[Dailydrool] tick removal with soap

[Brenda Waldrop]

To expand on Bev's suggestion of using forceps, I've used those successfully
but I've found that hemostats are even better.  I thought it was just a
throwback to my days as a nurse that had me reaching for the medical tools
to remove ticks, but apparently I'm not the only one.

Hemostats work well because they lock and apply pressure.  Anyone who has
ever seen a medical TV show like House or something has seen these in use.
They look like long thin scissors and are usually seen free-standing out of
the body of a surgery patient.  Also called "clamps" for short they are used
to clamp off blood vessels and the like.  They lock closed and easily adjust
for various sizes of items to be clamped.

They have two good advantages for tick removal.  One is that a tick being
squeezed by hemostats tends to let go rather than leave the head behind, and
two, once you have it out, the tick is locked in the clamp and can't
escape.

You can get them really cheap, $5-$20 approx., on e-bay, or at your local
gun show.  In fact, if you are in the market for medical supplies, gun shows
are strangely one of the best places to get them.  You can buy everything
from sterile sutures to sucking-chest-wound kits there.   I frequently stock
my emergency medical bag by visiting the local gun show when it's in town.
They have great prices too.  Go figure.

The soap does not work though, that's for sure, so look into one of the
other methods if you don't want the ticks coming back from the "dead".

Brenda- momslave to Copper (no tick would dare try and latch on to me) and
Elphaba (I roll in EVERYTHING so the ticks love me.)
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