Safe Tick Head Removal: A Step-by-Step Guide to Prevent Infection

Ticks are small blood-sucking insects that live in humid outdoor areas such as grass, mountains and wooded areas. They feast on both human and animal blood and can carry and transmit various diseases, including Lyme disease, tularemia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. If you have been bitten by a tick and the head gets stuck in your skin, you should remove it immediately, as it may cause infection.

Things You'll Need

• Rubbing alcohol
• Cotton balls
• Tweezers
• Sterilized needle

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Instructions

• 1

  Pour some rubbing alcohol onto a cotton ball and rub the affected area of the bite.

• 2

  Grasp the tick head gently with a pair of tweezers. Pull it out slowly. Flush the tick head in the toilet. Do not touch it with your bare hands. If the head is lodged in deeper than the tweezers can reach, proceed to the next step.

• 3

  Get a sterilized needle and gently work around the affected area with it to try to push the tick head farther out of the skin. Once you've lifted it out of the skin sufficiently, proceed to fully remove the tick head with the tweezers.

• 4

  Clean the area with rubbing alcohol once you've successfully removed the tick head. Wash your hands thoroughly when you're done.