KICK THE TICK

When you discover a tiny black spot in a child’s body after a walk in the woods, meadow or play on a home lawn, you are most likely dealing with a tick. Biting by this arachnid does not cause any pain, so the child won’t complain about any pain. In such situation, you need to act immediately to prevent the possible infection of the child’s body with pathogens like Borrelia bacterium. However, many parents may not know how to extract the tick in a completely effective and safe way for their children. It is not difficult as long as you have the appropriate tool. For details, please see our guide.

It doesn’t make sense to delay

It is worth starting from making parents aware that the tick must be removed from their child’s body immediately after its detection. The reason is the fact that the risk of infection with the above-mentioned pathogen drastically increases 24 hours after the parasite bite into the skin. The harmful pathogens are found in the tick’s saliva that comes into contact with human blood. That is why we never underestimate the presence of this arachnid in the body of a child. That also applies to us adults and our pets.

Delaying the process of removing the tick may cause the parasite to cling to the body even more (with its mouth apparatus), which will make it very difficult to remove, especially at home. The risk of the ticks accidentally tearing apart and getting stuck in the body under the skin will also increase. Unfortunately, the removal the leftover pieces will require a doctor’s intervention, which won’t be pleasant experience for the child.

The rule of thumb is to control your emotions and not to panic while removing the tick from the body. Many people in such a situation go to an Emergency Room seeking medical attention straight away, but it is not necessary at all. You can pull the tick out by yourself  using a special device, which we will describe later in this guide.

Worst ways to remove the ticks

People know different home remedies for removing ticks from the body. Some of them, although still practiced, should be immediately forgotten as scientific studies have proven them wrong.

So, how you should not pull out the tick? These are the worst ways to remove a tick.

• Smother It With Petroleum Jelly – supposedly to make the tick to back out to keep from suffocating. In reality, ticks breath thru spiracles and not their mouths. Also, they have a very slow respiration rates. Therefore, the effect of using anything thick and gooey will bring an opposite effect. The irritated parasite will cling even tighter to the body and will start to spitting out the contaminated secretions.
• Burn It With a Hot Match – not only ineffective, but also cruel and painful for the child. It is hard to imagine that any parent would come up with the idea of burning the tick (and thus the child’s skin) with a burning/ hot match. Also, Dr. Glen Needham of Ohio State University found that heating the tick can cause it to rupture, increasing your exposure to any diseases it may carry.
• Digging out – it is a painful method and may result in a deep wound and infection. At the same time is very ineffective and burdensome.

Finally, the tick shouldn’t be pulled out with the ordinary tweezers, which design makes it practically impossible to accurately capture the parasite close to the skin. The tips of the tweezers are sharp increasing a risk of tearing the body of the tick and the need to go with the child to the ER.

An effective way to get rid of the tick

Every first aid kit at everyone’s household should contain a Kick the Tick expert kit, which includes a special tool designed to remove ticks from the body of human or pet. The tool has two ending tips adjusted to the size of the tick in different stages of development: side A for adult ticks and side B for nymphs / larvae. It is very easy to use this tool. And what is more important, using the tool is more effective than other tools on the market like the cosmetic tweezers.

The Kick the Tick Expert includes also a device of a special freezing agent with Anti-Parasite Removal Film technology, which minimizes the risk of tearing the tick during removal. This product does not contain pesticides and it is safe for children from 3 years of age. At the same time, it is very efficient – one can is enough to remove as many as 40 ticks.

How to get a tick out with the Kick The Tick expert kit?

It is neither difficult nor time consuming. With the Kick The Tick Expert kit, you can deal with this problem in just a few minutes, protecting at the same time your child from stress. Remember to disinfect your hands and wear disposable rubber gloves before starting which will minimize the risk of infection.

In the first step, assess the size of the tick and based on that select the appropriate tip size of the remover tool. Then reach for a freezing agent – one application is enough for a nymph or a larva, and two for an adult tick. Now it is time to gently grasp the parasite close to the skin and pull it out of the skin.

After removing the tick, disinfect the affected skin with an aseptic agent and observe the wound for the next few weeks. If extensive erythema migrans or any other disturbing change appears, a doctor should be consulted immediately.

It is also worth knowing that not every tick is a carrier of Borrelia bacterium.  According to WHO in Europe 5-40% of ticks may be infected.