Where There Is No Doctor 2011 201
TICKS AND CHIGGERS
Some dangerous infections or paralysis are spread by tick bites. But careful
removal within a few hours usually prevents these problems. So check the whole
body well after walking in areas where ticks are common.
When removing a tick that is firmly attached, take care that its head does not
remain in the skin, since this can cause an infection. Never pull on the body of a tick.
To remove a tick with tweezers, grasp the tick as close as possible to its mouth—
the part sticking into the skin. (Try not to squeeze its swollen belly.) Pull the tick out
gently but firmly. Do not touch the removed tick. To kill the removed tick, burn it, or
hold a lit match near it, or put some alcohol on it.
To remove very small ticks or chiggers, use
one of the remedies recommended for scabies
(see p. 199). To relieve itching or pain caused by
tick or chigger bites, take aspirin and follow the
instructions for treatment of itching on p. 203.
To help prevent chiggers and ticks from biting you, dust sulfur powder on your
body before going into the fields or forests. Especially dust ankles, wrists, waist, and
underarms.
SMALL SORES WITH PUS
Skin infections in the form of small sores with pus often result from scratching
insect bites, scabies, or other irritations with dirty fingernails.
Treatment and Prevention:
♦ Wash the sores well with soap and cooled, boiled
water, gently soaking off the scabs. Do this daily as
long as there is pus.
♦ Leave small sores open to the air. Bandage large
sores and change the bandage frequently.
♦ If the skin around a sore is red and hot, or if the
person has a fever, red lines coming from the sore,
or swollen lymph nodes, use an antibiotic—such as
penicillin tablets (p. 351) or sulfa tablets (p. 356).
♦ Do not scratch. This makes the sores worse and can
spread infection to other parts of the body. Cut the
fingernails of small children very short. Or put gloves
or socks over their hands so they cannot scratch.
♦ Never let a child with sores or any skin infection play or sleep with other
children. These infections are easily spread.