First of all, thanks and major kudos to Steve from Dodge for his work
on the excellent Tick "wiki" in the Field Guide here at
PortlandHikers.org!
I had read it some time back, so when I got
my first tick a couple of weeks ago, on Dog Mountain on Memorial Day
Weekend, Steve's info saved me from a hot match! I committed the
cardinal error of not inspecting myself for ticks after the hike (I
hike a lot and have never had one before, so was lulled into
complacency) so it wasn't until many hours later that night that I
discovered it imbedded into my waist. I freaked out and my husband's
first inclination was to find a match, and I screamed no, no, that's
OLD information! I frantically pulled up the Tick wiki here and we read
it, and proceeded to try to find some tweezers. Unfortunately the two
pairs we had were determined to be too big at the end to grasp the head
of this tiny tick (apparently the Western or Pacific Black-Legged Tick)
and so off we went to the emergency room at the hospital in Hood River,
about 45 minutes away. Middle of the night. Had I even wanted to suffer
through several more hours with this THING in my body, to go to a
doctor's office, it was by then Memorial Day, so there wasn't much
choice but to go to the emergency room.
(Dear Hubby said he flashed on the old movies where the guy slaps the hysterical woman to calm her down. ;-)
The
doctor said that this is a bad year for ticks... I was not the first
they've seen in the emergency room for this. The reason I'm posting now
is that I just received an "old wives' tale" in my e-mail about how to
remove ticks, and in checking Snopes.com and other sources, I see that
the e-mail is making the rounds. So, in case you haven't yet seen the
Tick Wiki here, be sure to check it out at:
http://www.portlandhikersfieldguide.org/wiki/Ticks
Here's the WRONG info that's being forwarded, about liquid soap and a cotton ball:
http://www.snopes.com/oldwives/tick.asp
Here's more on why it's wrong, from someone at a Lyme Disease blog:
Although
the soapy cotton ball method may sound like a new and improved way of
tick removal, it simply is another variation of a “folk” technique that
is based on the assumption that if you annoy a tick enough, it will
simply leave.
The idea falls in the same category as covering ...
the
tick with substances like petroleum jelly, isopropyl alcohol, kerosene,
or nail polish that bother or ‘smoother’ the tick. Of course, if all
else fails, burning the critter with a hot match head or poking it with
a pin are suggested.
I’ve personally known patients whose
doctors told them to do these things. I’ve seen these methods published
in newspapers. I even knew a man whose clinician used liquid nitrogen
to attack his embedded tick. Needless to say, these techniques can end
up causing harm, and not only to the tick. The liquid nitrogen treated
individual not only ended up with a badly burned leg, but a with nasty
case of Lyme disease.
The reason one should NEVER
employ ANY of these "annoying" types of tick removal methods is because
the aggrieved tick may express his displeasure by releasing its
salivary or gut contents into the wound. Any infectious agents present
in the mix, go right along. Simply put, if you try to remove a tick the
wrong way, you can increase the chances of acquiring a tick-borne
illness.
To properly remove a tick, use fine-tipped
tweezers or commercially available tick removal tools. Place the tips
of the device around the area where the mouthparts enter the skin and
pull with a slow steady motion. Do not jerk, crush, squeeze or puncture
the tick. Disinfect the area around the bite when the tick has been
removed. Save the tick for future testing and examination by placing it
in a tightly sealed bag or vial with a piece of damp paper towel.
The
best advice about internet advice: be very careful out there, don't
accept things at face value or just because some "professional"--which
may be a deception--says so, and learn to research to find out as much
as you can before drawing any conclusions.
Good tick removal advice:
http://www.lyme.org/ticks/removal.html
>>>
The doctor who removed my tick used a tool similar to the "Pro-Tick"
one I found at REI for $3.95. I bought TWO of them, one for my backpack
and one for my purse. I won't be without one from now on. The emergency
room visit cost $314! Thanks to insurance, my co-pay was only $50, but
especially with the cost of gas to get to Hood River, that tick tool
for 4 bucks or even a better pair of tweezers would have been such a
good investment beforehand. Just to alert you folks who like to hike
but haven't had a tick before!