If you find a tick attached to your skin, pulling it out the right way can lower your risk of infection.
After removal of a tick, you enter a “watch and wait” period for about two weeks. Monitor the bite site and contact a healthcare provider if you experience symptoms like:
-An expanding red rash, especially one shaped like a target or bullseye (a telltale sign of Lyme disease, the most common tickborne illness)
-Fever
-Shakes or chills
-Body aches
-Joint pain
-Headache
-Fatigue
But before you worry too much, know this: While illnesses like Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and others are a concern after a tick bite, the odds of infection are low — even if you live in a tick disease hotspot.
If you’ve been bitten by a tick and it’s been fewer than 36 hours, the likelihood of it transmitting Lyme disease is less than 3%. For transmission, the tick has to have been feeding on you for two days or more.