Tick question - uggh!

[Shelly in VA]

My 6yo had a tick on her scalp earlier today. I don't think I got all of it out, although I can't be certain. There is a small black dot left where the tick was attached, which I can feel as a bump with my fingernail, but it is too close to the skin to get a tweezers under it.

 

What do I do? Do I dig it out like a splinter, or leave it there and put antiseptic and antibiotic cream on the site for a few days while I watch it for signs of infection?

 

I called my pediatrician when this happened, and I'm a bit frustrated with them, b/c they said to cover the spot w/ vegetable oil to suffocate the tick out. Well, I tried that, and nothing happened (b/c even if it is the mouthparts of the tick, can you suffocate a dead tick?!!). Anyway, I felt like that was sort of a wive's-tale solution, not the medical advice I needed (i.e. bring her in and we'll get it out, or don't worry b/c it's like a splinter now, or whatever!).

 

Thanks so much!

 

Shelly

[Antonia]

My son is a tick magnet. He frequently gets them on his head and they are devilishly hard to get out. The mouth part is what is left (I know, yuk.) It should work its way out eventually. I would use peroxide and maybe some drawing salve, and watch it for signs of infection. Also, make sure to keep an eye on her for rashes and/or flu symptoms which could mean she has contracted lyme. Here in CT we are rife with it. hth.

[Shelly in VA]

Thank you! This is just what I needed to know. I will watch for signs of Lyme disease, as well, which I have been told is common in this part of MD.

 

Can I ask how long "eventually" is? Weeks, months?

 

Thank you so much!

[Soph the vet]

You can also try "hot" compresses to draw it out. Ticks have to be attached (whole body, not just mouth parts) for 24 hrs. to pass Borrelia, the causative agent of Lymes, just FYI. So hopefully you had removed the rest of the tick soon after it bit your son. We have rapid tests now for Lymes in the vet world so I assume it is the same for humans. If he turns up positive they'll put him on doxycycline.

[Antonia]

We have rapid tests now for Lymes in the vet world so I assume it is the same for humans. If he turns up positive they'll put him on doxycycline.

 

I think animals are treated with more care than are humans when it comes to lyme. When I had it two years ago, there were no rapid tests (took a month to diagnose), and the doctor was really chintzy with the antibiotics. You'd think we'd be beyond that here in CT where it is an epidemic, but they still refuse to treat it seriously.

[Wildiris]

Ticks should be removed ASAP. It is OK to not get the whole tick out. Most often the head remains if the tick has been burrowing for a while. Always clean the area with rubbing alcohol. The alcohol will kill the spirochetes that carry Lyme Disease. The area will itch and be red for a few days, as well as be swollen. The thing to watch for is the bulls-eye, a red ring that continues to expand. The tick that carry Lyme Disease are the very small, poppy seed size tick and not the big fat gray ones.

 

HTH,

Wildiris

[DIY-DY]

My 6yo had a tick on her scalp earlier today. I don't think I got all of it out, although I can't be certain. There is a small black dot left where the tick was attached, which I can feel as a bump with my fingernail, but it is too close to the skin to get a tweezers under it.

 

What do I do? Do I dig it out like a splinter, or leave it there and put antiseptic and antibiotic cream on the site for a few days while I watch it for signs of infection?

 

I called my pediatrician when this happened, and I'm a bit frustrated with them, b/c they said to cover the spot w/ vegetable oil to suffocate the tick out. Well, I tried that, and nothing happened (b/c even if it is the mouthparts of the tick, can you suffocate a dead tick?!!). Anyway, I felt like that was sort of a wive's-tale solution, not the medical advice I needed (i.e. bring her in and we'll get it out, or don't worry b/c it's like a splinter now, or whatever!).

 

Thanks so much!

 

Shelly

 

GAH, I loathe ticks!

 

If the head stays in, your body will either squeeze it out or absorb it and break it down. Either way, it's dead, it's not going to hurt your child now. (That's meant to sound reassurring, but it's difficult to make it sound that way.)

 

Rubbing alcohol to disinfect the area. Castor will alleviate any itching or discomfort, and help the body do its thing. Of course, keep your eyes open for symptoms. But we've had scads of them. I still shudder and cringe *every* *time*. And the head is usually squeezed out painlessly within a week.

 

HTH,

Dy

[Shelly in VA]

Thanks, all! They are so nasty; at least she only had one, not several like the dog seems to get when *he* has been burrowing in the yard! And, FYI, if you want to make a 6yo cry, just have her older brother answer the question, "What *is* a tick, anyway?" with a loving, "Well, it's this really gross thing that STABS your skin then sucks out as much blood as it can." Ah, the joy of siblings!

 

Thank you all for the information!

[Shelly in VA]

One other thing that made me laugh - when I told dh about the tick last night, he said to me, seriously, that if I didn't get the head out, the body would eventually regrow and we could pull it out then. This is a 40+ year old professional with a college degree! I laughed and asked where on earth he heard that, and he said that's what his parents always told him as a child, and he believed them. We got a good laugh out of that - regenerating ticks taking over the world!

[momo4]

Shocking about the lack of attention from CT drs. I contracted Lyme disease in CA and developed the bulls eye rash (thankfully!) otherwise they never would have known I had it. I never developed flu symptoms though. From what I understand, the flu symptoms develop within a couple of weeks and the bullseye rash took a couple of weeks too. It is the infection spreading out from the bite.

 

Using thin tweezers, grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible and pull gently and slowly away from the skin. Do not twist, jerk, or pull hard on the tick or you risk leaving the mouthparts in the skin. After tick removal, disinfect the bite wound.

 

Lyme disease is spread when the tick has been on you a while and starts to feed.

I would try to remove the head. I had a friend who didn't and it festered.

[Soph the vet]

I think animals are treated with more care than are humans when it comes to lyme. When I had it two years ago, there were no rapid tests (took a month to diagnose), and the doctor was really chintzy with the antibiotics. You'd think we'd be beyond that here in CT where it is an epidemic, but they still refuse to treat it seriously.

That is irony for you. I grew up in CT and went to undergrad at UCONN and actually studied Lymes as it was "emerging" in the 80's. I had to milk rats by hand (yes, that is not a typo) to see if it was transmitted into the milk while my advisor studied the transplacental transmission of the spirochete. Here in Minnesota half the dogs are positive for it. My FIL almost died from it and it took them awhile to diagnose him correctly too, go figure.

[Antonia]

I grew up in CT and went to undergrad at UCONN

 

 

Go Huskies! :)

[LizzyBee]

I think animals are treated with more care than are humans when it comes to lyme. When I had it two years ago, there were no rapid tests (took a month to diagnose), and the doctor was really chintzy with the antibiotics. You'd think we'd be beyond that here in CT where it is an epidemic, but they still refuse to treat it seriously.

 

Same situation here in the Triangle. I've lived here almost 9 years, and it still amazes me that people come here from all over the world for medical care. I know someone whose dd is severely and permanently disabled because her doctors missed Lyme disease.

 

LD runs rampant here; my pastor's wife has had it 3 or 4 times. The weather was warm here this week and the ticks are already out; my 6 yo had one on her head. :ack2:

[periwinkle]

but BEWARE that you don't always get a bullseye rash with lyme disease. Was it a deer tick and not a wood tick? Typically the deer ticks are what carry the disease.

 

We are in Pennsylvania and ds got lyme disease last summer unexpectedly (no rash, no tick)! It was hard to diagnose since he presented with headache, neck ache and fever. Eventually he ended up with Bell's Palsy, which tipped off the doctor. About the same time, his lab titer came back positive. It was a generally awful experience, although we are thankful the antibiotic worked.