Tick Bite - How do you make sure the head is gone after the body is?

[Boogity]

Like Marianne said, we have so many around here and we have them on us so often that we don't pay too much attention anymore. I usually pinch with my fingers as close to the skin as possible, on DW, myself, and the dogs and toss the critter into a fire or many times I just give it a sling into the tall grass and keep on doing whatever it was that I was doing. We have on occasion had a slight infection at the bite location. A little alcohol and then some Neosporin takes care of it.

 

[Marianne]

Yep.

Just came in from outside, now I have the urge to do the tick check again...I knew I shouldn't have read the new posts here! :/

 

[Toulle]

If it was a tick of any size, and had dug in, you would be able to detect the head much like a little splinter type of foriegn object. If it was one of those tiny little buggers, you will have a very hard time finding it. I would recomend treating the bite site with a local antiseptic for a couple of days and keeping an eye on it.

And yes, don't put oil on them. It makes them heave, probably pumping all kinds of goodies into your bloodstream.

I'm out in the field a lot, in the deep south, and get a lot of ticks. They like to dig in where clothing constricts, such as at the waistband. I once pulled 16 of around my waistline. We used to just pull the big ones off, and use tweezers or the edge of a knife or such to scrape little ones off. However, I once had a head stay behind - right on the edge of my man-nipple. That gave me a certain unpleasant sensation for weeks.
Now I bought one of these:
http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___88774
It does a great job. After you get one, you can easily use it for a pattern to make a few others out of cut up beer cans or such the like.

When DS was around 6-7 years old, he had a large dog tick hidden in his hair on the back of his head. I didn't know it was there, and he somehow had squashed it while it was still attached. It was a day or two later that I finally learned about it. I had to dig the dried up mortal remains off and out of the scalp of a squawling little boy, and treat that with neosporin for a long while. That's my gross tick story.

 

[Farmfresh]

Several years ago my hubby and I were hiking and he was attacked by a horde of baby tics. His little adventure ended him in the hospital with a life threatening tick borne illness (one of the hundreds of tick illness that only have VERRRY long latin names). At one point he had only 1/4 of the white blood cells of a normal person.

Here is the doctor recommended tick drill.

1) Remove the tick as rapidly as possible. Scraping it out - like with a bee stinger is preferred.

2) If the head remains for some reason the area will get infected like with any foreign body and eventually the head will be expelled. Just like a splinter. Really not a big deal

3) THE MOST MOST IMPORTANT PART!!! Place the tick in a small container and LABEL the container including location the tick was probably picked up, date and location on the body that the tick was removed from. Then freeze the little sucker.

4) Be sure and do that with each tick. Always.

The deal is this the tick bite itself and head left behind is no big deal. The bacteria that tick possibly carries CAN KILL YOU. So you label and keep the specimen just in case. If you get ill, which usually takes 5 days to 2 weeks to manifest, you can take that little bad boy in and have him cultured. That way the doctor will know EXACTLY what strain of tick illness he is dealing with and proper treatment can be started at ONCE. BEFORE you end up hospitalized or dead.

Several weeks of my hubby's illness was just determining that what he actually had was a tick born illness. In the meantime he was tested for dozens of possible illnesses that matched for symptoms, including whooping cough and leukemia.

Please listen to the lesson that we have learned the hard way and PLEASE teach it forward.

By the way my hubby did recover - once the true diagnosis was finally made - and he is fine today.

 

[so lucky]

Wow, Farmfresh, what a weird and horrible experience. I at first chuckled at the thought of a freezer full of ticks in bottles, but after reading the rest of the post, it makes sense. Glad things turned out OK.

 

[Farmfresh]

You don't have to stock up on them. After a couple of months that UN-infected tick can be tossed to free up a bottle for the next suspect.

I am glad hubby is OK as well. You would not believe how long it took for him to get back to 100% ... probably close to 7 months!

When he first got sick we thought it was the flu. He had a temperature and aches and slept a bunch for the first two days. The second night he got up to go to the bathroom and passed out falling against the door! The dog heard him and woke me. Fortunately the Geek son (all 6'2" of him) was handy. He shoved on the door and I crawled through the crack he made on top of the sink cabinet and finally got inside and pulled him away enough to open the door. Hubby did not respond to water in the face or us moving him around for about 10 minutes from the time he first passed out!! Scared the crap out of us. Geek basically carried him to the car and we went to the ER. (probably faster than if we had called an ambulance). He was one sick puppy. Of course the first thing the ER did was run heart diagnostics, to eliminate heart attack, but it was ALL TICK.

He was off work for a long, long time as well (FMLA saved his job thank goodness). He would say, "I am going to work tomorrow. I feel fine and you need to quit worrying about me." Then he would walk around the front yard or take the trash out and it would wipe him out for the rest of the day. For a LONG time our dog Cassie wouldn't let him get up off of the bed or couch to go to the bathroom. She would stand in front of him and push him back down and then go get me when she thought he would stay put.

Yup. KEEP those ticks. I hope no one ever has to go through all of that mess.

 

[Toulle]

One of, if not THE largest tick collection in the world is kept at a University about 30 minutes from my house. Considering the above story, we all understand the scientific importance of ticks, for medical if no other reason. Therefore, a big collection of them in little glass vials for research purposes is a good idea.
When I was taking an undergrad course in entomology we went for a tour. They wasted a lot of our time telling us all about this benefactor and the other who gave money - they have to do that I suppose, to stroke egos and get money.

"Enough!" we said, "Show us the BIG TICK!"

They did. It was a rhinocerous tick from Africa. The creep was about the size of a ping pong ball.
Yeah, it was really cool.

 

[Marianne]

You know, there just isn't the correct smilie that accurately describes what's going through my mind at the moment. Maybe all of the above.

O-M-G

 

[Beekissed]

If it's just a wood tick, you can see the head still on the body after you remove it...usually it is grasping some skin in it's jaws. I've removed many a tick and never had one leave it's head behind.

My sis and I both got Rocky Mountain spotted fever when we were little from tick bites....mild cases, really.

 

[lorihadams]

Get a magnifying glass and examine the site....if the head is still in there you'll be able to see it.

Here's a tip for all you hunters out there...don't laugh.

Wear panty hose and pull those bad boys up as high up on your waist...like under your boobs...as you can get them. Guys, this works for you too. The panty hose will keep you warm if it is chilly and keep the ticks from being able to bite you. They can't latch on through the panty hose. Cheap fix. If you go out walking in the woods or camping wear them and they will stay off of your legs and waist. Keep the toes on them and they won't get around your ankles. Just be careful to examine the panty hose when you pull them off and make sure you get any off of them before you bring them in the house. Wash them in hot water with your hunting clothes. Works great when you are turkey hunting but I wear them at the beginning of deer season too.