What to do when tick bite? Tips and Tricks

what-to-do-when-tick-bite-tips-and-tricks

They are small, mean, full of our blood and transmit dangerous diseases. There is talk of ticks. But what to do about tick bites?

Remove ticks – so you do it yourself

If you find a tick on yourself, you can remove it yourself. Actually enough for this classic tweezers . Hereby you grab the bloodsucker and pull it out of the skin.

What to do when tick bite?  Remove graphic tick with tweezers

Attention: You should grab as close to the skin as possible tocatch the head of the tick. If you pull too hard on the back of the body, it can happen that the head or mouthparts get stuck, which increases the risk of infection .

Easier to remove ticks with special tools . For example, at the drugstore or pharmacy, you can get ticks, ticks, or ticks to get the beasts out of your skin. Practical for traveling is also a so-called tick card, which contains a small magnifying glass and eyelets in credit card format, with which you can pull the parasite out of the skin.

When removing ticks, always pull them out of the skin quickly and with a steady pull . You can make a twisting motion or just pull it out of the skin, it does not matter. It is important that you do not crush the body and especially the mouthparts so that the tick does not release more pollutants into the wound.

If you do not dare to the little bloodsucker, you can also have the tick removed by a doctor . But then please fast – the faster the tick is out, the better! How to spot a tick bite is explained in this article.

Tick ​​bite – when do I have to go to the doctor?

If you do not dare to remove the tick, you can have a doctor do it – but later, there are situations where it is wise to consult an expert! If you’ve been bitten by a tick, you should  watch the sting site carefully . Does it reddened comically, does the stain get bigger or even move (so-called moving red )? Off to the doc!

Attention: Even if you do not notice a wandering flush at the puncture site, you may have caught some of the tick. Therefore, pay particular attention to how the bite site behaves and if you get symptoms like headache, dizziness or joint pain. If in doubt: Go to the doctor too often, if you find anything funny. With meningoencephalitis or Lyme disease is not to joke (more on the danger of TBE and Borrelia read below)! 

By the way: You can also get the tick vaccination from your doctor.

What is a tick?

Ticks are small beasts that live mainly on forest edges and on meadows. They usually live in tall grass or shrubbery. Ticks are mutable parasites: there are nearly 1000 different species worldwide . In Germany, especially the common wood buck occurs.

Why is the image of ticks so bad? Because they are in the truest sense of the word bloodsuckers . They lead a lazy life until they find a host animal, on which they can drop and suck his blood. And this host animal can just be human .

Incidentally, ticks are not insects, but belong biologically to the arachnids. And: Although we always speak of a tick bite , the term tick bite would be scientifically correct, because the tick uses a special Stechrüssel to get through the skin of her host – it is not bitten, even if we sometimes think that literally “biting” the bloodsuckers.

Why is a tick bite dangerous?

We all know that tick bites are dangerous and sometimes life-threatening – but why? First of all, the bite or stitch itself is completely harmless. Tick ​​bites do not hurt and usually do not itch – but that’s exactly where the danger comes from.

Because: Ticks can transmit dangerous diseases . When they suck blood, they hang on their host animals for hours, sometimes days. This works because their saliva contains a narcotic so that the host does not notice the attack. There is always the danger that this host animal is infected, because the tick also spits partially digested food into the wound during sucking .

For humans, especially Lyme disease (here we explain typical Lyme disease symptoms ) and TBE ( tick-borne encephalitis ) are dangerous, transmitted by ticks. While you can be vaccinated against FSME, there is still no tick vaccine that protects us from borreliosis, which is triggered by Borrellien. Borrelia are bacteria that carry many ticks.

Where are the risk areas in Germany? 

While the danger of becoming infected with Lyme disease is prevalent in Germany (the risk is after a tick bite at 1:40, in southern Germany even at 1:15), the risk of contracting TBE after a tick bite, especially high in the so-called risk areas. 

The further south we move in Germany , the higher the risk of infection. The quota here is around 1: 150. But also, who does not live in a risk area, should always be careful and – if he is bitten – remove the tick completely as soon as possible.

What to do if my dog ​​has a tick?

What to do when tick bite?  Remove ticks from the dog

Many dog ​​owners (and also cat owners) know ticks especially from their four-legged friends. They are also ideal host animals for the parasites – some even better than we humans, because they roam the grass more often.

And even if your dog and cat are not so at risk from communicable diseases, you should quickly remove the parasites  from their fur . Because the beasts are, when they have finished sucking blood, just fall back – and soon attack the next host . That could be you, for example. Therefore, we should make a tick, which we bring about our pets in the apartment, quickly harmless.

How can I protect myself from a tick bite?

After the tick bite is before the imminent next tick bite – and it’s best not to let it go that far anymore. So that you are optimally protected from the bloodsuckers, you should wear long clothes (especially trousers) on the next trip to nature . You are even better equipped if you put your trouser legs in the socks or, for example, seal them with a trouser rubber (no matter what it looks like – it’s about your health!). By the way: oh coconut oil against ticks can protect you!

If your trousers are light (white or light gray, for example) then you can even better spot the little pests when they try to crawl up on you. After your trip you should always search thoroughly . If you want to be on the safe side, you will be taking off your clothes in a separate room instead of just putting your pants on the bedroom carpet.

Ticks are looking for moist and warm parts of your body to bite. That’s why you search the whole body, popular bite-places are about under the armpits or in the knees . The best way to help is a confidant who searches body parts that are not so easily visible to you.

Do ticks die in the washing machine?

If you have taken off your hiking pants and throw directly into the washing machine, die off the critters, right? No! Ticks are extremely resilient – even a full wash at 40 degrees can not harm them. Even in the freezer, the parasites survive for 24 hours.