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Tick remover.

KiwiJohn

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Time of past OR future Camino
August 26th 2023
Would packing a tick remover be advisable on my next year's Camino del Norte.
 
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KiwiJohn said:
Would packing a tick remover be advisable on my next year's Camino del Norte.
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I have had ticks on two of more than 20 Caminos, so the odds for me are pretty low. But they are so tiny (mine weighs 9 grams) that I always take one, because not having a way to get out a tick could have very serious results. There have been a couple of occasions where other people were very happy that I had one, too!
 
KiwiJohn said:
Would packing a tick remover be advisable on my next year's Camino del Norte.
Click to expand...
I’m in a heavily tick-populated part of the UK and always have a remover to hand. I have one in my little Camino first aid kit, together with the first two days of a course of doxycycline in case I suspect Lyme’s.
 
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KiwiJohn said:
Would packing a tick remover be advisable on my next year's Camino del Norte.
Click to expand...
I’ve never had a tick on any of the caminos I have walked. Never carried a tick remover. I don’t recall ever walking through underbrush where ticks might latch on. But since a tick remover weighs almost nothing, it’s actually not a bad idea to carry one.
 
henrythedog said:
with the first two days of a course of doxycycline in case I suspect Lyme’s.
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Here’s a useful chart from the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Carrying a tick remover adds negligible weight and potentially very useful.
 

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My one is the size of a credit card. I always carry it in my wallet all year although I have never needed to use it however it is there in case of need. It is one of a few things I carry "in case of need" rather than "essential" when trying to reduce the weight in my pack.
 
Harland2019 said:
My one is the size of a credit card.
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The one I use is a keyhole-shaped piece of lightweight metal. At $11 for 3 in the US, it’s quite a bargain. And it has worked beautifully when I’ve used it. Totally agree that on many caminos it is a very unlikely possibility, but like @Harland2019, my cost-benefit analysis leads me to conclude that having it in a case of need is a such huge benefit that it totally eclipses the cost of the few grams.
 
I got Lymme disease from a tick on my wife's farm in Wisconsin. Totally FLATTENED me for several days. Imagine a big balloon after all the air let out, laying helplessly on the floor. You don't want it. I have never seen a tick on the Caminos but will now carry a tick remover on my next Camino. We're leaving from the farm for Spain in two weeks. We have lots of tick removers in the farm medicine chest. So, muchas gracias for this thread. Buen Camino
 
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When you try to use it, you may struggle. As someone who removes ticks from their dog on a very regular basis, the easiest to use are those shaped like a question-mark.
 
henrythedog said:
the easiest to use are those shaped like a question-mark.
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This is the one I have. Picture 2 is instructions.
I wanted to photograph mine, we are under construction, can’t find it, but I know it’s here somewhere !
 

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I have the Tick Key that @peregrina2000 showed on my key ring. I used it twice on me in the US this year (plus another tick pulled off me with my fingers seconds after feeling it bite me).

The remover that @trecile showed is good for using on dogs. It is likely the type @henrythedog meant. For our very shaggy dog it was troublesome getting wandering ticks that hadn't bitten yet but that was solved by killing the tick with needle-nosed pliers first. Be careful as this likely causes any nasty bacteria to be ejected and possibly infect you.

Previously I showed the rings that lyme disease shows but tests were negative. Peg got the disease to the point of getting Bell's palsy, looking like a stroke (she was given a lyme test earlier that day). Her treatment came in time to not otherwise affect her. The palsy disappeared after a few days (except I think her smile looks different).
 
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For Australians reading this thread , please note we have extra tick challenges though Lyme disease is not one of them. People react with severe allergies , including anaphylaxis more frequently to the Australian paralysis tick and then there is the prospect of sensitising yourself to meat (ie goodbye Sunday roast) for life by developing Mammalian Meat Allergy after repeated bites by ticks who previously fed on other mammals, eg wombats, kangaroos then injected saliva into you.

PLEASE FOLLOW ATTACHED ADVICE for tick bites in AUSTRALIA. https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-11/management-of-tick-bites-in-australia_0.pdf

DO NOT attempt to remove with any gadget or device..use TICK OFF spray (I carry in my day pack) or permethrin cream on the baby ticks.
 
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This is the first time I heard of a "tick remover." I've always removed them without any tool. But it sounds like a good thing. I never encountered any ticks in my seventeen months in Spain, though maybe half of those days I walked in the kinds of environments that in Oklahoma gave me many ticks.
 
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