How do you remove a tick? Liquid soap or blunt tweezers. Which is better? It depends on who you ask. Personally, I’m in the liquid soap camp. The CDC recommends blunt tweezers. They recommend pressing the tweezers as close as possible to the skin and gently pulling the tick up. Do not jerk or twist as that may separate the head from the body, making it hard to remove. If the head is left in your skin, you are at much higher risk of infection from diseases like Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever or Lyme disease. If the head does detach, do your best to remove it. After removal make sure to properly dispose of the tick. CDC recommends disposal via rolling it in tape, flushing it down the toilet, placing it in a sealed container or putting it in alcohol.
However, a study in the Journal of American Academy of Dermatologists found that about 80% of the time you use tweezers, the head does detach. While rubbing the tick with a large amount of liquid soap using a cotton swab was 100% effective at removing the tick without losing the head. It is very simple. Take a cotton swab, dump soap on it, and rub it in circles around the tick. It takes about a minute for the tick to detach. The soap method is easier with children in my experience, as tweezers make most children apprehensive.
The CDC recommends against using nail polish, fire, bare hands, petroleum jelly or other substances for removing ticks. This is because it may cause the tick to regurgitate blood, which may increase risk of disease. If you do the liquid soap method, it is important to remember to rub the tick in circles to reduce risk of regurgitation. It is also thought that since there is no squeezing involved the risk of regurgitation is actually less with liquid soap than with tweezers. Proponents of the liquid soap strategy in the Journal of Family Practice also argue that this method is unlikely to suffocate the tick and thus may not cause any regurgitation.
Both methods have their pros and cons. Either way it is important to remove the tick as soon as possible and clean the area after extraction with soap and water, which is easy with the liquid soap strategy.
Do you need antibiotics after removing the tick? For most people no, but there are some cases like pregnancy when a doctor may advise antibiotics following a tick bite. Seek medical attention if you feel ill after a tick bite or develop a rash.
It is always best to avoid tick bites by wearing long sleeves or pants and perhaps a DEET-containing bug spray. It is also recommended you wear light color clothing so you can easily see a tick, before it bites you.
Risk of infection increases substantially if the tick remains attached for more than 24 hours. For this reason, it is encouraged to check for ticks after outdoor activities. Don’t forget to check animals for ticks. They are more likely to get ticks, and it is obviously harder to find ticks in hair.
I hope everyone gets outside and enjoys the great outdoors. There is so much to see and do. As you live your adventures wear a hat, stay away from poison ivy/oak and watch out for ticks!
– Dr. Daniel Sterner, DO is a provider at Health West American Falls. He specializes in family medicine and obstetrical care and is accepting new patients.
