# Kids & Ticks



## bevmom (Mar 20, 2009)

This nice weather lately reminds me that ticks emerge every spring looking for a warm body to jump onto. My children are always in the bushes out in the yard and walking on the trails with me, and that's where those sneaky ticks will find a place to bore without even a tickle. If you discover one embedded into your skin, I probably don't need to tell you to get it out immediately. Here's a short first aid lesson and this is where the PockeTweez comes in.

HOW TO: Remove a Tick

1. Get a pair of fine pointed tweezers.

2. Find the head of the tick, which is usually buried just beneath the surface of the skin.

3. Get your tweezers as close to the head of the tick as you possibly can. Do not grasp the tick's body, as this will cause it to inject saliva or blood into your skin, increasing the chance of transmitting a disease.

4. Without jerking, pull firmly and steadily directly outward. It's not uncommon for the skin to pull with it until the tick finally detaches. (this can take 3-4 minutes)

5. Make sure that the tick has been removed entirely from your skin. If part of the tick remains in the skin, you can have a doctor pull it out.

6. Treat the wound with antiseptic or wash your hands and the affected area with soap and water. Alcohol can be used to help prevent the spreading of tick-borne disease. This is most effective right after the tick is removed.

7. Note the date of the tick bite on your calendar in case symptoms develop later. You will need this information for your doctor. Note: If you have any concerns, put the tick in a plastic bag and freeze it. If you get sick you can take the dead tick with you when you see your provider.

Tips
* Removing a tick shortly after being bitten greatly reduces the chance of disease transmission. It is unlikely that you will contract Lyme disease if the tick has been attached to you for 24 hours or less.

* Learn to recognize Lyme disease symptoms. Lyme disease is generally characterized by a large circular rash that looks like a target, though some may experience other symptoms.

* Do not twist the tick out or apply petroleum jelly, a hot match, alcohol, nail polish or any other irritant to the tick in an attempt to get it to back out. Doing so may cause the tick to release extra saliva or regurgitate, increasing the chances of being infected by any pathogens carried by the tick.

* Do not try to pull it off with your hands. You may leave the head piece, which can lead to infection.


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## snoopy5386 (May 6, 2005)

My DD contracted Lyme last year and the tick was on her for less than 24 hours. We were away from home when we found it and had to use tweezers to get it out. After that DH and I both ordered Tick Keys to keep on our keychains.


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## Katie T (Nov 8, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *snoopy5386* 
My DD contracted Lyme last year and the tick was on her for less than 24 hours. We were away from home when we found it and had to use tweezers to get it out. After that DH and I both ordered Tick Keys to keep on our keychains.

Where did you find them and have you used them and do they work?


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## SparklingGemini (Jan 3, 2008)

Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever are not the only concerns.

My DD got a tick bite two weeks ago. The tick was on her for a half hour or less. We removed it with tweezers and ensured nothing was left in her body.

Less than 24 hours the bite was infected. Probably either staph or strep a.

It was very hot, extremely painful, and had a bright red spreading patch.

My point about sharing this is not to frighten anyone but to encourage you to be seen if you think there is any sort of problem at all. I was pretty cavalier about it, even though my mom has Lyme disease but after hearing my baby cry out in her sleep all night because of the pain, I will never question a doctor's visit for a tick bite again. Very scary.


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## Katie T (Nov 8, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SparklingGemini* 
Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever are not the only concerns.

My DD got a tick bite two weeks ago. The tick was on her for a half hour or less. We removed it with tweezers and ensured nothing was left in her body.

Less than 24 hours the bite was infected. Probably either staph or strep a.

It was very hot, extremely painful, and had a bright red spreading patch.

My point about sharing this is not to frighten anyone but to encourage you to be seen if you think there is any sort of problem at all. I was pretty cavalier about it, even though my mom has Lyme disease but after hearing my baby cry out in her sleep all night because of the pain, I will never question a doctor's visit for a tick bite again. Very scary.









