Meanwhile, my friend Melissa and I took Nina to a pumpkin farm near where Melissa's parents live. This place has a hay maze, "train" rides, pony rides, etc. Nina was focused on getting her pumpkin. I wanted to look at everything else, maybe let her ride some of the rides and THEN get the pumpkin - rather than carry it all over the place. But no, she wanted a pumpkin first and would not budge until the perfect pumpkin was found. I headed to the larger pumpkins but she wanted a small one. We walked over to the aisle with the small ones and she immediately started to pick them up and if she felt they were too heavy she dropped them. Luckily they were not far from the ground when she dropped them and no damage occurred. So she picked one out that was small enough and light enough for her to carry around and then was ready to explore. :)We then joined some of Melissa's family at a local ski resort called Holiday Valley
where we took the ski lift up to the top of the hill (only $2!!) and had a picnic on the top and then walked down. It was a beautiful warm day. We all had lots of fun. Two days later I was giving her a bath (she had taken showers until then but decided she wanted a bath that night) and noticed some mud that had gotten stuck on her arm. I tried to wipe it off with the washcloth but it didn't budge. I grabbed it an pulled and she screamed - "OW! Mommy you are hurting me!" So I let go and immediately had visions of skin cancer since this black thing appeared out of nowhere and appeared to be something like a skin tag. So I started to look at it closer and discovered it had legs squirming around - GROSS!!!! She had a tick!!!!!I remembered hearing that if you paint the tick body with nail polish it will suffocate and pull its head out to breathe. So I tried that - didn't work. I called Dad who told me to light a match and blow out the flame and touch it to the tick. I tried that - didn't work but I did manage to accidentally touch Nina with the match - silly me for thinking she might stay still for two seconds! Now I was lost so I got online and went to WebMD and found the following:
1. Never touch the tick with your bare hands - use gloves or tissue or something. OOPS!!
2. Never squeeze the tick - you will force the possibly infected blood into the person. OOPS!! - I thought it was mud!!
3. Never use nail polish or vaseline - you can cause infection to the bite area. OOOPS!
4. Never use a match while the tick is still in the person. OOPS!! (random thought here - why would you use a match on the tick when it is out of the person?)
By this time I am thinking I have killed my kid for sure and I am wondering what I SHOULD do! WebMD recommended getting fine nosed tweezers and gently but firmly grasping the tick as close to the skin as possible then gently but firmly pull without twisting or corkscrewing until the tick releases. By now I am thinking I will have to take her to the ER but decided to try it and I pinned Nina down so I could do the whole "gently but firmly without twisting" thing and I gently but firmly pulled until the skin lifted and just waited there for the head to release. After what seemed like an eternity but what was probably only 5 seconds the tick finally released. After checking to be sure the head was attached to the body of the tick I squeezed it till it was as flat as possible - ok, I admit it - I was furious with this tick!! After it was all over I felt very nauseous - a nurse I NEVER wanted to be but I think she may be the one to train me to get over my queasiness!
She is fine so far - no fevers and the bite site recovered immediately. I only have one child but at this point wonder if I have 3!!! This so soon after the hair clip up the nose is too much for one kid!!
3 comments:
Wow, that's quite a story, Jenny. I remember being cautioned about ticks forever as a child whenever we would go up in the mountains, but I don't think I ever got one. I think my Dad did at some time in his life, however. Glad your online solution finally worked, and I hope there are no negative after effects. Good to hear from you again.
Yes, those ticks are nasty, and our Dad not only got a tick, he had tick fever and was very, very ill for several days. Most of us found ticks on us on one occasion or another, but I don't think any of them had burrowed in. Sorry about your computer problems, but glad you found a way to post. Aunt Lyndaa
So far, here in Alabama, I have seen many bugs, but no ticks. They were numerous in Cape Cod, so I know what they look like. Luckily, I haven't experienced one imbedded in anyone...I am like you and prefer to not wear a nurse hat.
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