HELP!!! I found a tick on my husband. How do you remove them from the body safely?

Question

My husband and I were camping this last weekend in Lewes, DE

Answer 1

Very carefully using tweezers, get a hold of the tick as close to the skin as possible so you get the head and turn slowly counterclockwise and while tyurning pull gently up should come out..
if the head breaks off you will need to try to rub area with a nail file or other straight edge to drag the head out

clean area thoroughly with alcohol and apply antiboitoic ointment - neosporin etc and watch for a few days, clean daily

if it festers up or gets larger redded area contact your doctor.

I have removed many from my husband, live in the country and so far we have done alright..

and those stupid ticks get in the hardest to find areas..lol

Answer 2

Go to an emergency room and have them remove it. They'll do it in a second and probably won't even bother billing you for such a small thing. If you try to do it yourself, you could leave a part of the tick (probably the tiny head) stuck under the skin, in which case, it would grow a new body and you'd have to start all over again and would definitely need a doctor. Best to manage it the right way now. Oddly enough, you could probably get a vet or vet technician to take care of it, too, if you happen to know one.

By the way, Vidal is right - ticks carry Lyme disease, a lifelong illness that can be quite awful - make sure that no matter what, your husband gets tested AS SOON AS POSSIBLE for this so that he can get treatment before symptoms (which can sometimes take years to develop) begin to take a toll.

Answer 3

Light a match, blow out the flame, put the hot part very close to the tick. The tick should move away from the heat then grab it.

Might try some rubbing alcohol on a Q tip.

Or if you pull very slowly you might be able to remove it. Just don't jerk it out. The head will break off the body and my result in an infection.

Answer 4

DO NOT use a match!!! I have done a lot of research on this because I just moved to a place that has a lot of ticks. Get a good pair of tweezers a firmly grab at the base of the tick( if it has the sac it's a little harder) Don't grab the sac. Pull straight up. Try and get the whole thing. Place it in a jar so that in the future,if it needs to be tested for Lyme disease)Clean area with hydrogen peroxide. Good Luck!

Answer 5

I just read an article about this last week. It said NOT to use a match, or flame or anything else. That those things could cause it to burrow in deeper. It said just to get some tweezers, get a good hold on it and pull gently but firmly. Check the tick once it is removed to see if it looks whole. If not, you should take him to the doctor. Also watch for symptoms of Lyme disease.

Answer 6

Hold an alcohol prep pad or a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol on it for 2-3 minutes. Grab the tick on it's head with a tweezer, and pull. If the tick is too deeply embedded, or if there are still "pieces" in after you pull, try to get all the pieces out. You CAN put some Neosporin on it and cover with a band-aid overnight, but you wanna get that sucker out ASAP. Seek medical attention immediately if signs of Lyme disease or infection are present. Good luck!

Answer 7

Light a lighter and just let the flame flow free until the lighter's tip gets to hot to touch then slowly and carefully take the tip of the lighter to the but of the tick. But better yet just go to the doctor and have him do it because tick's commonly carry lime disease and rocky mountain fever disease along with other things and your husband may want to get checked out for these diseases as a precaution.

Answer 8

Use tweesers to pull the tick from the body. If the mouth or other parts of the tick stay on the body, remove them as well. Wash the bite with soap and water.

DO NOT BURN THE TICK OFF.

Answer 9

When I had a tick, in a very bad are, I used tweezers and a knife to pull it out. Then I heated up the knife till the tip got red hot and stuck it in the hole. Most people probably don't want to do that though, so try using a match, or something to get it to back out. Remember to thoroghly disinfect the area afterwords, many people don't and then they get infections.

Answer 10

Probably the most correct answer's can be found at Lyme.org's site - which is dedicated to helping prevent the spread of tick borne illnesses. Their page has instructions and precautions. They do a better job explaining it than I could, so here's the link:

http://www.lyme.org/ticks/removal.html