilize it and carefully remove the head, like a splinter.
Advice. After the procedure, the wound should be thoroughly disinfected again and your hands should be washed well with soap and wiped with an antiseptic.
After removing the bloodsucker, the bite site must be disinfected
Tick season is in full swing. According to the Ministry of Health, more than 20 thousand Ukrainians suffer from bites from these animals every year. Everyone should know that if a tick bites you, you need to act quickly. tells how to remove a tick at home.
How to remove a tick: dispelling myths
Recently, Olga Loginova posted a picture on the popular Facebook network depicting instructions for removing ticks. This infographic has been shared by more than 5 thousand people.
But later it turned out that this life hack does not work. A family from near Kyiv tested it for themselves and recorded the process on video. The method didn't work.
How to remove a tick at home?
If the device is not at hand, you can remove the tick with your fingers. But before that, it’s better to wrap the big one and index fingers in gauze. Grab the tick with them closer to the surface of the skin and start twisting. While doing this, hold the animal perpendicular to the skin. You can also use tweezers.
How to remove a tick: oil
Exists folk method removing ticks using herbal or sunflower oil. Its essence is that, having poured liquid onto an animal, it begins to suffocate and leaves the body on its own. However, some doctors have a negative attitude towards this method, since the overlap respiratory tract tick can lead to its death under the skin. And in the process, the arachnid will have time to splash poison into the human body.
How to remove a tick yourself: thread
Pulled out, what to do next?
The tick was pulled out. But don't rush to rejoice. Now you need to carefully treat the wound to prevent infection. Medical alcohol (70%), cologne or iodine are suitable for this. Hands should be washed well with soap and also treated with an alcohol solution.
Part of the tick remained in the body. What to do?
If the animal's head remains under the skin, then do not panic. You can try to get it out with tweezers. Before this, you need to treat the affected area of skin again with alcohol or iodine. You can also remove animal remains using a needle. Take a sharp needle, heat it over the fire, process it and carefully remove the residue from the skin.
How to check?
Most reliable way check for infection - donate blood for analysis. However, blood can be examined for encephalitis or borreliosis only 10 days after the bite. Two weeks after a tick bite, test for antibodies (IgM) to the virus tick-borne encephalitis. For antibodies (IgM) to borrelia (tick-borne borreliosis) - in a month.
What to do with a tick:
- If the animal is already dead by the time it is removed from the skin, it should be burned or thrown into boiling water.
- If the tick is still alive, it can be tested in a laboratory to check for any infection. Place it in a clean vessel and submit it for analysis within two days.
Ticks are the main spreaders of a wide variety of diseases. Despite their tiny body size, nothing will stop them from infecting you with encephalitis, for example.
There are many different repellents and suits that will protect you in pest-infested areas. And these are forests and fields, where with the onset of spring and summer, people spend a lot of time preparing kebabs, picking berries, mushrooms and butterflies.
If an unwanted encounter does occur, you need to imagine how to properly remove this pest from your skin.
What happens if the tick is not removed? As already mentioned, they carry viruses and bacteria of various diseases. Among them there are such serious ones as encephalitis, borreliosis, hemorrhagic fever, relapsing fever, etc.
The size of a hungry pest is approximately 1 mm, so it is difficult to notice it, but after a couple of days of constant feeding, the tick increases in size to 2 cm. The wound from the bite will make itself felt in a few hours: it will itch and ache, and the damaged area will pull.
The best recommendation would be to go to the doctor, but the clinic is not always close. Therefore, let’s look at some of the most popular ways to remove ticks at home. Remember that you need to take this process seriously, because there is a chance of becoming infected with something dangerous.
It is also best not to kill the pest, but to take it to a local SES or clinic, where they will find out in the laboratory whether there are viruses in the bloodsucker.
You need to make a small loop and hook the pest with it. But under no circumstances grab the tick’s abdomen; grab onto the tick’s head, as close to the surface of the skin as possible. Tighten the knot a little and begin to gradually pull out the bloodsucker.
As soon as the skin is slightly stretched, it’s time to twist. Ticks usually bite into the epidermis in a clockwise direction, which means we need to do the opposite - counterclockwise.
You can use tweezers to remove the pest. There are tongs that are designed specifically for this purpose, but if you don’t have them nearby, regular ones will do.
When using this product, it is necessary to monitor the degree of pressure to avoid dividing the tick into two parts.
3. How to pull out with a syringe- You don’t have to panic right away, you won’t need a needle at all. A small syringe is taken and the area with the needle is cut out. The cutting surface should be smooth and even. Place this device tightly on the pest site to create a vacuum. After this, slowly begin to pump out the air. (Watch the experiment in the video.)
What not to do when deleting.
Don't forget about safety. All actions must take place in rubber gloves, the items used must be sterile.
You can go to the hospital even if the animal’s proboscis has not been removed, they will definitely do everything right.
What to do next?
First, make sure that you remove all parts of the bloodsucker from the skin, because otherwise after a while the wound will fester and a lot more problems will appear. After successfully removing the pest, you need to make sure that no bacteria gets into the wound.
To do this, the bite site must be washed with warm clean water, and then apply iodine or some antibacterial ointment.
Under no circumstances should you flush it down the toilet, because the water will not cause any harm to it, it will simply crawl out and continue hunting.
The sight of a tick crawling out of the toilet is not for the faint of heart, so it is advisable to burn it on the street or at home. You can try to crush the pest, but due to the strong chitinous cover, this may not give positive results.
It is necessary to place the culprit in a small jar with a damp piece of paper or cotton wool, so that during transportation you do not lose the main witness. They will conduct proper research and tell you about the presence or absence of the virus.
