Overview

Ticks are small spider-like animals. They bite to fasten themselves onto your skin and feed on your blood.

Ticks can carry diseases. But most ticks do not carry diseases, and most tick bites do not cause serious health problems.

Some people may have an allergic reaction to a tick bite. This reaction may be mild, with symptoms like itching and swelling. In rare cases, a severe allergic reaction may occur.

Most of the time, all you need to do for a tick bite is relieve any symptoms your child may have.

How can you care for your child at home?

• Put ice or a cold pack on the bite for 10 to 20 minutes once an hour. Put a thin cloth between the ice and your child's skin.
• Try an over-the-counter medicine to relieve itching, redness, swelling, and pain. Be safe with medicines. Read and follow all instructions on the label.
  • Ask your doctor if you can give your child an over-the-counter antihistamine.
  • Use a spray of local anesthetic that contains benzocaine, such as Solarcaine. It may help relieve pain. If your child's skin reacts to the spray, stop using it.
  • Put calamine lotion on the skin. It may help relieve itching.

To avoid tick bites

• Help your child avoid ticks:
  • Learn where ticks are found in your community, and stay away from those areas if possible.
  • Cover as much of your child's body as possible when your child plays in grassy or wooded areas.
  • Use insect repellents, such as products containing DEET. Products containing DEET are not recommended for children younger than 6 months of age.
  • Take steps to control ticks on your property if you live in an area where Lyme disease occurs. Clear leaves, brush, tall grasses, woodpiles, and stone fences from around your house and the edges of your yard or garden. This may help get rid of ticks.
• When your child comes in from outdoors, check your child's body for ticks, including the groin, head, and underarms. The ticks may be about the size of a sesame seed.
• If you find a tick, remove it quickly. Use tweezers to grasp the tick as close to its mouth (the part in your skin) as possible. Slowly pull the tick straight out—do not twist or yank—until its mouth releases from the skin. If the mouthparts break off and remain in the skin, remove them with tweezers or, if you are unable to remove them easily, leave them alone and let the skin heal. Talk to your health professional.
• Ticks can come into your house on clothing, outdoor gear, and pets. These ticks can fall off and attach to you and your child.
  • Check your child's clothing and outdoor gear. Remove any ticks you find. Then put your child's clothing in a clothes dryer on high heat for about 4 minutes to kill any ticks that might remain.
  • Check your pets for ticks after they have been outdoors.