Prompt Tick Bite Treatment & Removal in Waterbury, CT

Spring is the season of new beginnings, ushering in sun-filled days, warm weather, abundant greenery, and blooming flowers. If you’re ready to get outside and enjoy some fresh air, good for you! There’s no excuse for staying indoors—not even pesky ticks.

With that said, it’s important to be aware of these small, bacteria-carrying insects and where you might encounter them. Deer ticks are prevalent in the northeastern United States, including Connecticut. In many cases, tick bites are harmless and do not produce noticeable symptoms. However, some tick bites can cause an allergic reaction or transmit an infectious disease, such as Lyme disease. Therefore, prompt tick bite treatment and removal are important.

Prevention Is Key

Whether you are spending a weekend backpacking in a national forest or taking an after-dinner stroll through a neighborhood field, you should take precautions to prevent ticks from coming into contact with your skin. Here are some ways to do so:

• Apply an insect repellant that contains DEET, permethrin, or picaridin.
• Wear a hat and clothing that fully covers your arms and legs.
• Tuck your pants into your socks.
• Wear light-colored clothes (which will make it easier for you to spot any ticks that hitch a ride with you).
• When walking on a trail, stay toward the middle (ticks are often found in the bushes and shrubbery on the sides).
• As soon as you go indoors, check yourself for ticks. Comb your hair with a fine-tooth comb, check the folds of your skin, take a shower, and launder your clothing with hot water.

What to Do If You’ve Been Bitten

While effective, these tips are not foolproof. If you find a tick attached to your skin, don’t panic. Although it’s important to promptly and fully remove the tick, you have some time—a tick must remain attached for approximately 24 hours for the bacteria that causes Lyme disease to travel from the tick’s gut to its salivary glands and into your bloodstream. So, having a tick removed within 24 hours can significantly lower your risk of becoming infected.

Of course, you may not always know that you’ve been bitten by a tick. Therefore, after spending time in a grassy or wooded area, you should be watchful for Lyme disease symptoms, such as fever, chills, body aches, fatigue, and a skin rash with a distinctive bull’s eye pattern.

If you need medical attention for a tick bite, turn to the team at PhysicianOne Urgent Care in Waterbury. Our urgent care centers are open seven days per week, and we offer prompt tick removal and treatment for tick-borne illnesses, which may include a short course of antibiotics.