Tick Removal

[DRAFTSTUD]

Spring will be here soon and the ticks will soon be showing their heads. Here is a good way to get them off you, your children, or your pets. Give it a try.

Please forward to anyone with children... or hunters or dogs, or anyone who even steps outside in summer!!

A School Nurse has written the info below -- good enough to share -- And it really works!!

I had a pediatrician tell me what she believes is the best way to remove a tick. This is great, because it works in those places where it's some times difficult to get to with tweezers: between toes, in the middle of a head full of dark hair, testicles, etc.

Apply a glob of liquid soap to a cotton ball. Cover the tick with the soap-soaked cotton ball and swab it for a few seconds (15-20), the tick will come out on its own and be stuck to the cotton ball when you lift it away. This technique has worked every time I've used it (and that was frequently), and it's much less traumatic for the patient and easier for me.
Unless someone is allergic to soap, I can't see that this would be damaging in any way. I even had my doctor's wife call me for advice because she had one stuck to her back and she couldn't reach it with tweezers. She used this method and immediately called me back to say, "It worked!"

Please pass on. Everyone needs this helpful hint.

 

[mtmiller]

Bad idea. Pull it out.

 

[Oak]

To elaborate on miller's point, techniques like that have a tendency to make the tick regurgitate into the bite before it removes itself, increasing the chance of an infection from the bite.

 

[DRAFTSTUD]

eewwwwwwwwwwwww! Bad Idea!!!! Tick Puke! Do not follow E-mail instructions! John

 

[pa mt man]

Hang the f***ers!

Hanging Ticks

With the tick season upon us, this PediaTrick may help you safely remove one these critters from you or your children. With a piece of thread make a tiny loop or slip knot. Slide the loop over the tick's body to where the tick is attached to the skin. Tighten the loop so that it is snug. Then apply gentle traction on the thread, pulling straight back. Don't pull too hard.

In a minute or two the tick should release it's grasp. If all goes well, the tick shouldn't regurgitate its stomach contents into the wound. Once the tick is removed, wash the area well with soap and water.




How to get rid of them at home.

Tick-Eating Guinea Hen Weapon Against Lyme Disease
BELCHERTOWN, Mass. (CBS) ―



There's another summer health threat on the rise in Massachusetts and other states with tick populations -- Lyme disease.

Lyme Disease is spread by ticks, and it can be debilitating. Tiny ticks are barely noticeable to humans. But they survive by sucking blood.

Wayland police Officer Mark Wilkens, like many, was bit by a tick and now has Lyme diseases.

"I ached and broke out in sweats," he said. "It was just under my vest -- the bulls eye -- the typical identifier that you have Lyme disease. There's no real cure for it. It's just one of those things."

Because of a wet winter, Massachusetts is bracing for a bad tick season.

"There are just more ticks out there, and I think we are going to have a bumper crop of ticks this year," said Department of Public Health epidemiologist Dr. Alfred Demaria.

One woman has discovered a weapon that gets rid of the bugs by eating them.

"They've dropped off dramatically to the point where we no longer put flea and tick powder on the dog," said Karen Tetrault, who owns a farm with two llamas, a dog and a yard that used to be filled with ticks.

.

Tetrault is using guinea fowl -- an African bird that is a bit bigger than a chicken and has a very healthy appetite for all kinds of bugs, and worms -- to rid her yard of ticks.

"They see things that you and I wouldn't see," Tetrault explained. "Their eyesight is very good. They see even tiny things. They just take steps and as they go they gobble things up, and they do that everyday."

She has even trained them to come running when she rings a bell. Otherwise, they roam not far from their coupe, and all day long peck away at the tick population.

They even warn when a stranger is approaching.

"They will even let you know when the mailman is coming down or a salesman, or a mother-in-law."

So, they eat lots of ticks, they'll warn when an intruder comes near and they'll give fresh eggs. So what's the drawback?

Well there's one thing.

They're loud -- really loud.

