How To Handle Having a Tick | Treatment & Symptoms

Ticks are small tiny blood feeding bugs called Arachnids. Along with mites, they constitute the subclass Acari. Ticks are ectoparasites, living by feeding on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles and amphibians… and humans.

Where are the most common places you find ticks?

Ticks can be found mostly in humid shady areas low to the ground where they can more easily attach themselves to their food source, which would be blood. Tall grass, fields and woody areas are favorite places for ticks.

How do you treat a tick bite?

In an article from WedMD on Ticks… If the tick is attached to the person’s skin, remove it immediately:

• Wearing gloves, grasp the tick with clean tweezers as close to the skin as possible to remove the head and mouthparts. If some mouthparts remain, do not try to remove them, as your body will expel them naturally.
• Pull the tick straight out gently and steadily. Do not twist.
• Do not try to remove tick with a hot match or petroleum jelly. This could cause the tick to inject infected fluids into the wound.
• Save the tick in a container of alcohol to show the doctor.

Should I see a doctor if I have a tick bite?

Ticks feed on the blood of other living things, thus, they can carry diseases. It would probably be a good idea to see the doctor and at least get a check up and some antibiotics.

How soon after being bitten by a tick do symptoms appear?

It could be up to one month for symptoms appear, especially in the case the tick was carrying Lyme disease, which comes from blacklegged ticks. Lyme disease, if treated soon, can be cured with antibiotics. If left untreated, the symptoms of Lyme disease can be severe.

What antibiotic treats tick bites?

From the CDC Website on Lyme disease: Antibiotics commonly used for oral treatment include doxycycline, amoxicillin, or cefuroxime axetil.