Lyme disease

Actual size of deer ticks How to remove a tick

' • Don t panic.

• Get the tick off; try brushing it off first. • If the tick is firmly attached:

Grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible.

Use rounded forceps or fine-point tweezers.

• Don t touch the tick because fluid can be transmitted

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through the skin. • Pull upward slowly and steadily until tick lets go.

' • Don't use home remedies to remove ticks; they

don t really work.

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• A kit is now on the market with a specially machined

tool that grasps the tick and pulls it out by rotating it.

If you have been bitten by a tick

• After removing the tick, put it in a jar of alcohol;

write down the date of bite. • With alcohol or Betadine, disinfect the area

where the tick bite occurred. • Wash hands thoroughly. • Watch the area where you were bitten for a month. • If mouth parts remain in the skin or a rash develops,

consult your doctor and take the tick with you.

Some Lyme-disease symptoms

• May get a bull s-eye rash. • Flu-like symptoms may occur -

fever, headache, fatigue, stiff neck, muscle and

joint pain. • Weeks or months later -

more severe symptoms may appear involving heart or nervous system.

Information

www.lymediseaseassociation.org
Lyme Disease Association Inc.
P.O. Box 1438, Jackson, NJ 08527
888-366-6611
Source: New Jersey Department of Health