Removing a tic from a patient

RainMom · Jul 21, 2012

In the physician's office I used to work at, we would frequently have pts with ticks after mushroom hunting. The doc would remove the tick, give it to the pt in a dated ziplock, & tell them to keep it in the freezer. Just in case the pt later started to develop any symptoms, the tick was still available for testing (I guess freezing did not damage the specimen?) I really don't recall any pts ever having to send their tick off for testing though.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Jul 21, 2012

So glad everyone is an expert on ticks. My neighbor used to use a lit cigarette to burn them off his dog! He had the steadiest hands. My dad got ether from the pharmacist, soaked a cotton ball in it, and held it to the tick. It'd fall asleep, fall off, and then we'd call the neighbor for a lit cigarette.

:eek: Ether while effective is extremely flammable.....lucky dog.

bubbles1972 · Jul 21, 2012

listerine........good ol' stinky original listerine.....will back a tick out faster than you would believe. just soak a cotton ball with listerine, put it on the tick for a couple of seconds, lift it off........tick out! very rarely have i had to do it twice. i always worry about pulling on them, if the head stays in, there's a risk of infection.

have had to remove several times from patients in the past few years... uuuugh.

SwansonRN · Jul 21, 2012

Didn't mean send it to the hospital lab. And I'm not a male, it's just my avatar! We always save ticks where I live.

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Jul 21, 2012

In my area the county cooperative extension of the state university agriculture department offers free testing of ticks (dog & deer). It's part of a grant funding. They've done it for years, in search of epidemiological data on Lymes and a few other tick-borne diseases. Apparently grad students doing a few different fellowships are trained to complete the testing. The same group also performs the testing on the black crows & other birds for West Nile Virus as that was a big problem a few years back.

I was always taught to NOT put listerine, alcohol or vaseline on a tick as it will then regurgitate into the bite site, just like not squeezing the abdomen. We were taught to get as close to the head as possible to pull out an intact tick without doing further harm. Sharp tweezers work for my dogs and my Cub Scout son. When I worked ER years ago as a tech, an MD order was required for tick removal and could be delegated to certain staff members. (We had quite an issue some summers in this area, so quite few techs & RN's were sent to class for competencies on tick removal and preservation. The only ticks I recall being sent for actual testing was a ones removed from a police officer who was covered in ticks post foot chase of an armed suspect. There were probably almost a hundred ticks and many tested positive for Lyme's.)

They do pop nicely when burned and are a real pain to try and squash. But they do nicely shrivel up and die when dropped in a vial of isopropyl alcohol or acetone.

PedsDrNurseTheo, ADN, BSN, MSN, DNP, RN, EMT-P, NP · Jul 21, 2012

I was always taught to NOT put listerine, alcohol or vaseline on a tick as it will then regurgitate into the bite site, just like not squeezing the abdomen. We were taught to get as close to the head as possible to pull out an intact tick without doing further harm.

This.

And you don't even really need tweezers - a slow, steady pull will do. He doesn't want to have his face pulled off any more than you want to have it lost in you - he'll let go.

But the right tweezers won't hurt.

Honestly never dealt with removing the critters in an ED or inpatient setting, so hadn't considered the need for competencies and physician orders. How silly of me not to have known that.

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Jul 21, 2012

i never seem to have my tick tool in bed with me, which is where the kitties like to show off their passengers. scotch tape folded over to entomb les petits batardes (that's french ) and toss it over the side of the bed to be put into the wastebasket in the morning.

my most traumatic tick removal at camp (not for me, but for the patient) was an eight-year-old cub scout who confided to his leader that he had a tick on his scrotum. fortunately i had a private area (large bathroom), a patient drape (rain poncho) and a male leader to assist (hold hands and murmur "there, there.") had the kid go in the bathroom, put on the poncho, drop trou, and let me know when he was ready. i was gentle, professional, and fast (love that little tick tool) and left him to get dressed in about 30 seconds, but the poor kid was mortified. i told him that he did fine and would be fine, and to go have a great camporee, and he took off with his buddy.