Tick Removal

T

thataway

Active member
Today in Active Captain, there is advocation of removing a tick by twirling or spinning it with your finger. He notes that this may take as long as 3 to 5 minutes!

Video bad method here.

This is not the recommended method, and I have written a letter to Jeff and I hope that he will retract his recommendation.

The proper way is to use a tick removal tool or fine tweezers.

The proper way to remove a tick is to use either a “Tick removal tool” or fine tweezers, which allows grasping the tick at the area just behind the head and rapidly, but gently removing it. CDC states that the tick should be removed as quickly as possible by this method.

One of biggest worries with ticks, is Lyme disease. This is caused by a bacterium (spirochete), that will be in the saliva or stomach content of the tick. There are at least 16 diseases (both virus and bacterial) caused by ticks in the USA according to CDC. Secondary considerations are infections of the wound from other direct bacterial causes.

Although the twisting method will work, it has the same fault that many other methods have. That it is gives the tick time/opportunity to discharge both saliva and stomach content into the wound, thus increasing the risk of infection over the method of rapid tick removal with a tool or tweezers. This regurgitation is the ticks reaction to noxious stimulus including the twist method. The other traditional methods of tick removal share this danger.

After the tick is removed the wound should be carefully washed with soap and water. The tick should be disposed of in alcohol. flushing down a toilet, placing in a sealed container or wrapping in tape. Do not crush the tick between your fingers.

Bob Austin MD
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In all fairness, I will post Jeff's response which was both in a person e-mail and on Facebook, with the caveat that we have known each other for a long time, and Jeff and Karen were guests at our home for Thanksgiving dinner several years ago.

Hi Bob,

Calls would take too long. I'm sure you've removed your share of ticks. Using tweezers as I used to too, I find that often, the head would stay embedded and break off. Or even worse, in an attempt to get a good hold on the tick's body, it would crush the body and force their insides through their head into the open passage. This twirl method makes the tick want to release and in doing so, it comes out 100% intact and clean. It's also simple - anyone can do it and you need no tools/devices so it's much more appropriate when you find a tick on you when visiting a beach or away from the boat. I have a feeling that very few people carry tweezers with them in their dinghy.

If the tick is very newly attached (like within a few minutes), sure, tweezers will work great. But once they've bitten deeply, tweezers are a terrible method.

That's my findings and I'm sticking to it. I don't think it refutes anything from the CDC because the CDC's recommendations don't address deep tick bites which, frankly, is what I see most often with dogs (although I removed one from my chest within the last month that was pretty deep too).


Jeffrey Siegel
Lead Product Manager
Chief ActiveCaptain Cheerleader
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And my response to Jeff:

Hi Jeff,

I understand that you are too busy to talk on the phone.

The issue is not with technique, but prevention of serious disease. I don’t mean for this to become “tickgate” 😳 However, your technique with tweezers is wrong. The tick should not be grasped by the body—and the body does not go into the wound as it becomes engorged. The tick removal tool is better; I use the “TickEase” which has a tick removal tool and fine tweezers on the other end—a quality tool made of SS. but there are a number of smaller and less expensive tick removal tools. Many can be carried on a key chain or in a wallet and thus be with the person or dog owner all of the time. My experience is 100% removal with no issues also with the tool/tweezers. As I have aged, I do have a magnifying glass (which I carry most of the time also).

It is not about the “depth” of the tick bite—it is prevention of regurgitation of stomach content and saliva, where the bacteria and virus live in the tick. I realize that you have not had to treat patients with the tick borne disease, but I do believe that all people need to be advised of the risk of disease, and that it is greater with the “Twist” method. You admit it may take 3 to 5 minutes….a lot of time that Mr. tick is regurgitating—and that is what they do—increasing the risk of disease.

I hope that you publish my rebuttal in your comments on the column. The feedback e-mail I received from AC suggested that that may not be the case.

Yes, we cruised with dogs aboard from Calif.to Maine then Europe and back, on 5 inland passage trip, and a 3rd trip down thru Mexico, Central America and Caribbean back to Florida. Today we take the dog (down to one as we aged) in the RV—where the risk of ticks is very high at rest stops and campgrounds. We do regular tick inspections—and have both had ticks on us and the dog in the last few months.

Hope all is well with the “Garmin” project, and you are enjoying “Red Head”-

Best Regards,

Bob
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I might add that the "twirl" method is contradictory to the CDC recommendation that the best method is to remove with a tick removal tool or fine tweezers.
 
om CDC f you find a tick attached to your skin, there's no need to panic. There are several tick removal devices on the market, but a plain set of fine-tipped tweezers will remove a tick quite effectively.
How to remove a tick

Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin's surface as possible.
Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don't twist or jerk the tick; this can cause the mouth-parts to break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, remove the mouth-parts with tweezers. If you are unable to remove the mouth easily with clean tweezers, leave it alone and let the skin heal.
After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol, an iodine scrub, or soap and water.
Dispose of a live tick by submersing it in alcohol, placing it in a sealed bag/container, wrapping it tightly in tape, or flushing it down the toilet. Never crush a tick with your fingers.
Avoid folklore remedies such as "painting" the tick with nail polish or petroleum jelly, or using heat to make the tick detach from the skin. Your goal is to remove the tick as quickly as possible–not waiting for it to detach.
https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/removing_a_tick.html
 
Thanks Steve and Brent! The comment has been made that it is important to get rid of the tick as soon as possible. I agree with that, but the prevention of disease is more important--and using proper technique should not delay the removal of the tick.

Our dogs have been both black and light yellow (mostly labs before our current miniature poodle. The light color dogs make seeing the tick far easier than the black dogs. We do "tick inspections" when we get back aboard the boat or in the RV after a shore excursion. If we see one when ashore we remove it immediately.
This goes for ourselves as well as the dog. All 3 of our family members have had ticks on use after walks or hikes in the last 6 months. That is one reason we carry a tick removal tool with us.
 
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