Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Dealing with ticks

My youngest came home from a school trip to the Isle of Arran with a tick. The teacher had put vaseline on it. The trouble with vaseline is that the tick suffocates and vacates its stomach into its host. The best way to get rid of a tick is with tweezers or a tick remover. Removed promptly with tweezers or a tick remover, the tick should pose no problem.
Burning, vaseline or nail polish is not good and is likely to lead to infection.
My youngest is now on antibiotics. He thinks I overreacted but Lyme disease is no joke and there are a number of other nasty diseases. The doctor agreed with me, particularly as the tick was on his skin for over two hours.
The best way to avoid ticks is prevention -- long sleeves and insect repellent with DEET.

Other than that, he had a brilliant time. Lots of pictures of rocks and other geological formations as well as red deer.

1 comment:

Caroline said...

Hope youngest is ok! Caroline x