Ticks may be one of the smallest insects around, but their bite is anything but harmless. Lyme's disease is the most common ailment attributed to the tick, but the little pest can cause nine other major diseases including Ehrlichiosis, Babesiosis, Tick Paralysis, Tick-borne Relapsing Fever, Tularemia, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Colorado Tick Fever. Most of these diseases have symptoms similar to the flu, such as fever, chills, headache, muscle ache, vomiting and fatigue.

The actual risk to developing Lyme's disease, or any of the other diseases from a tick is quite low. To be safe, though, you'll want to remove the tick as soon as possible because risk of infection increases between 24 to 72 hours after the tick attaches to the skin.

Before you grab your tweezers or pull out a box of matches, make sure that you understand the proper protcol for safe tick removal:

Tick Removal Procedure:

1) Use forceps or blunt-end tweezers to grab the tick at the point of attachment.
2) Gently pull the tick straight out, being careful not to prick, crush or burn the tick as it may release infected fluids or tissue.
3) Place the tick in a small vial labeled with the victim's name, address and the date.
4) Thoroughly wash your hands, disinfect the tweezers and bite site. You may want to consider using an antibiotic cream at the site of the bite.
5) Document the date the the bite, the location of the bite and general health at the time.
6) Notify your physician.
7) Watch for symptoms of illness, swelling, rings around the site, nausea, fever, chills, headache or fatigue. Document any health changes.
8) Turn the tick over to physician or lab for analysis.

A word of caution: Do not try to smother the tick (e.g. petroleum jelly, nail polish) as the tick has enough oxygen to complete the feeding. This method may also induce the tick to salivate and regurgitate into the attachment site, increasing the risk of infection.

Take the time to remove the tick properly and in a timely fashion and your risk for infection is very low.

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