How to confirm/remove ticks in tough spots when alone?
When in tick country, tick checks are critical. Easier with a buddy who can look where the sun doesn't shine, but even alone, diligent inspection (especially with a mirror of some sort) can go a long way.
This question is about what to do after spotting what might be a tick in solo inspection. If one isn't certain if they've found a tick or not, or they are pretty certain but it is hard to access, what's the best course of action?
The question is general but here's a specific scenario: camping out in backcountry, I do a tick check and find what might be a tick on my middle lower back. I use a mirror and I brush it with my finger, then my nail, to see if it moves even a little bit (likely a tick) or if it seems to be completely one-with-my-skin (probably a forgotten birthmark). If I can't convince myself it is not a tick I spotted, or if I end up confident it is a tick, what should my next course of action be given its hard-to-access location and the lack of anybody else around? All the more challenging in this scenario, I don't plan to see anyone else for at least a few more days!
This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/q/16462. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
1 answer
Determining whether it's a tick
If you have a digital camera or mobile phone with you, you could try photographing your suspected tick. I don't have a tick handy for testing purposes, but I just tried a couple of close-up shots with my mid-range 2015 phone and it doesn't have any trouble imaging features well under a millimetre in size. A high-end phone or digital camera ought to do even better.
However, even if you can't confirm with total certainty that it's a tick, there are a couple of removal techniques you could attempt.
Removing the suspected tick
Some sources recommend freezing the tick using a medical freezing spray, and letting the dead tick drop off naturally. If you plan ahead and bring freezing spray, this should let you remove a tick from anywhere you can reach to detect one. (However, some sources also recommend against freezing ticks, claiming that it can encourage them to regurgitate their stomach contents.) If your suspected tick isn't actually a tick, this technique won't do any harm.
If I found myself in this situation and didn't have freezing spray, I'd probably go with the (generally discouraged) technique of using my fingernails as tweezers. This risks squeezing the tick's body, but I think it's the lesser of two evils. And I think that my fingertips are sensitive enough to get the positioning right without being able to see what I'm doing. Like the freezing spray, this is a technique you can try even if you're not sure it's a tick. If it's a splinter, it's good to remove it anyway, and if it's a birthmark, you'll probably (painfully) realize this before you manage to pull it off completely :).
This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/a/16463. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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