Surgeon Debunks Main Myths About Tick Bites and Removal
Dr. Kharitonchyk, for example, recommends not complicating one's life with threads and other folk remedies, but buying one specific item at a pharmacy.
Vasily Kharitonchyk, a doctor at the admissions department of the Republican Scientific and Practical Center for Pediatric Surgery, debunked common myths about the consequences of careless parasite removal, Minsk-News reports.
Nothing spoils a warm summer day quite like finding a tick on your body. Moreover, panic is often caused not so much by the bite itself, but by the fear of possible infection.
— Nothing terrible will happen if you don't remove the tick perfectly correctly. This does not affect the risk of infection spreading at all, — explained the specialist.
— Will a person necessarily get sick if the tick was infected?
— Not at all, — reassured the doctor. — Even with an infected tick bite, pathogens do not always enter the body. But even if they do, infection is not guaranteed.
Submitting the removed tick for analysis is also not always advisable: studies often yield misleadingly positive results, and the process itself takes time. A preventive dose of antibiotic is much more effective (a single dose of doxycycline 200 mg for children eight years and older). There is no need to panic or rush: there are up to three days for emergency prophylaxis.
— What is the most effective way to remove a tick?
Dr. Kharitonchyk recommends not complicating one's life with threads and other folk remedies, but rather purchasing a tick removal tool at a pharmacy or on marketplaces.
— It looks like a miniature two-pronged fork with a slot. The tick is hooked from the side, right at the base of the skin, and carefully twisted out without compressing its abdomen. It costs pennies, and the result is always effective: it's simply impossible to do it incorrectly, — he added.