Wow how scary hope she is on the mend! Thanks for the information.


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## snoopy5386 (May 6, 2005)

http://www.tickkey.com/
There are lots of tick removers on the market - I went with this one because it goes on your keychain, so I knew we'd always have it with us. We have another one, but it was at home when DD was bitten and we were 3 hours away out of town at the time.

Ditto on the doctor's visit. I felt like such an overprotective mom bringing DD to the pedi, but it turned out the symptoms she had were symptoms of Lyme's. All within a few days of the bite.


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## Mandynee22 (Nov 20, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *snoopy5386* 
http://www.tickkey.com/
There are lots of tick removers on the market - I went with this one because it goes on your keychain, so I knew we'd always have it with us. We have another one, but it was at home when DD was bitten and we were 3 hours away out of town at the time.

Ditto on the doctor's visit. I felt like such an overprotective mom bringing DD to the pedi, but it turned out the symptoms she had were symptoms of Lyme's. All within a few days of the bite.

Oh thanks for that link!
I had to bring DD to the pedi a couple years ago for a tick removal because I couldn't get it out myself (and she had to use an exacto knife looking thing herself)
She also told me the vaseline and all the other stuff to get a tick out are useless as there's oxygen in your blood anyway so they aren't going to suffocate and then leave on their own.


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## savithny (Oct 23, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *snoopy5386* 
My DD contracted Lyme last year and the tick was on her for less than 24 hours. We were away from home when we found it and had to use tweezers to get it out. After that DH and I both ordered Tick Keys to keep on our keychains.

It's very possible that the tick you removed was not the tick that gave it to her, too. My DS came down with Lyme this fall and we never saw the tick. He never had a bullseye rash, either. The doctor said it was possible that it was in his hair, which is incredibly thick, or between his toes -- you'd even miss the rash if it was on the head, possibly. Although 15% of Lyme patients don't get the rash, either.

One of the counselors at DS's primitive arts camp told me his DD also got Lyme this summer. They're outdoorsy folks, doing twice-daily tick checks, and they also missed the tick that gave their DD Lyme.


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## snoopy5386 (May 6, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *savithny* 
It's very possible that the tick you removed was not the tick that gave it to her, too. My DS came down with Lyme this fall and we never saw the tick. He never had a bullseye rash, either. The doctor said it was possible that it was in his hair, which is incredibly thick, or between his toes -- you'd even miss the rash if it was on the head, possibly. Although 15% of Lyme patients don't get the rash, either.

One of the counselors at DS's primitive arts camp told me his DD also got Lyme this summer. They're outdoorsy folks, doing twice-daily tick checks, and they also missed the tick that gave their DD Lyme.

I agree it is a possibility, but her blood test results were consistent with her recently contacting the disease. The hair thing freaks me out - she has tons of dark, long hair. She goes to a nature preschool where they hike once a week. I used to be against using DEET but since the Lyme's she now wears and hat and sneakers sprayed with a bug spray containing DEET. I wash it off right after class where we do a tick check and change clothes in the bathroom. Better safe than sorry.


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## savithny (Oct 23, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *snoopy5386* 
I agree it is a possibility, but her blood test results were consistent with her recently contacting the disease. The hair thing freaks me out - she has tons of dark, long hair. She goes to a nature preschool where they hike once a week. I used to be against using DEET but since the Lyme's she now wears and hat and sneakers sprayed with a bug spray containing DEET. I wash it off right after class where we do a tick check and change clothes in the bathroom. Better safe than sorry.

Our blood tests were the same -- I guess I meant that there might have been two ticks -the one you saw and the one you didn't. Ticks do tend to congregate in batches.

I'm allergic to DEET - at least at the concentrations they recommend. I'm looking into the pyrethrin clothing sprays now for DS and the rest of the family. I don't want to keep them out of the outdoors - we really value time out in nature and strongly believe it is a positive influence on our kids. So I'm going to be using a mixture of prevention techniques, including the sprays.

