| It's summer and you are out enjoying the warm | | | | You do not need your doctor's permission to test |
| weather. However, you just found a tiny attached | | | | the tick. |
| tick on yourself or a member of your family. You | | | | I recommend Clongen Labs in Germantown, MD. The |
| mind is echoing the thought, "Did it just give me or | | | | head of the lab, Dr. Kilani offers testing results in 1-5 |
| someone I know Lyme disease?" Here is what you | | | | business days via email. Here is where you can |
| can do when you find an attached tick. | | | | download the instructions and a form for submitting |
| Tick Removal Instructions | | | | your tick: |
| Deer tick nymphs can be as small as a poppy seed. | | | | Preventative Treatment for Lyme Disease |
| The adults can be about the size of a sunflower | | | | Contact your physician and tell them that you found |
| seed or larger. | | | | an attached tick. Tell them that you will forward the |
| Using a pair of tweezers, grasp the tick as closely to | | | | results of the tick test to their office. |
| the skin as possible. Gently and slowly pull the tick | | | | You can also request that your physician give you a |
| out of your skin using firm and steady pressure. | | | | Lyme test. You can ask your physician about their |
| AVOID squeezing the tick too hard. | | | | recommendation on medications to prevent a |
| DO NOT place Vaseline on the tick. | | | | possible Lyme disease infection. Depending upon how |
| DO NOT place a burned match head on the tick. | | | | recent the tick bite was, clients have reported |
| You want to prevent any of the tick's contents from | | | | receiving a few days or a few weeks of antibiotics |
| being ejected into you. | | | | from their doctor. |
| Place the tick in two small ziploc bags if it is still alive. | | | | Alternative Preventative Treatments for Lyme |
| You can also use a small tightly sealed container. This | | | | Disease |
| will prevent the tick from escaping. | | | | If you want to strengthen your immune system |
| DO NOT place anything on the tick: | | | | while you take antibiotics, there are several |
| - NO antiseptics | | | | anti-Lyme herbs that are available. |
| - NO pesticides | | | | Raw garlic is a Chinese folk remedy to protect |
| - NO preservatives like alcohol on the tick. | | | | against infections. You can take 3-5 toes of raw |
| DO NOT place the tick on tape to immobilize it. | | | | garlic with food to boost your immune system. |
| These can interfere with the testing process. | | | | Some of the more obscure herbs for strengthening |
| Use an anti-bacterial cleanser on the area where you | | | | your immune system are: Forsythia, Japanese |
| removed the tick and on your hands. | | | | Honeysuckle Vine, Artemisia, Smilax, Andrographis, |
| Tick Testing Instructions | | | | Teasel Root, and Polygonum Cuspidati. These are |
| There are several labs that will test your tick for the | | | | available from a practitioner trained in Chinese herbal |
| presence of genetic material of the Lyme bacteria. | | | | medicine. |