4 steps to quickly removing a tick

Ticks can carry Lyme disease, which can make you very sick after being bit. Use these steps to help you remove ticks without causing infection.

• Ticks are insects that live in heavily wooded areas.
• They bite people, and often cling to their skin and clothes.

After a walk in the woods, people should check their bodies to make sure they aren't carrying a tick, and should remove any that are found to help prevent disease. They may also want to take ticks to a doctor to make sure they aren't infected with a disease.

The best tool for removing a tick is a pair of fine-point tweezers.

• The fine-point edge of the tweezers allows you to get a firm grasp on the tiny bug so that it doesn't slip out when you try to pull it away from your body.
• You can warm your tweezers over a flame for several seconds to kill any bacteria on them, then rinse them off with rubbing alcohol if you're worried about getting an infection.

Rather than grab the tick on the part that's closest to you, try to grab the tick as close to its mouth as possible—which means at the part that's closest to your skin.

• If you don't grab close to its mouth, it's possible to pull the tick apart, leaving part of it still inside you.

Don't twist the tick to get it out of you.

• Instead, grasp it firmly and pull it straight out.

Twisting the tick, even if it feels firmly lodged, increases the chances that it will break off and leave part of the mouth under your skin, which can cause an infection. Once you pull the tick straight out, put it in a plastic bag if you want to bring it to a doctor with you.

• To ensure that you get rid of any remnants or bacteria from the bite, wash the area well with warm water and soap.
• Also, you should try to put an antibiotic ointment on the spot, since the bite will most likely leave a wound, and you don't want it to get infected.
• Cover the bite area with a small bandage for a few days.