DS skipped the rash and body aches and went straight to neurological symptoms, and that was really, really scary. He also, now, will always blood test positive, so to confirm a new infection if he gets bitten again will require tissue samples.


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## lkmiscnet (Jan 12, 2009)

Lyme can be very debilitating if untreated. And some sufferers have had it for decades in some cases and their lives have been ruined.

Sparklinggemini, if you haven't taken your daughter to get tested for lyme, PLEASE do. If she's positive, she need to be on antibiotics to kill the bacteria IMMEDIATELY.

Here is one link that discusses untreated lyme:

http://www.umm.edu/patiented/article...e_000016_4.htm

My brother has been in hell battling lyme for several years and he has been from doctor to doctor. One lyme specialist in his state that he finally found thinks he may have contracted it perhaps 15-20 years ago when my brother used to camp and hike a lot and he recalls having had many tick bites, but lyme wasn't really known back then.

He now has head buzzing, a constant brain fog, body aches and it is ruining his life. He can't even work. He was not put on antibiotics soon enough so the lyme bacteria had too much time to do its damage in his body and has affected him neurologically.

There are not many doctors that are well versed in lyme and it's frequently misdiagnosed.


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## SparklingGemini (Jan 3, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *lkmiscnet* 

Sparklinggemini, if you haven't taken your daughter to get tested for lyme, PLEASE do. If she's positive, she need to be on antibiotics to kill the bacteria IMMEDIATELY.


Thank you so much for your concern. I really appreciate it.









We didn't have her tested for Lyme, and probably won't unless she shows symptoms in the future.

However, she was a course of antibiotics due to the Strep A infection on her neck.

I'm not concerned, at this point. I'm well versed in Lyme disease because my mom has it. Also, the doctor we saw for my DD is the Lyme specialist for his area.

Plus, the tick wasn't on my DD for longer than 20 minutes. No engorgement at all. I know an infection can still happen after such a sort time BUT its very rare. So that, combined with the antibiotics she was on, is very reassuring to me.


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## amj'smommy (Feb 24, 2005)

we have a tick key as well.... much easier imo that tweezers.


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## Pumpkin_Pie (Oct 10, 2006)

My DS came down with acute onset Lyme last summer. We had been camping for just about 24 hours when he suddenly had such severe pain in his leg that he couldn't walk. He seemed to also have a bit of paralysis in it as well. It went away within a few (very scary) hours on it's own but a few days later he came down with the classic bulls eye rash. His ped put him on 6 weeks of antibiotics, and he is fine, luckily. I too never saw the tick, but you better believe I will be getting a tick key before we go camping again this year, and I will be doing full body checks on him very frequently. Lyme is such a scary disease.


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## sahli29 (Jan 23, 2004)

Thanks for the link to the key.


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## vrclay (Jun 12, 2007)

ACK! we just found a tick on my son last night in the bath tub. I love that he gets tons of outdoor time at he preschool but now I'm paranoid.


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## momofmine (Jan 8, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *snoopy5386* 
Ditto on the doctor's visit. I felt like such an overprotective mom bringing DD to the pedi, but it turned out the symptoms she had were symptoms of Lyme's. All within a few days of the bite.


Quote:


Originally Posted by *savithny* 
DS skipped the rash and body aches and went straight to neurological symptoms, and that was really, really scary. He also, now, will always blood test positive, so to confirm a new infection if he gets bitten again will require tissue samples.

What symptoms did each of your kids have?


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## snoopy5386 (May 6, 2005)

mine did not have the rash - she had a fever, tiredness, etc. I'm not sure if she had joint pain, she was too young to articulate that. Honestly DH had had a virus a few days before she started to feel sick. I was 99.9% sure she had just caught his virus and I really felt like an idiot taking her in to the doctor. Now I am SO GLAD I took her in and that we found the tick. If we hadn't found it, who knows what might have happened....


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