Post by Administration on Jul 10, 2008 8:43:41 GMT -5
Tick talk
Experts argue smothering versus pulling
By BEVERLEY WARE
South Shore Bureau
Nova Scotia
Tue. Jul 8 - 3:51 PM
An expert on parasites says the proper way to remove a tick is to coat it with some substance that inhibits its breathing, causing it to pull out of the skin on its own.
The province is giving out wrong information on how to get ticks off your body, says a Halifax-based parasitologist.
The Department of Health Protection and Promotion puts out a brochure that says to grasp the tick with tweezers and gently pull it straight out. Edith Angelopoulos cringed when she read that piece of advice.
"You cannot pull them out," she said. The only way to get them off is to cut off their air supply.
Ms. Angelopoulos taught parasitology at Dalhousie University for 30 years.
She said ticks have a proboscis that digs into the skin so that it can attach itself. The tick also has spines pointed back from its body and its head has little pumps that pump an anti-coagulant into its host.
"You start to pull it out and you can’t pull it out because of the spines, so its head usually breaks off. Its head stays in and keeps contracting, pumping that anti-coagulant."
The leftover head can cause nasty health problems for the host, including tumours, growths and infections, she said. The host’s body may react to the foreign body and build a defence around it. "I saw a person who had a tumour removed one year after the tick had been pulled out."
There is only one proper way to get rid of a tick. "You need to stop it from getting air. You find a tick and all you need to do is to cover the area thoroughly with a greasy substance like butter or lard or Vaseline." That plugs the holes through which the tick breathes, it contracts the tiny spines and you can easily pull the tick off.
Once the tick’s head has broken off, Ms. Angelopoulos said the only way to remove it is with microsurgery.
Health promotion spokesman Brett Loney said the province stands by the advice it is giving out. "We’ve told people to pull them off with tweezers. That’s what we’ve always told people to do," and he said that’s based on advice from the medical community, the medical health officer, Department of Natural Resources insect specialists and the Public Health Agency of Canada. The agency’s national microbiology lab in Winnipeg tests the ticks for Lyme disease.
Robbin Lindsay is the agency’s specialist in ticks and Lyme disease. He is away and could not be reached for comment Monday but he did give a media interview last week. Agency spokeswoman Jana Lerner said he said "use tweezers to carefully grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible and pull slowly upward, avoiding twisting or crushing the tick."
He also said not to smother the tick, she said.
"Absolutely wrong," Ms. Angelopoulpos said. "I stand by what I said."
She said the only other alternative to applying a greasy substance is to wait until the tick has had its fill of blood, and it will simply drop off, but she said that could take some time.
thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/1066299.html
Experts argue smothering versus pulling
By BEVERLEY WARE
South Shore Bureau
Nova Scotia
Tue. Jul 8 - 3:51 PM
An expert on parasites says the proper way to remove a tick is to coat it with some substance that inhibits its breathing, causing it to pull out of the skin on its own.
The province is giving out wrong information on how to get ticks off your body, says a Halifax-based parasitologist.
The Department of Health Protection and Promotion puts out a brochure that says to grasp the tick with tweezers and gently pull it straight out. Edith Angelopoulos cringed when she read that piece of advice.
"You cannot pull them out," she said. The only way to get them off is to cut off their air supply.
Ms. Angelopoulos taught parasitology at Dalhousie University for 30 years.
She said ticks have a proboscis that digs into the skin so that it can attach itself. The tick also has spines pointed back from its body and its head has little pumps that pump an anti-coagulant into its host.
"You start to pull it out and you can’t pull it out because of the spines, so its head usually breaks off. Its head stays in and keeps contracting, pumping that anti-coagulant."
The leftover head can cause nasty health problems for the host, including tumours, growths and infections, she said. The host’s body may react to the foreign body and build a defence around it. "I saw a person who had a tumour removed one year after the tick had been pulled out."
There is only one proper way to get rid of a tick. "You need to stop it from getting air. You find a tick and all you need to do is to cover the area thoroughly with a greasy substance like butter or lard or Vaseline." That plugs the holes through which the tick breathes, it contracts the tiny spines and you can easily pull the tick off.
Once the tick’s head has broken off, Ms. Angelopoulos said the only way to remove it is with microsurgery.
Health promotion spokesman Brett Loney said the province stands by the advice it is giving out. "We’ve told people to pull them off with tweezers. That’s what we’ve always told people to do," and he said that’s based on advice from the medical community, the medical health officer, Department of Natural Resources insect specialists and the Public Health Agency of Canada. The agency’s national microbiology lab in Winnipeg tests the ticks for Lyme disease.
Robbin Lindsay is the agency’s specialist in ticks and Lyme disease. He is away and could not be reached for comment Monday but he did give a media interview last week. Agency spokeswoman Jana Lerner said he said "use tweezers to carefully grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible and pull slowly upward, avoiding twisting or crushing the tick."
He also said not to smother the tick, she said.
"Absolutely wrong," Ms. Angelopoulpos said. "I stand by what I said."
She said the only other alternative to applying a greasy substance is to wait until the tick has had its fill of blood, and it will simply drop off, but she said that could take some time.
thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/1066299.html