Tick Bite

Safe removal and Lyme disease watch

Step by Step

Remove the tick as soon as possible with fine tipped tweezers or a tick removal tool: grip it as close to the skin as possible and pull upward slowly and steadily, without twisting or squeezing the body. Do not use matches, alcohol, petroleum jelly, or other substances to make it detach. Clean the bite area with soap and water or antiseptic. Watch the site for several weeks: an expanding red rash, sometimes like a bullseye, called erythema migrans, can be a sign of Lyme disease and needs medical assessment. Flu like symptoms after a tick bite in an area where tick borne diseases occur should also be checked by a doctor.