Ticks help!

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Originally Posted by Stef F

Thanks Karen. I've pulled it off and have checked with a magnifying glass. I can't see any sign of bits left so I think I got it all.

Stef

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ah...sorted then!! good good.

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Originally Posted by emmilou

You can get a tick remover from the vets :eek: although I'm sure the chemist may have one :confused: Dave (the dog) gets flippin loads, the vet put some surgical spirit on it before extracting it but when I do it I don't bother with that, you just need to make sure you get ALL of it out and as Karen says don't leave the head in. If you put the hook under it wait a sec then twist gently don't just yank it out!!

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Oops I didn't wait and yanked it. :( I think I got away with it. Fingers crossed.

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Originally Posted by emmilou

ah...sorted then!! good good.

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I hope it's caught my man flu :D

Too late now, but another way is to cover them with olive oil (or any oil, old Army trick). They breathe through their skin, so oil them up and they drop off when they come up for air. Leave a bit in after pulling them off and they can go septic on you.

Even if the tick's gone Stef, please, please keep an eye out for a circular rash developing around the area where it was. The usual description is a 'bulls eye rash' and that's just what it looks like, a red ring around the tick bite but separated from it by a gap of normal skin. That's a sign of Lyme Disease and a sure sign you need to get to the doctor.

My wife picked up a tick bite in Croatia last summer, got rid of the tick and forgot about it due to our need to get back to the UK because of a family bereavement. She did have Lyme Disease that went untreated for two weeks and needed ridiculously heavy doses of antibiotics to get rid of it. The doc says we just have to wait and watch now as it's in her system and could potentially have really nasty long term consequences. She reacts to every ache in her joints, or any flu-like symptoms, with a cold fear that this could be something very bad indeed.

Don't take any chances with ticks, they're little black time-bombs that ruin healthy lives.

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Originally Posted by Stef F

Yikes I have a highland tick on my arm near the crease of my elbow. It's still quite small and the skin around it is a bit pink.

I'm afraid of breaking it off - what's the best way of getting rid of the revolting little critter? :eek:

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Glad it's out but watch for rings(Like a target)around the bite if so get your self to the Docs asap

Ps how can you tell it was a highland Tick rather than a Peak tick???

mini Kilt:p

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Originally Posted by tinyman

Even if the tick's gone Stef, please, please keep an eye out for a circular rash developing around the area where it was. The usual description is a 'bulls eye rash' and that's just what it looks like, a red ring around the tick bite but separated from it by a gap of normal skin. That's a sign of Lyme Disease and a sure sign you need to get to the doctor.

My wife picked up a tick bite in Croatia last summer, got rid of the tick and forgot about it due to our need to get back to the UK because of a family bereavement. She did have Lyme Disease that went untreated for two weeks and needed ridiculously heavy doses of antibiotics to get rid of it. The doc says we just have to wait and watch now as it's in her system and could potentially have really nasty long term consequences. She reacts to every ache in her joints, or any flu-like symptoms, with a cold fear that this could be something very bad indeed.

Don't take any chances with ticks, they're little black time-bombs that ruin healthy lives.

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Hope things turn out ok, that sounds nasty.
Is it worth going to the doctors regardless of a rash?? Can a course of precautionary anti biotics be given to be on the safe side??

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Originally Posted by IanDarkpeak

Glad it's out but watch for rings(Like a target)around the bite if so get your self to the Docs asap

Ps how can you tell it was a highland Tick rather than a Peak tick???

mini Kilt:p

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And Whiskey, rather than Rescue Ale breath:p

Seriously though, get well soon Stef:)

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Originally Posted by emmilou

Hope things turn out ok, that sounds nasty.
Is it worth going to the doctors regardless of a rash?? Can a course of precautionary anti biotics be given to be on the safe side??

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I don't know Em, maybe there's somebody else on the Forum that knows more than me. The doc told my wife that if she'd come in as soon as the rash appeared then they could have prescribed lower doses of antibiotics, but once the rash has been there a while then it needs heavy duty treatment, and that's not even guaranteed to work.

I think that I'd wait to see if any symptoms develop, but the next time I come back from a run with a tick I'm not sure that I'll have the courage to wait.

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Originally Posted by tinyman

I don't know Em, maybe there's somebody else on the Forum that knows more than me. The doc told my wife that if she'd come in as soon as the rash appeared then they could have prescribed lower doses of antibiotics, but once the rash has been there a while then it needs heavy duty treatment, and that's not even guaranteed to work.

I think that I'd wait to see if any symptoms develop, but the next time I come back from a run with a tick I'm not sure that I'll have the courage to wait.

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No true. I guess now is the season though and we should be extra vigilant, hardly want to start wearing the longs again when we've waited this long to get the shorts back on!