To think this is a tick? (Urgent!!)

[britneyisfree]

Please help, I'm not from the country so I know nothing about stuff like this.

My DD went for a walk with nursery and has come home with this on her leg. She says it hurts.

Depending where you are, walk in centres may just use tweezers too

difference being walk in centre staff know what they’re doing, what they’re looking at and how to remove a tick properly.

as we’ve seen from this thread, most people do not have a fucking clue.

How can anyone advise to put butter on it? All these years of education down the drain. Geez.

Whatever you use, you must twist it so you get the whole head out.

LOL deffo not going to put a hot match on my two year old, tick or no tick!!

no, that won’t do it. You need a flame thrower.

Sorry for quoting the NHS website advice

Go to a pharmacy - the pharmacist will have the correct tool and might even remove it for you. Failing that, a vet! Never smother or burn them.

My dog gets ticks all the time and I wouldn't do have the 'tips' suggested on him never mind a 2 year old! We pull them out with tweezers but if it was one of the DC I would go to the pharmacy and try get a proper tool.

Christ. Utterly incorrect advice.

I also am Tick Bait - a vet will have a tick removal tool if the pharmacist doesn't or you can use tweezers.

NHS advice here www.nhs.uk/conditions/lyme-disease. No need to panic, tick bites are itchy and ticks are a bit disgusting but incidence of Lyme disease is not high and it can be treated with antibiotics.

Try not to panic OP. I know how awful it is to find a tick on your child, they are just the most disgusting horrible things. If it’s any consolation half of DS’s year at school went camping in the forest and came back covered in the things. Parents were still finding them and picking them off a week later. All children were fine. That said, best practice is get the tick out as quickly and cleanly as possible. If you’re not confident then a tick removal tool is the best way. Available from a pet shop or vets practice for a few pennies. You can do it with tweezers too but it takes practice (I used to work as a vet nurse so plenty of practice!) so I don’t recommend it if you’re not feeling confident as it’s really important to remove the whole insect. Don’t smoother it or distress it. Pop it out and cover the area in a disinfectant solution. I’ve always killed them and binned them but I guess you could keep it somewhere if you’re really concerned about Lyme’s disease. Familiarise yourself with the symptoms of Lymes but don’t panic, it’s still relatively uncommon.

I've just called the chemist and they have a remover.

I can't thank you all enough for your help - even the crazy stuff!

Tbh I'm glad I don't have any Vaseline as I would've put it straight on.

Love you Mumsnet 🥰😘

Scrap that, looking at this website you don't want to twist.

www.lymediseaseaction.org.uk/about-ticks/tick-removal/

I’m a pharmacist - I’ve never seen a pharmacy selling tick remover tools although you should be able to get fine tip tweezers.

Proper instructions here:
www.nhs.uk/conditions/lyme-disease/

DO NOT advise people to use tweezers. Vets sell special tick remover hooks, as do some pharmacies. They're just a few pounds.

Do NOT smother it with vasaline. If the tick is carrying any disease it will cause it to vomit back into the carrier and is more likely to pass disease on

This is important. Definitely do not smother it!

I always intend to buy a tick removal tool (after last thread, for example) and never get around to it.

Glad the pharmacist has one, OP!

Glad you've managed to source one! Follow the instructions on whatever tick remover you get when you pick it up, obviously! some are twist and some aren't, like the card ones.

@ThinkForAMinute if you live in an area with ticks every pharmacist sells tick pickers. Mind you, so does the petrol station, coop, gift shops...

Just to add @britneyisfree an outdoor store might sell the tick removers as well as a pharmacy or vet or pet shop. Hopefully you’ll have one of those nearby!

Does anyone know if the hooks or cards are better?

I've never heard that before! Out of interest, why "ANTI clockwise", they're not threaded are they?! And, as others have said OP, it's the head that's attached to her skin, not the legs.

OP do you have a friend or neighbour with a dog? It's worth asking if they have a tick picker, and they'll almost certainly be happy to remove it for you too, I'm sure most dog owners have dealt with them.

Again, this will depend where you are. In central london it's not something we see more than a few times a year. Tweezers and instructions on you tube....

Hope you've found a tick twister. We have several sets at home as we (and the cats!) get ticks from the garden/on walks. They're pretty easy to use and something useful to keep at home. Definitely far safer,
cheaper and more effective than the other options!

Sorry, took me so long to type, I see you're (nearly) sorted.