Tip #11: Don’t dread the broken “head” on your tick

The second greatest fear people have about tick bites, after contracting Lyme disease, is leaving the tick’s mouth or head in their skin. The 2 most common “breaking points” during tick removal are at the base of the hypostome and the head capsule. Not to worry though. Once either “break” happens, there’s no greater risk for disease transmission just because that part of the tick is still sticking in you. Breaking the tick at either point breaks the connection with the salivary glands, which are back further in the tick’s body and where the germs flow from. Squeezing the back end of the tick during removal is riskier. Check out our tips for safe tick removal http://bit.ly/pointytweezers.