HOW TO REMOVE A TICK THE RIGHT WAY

Once a tick crawls on you, it is looking for a safe, warm place to attach. Some will attach immediately. Once that happens, the transfer of disease organisms can begin.

Tick-bite fever has flu-like symptoms, which range from muscle pain to unrelenting fatigue to headaches, and can be extremely debilitating.

Unfortunately, tick bites are hard to identify since they often look like other bug bites and the symptoms vary from person to person. But ideally, you want to spot it while the tick is still attached to you. In this case, the head will likely be inside of your skin, and its body will engorge the longer it stays attached.

The only safe way to get a tick out intact is to use a pair of fine-tipped tweezer. With the tweezers, grasp the tick as close to the surface of your skin as possible. Using steady, even pressure, pull the tick upward in one swift motion without jerking or twisting it. If parts of the tick are left inside your skin, try to remove them with the tweezers.

Sometimes the tick’s mouthparts can be left behind in the skin after a clumsy tick removal. Treat this like a splinter, it can be forced or dug out or left to work its way out.

Go to your doctor if you notice a rash forming around the area of the bite.

About 80 percent of infected people develop a rash within three to 30 days of being bitten. The rash usually enlarges and can get clearer as it gets bigger, resulting in a classic bulls-eye appearance. But any red rash that’s spreading should be checked out.

Once you get home from a known tick habitat - say, a forest or grassy area - check every part of your body to remove ticks as soon as possible. Ticks can hide anywhere on your body, so after you’ve spent time in a wooded, grassy area, it’s important to check everywhere, including in between your toes, under your armpits, behind your knees, around your groin area, under your breasts, behind your ears, inside your belly button, between your legs, and in your hair. You can always do this in the shower, too, which will help wash away any stragglers.