Remove the tick any way you like, just make sure the whole head comes off.. otherwise you risk infection. I have removed them by carefully pinching right at the skin level. Have heard a hot match head or applying alcohol also will make it drop off.
When I was a kid we were always comin' home from the woods with attached ticks, mom was pretty good at removin' 'em. I remember comin250lbs afternoon and mom called me over to check for ticks like she always did when me and my
Tweezers or a notched credit card work the best (grasp as close to the skin as possible with and apply consistant even pressure in as quick as you can do so effectively) ..as mentioned anything that chances leaving the head or proboscis imbedded int he skin carries with it the risk of infection. anything that cause a tick undo prolonged stress (ie) match heads, Vaseline. twisting etc will cause the tick to vomit inside the wound cavity, which greatly increases the chances of contracting a tick borne illness. If your primary concern is lyme disease at tick mush be attached to the skin for at least 24 hours to pass it on.. as it must engorge itself and than vomit to transmit the disease.. so causing it to vomit prematurely is a not advisable.. by far the best means of removal is not to get them in the first place.. for me that invloves treating clothing with permethren, and treating skin with a deet based repellant, also tucking pants into socks and similar.. followed by regular checks of skin and clothes. It's a ll a bit of a hassle but tick borne illnesses can be very serious.
Regards.
I always figured I'd never get lyme disease, just pull the tick off and get on with life hell, most of ticks I seen 'round here were wood/dog ticks no biggie, I used to laugh at the people who came to the country/woods and freaked out over it.
Not any more, about a year ago I started feelin' tired, like I had the flu or something, it wasn't till I started to lose the vision in my left eye that I became concerned. So I went and saw the eye doctor who after a battery of tests he told me I either had a brain tumor or some kind of auto immune disease, so off to the neurologist and an infectious disease specialist. More tests, MRIs, more blood work, and finally after 6 months of no answers finally a diagnosis, the dreaded LYME DISEASE.
3 months of intensive antibiotic treatment and the disease was arrested, but not before it took 30% of the vision in my left eye, luckily about 20% came back so I only lost 10% in the end.
My advice to anyone in an area where you might get a tick, prevention is your first best defense, early detection is your next best defense and if you find one buried in your skin urgency is last.
Don't blow it off, like it was mentioned earlier it has to be in you for at least 24 hours to infect you, Lyme disease is a serious debilitating, yet completely preventable disease if ya follow some simple guidelines.
Have a safe summer all.
