Do not pull or squeeze your abdomen: The Ministry of Emergency Situations reminded what to do after a tick bite.

      A walk in the woods or resting on the grass can end with an unpleasant surprise: you discover a tick attached to your body. The press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations warns — panic and incorrect actions will only worsen the situation.

      Rescuers remind of five strict rules after a bite:

      Capture as close to the skin as possible. Use tweezers or a strong thread. You need to grasp the tick as close to the mouthpart as possible — this increases the chance of removing it entirely.

      No jerking — only rotation. Remove the parasite with careful rotational movements. If you yank or just pull, the head with the mouthpart will remain under the skin, increasing the risk of infection.

      Forget about squeezing. Do not press on the tick's abdomen. This causes its stomach contents, along with possible pathogens of encephalitis or borreliosis, to enter the wound directly.

      Wash your hands, treat the wound. After removal, thoroughly wash your hands with soap. Treat the bite area with any antiseptic: alcohol, chlorhexidine, iodine, or brilliant green.

      Do not throw it away — send it to the lab. Rescuers emphasize: a live (or even dead) tick should be placed in a glass jar with a tight lid. Ideally, place a slightly damp cotton ball inside to prevent the parasite from drying out. With this container — urgently to the nearest laboratory, where they will check if the tick was a carrier of dangerous infections.

      The Ministry of Emergency Situations adds that the best protection is prevention: closed clothing, repellents, and mandatory self-examination after returning home. But if a bite has already occurred, you must act strictly according to the protocol. The main rule: do not pull out or squeeze the abdomen.