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Home Patient information Common complaints Tick bite

Have you been outside? Then check for ticks.

A tick is small and looks like a spider. The tick bites into your skin. At first, the tick looks like a tiny black dot, but can grow up to 1 centimetre in size as it sucks in blood.

A tick in your skin?

You can have a tick bite anywhere on your body. Ticks like warm and moist places. So they are mostly in your armpits, groins, hollows of the knees and buttocks. In children, they are also often on the head, neck and behind the ears.

If you do not remove the tick from your skin, the tick will let go on its own after a few days. A tick in your skin gives you a small chance of catching a disease.

If you have been outside, check for ticks:

  • Check your whole body. Don't forget your armpits, groin, hollows of the knees and buttock.
  • In children, also look carefully on the head and behind the ears. And on the neck where the hairs start.

How do you remove a tick?

  1. Do not apply anything to the tick, such as alcohol, oil, nail varnish or soap.
  2. Grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible using a pair of pointed tweezers.
  3. Gently pull the tick straight out of the skin. Do not twist the tweezers.
  4. Does a bit of the tick remain in the skin? That’s usually nothing to worry about. It often comes out on its own, just like a splinter. The skin may, however, become a bit red or irritated.
  5. Clean the cut with alcohol or iodine. If you don’t have any of these at home, rinse the cut thoroughly with water.
  6. Next, check the rest of your body. Sometimes there are several ticks on the skin. Remove these as well.

Take a photo of the spot where the tick was. That way, you’ll be able to check carefully over the coming weeks to see if a mark or ring appears there.

In the video below, you can see a step-by-step guide to removing a tick. You can also Android app or app for iPhone (iOS) use for further information and advice on tick bites.

When to call the GP?

In the cases below, it is important to call the GP or GP clinic:

  • It does not succeed in taking out the tick.
  • The tick has already been in your skin for 24 hours or more when you remove it.
  • You get a red or bluish spot or ring on the spot where the tick was, which gets bigger in a few days.
  • You get a red or bluish spot or ring somewhere on your body that gets bigger.
  • You feel sick, with fever, headache, muscle aches and fatigue.
  • You get 1 or more thick and painful joints.
  • You get pain, tingling or less strength in your arm, leg or trunk.
  • You suddenly see double.
  • One half of your face is suddenly paralysed.