Remove ticks: Stay away from these questionable home remedies

Ticks should be removed as soon as possible. You have to be very careful and should stay away from questionable home remedies such as oil.

If you have been out in nature, you should check for ticks, especially from spring to late autumn. They sit on the grass at knee height and cling to the skin. Ticks particularly like to settle in warm, humid areas of the body, such as the hollows of the knees, groins and armpits. There you should look particularly carefully for ticks.

Many ticks carry the borreliosis pathogen with them, some also the pathogen of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE). Both can be cured if they are detected early. Incidentally, you can also be immunized against TBE by vaccination.

You should not use these home remedies to remove ticks

The RKI warns and advises against putting oil or glue on the tick. This could allow the tick to release its infectious saliva into the wound – and this should be avoided.

Remove ticks properly: pliers, snare and hook

Important: You should always remove a tick as soon as possible to minimize the risk of infection. If you don’t have tweezers or one of the special tools, your fingernails can also work, but avoid it if possible. Examine yourself and especially children promptly after staying in the forest and meadows.

You can pull out a tick with tweezers or** tick cards, tick snares or tick tweezers. Always be careful when doing this.

Instructions for the tick tweezers:

1. Place the tick tweezers as close to the skin as possible.
2. Squeeze the tick tweezers and slowly (approx. 30 seconds), carefully and straightly pull the tick out.

3. Note: Do not twist the tick tweezers as you do this, otherwise part of the tick’s body could get stuck in the skin.

Instructions for the tick card:

1. Run the tick card as close to the tick as possible on the skin.
2. Try to push the tick card further so that the tick’s head enters the opening of the tick card.
3. Once you have the tick in the opening of the card, slide the tick card further and up away from your body.

Instructions for the tick noose/tick lasso:

1. Place the loop of the tick lasso on the skin around the tick. It is then in the middle of the loop.
2. Tighten the sling and place the handle perpendicular to the skin.
3. With the tick in the lasso, slowly lift the tick remover to remove the tick from the skin.

After removing the tick: observe redness

• As with almost all bites, the skin is somewhat reddened after a tick bite. However, the redness will subside after two to three days. If not, you should consult a doctor, more about this here: Tick bite symptoms: what to do if the bite is itchy and red?
• Blushing is typical of an infection with Lyme disease. It forms in a circle around the sting and occurs after the redness of the actual sting has subsided. Tip: In order to be able to localize the reddening after a few days, you can circle the actual tick bite with a waterproof pen.
• In some cases, the tick’s black bite remains in the skin. It is also colloquially referred to as the head of the tick. Because of its hook, it often cannot be removed easily. But that doesn’t matter because it doesn’t contain any bacteria. If you are unsure, you can still seek medical advice.
• Symptoms of infection begin between 7 and 14 days after the tick bite. If there is redness of about four centimeters around the wound or flu-like symptoms, you should definitely have a doctor examine you.

Read more at Techzle.com:

• Coconut oil against ticks: effect and application
• Outdoor accessories: 10 useful helpers that are more sustainable
• Picnic in harmony with nature – you should pay attention to that