Needham evaluated several methods of removing ticks in order to determine the optimum technique. This can help protect both the person with the attached tick and the person attempting the removal. The author is from the Ohio State University in Columbus.
The first step is to determine if the tick has attached. If not attached, the tick may be removed by using forceps or protected fingers, as described below.
Recommended method for removal of an attached tick: Active removal of the tick using forceps.
Steps:
(1) Select method for tick removal:
(a) Blunt curved forceps (preferred instrument).
(b) Blunt tweezers.
(c) Fingers protected by rubber gloves or paper towel.
(2) Grasp the tick's mouthparts as close to the skin surface as possible.
(3) Pull straight out with a constant, steady, even pressure.
(4) After removing the tick, wash the site, tweezers and hands with soap and water.
What to do with the tick:
(1) Some state health departments will test ticks for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Lyme's Disease or other pathogens, depending on the disease distribution. Contact the state health department for instructions on how to send a tick in for testing. Some methods require live ticks. A separate tick may have to be submitted for each pathogen being tested for.
(2) Sometimes it is useful to keep the tick in a small jar for identification later.
(3) If there is no reason to keep the tick, it may be flushed down the toilet or placed in alcohol.
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Don’ts |
Why |
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Do not use sharp, pointed forceps. |
These could puncture the skin and serve as a portal for infection. |
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Do not use bare fingers to remove the tick. |
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever has been transmitted to persons removing ticks. |
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Do not twist or jerk the tick during removal. |
This may cause the mouthparts and/or the cement collar to remain attached to the skin. |
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Do not crush, squeeze or puncture the tick's body. |
Release of tick body fluids may transmit pathogens. |
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Do not let small children remove ticks. |
Small children may not take proper precautions. |
Other methods evaluated:
(1) covering the tick with petroleum jelly
(2) covering the tick with clear fingernail polish
(3) covering the tick with 70% isopropyl alcohol
(4) applying the hot end of wooden match that has just been blown out to the tick's body
None of these so-called passive methods resulted in ticks self-detaching within a 2 hour observation period.
Disadvantages of these methods:
(1) It may take several hours for petroleum jelly to suffocate a tick since it has a low metabolic and respiratory rate.
(2) Fingernail polish may serve to attach the tick to the skin, making it difficult to detach.
(3) The isopropyl alcohol will clean the skin surface but is unlikely to cause a tick to detach.
(4) A hot match may (a) burn surrounding skin; (b) cause the tick's body to burst; (c) cause the tick to salivate onto the skin.
Specialty: Infectious Diseases
