Removing a tick with a tweezers. Courtesy CDC

COUNTY NEWS RELEASE

If you find a tick attached to your skin, remove it as soon as possible. Do not wait to go to a healthcare provider to remove the tick. Delaying tick removal to get help from a healthcare provider could increase your risk of contracting a disease spread through tick bites, known as tickborne diseases.

Follow these steps to remove a tick:

1. Using clean, fine-tipped tweezers, grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible. If fine-tipped tweezers are unavailable, use regular tweezers or your fingers to grasp the tick. 
2. Grasp the tick close to the skin’s surface to avoid squeezing the tick’s body.
3. Pull the tick away from the skin with steady, even pressure. Don’t twist or jerk the tick. This can cause the tick’s mouthparts to break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, your body will naturally push the mouthparts out over time as your skin heals. You can also remove the mouthparts with tweezers. If you cannot remove the mouthparts easily with tweezers, leave them alone.
4. Dispose of the live tick by taking one of these steps:
   1. place it in a sealed container;
   2. wrap it tightly in tape;
   3. flush it down the toilet; or
   4. put it in alcohol.
   5. Do not crush the tick with your fingers.
5. After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with soap and water, rubbing alcohol, or hand sanitizer.
6. If you find a tick attached to you, there may be other ticks on your body. Do a careful tick checkto look for other ticks and promptly remove them.

A word of caution: Do not use petroleum jelly, heat, nail polish, or other substances to try and make the tick detach from the skin. This may agitate the tick and force infected fluid from the tick into the skin.

Check out the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Tick Bite Bot – A tool to assist people in removing attached ticks and seeking health care, if appropriate, after a tick bite. The online mobile-friendly tool asks a series of questions covering topics such as tick attachment time and symptoms. Based on the user’s responses, the tool then provides information about recommended actions and resources. Find the tool on the CDC website: https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/after-a-tick-bite/index.html 

How ticks spread disease

Ticks transmit pathogens that cause disease through the process of feeding:

• Depending on the tick species and its stage of life, preparing to feed can take from 10 minutes to 2 hours. When the tick finds a feeding spot, it grasps the skin and cuts into the surface.
• The tick then inserts its feeding tube. Many species also secrete a cement-like substance that keeps them firmly attached during the meal. The feeding tube can have barbs that help keep the tube in place.
• Ticks can also secrete small amounts of saliva with anesthetic properties so that the animal or person can’t feel that the tick has attached itself. If the tick is in a sheltered spot, it can go unnoticed.
• Ticks suck blood anywhere from minutes to days, depending on the tick species. If the host animal has a bloodborne infection, the tick will ingest the pathogens with the blood.
• Small amounts of saliva from the tick may also enter the skin of the host animal during the feeding process. If the tick contains a pathogen, the organism may be transmitted to the host animal in this way.
• After feeding, most ticks drop off and prepare for the next life stage. At their next feeding, they can transmit an acquired disease to the new host.

Symptoms of Tickborne Diseases

Many tickborne diseases can have similar signs and symptoms. If you get a tick bite and develop the symptoms below within a few weeks, see your healthcare provider.

The most common symptoms of tick-related illnesses include:

• Fever/chills. All tickborne diseases can cause fever.
• Aches and pains. Tickborne diseases can cause headache, fatigue, and muscle aches. People with Lyme disease may also have joint pain.
• Rash. Lyme disease, Southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI), Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), ehrlichiosis, and tularemia can cause distinctive rashes.