The summer season not only brings warm and sunny days—it also brings out the creepy crawlies! Insect bites and stings are a common part of the summer season, and that includes encountering ticks from time to time.

If you are outside minding your own business and discover a tick on your body, try not to panic! Many ticks are just a nuisance, but you should still focus on getting it off your skin as quickly as possible.

Read on as our AFC Urgent Care Gastonia team explains more about ticks and how to get them safely off of your body.

Do All Tick Bites Make You Sick?

Certainly not! Many ticks are just annoyances and while sucking your blood may be gross, that’s all they are doing. Once you have pulled the tick out, any irritation will fade away in a day or two. There is always a risk that the tick that bit you was carrying Lyme disease, but it is not a guarantee.

Did you know that even if a tick carrying Lyme disease bites you, it has to be attached to you for at least 36 hours to transmit the disease? Time is in your favor in this instance! If you check your body for ticks often, you can greatly reduce your risk of getting sick.

Tick Removal Tips

• Use a clean tweezers and pull slowly and steadily away from the skin.
• Do not twist as you pull.
• Take a picture of the tick.
• Dispose in the garbage or toilet.
• Wash your hands and the bite site thoroughly.

Does Lyme Disease Cause Symptoms?

Symptoms of Lyme disease can appear in as little as three days, or it can take up to 30 days. That’s a long time to wait! Just go about and live your life, but keep an eye on how you feel on a daily basis and check the bite site often.

If you notice a bulls-eye rash around the bite or if you start to experience a fever, chills or body aches, come see us right away. The longer you wait to address your symptoms and seek treatment, the worse your condition can get. In fact, you can also suffer long-term fatigue and chronic pain if you don’t treat Lyme disease right away.

When Medical Care Is Necessary

• You can’t remove the entire tick on your own
• A rash appears and looks like a bulls-eye
• Flu-like symptoms appear
• Signs of infection appear, like pus or redness and swelling

If you are ever worried about an animal or insect bite, come see us at AFC Urgent Care Gastonia.