Tick Bite Treatment
The Proper Tick Bite Treatment For You
Tick bite treatment methods will vary greatly depending on the severity of your injury. An important thing to remember is that the ticks that carry such horrific diseases as Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotty Fever do not normally hurt, sting, or even itch when they bite. They tend to be smaller and much more stealthy about their blood sucking business, and many people who suffer these illnesses do not even remember being bitten. The larger ticks that are not known carriers of these potentially deadly bacterial and viral pathogens are most likely to be the culprits of a painful bite. They enjoy the tender areas of the skin, such as those on your belly, behind your knees, around the wrists, around the neck, and behind the ears. Tick bite treatment for these types of lesions is quite a bit more simple.
You will first want to remove the tick if it is still present, and it is important that you remove the entire tick on the first try. The tick must not be squeezed, pinched, scraped, or yanked on. The ideal tool for this task will be fine tipped tweezers, and the tick should be secured just behind the base of the imbedded head. The motion should be steady, and the angle should be the exact opposite of the direction in which the tick has burrowed in. Try not to twist or roll the arachnid, as the slightest false move could wind you up with the ticks head lodged beneath your skin and no way to pull it out. Also, squeezing the parasite could cause him to involuntarily excrete disease infected fluids into your blood stream. Be calm, safe, and then move to the next step in your tick bite treatment.
Once you have removed the tick, you will want to store it in an air tight container for later inspection and analysis, if needed. Scrub your hands with antibacterial soap, and thoroughly cleanse the bite area with mild, antibacterial dish soap. Once you have finished this tick bite treatment step, you will want to pat the area dry. If you find that there is irritation, itching, or pain at the site, you can apply a topical antibiotic ointment and cover the bite with an adhesive bandage. An ice pack can be applied each hour for the first six hours, for about ten minutes each time. This will help with the inflammation and pain of severe bites. Aspirin, Tylenol, and Benadryl can be taken orally, and the sight can also be treated with calamine lotion if the itch is severe. If you notice any rashes, fever, headaches, or any flu-like symptoms within hours or days of the bite, you will be in need of professional tick bite treatment, and you should seek it right away.