on my leg. Must have been there since Sunday. Should I pull it off now (in the office) or wait till I get home and use the tick twister?

man up and get on with it

No point in hurrying. Wait until you get home and do it properly/safely.

Whisky, pen-knife, and DIY leg amputation.

Discuss it with the tick, it may be sympathetic to the situation given the circumstances

Swiss Army Knife at the ready – should I ask one of PAs to do it?

ring NHS Direct for a laugh

joking aside, wait a few mins and someone who actually knows the answer will be along

Got some tweezers?

http://www.lymeneteurope.org/info/tick-removal

Wait until you get home and use the tick twister. Last thing you want to do is accidentally squeeze it as it will vomit its stomach into you’re bloodstream. Its the stomach contents that contain the parasite that causes the problem. Same thing happens if some bright spark suggests you burn it off.

Just use a bit of thread. Make a granny knot, put the loop over the tick around the mouth parts gently tighten then use to twist it out.

it will vomit its stomach into you’re bloodstream

Beautifully put and somewhat persuasive if grammatically dodgy

Tick twister it is, good excuse to leave work early.

pix ?
.
.
.
.
.

of the PA’s

Tick twister it is, good excuse to leave work early

CORRECT !

Run out screaming for added effect

good luck fella

been there myself and had a 6mth bout of chronic fatigue – oh no sir – its not lyme…

look after yourself

paul

Smear Vaseline over it. This will stop it breathing and it will pull itself out.
Done it a few times. It works.

Smear Vaseline over it.

good luck wandering around the office asking if anyone’s got some Vaseline you can have a finger’s worth of.

Vaseline will also cause it to regurgitate the contents of its stomach. Don’t do that. TBH, I usually just get it with my fingernails and pull. You have to be quick though – if it senses any funny stuff, it’ll burrow in a bit. But yes, tick tweezers are best.

If at work surely you must do a risk assesment first,

I discovered a tick at work once while sat on the loo. I just flicked it really hard, watched it go splat against the cubicle door, then I picked the remaining bits out with a staple.

Worked for me, but may not be the recommended approach 🙂

nice article in this months Dirt Rag on this very thing. Yeuch.

Good god, is this a common MTB related ailment?!

Only if you ride a bike in the countryside.
Ian

So most people on here are safe

brings back horrific memories of a trip to Holland.

I was staying in a hotel in the back country and with nowt to do went for a walk.

Now it was summer so I was in shorts.
I came across some deer and started stalking them.

Later, when I got back to my room I had a bit of an itch.

Ohhhhh myyyy god.
I was covered in them – just where you do not want to be.

The rest is all a blur.

My mate got one when he was walking Land’s End to John o Groats last year.

On his balls.

😯

It’s out with a twist. It was walking around afterwards so hopefully didn’t leave too much of its self in my leg. I await the dreaded ring rash.

note – ring rash not 100 pc reliable – if you feel crap / flu like next few weeks go docs and tell them and get antibiotics – if its not too late keep the tick in a plastic bag in a freezer IF you get sick they can test it to see what it was carrying as its not just lyme they can vector.

just my 2ps worth.

I used to get bitten all the time when I lived down in Somerset. It was never a problem.

Also, you pull them out. No need to burn, smother or twist them. Just grab it by the mouth bits with a pair of tweezers and gently pull.