Removal · field guidance

Freezing the tick on your skin to remove it

Wart-freezing sprays applied to an attached tick risk frostbite to your skin and do not reliably make the tick let go.

Steps

schema.org/HowTo

01
DO NOT use over-the-counter wart-freezing sprays or ice packs to try to freeze an attached tick off your skin.
02
Cold severe enough to kill or detach the tick will frostbite the surrounding skin first, and a dying tick can regurgitate into the wound.
03
This idea sometimes appears in viral posts but is not endorsed by any tick-borne disease authority.
04
Remove the tick mechanically with fine-tipped tweezers, grasping close to the skin and pulling straight up.
05
Freezing is fine for storing a removed tick if you want to send it for testing, but not while it is still attached to you.

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