Tick Bite in Children: Care Instructions

Ticks are small spiderlike animals. They bite to fasten themselves onto your skin and feed on your blood.

Ticks can carry diseases. But most ticks do not carry diseases, and most tick bites do not cause serious health problems.

Some people may have an allergic reaction to a tick bite. This reaction may be mild, with symptoms like a rash, itching, and swelling. In rare cases, a severe allergic reaction may occur.

Most of the time, all you need to do for a tick bite is relieve any symptoms.

• If the doctor told you how to care for your child’s tick bite, follow the doctor's instructions. If you did not get instructions, follow this general advice:
  • Wash the area with clean water 2 times a day. Don't use hydrogen peroxide or alcohol. They can slow healing.
  • You may cover the area with a thin layer of petroleum jelly, such as Vaseline, and a nonstick bandage.
  • Avoid using an antibiotic ointment unless the doctor recommends it.
• Put ice or a cold pack on the area for 10 to 20 minutes at a time for several hours. Put a thin cloth between the ice and your child's skin.
  • If there is no swelling, try heat on the area for 10 to 20 minutes at a time for several hours for comfort.
• Try an over-the-counter medicine to relieve itching, redness, swelling, and pain. Be safe with medicines. Read and follow all instructions on the label.
  • Ask your doctor if you can give your child an over-the-counter antihistamine.
  • Use a spray of local anesthetic that contains benzocaine, such as Solarcaine. It may help relieve pain. If your child's skin reacts to the spray, stop using it.
  • Put calamine lotion on the skin. It may help relieve itching.
  • Ask your doctor if you can give your child acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin). Do not use ibuprofen if your child is less than 6 months old unless the doctor gave you instructions to use it.
• If the doctor prescribed antibiotics for your child, give them as directed. Do not stop using them just because your child feels better. Your child needs to take the full course of antibiotics.

Try to help your child avoid ticks.

• Learn where ticks are found in your community, and stay away from those areas if possible.
  • If you live on property in an area where Lyme disease occurs, take steps to control ticks. For example, remove leaves, brush, and tall grasses from around your home and yard. This may help get rid of ticks.
• Cover as much of your child's body as possible when your child plays in grassy or wooded areas. Have your child wear a hat, a long-sleeved shirt, and long pants with the legs tucked into your child's socks. Keep in mind that it's easier to spot ticks on light-colored clothes.
• Use insect repellents, such as products containing DEET. If your child is older than 2 months, you can spray these repellents on your child's skin.
• Use products that contain 0.5% permethrin on your child's clothing and outdoor gear, such as a tent. You can also buy clothing already treated with permethrin.
• When your child comes in from outdoors, check your child's body for ticks, including the groin, head, and underarms. The ticks may be about the size of a sesame seed.
  • Check your child daily for ticks, especially during the summer months.
• Be aware that ticks can come into your home on clothing, outdoor gear, and pets. These ticks can fall off and attach to you and your child.
  • Check your child's clothing and outdoor gear. Remove any ticks you find. Then put the clothing in a clothes dryer on high heat for about 10 minutes to kill any ticks that might remain.
  • Check your pets for ticks after they have been outdoors.

If you find a tick, remove it quickly. Use tweezers to grasp the tick as close to its mouth (the part in your skin) as possible. Slowly pull the tick straight out—do not twist or yank—until its mouth releases from the skin. If part of the tick stays in the skin, leave it alone. It will come out on its own.