"They talk a lot and when they do you can hear them," Tetrault said.

On Tetrault's 10 acres the noise isn't a problem. But she knows these birds may not be for everyone, especially for those who have nearby neighbors.

"If there's a concern about the noise, if everyone understood the benefits of them, maybe they would hear voices instead of noise," she said.

Guinea fowl breeders say the birds are inexpensive and low-maintenance. But you do have to make sure they have shelter and food and plenty of room to roam. http://wbztv.com/health/guinea.hens.guinea.2.748337.html



All my friends are getting these. I'm thinking about getting some too.
I hate ticks!

 

[snake river rufus]

Twisting them out might be a more descriptive answer than simply pulling them out. But any of the things (nail polish, hot match etc) that don't remove the tick in one fell swoop do increase the chance of infection.

 

[Jezz]

My wife has Lyme and has been battling it for 2-1/2 years. DO NOT use any of the techniques suggested, except tweezers. Grab the tick by the HEAD and pull it out. If you pinch your skin in the process you are doing it right. ANY sign of rash, redness, bulls eye call your Dr imediately and get antibiotics. Not worth the risk, trust me I see it everyday what Lyme, erichliosis and babesia can do to someone's life.

Oak is right and Miller are right.

 

[JoseCuervo]

Take a knife and remove the tick and all the flesh within 1" of the tick. Works every time....

 

[Jezz]

Since you must find humor in something that has ruined so many people lives, hope you hit an artery in the process. The bright side is you got your post count up with your quality drivel.

 

[DRAFTSTUD]

Jess, I'll take the hit on this one. It was sent to me and I had no idea that ticks puked doing this technique. Good Luck to your Wife. John

 

[Jezz]

Jess, I'll take the hit on this one. It was sent to me and I had no idea that ticks puked doing this technique. Good Luck to your Wife. John

Nope, not on you. Education is important. Be amazed at how many Drs don't have a firm understanding of the disease. I just didn't think his comment was appropiate or brought anything useful to the topic, maybe I read into it too much. Just been hell for several years and I am not the one sick!

 

[camo308]

Use a tick removal tool instead of tweezers.

You can squeeze the tick with the tweezers and end up with the same problem as when you put soap or whatever on them to get them to back out. The internal fluids of the tick are forced back into the bite.

The removal tool is has a thin "V" shape and that is slipped between the tick and skin. Light to moderate lifting pressure forces the tick to release - mouth parts, head and all. Used it for myself, my family, my dog and an entire scout troop with almost 100% success in more than 50 uses.

You can get them at REI or Cabela's, there are a couple of different designs but they incorporate the "V". The cost between $2 and $5.

Don't leave home without one!

(Or you can perform surgery like Jose and end up at the plastic surgeon later...)

 

[mtmiller]

...or in a "pinch", find an index finger and thumb and pull it out.....

A couple years ago I sat under a tree trying to call in a gobbler. Didn't get the bird, but did sweep away over 20 ticks. None stuck it to me, but my skin was crawling all day.

 

[schmalts]

Use the home made permethrin stuff I posted last year on your clothes. You can make what costs 9$ in a store for about 50 cents. I had Lymes more than once... that was enough for me. Have not had one tick in me since using the permethrin spray on clothes

 

[schmalts]

here is the stuff to get. It comes 10% strong, so cut it with water to get .5% (20:1) and spray on clothes, let dry, and the clothes are good for a couple weeks. The .5% solution can be used for bug spray on plants, bugs around the house, ant hills, and I even killed ground hornets by pouring it down the hole and covering the hole up. It acts as a nerve agent on bugs. It is waaaaaay cheaper making your own because of packaging and FDA testing but .5% is .5%. the stuff already made up and sold for clothing is just that, .5%
http://www.horse.com/Martin-10-Perm...-ED1F-DE11-B4E3-0019B9C043EB&mr:referralID=NA

 

[DRAFTSTUD]

Yes, That is the same stuff I put on the horses and mules. Works good and doesn't break the bank. John