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Tick Removal
Most people that have lived close to nature have encountered the tick. A more or less harmless arachnid parasite if it were not for one very nasty feature, the tick is a carrier of diseases. It is actually the most potent spreader of disease after the mosquito and that says a lot about how important tick removal is. The tick is actually not born contagious but when feeding on the blood of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians the tick receives the diseases from the animal and becomes a reservoir for it. |
The tick can be found in the wild nature, hanging out on branches or on top of high growing grass. As a potential host passes by, brushing against the grass or branches the tick grabs on. It is a common misconception that the tick can jump onto its host, this is not true though as ticks are incapable of jumping. What they can do is fall from a distance and land on a host. Once the tick has attached it is not that hard to remove but it is still crucial you know your tick removal as some ways are way better than others.
Tick removal – The harpoon
Once the tick has found a suitable host it will track down a place to bite. The tick enjoys dark, moist areas where the skin is thin and therefore the hollows of the knees, the armpits and the groin area is a common place to find them in and exercise tick removal in. The mouth of the tick is very similar to a harpoon with which the tick plunges into the skin. This might sound painful but the tick will secrete a mild painkiller at the same time, rendering the bite painless. This harpoon-like mouth makes the tick quite difficult to remove without any part being left behind, either in the skin or in the bloodstream. Therefore, to avoid infections, great tick removal skills are extremely important. That and the right set of tools is the key to success.
Tick removal – The right way
The absolute best and safest way, a way that have been tried and true, for tick removal is to use a pair of tweezers and grab the tick as close to the hosts skin as possible. Grabbing it anywhere else might injure the tick and you do not want to do that while it is still attached to the skin. Once the tick is grabbed by its head, using the tweezers, pull it straight out with one slow but firm motion. Do not twist the tick or yank it or anything like that, easy does it. There, that wasn’t so hard now was it? Excellent tick removal every time.
Tick removal – The wrong way
Although some of these methods of tick removal has been recommended somewhere in time they have proven to be bad and unsafe. Using a sharp objects or burning the tick with matches while they are still attached to the skin is just a bad idea and will most likely end in injure done to the host. To crush, puncture, or squeeze the body of the tick is a very bad tick removal since it might make the tick throw up. And believe me, it is the last ting you want since it will dramatically increase the risk of being infected with something serious. Also trying to choke or kill the tick by applying oil, gasoline or nail polisher is a bad idea since the tick does not crave continuous breathing as humans do. The only thing that could happen is that the tick gets sick and throws up, squirting pure disease into your bloodstream. Although most of these diseases are quite trivial and treatable with antibiotics some are not as trivial, some are even lethal.
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Closeup of tick mouth
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