# Tick bite

- Category: chronic
- Review status: reviewed (every claim checked against a document named on this page)
- Sources: ICPC-3 (WONCA International Classification of Primary Care, 3rd edition) class SD39.00 - condition scope only, no dose · No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care · Tick Removal - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441855/
- Verified date: 2026-08

## Verified against

- No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care
- Tick bite - disease-level clinical article (tick-bite-clinical.txt)

## Treatment metadata

- No drug therapy in primary care (Recognition & Referral)

## Complete treatment card

```text
TICK BITE
Sources: ICPC-3 (WONCA International Classification of Primary Care, 3rd edition) class SD39.00 -
         condition scope only, no dose · No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary
         care · Tick Removal - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf -
         https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441855/
Review status: REVIEWED against No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care, Tick
               bite - disease-level clinical article (tick-bite-clinical.txt)
               (2026-08)

IS IT THIS? - reference only, to read alongside your own examination
  RED FLAGS (1)
    - Do a full-body inspection after visiting an area of possible tick infestation, paying
      particular attention to body crevices, hair-bearing areas and children
  SIGNS - what you find (3)
    - Redness and discomfort at the bite site do not by themselves mean infection - lone star tick
      saliva alone is irritating  [redness]
    - Signs that the site is infected are redness, warmth, swelling, local tenderness and purulent
      discharge  [local tenderness · pus · redness]
    - Expanding redness, wheal formation, urticarial reactions or breathlessness point to an
      allergic reaction to tick saliva rather than infection  [breathlessness · redness · urticaria]
  TESTS (5)
    - Identify the tick before removing it if possible, because it may not come out intact, and
      estimate how long it has been attached
    - Grasp the tick at the mouthparts where it meets the skin, using tweezers or a hemostat - not
      by the body
    - Pull directly away from the skin without twisting or jerking; a small patch of skin may come
      away with it
    - Removing only the body leaves the mouthparts in the skin, where they are a nidus for infection
      and harder to remove afterwards
    - Afterwards, clean the skin, apply a topical antibiotic and a sterile dressing; tetanus
      prophylaxis is generally not indicated
  IF NOT THIS - what else fits (4)
    - The brown dog tick is the most widespread tick globally and transmits Rickettsia conorii, the
      cause of Mediterranean spotted fever in the Mediterranean basin
    - It is also a vector of Rickettsia rickettsii, which causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever; dogs
      are its primary host at every life stage
    - Where the tick has taken a blood meal, which is time-dependent, prophylaxis against tick-borne
      disease may be indicated in areas of high prevalence
    - Tick removal has no contraindications, and tick-borne infection is not a complication of the
      removal itself
  Source  StatPearls "Tick Removal" (NBK441855) - the procedure chapter; it covers removal technique
          and its complications, and the tick species it names are mostly North American
  Status  traced to the source above

1. NO DRUG THERAPY IN PRIMARY CARE (RECOGNITION & REFERRAL)[1st line]
   Adult    Tick bites occur in rural/agricultural areas of Egypt; management is safe tick removal
            and wound care, watching for signs of tick-borne illness (spotted fever rickettsiosis
            occurs regionally) rather than routine drug treatment. Lyme disease itself is not
            established in Egypt. - Refer
   Peds     Children follow the same pathway: recognise and refer. No primary-care medicine is
            implied.
   Source   No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care
   Why      Tick bites occur in rural/agricultural areas of Egypt; management is safe tick removal
            and wound care, watching for signs of tick-borne illness (spotted fever rickettsiosis
            occurs regionally) rather than routine drug treatment. Lyme disease itself is not
            established in Egypt.
   Caution  Fever, rash, or systemic illness after a tick bite suggesting rickettsial infection,
            which needs antibiotic treatment and further evaluation.
            No medicine is prescribed for this in primary care - this entry is for recognition and
            referral. Anything given is decided by the service it is referred to.
            RED FLAG - Expanding erythema, wheal formation, urticarial reactions, or dyspnea
            indicate a systemic allergic reaction to tick saliva.
            RED FLAG - Purulent discharge, increasing warmth, and tenderness indicate secondary
            infection from residual retained mouthparts.

Prices are indicative (dataset snapshot 2026-06); verify with the pharmacy.
```

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Dawaa Reference is a reference for prescribers, not a medical device, and does not replace clinical judgement.

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