A tick in your skin?

You can get a tick bite anywhere on your body. Ticks like warm, moist places. So they are mainly found in your armpits, groin, behind your knees and in your buttocks. In children, they are also often found on the head, neck and behind the ears.

If you do not remove the tick from your skin, it will detach itself after a few days. A tick in your skin gives you a small chance of contracting a disease.

If you have been outside, check for ticks:

• Check your entire body. Do not forget your armpits, groin, back of your knees, and buttocks.
• For children, also check their heads and behind their ears carefully. And at the nape of the neck where the hair begins.

Do you or your child have a tick?

• Remove the tick immediately with pointed tweezers..
• Then clean the wound with alcohol.
• Write down the date and location of the body.
• Check the rest of your body to see if you have any more ticks.

When to call the GP?

In the following cases, it is important to call your GP or GP out-of-hours service:

• I can't get the tick out.
• The tick has been in your skin for 24 hours or longer when you remove it.
• You will develop a red or bluish spot or ring at the site where the tick was attached, which will grow larger over the course of a few days.
• You develop a red or bluish spot or ring somewhere on your body that gets bigger.
• You feel ill, with a fever, headache, muscle pain and fatigue.
• You will develop one or more swollen and painful joints.
• You experience pain, tingling or reduced strength in your arm, leg or torso.
• You suddenly see double.
• One half of your face is suddenly paralysed.