Tick bite

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Lyme disease

Deer and dog tick

Overview

Symptoms

Treatment

Prevention

Tick bite

Alternative Names:

Bite - tick

Do Not:

DO NOT try to burn the tick with a match or other hot object.
DO NOT twist the tick when pulling it out.
DO NOT try to kill, smother, or lubricate the tick with oil, alcohol, vaseline, or similar material.

Call immediately for emergency medical assistance if:

Call your doctor if you have not been able to remove the entire tick. Also call if you develop a rash, joint pain or redness, flu-like symptoms, or swollen lymph nodes following a tick bite.

Call 911 if you have any signs of severe headache, paralysis, trouble breathing, chest pain, heart palpitations, or other serious symptoms.

First Aid:

If a tick is attached to you, follow these steps to remove it.

Grasp the tick close to its head or mouth with tweezers or your fingernails. Pull it straight out with a slow and steady motion. Be careful not to leave the head embedded in the skin.
Clean the area thoroughly with soap and water.
Save the tick in a jar and watch carefully for the next week or two for signs of Lyme disease.
If all the parts of the tick cannot be removed, get medical help.

References:

Long, SS. Arachnids. In: Principles and Practice of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, 2nd ed., Elsevier; 2003; pp 1372-1373.

Review Date: 4/19/2005
Reviewed By: William D. Whetstone M.D., Division of Emergency Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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