If you love spending time outdoors, there is a high chance that you have encountered ticks at some point. While tick bites are generally harmless, they can cause allergic reactions and in certain cases, pass deadly diseases to you and your pets.
If you find yourself in this situation, it is best to not panic and learn what you need to do as soon as you get bitten by ticks.
Ticks are small bugs which attach to the skin to suck blood.
Ranging from shades in brown to reddish brown and black, they can be found as small as a pinhead or even as large as a pencil eraser.
They are also arachnids which means that they are related to spiders.
A tick can remain attached and suck blood for up to 10 days. It will then detaches from the skin and falls off.
Usually, there are no symptoms of a tick bite but if you are allergic to it, these symptoms may appear:
- pain or swelling at the bitten area
- a rash
- a burning sensation
- blisters
- in severe allergies, difficulty breathing
However, apart from the allergies, there is also a possibility where the tick could transmit Lyme disease to you.
Lyme disease is an infectious disease spread through Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria from black-legged ticks to humans.
Symptoms of tick-borne diseases include:
- red spot or rash near the bite site
- a full body rash
- neck stiffness
- a headache
- nausea
- weakness
- muscle or joint pain or achiness
- a fever
- chills
- swollen lymph nodes
Should you find a tick attached on your skin, the first thing you should do is to properly remove it by using a tweezer or a specialized tick-removal device.
Grab the tick’s body by using a tweezer carefully without using strong force to avoid crushing it. Then, pull the tweezer away from your skin.
The reason not to pull it with force is to make sure that the mouth parts of the tick are removed together as well.
If there are parts of the tick remained on your skin after removing it, seek help from a doctor as soon as possible.
Credit: Health Line | Self
