ER visits for tick bites are at a decade high.

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]Tick bites are sending more people to the ER this year. I'm Dr. Imani, a board-certified internal medicine physician, and with tick bite visits rising across the US, this is a good time to talk about what actually increases the risk of Lyme disease and what does not. A lot of people panic the second they find a tick, but medically not every tick bite is considered high risk. The risk depends on what kind of tick it was, how long was it attached, and where the exposure happened. The biggest factor is usually attachment time. In general, the tick typically needs to be attached and feeding for over 36 hours before the transmission risk rises significantly. That is why early detection and proper removal matter. And this part is important. Do not burn the tick. Do not cover it in petroleum jelly, and do not try to suffocate it. That can actually increase the chance of the tick releasing infectious material. The recommended approach is simple mechanical removal.

[00:00:54]Use tweezers, pull upward, stay close to the skin. And when someone is bitten by a deer tick, prophylactic antibiotics are not automatically recommended for everyone. Guidelines reserve prophylactic doxycycline for specific high-risk exposures. Confirmed Ixodes tick, highly endemic area, attached for at least 36 hours, and removed within the last 72 hours. The other thing people miss is the smaller nymph ticks are actually responsible for most of the Lyme disease transmission because they're easy to overlook. Some are only about the size of a poppy seed. The goal after a tick bite is to not panic. It is watching for patterns. Expanding rash, fever, flu-like symptoms, or unexplained illness afterward. Because with Lyme disease, timing and recognition matter more than the internet hacks. Save this, share it before tick season gets worse, and follow for more practical, evidence-based health information from an internal medicine physician.