You may encounter ticks everywhere, in your garden, in parks, and especially in forests and meadows. If you hike regularly, never forget to check your clothes and your skin each time you have been outdoors. If you have picked up a tick, the best thing is to get rid of it as fast as possible. For this, of course, you need to learn about the best method of removal.
How to remove a tick
Ticks can lurk on bushes, in trees and even in the hair of domestic animals. If one gets on our skin, it will spend a considerable amount of time looking for a suitable skin surface. It prefers warm, soft folds that are well-supplied with blood.
If you find a tick that has already inserted itself, don’t try to remove it with your hand. Instead, take a pair of tweezers, grab it and pull it straight upwards. Make sure the tweezers are sterile, and disinfect the skin after you have removed the tick. Don’t try using alcohol or flame in hope that the tick will let go.
Some more precautions and safety measures
1. Searching for ticks
When you get home, search your entire body during your bath or shower for ticks, especially in skin folds, your ears, neck, underarms, groin and navel.
2. Keep a pair of tweezers at hand
Tweezers can be used to remove ticks easily and efficiently. Grab the tick firmly at the head and pull it out without pressing on it.
3. Carefully and slowly
Avoid sudden motions, as the head of the tick can break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, remove the head with the aid of a needle, or ask for help from a doctor.
4. Don’t attempt to suffocate the tick
Avoid rubbing the tick with oil, alcohol or grease, as this may result in the tick vomiting the contents of its stomach back into the wound, which may result in infection with very dangerous viruses.