First, don’t be alarmed. It’s true that Lyme disease is the most frequent tick-borne disease around. Though, the chances of your child contracting Lyme disease once bitten by a tick is very rare.
To be on the safe side, though, you’ll need to eliminate the tick as quickly as possible because risk of contamination increases within 2 days after the tick latches to the skin.
What to Do?
Step 1
Make use of tweezers to grip the tick securely at its mouth or head, next to the skin.
Step 2
Tug firmly and gradually until the tick loosens its grip on the skin. Do not rotate the tick or move it from side-to-side. If a section of the tick remains in the skin, don’t fear. It will sooner or later come out on its own.
Step 3
Place the tick into a container or zip-locked bag if your doctor needs to identify what type of tick it is.
Step 4
Rinse your hands carefully including the area of the bite with shampoo and water.
Step 5:
Wipe the bite area with a bit of alcohol. Never put petroleum jelly on the area to try to remove a tick or by using a match to burn the tick off the skin. These techniques don’t remove the tick from the skin, and can cause the tick to go deeper and discharge more saliva (which intensifies the hazard of disease transmission).
Next Steps
Phone your doctor once the tick has been detached to find out if your kid should be assessed. In some cases, a medical practitioner will suggest antibiotics if a child is in danger of getting Lyme disease.
Phone the doctor straight away if your child gets a red-ringed patch or if the skin turns red and inflamed. Furthermore, phone if your child has flu-like symptoms, dizzy, muscle pain or an inflamed joint, or paralysis of the face. Even though other illnesses can result in similar symptoms, you’ll need to have your kid assessed early on so treatment can be administered as soon as possible if your should has Lyme disease.