How to remove ticks

Ticks are small parasitic insects commonly found in grassy areas during spring and summer. Ticks live by attaching themselves to a host (humans or animals) and sucking blood. Ticks are stealthy animals, most of the time you can’t feel one walking over you, or even biting your skin. I had many ticks in my life and I felt one biting me only once, probably because it was a monster of a tick. They also have very powerful jaws which makes them hard to remove. It may be interesting to note that ticks don’t have an anus. They don’t produce feces. My biology teacher used to say that this is because blood is the perfect food.

Ticks could be very dangerous because they transmit Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. There is no way to tell whether the tick that attached itself to your skin is carrying any of these diseases or not, so it is important to treat every tick as a dangerous one. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that the tick is removed properly. Improper removal or usage of various fold remedies makes the tick regurgitate the contents of its bowels back into our bloodstream.

First line of defense is prevention. Ticks rarely attach immediately after climbing onto our bodies. Most of the time they walk around, up to 24 hours, searching for a good place to bite down. This gives you plenty of time to search your body and you clothes for ticks after you return home from a walk in the park or some other grassy area. Just make sure to search thoroughly, turn your clothes upside down and look in every nook and cranny. It is best to do this while standing in a bathtub.

Let’s see now what you should never do if a tick actually attaches itself on your skin. Virtually all the folk remedies that make the tick fall off, such as kerosene, diesel, gas, dish soap, etc. will make the tick regurgitate into your blood stream before it dies. If it has any pathogens they will go straight into you. The same is true for using fire, sticky tape, wax and other things.

The only right way to remove a tick is to pull it out with tweezers, but this must be done in a way that the tick’s abdomen is not squeezed. You must use tweezers designed for tick removal (can be bought in drug stores). Only they are narrow enough to enable you to grab the tick just by its thorax. This is the part of the tick that is closest to your skin and that has legs attached to it. Abdomen is the big round or shriveled thing at the back of the tick, behind its legs. If you squeeze the abdomen it will just squirt its contents into your bloodstream.

If all this sounds too complicated seek medical help.

Sunburns, remedies that work and those that don't

With the winter behind us and the days becoming longer and warmer we are going to see more and more sunburns. How can this condition be treated, what remedies work and what don’t and most importantly, how can this be prevented?

Sunburn is not much different from any other thermal injury, like a burn on a hot stove. It causes pain, makes the skin red and may even produce blisters. Redness is what medical professionals call first degree burn. If there are blisters then it is a second degree burn. These conditions can be serious if they involve large areas of the body, but sunburns are usually localized.

First of all I must point out that sunburns are 100% preventable. More importantly they should always be prevented. Pain and discomfort will only last a while, but each sunburn damages the skin permanently. Each sunburn will cause your skin to age prematurely and each sunburn increases the risk of developing skin cancer. So, wear a large brimmed hat, long sleeved shirts, long pants/skirts, use sun screen and most importantly avoid being exposed to the sun when it is high in the sky. Don’t go out in the middle of the day.

Now, what to do if you get sunburn? First of all, cool down the burnt area. Use compresses soaked in cold water. Pain can be alleviated with some ibuprofen or Tylenol. Hydrocortisone cream can help, especially if it was cooled down in a fridge. If you have blisters LEAVE THEM ALONE. Piercing or popping blisters will only make matters worse.

There are countless folk remedies for sunburn that simply don’t work, or even worsen the condition. Mentioning them all in one article is impossible, so I’ll just name a few.

Food products: tomato juice, potato slices, mayonnaise, mustard, milk, honey, vinegar, eggs, butter, cooking oil, etc
Medications: hydrogen peroxide, vitamins, alcohol, milk of magnesia, shaving cream, toothpaste, etc
Others: bleach (oh, my God), whiskey, vodka, laundry detergent

Treating insect bites at home

Although insect bites can cause severe allergic reactions or transmit diseases (such as Lyme disease or malaria), most of them are quite harmless, but even then they can be very inconvenient.  Some insect bites cause pain and others cause itchiness. These ‘minor’ symptoms do not require medical attention and they can be alleviated with some readily available home remedies.

Bee stings are usually painful, wasp stings even more so. When a bee stings a person it leaves its sting in our skin and the sting continues to pump the venom from its attached venom sack. The first thing that one should do is to remove the sting. This step is simple, grab it with your fingers and pull it out. At this point it could be useful to pinch the part of the stung part of the skin, this may help squeeze out some of the venom. The stung area should be then treated with a paste made of baking soda and water. Some people claim that vinegar also helps. If these remedies are not available some cold water or even mud can help. Be aware that bee stings (no pun intended) can cause allergic reactions in certain people which range from mild to life threatening. Mild reaction could include itchiness on the spot of the sting or over wider areas of the body and severe reactions include narrowing of the throat which can cause suffocation. People with such strong allergic reactions should carry an EpiPen.

Insects such as mosquitoes, fleas and others usually cause itchiness on the point of bite. When these insects bite down they release blood thinning chemicals that stop blood from coagulating while they are sucking it. These chemicals along with dirt, bacteria and other contaminants make our bodies release histamine at the point of bite and this is what causes itchiness. Common remedies for this include cold water and ice, but there is another approach that I find more effective and that is hot water. Hot water causes increase release of histamine, but after a while the level of histamine will drop sharply. When I have an itchy bite I pour hot water over it. I use water that is almost scalding. For a few seconds the offended area itches like hell, but then it suddenly stops itching. This effect lasts at least 2 or 3 hours.

Most of the insect bites can easily be treated, but prevention is even better, so try not to get bitten.