How to remove a tick from your skin
If the tick is embedded in a hard-to-reach place, ask another person for help.
- Grasp the tick with tweezers or a special tick removal tool.
- You can also pry the tick out with a sterile needle.
- Grab the tick close to the skin, as close to the head as possible.
- Pull lightly but firmly and perpendicular to the skin when removing the tick; do not twist the tick or squeeze it too hard with the tweezers.
- Do not lubricate the area where the tick is attached with greasy substances or alcohol.
- Carefully examine the removed parasite, checking that it has not been torn apart (it has a head and legs).
- Crush the tick, throw it away and wash your hands thoroughly.
- Wash the bite site with a disinfectant (e.g., alcohol), and then observe for a few days whether any disturbing symptoms appear (swelling, redness – these may appear after about 10-14 days).
If skin lesions such as annular erythema migrans or joint pain occur, seek medical attention.
Erythema migrans is a skin lesion that appears at or near the site of a tick bite. It can appear as an annular lesion that slowly spreads peripherally, but it can also take other forms, forming blisters and irregularly shaped petechiae, which always have a common feature: growth and a slow resolution. Occasionally, the rash may not appear after contact with an infected tick. Erythema migrans appears at the site of the tick bite, usually within 7–14 days of the bite, but it can also appear earlier or later (though it is estimated to take up to 30 days). Erythema migrans occurs in approximately 80% of Lyme disease patients.