If the tick could not survive your actions to remove it from the skin, then even in the coming days there will be no knowledge of the disease, and a blood test will also not reveal anything.
You need to wait 7-10 days for the first symptoms to appear, so after a week, monitor the general condition of the body and donate blood. At the first signs of illness, you should immediately consult a doctor.
Preventive measures.
In order not to suffer when pulling out a bloodsucker, it is better to prevent its bite. To do this, you need to follow some rules that will help protect yourself and your pets from tick attacks.
It’s better to start by spraying repellent on your clothes so that the bloodsuckers don’t have the desire to stay on you long time. Buy repellents that are domestically produced, because they are designed specifically for our ticks.
Before going outside with your pet, you need to spray the fur with aerosol insecticides or drip special anti-mite drops onto the withers, or buy a collar that contains an effective insecticide. After walks, inspect your pet and comb it thoroughly.
These pests do not bite immediately as soon as they find a piece of skin, they will crawl and look for a more favorable piece.
Ticks love to bite soft, delicate skin, so after a walk you should first check behind the ears, under the knees, with inside elbow, neck, stomach, groin, armpits.
The female mite under human skin is capable of reproducing and feeding on tissues; the males usually disappear on their own after saturation.
How to remove a tick
When pulling out an insect, you need to follow the rules.
Pulling out an insect with your fingers is dangerous, since accidental crushing is possible, which poses a risk of infection; the same thing will happen when the bite site is treated with any means. An insect, feeling threatened, is able to inject toxins or crawl even deeper into the tissue layers.
There are several ways to remove a tick from a person’s body.
Syringe
How to pull it out correctly tick with a syringe? To do this, you need to purchase a new syringe at the pharmacy, then cut off its upper part as evenly as possible. The result is a device like the one in the photo. The cut part of the syringe needs to be pressed against the body as tightly as possible, then you need to pull the piston towards you, the insect will completely come out inside the device.
To remove a tick in this way, the liquid that it managed to release into the body also comes out with it. Before the procedure, you can lubricate the bite site with cream. Next, the place where the bloodsucker was located needs to be lubricated with a disinfectant.
For this method A jar or bottle is suitable, which you need to hold over the fire and place on the affected area, after a few minutes the insect will come out inside. This method is carried out using the same method as cupping for colds, however, a bruise may form at the site of the bite from the pressure of the vessel.
Tweezers
Harsh thread
After the procedure, the affected area should be washed with soap and water and treated with a disinfectant. The presented video shows step by step instructions to remove insects from the human body.
People who often go to the forest, fishing or hiking can buy at the pharmacy today, special device- ticker.
Tickler
This method can be dangerous; during suffocation, the insect can release the substance, feeling danger, which threatens infection. To make it easier to treat the bite site on the body, you can use a ring that should be placed around the bite site and pour oil inside it.
How to remove a tick in another way? It is better not to use tick removal at home yourself. The simplest and effective method, is to go to a medical facility. The specialists have everything necessary tool and disinfectants. Experienced specialist quickly and painlessly remove the insect by treating the bite site.
Among all the methods, you can choose the method that is suitable for each individual case on how to remove a tick at home, but it is best to prevent a possible attack on the skin.
To avoid accidental exposures, please follow the insect prevention guidelines. Clothing must cover the entire body and there should be no free access. When insects come into contact with a person, they do not immediately bite; they examine the entire warm-blooded organism, carefully selecting the required area to bite. This could be the groin area, head, ears, under the knee, in the folds of the skin.
Shoes should be closed, preferably so that pants can be tucked into the shoes. Before going into nature, you need to purchase special remedy for treating skin against bloodsuckers. It must be a repellent or acaricidal substance. These products protect well in dry weather.
After visiting nature, you need to carefully examine your clothes and body for ticks that have bitten or hidden in pockets and folds of clothing. The most effective preventive measure, is a vaccination against infected insects. However, this method can only be chosen by those people who regularly visit nature.
The easiest way for people who frequently go fishing, hunting or just going to the forest is to purchase special tweezers, which you can use to remove ticks from your friends, family members, pets and children.
The active season for ticks continues from mid-April - warm weather contributed to this early awakening. You can try to protect yourself from a tick, which is dangerous not so much through a bite as through possible infection with encephalitis.
You can save yourself from a tick even before it bites: the insect does not immediately dig into the skin, but spends several hours choosing a place. So, upon proper inspection, you may notice an insect - then you need to remove it as carefully as possible.
If you miss a bite and there is no medical facility nearby, you will have to remove the tick yourself. Use Sputnik's instructions on how to remove a tick yourself.
How to remove a tick?
- Use special tweezers to remove the tick - a hook that looks like a curved two-pronged fork. If you don’t have one at hand, you can try to get rid of the bug with simple tweezers or even your fingers (protected with gauze), although this is not the most correct option.
- The tick must be twisted out of the skin; you cannot pull it sharply - otherwise part of the insect may remain in the body.
- The body of the tick must be captured as close to its mouthparts as possible.
What to do after removing a tick?
- Disinfect the bite site with any suitable product - alcohol, iodine, cologne or another that can be applied to wound sites.
- Wash your hands thoroughly with soap. You can also use an antiseptic.
- If the head or proboscis of a tick remains in the skin, treat the wound with five percent iodine. If the remains of the insect do not fall out, then try to pull them out with a heated needle.
- See your doctor. On average, one in ten ticks is infectious, so you need to make sure there are no problems. It is necessary to undergo the necessary tests - however, not every day, but after some time.
They say, best treatment- prevention. To protect against bites, you should wear light-colored clothing. thick fabric, covering the body as much as possible, use repellents, periodically inspect trousers and jackets, and site owners should promptly cut down weeds and mow the grass.
