The great outdoors come with a lot of perks — and pests. After your little one has been outside (especially if you live in a heavily wooded area) be sure to inspect for insect bites, especially from ticks. Do a bug body scan, look carefully in your child’s hair, and check clothing too (a perfect place for a tick stowaway to sneak into your home). If you do find something, follow these tips for treating tick bites and removing ticks.
Treating tick bites in children
- Get it off! Unlike mosquito bites in children, which are hit-and-run offenses, a tick likes to hang around at the scene of the crime by burrowing its head in its victim’s skin. If you find one attached to your child, remove the tick with tweezers: Grasp the tick firmly at its head or mouth (near your child’s skin), and pull firmly and steadily until it lets go. Do not jerk or twist the tweezers while removing ticks, or you may come away with just the tick’s body. And ignore the antiquated advice to use petroleum jelly or a lit match to try to remove a tick: These methods can make things worse by causing the tick to dig in deeper.
- Wipe down the bite site. Swab the area with an alcohol-soaked cotton ball or alcohol pad.
- Bag the bugger. Seal the tick in a plastic bag.
- Call your doctor. Your pediatrician may want you to bring your child (and the tick) in to treat the tick bite. Deer ticks, which are tiny, can carry Lyme disease, a bacterial disease which is harmful to children's health. The telltale symptom of Lyme is a red bull’s-eye-shaped rash that appears within three to 30 days of the deer tick bite. Keep an eye on the site of a deer tick bite: If you see such a rash crop up, take your child to the pediatrician right away. Lyme disease can easily be treated with antibiotics, but they work best when started at the very first sign of infection. If your doctor does hand you a prescription, make sure you use caution when giving your toddler antibiotics.
Preventing tick bites in children
- Dress your child in long-sleeved shirts and long pants before taking a walk in the woods or in tall grass, where ticks like to hang out.
- Ticks love humid, moist places (like piles of leaves) near wooded or grassy areas. Be extra cautious to check your child for ticks if you’ve been walking or playing with your child in the woods or grassy fields.
- Use an insect repellent. You can use one containing up to 30 percent DEET or 10 percent picaridin (but don’t use either on infants under two months). Limit it to your child’s clothing and any exposed skin except his hands and face. If you aren’t sure if a particular insect repellent is okay for your child, ask your doctor to recommend a safe one. This will also keep mosquito and spider bites at bay.