How do you remove a tick from a 4yo?

[harrisey]

Ds has a tick in his armpit (!) of all places.
I know you're not supposed to pull them off a cat, but have never had to deal with one on a child before!!
He rather likes it - calls it his beastie!

I always used to just pull them off our dog didn't know that!

Put lots of butter/grease on tick and then pull off. Make sure you pull off whole tick. Quite important to get it off as some carry disease.

don't put anything on the tick

you need to pull it off with tweezers (don't know if you can get tick tweezers in this country but worth asking)

DON'T squeeze the tick, pull it off straight and try and get one bit of the tweezers near its mouth (don't twist it)

if you are in an area with Lyme disease, might be worth going to the GP (but if not, note down when and where he got it in case of further problems)

Use tweezers to pull out and make sure you get arms and head and not just body. Do it very slowly.

tips for removing here

Scroll down.

That pictures shows the ideal technique, we get them a lot where we go in the summer, tnd to check the kids head to toe when getting ready for bed if they have been out.

I do tend to roast them with a freshly blown out match first, helps to loosen them, do not attempt this on a wriggly child though. But tweezers are usually enough to get all the bits off.

I know some say don't put anything on, but I use a spray of tea tree oil just before pulling with the tweezers,(ds is always playing in trees and heather) also give little ones something to hold as it helps keep them still.

We have always soaked them in Surgical spirit for a good 10mins before pulling them out. Helps to kill them and therefore they should just pull out as they are no longer holding on for dear life!

Only time I ever had one (upteen years ago) my boyfriend killed it with a cigarette before I pulled it off.

That is he put the lighted ciggy on it, he didn't offer it a smoke and wait for lung cancer to set in

bet all the scotttish mummies have done this before!

we grew up playing in heather in the highlands ... surgical spirit in our house too.

Bet they haven't tassis! We had to call our friend from Darwin to find out how to remove a tick ds1 picked up in the rainforest. (It was under his arm too, interestingly). We were advised to douse it in olive oil to kill it and then to ease it out and we were told to twist it so it came out like a corkscrew otherwise the hooks stay in and break off which could be nasty.

Yes def certain areas in Scotland have loads, more precission with a match than a ciggarette, blown out match of course, getting your butt frazzled tends to loosen your grip a bit .

Have never done it myself (or seen it done), but I've always heard that you should hold a lighted match very close to the tick. The heat will make it "let go", and you can then remove it without worrying about leaving any of it behind.

If you try this method, let me know if it works!

Less chance of burns if you blow out the match and apply the match to the ticks butt, just the right size to singe it and not the skin, don't tend to fall off but a lot easier to pck off with the tweezers

havent read it all so youve maybe already sorted it. my dog gets loads in the summer from sheep/bracken an such. just get a pair of tweezers and grip it right down next to the skin - without nipping ds. grip it tight and pull it out in one go. dont fiddle about as it'll burrow deeper. once its out take a close look and make sure you can see its legs - then you'll know youve got it all. clean up ds with cotton wool with a bit of diluted dettol to kill germs. have fun

ps - kill it with a match/lighter or it'll crawl off and get someone else.

go to your vets and buy a tick hook. They are fab, costs about £3, look like tiny bent plastic fork. Just slip prongs under tick and rotate, tick just drops off. Luckily I had one of these handy last year when DD woke up with one by her ear (and she had been sleeping in our bed-ugh!)

Thanks everyone.
He got it just playing outside - we live in remote rural scotland and we were out on the moor by our house yesterday so I am sure that is where it came from. Checked hiswhoel body this morning (and the girls as well) and this was the only one.
We slathered it in vaseline (on advice from my GP) and then pulled it off in a corkscrew manner abotu an hour later - came away no bother and bled a little. He was so chuffed to see it. He insisted on bursting it himself (gross!) then I did what someone suggested and made sure it was ded with a match.
Rather like the idea of putting a match to it but didnt want to do it with wriggly 4yo around the tick!
Thansk a lot everyone.

Ah tassis! A highland upbringing is somewhat distict, yes?!

you learn something every day on MN don't you. I never knew that ticks attached themselves to humans. Good luck with the removal!

Our GP's would be working 24/7 if we all went to them with tic's . Very commen when playing in the undergrowth and long grass here.