It is important to inspect the skin after being outdoors in wooded or grassy areas. Ticks often hide in obscured areas, such as around the hairline or elsewhere on the scalp. Ticks range in size from extremely tiny and difficult to see to being approximately the size of a pencil eraser. A tick, when filled with blood, can grow quite a bit in size.
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Tick Bites, First Aid 

Picture of Tick Bites, First Aid: It is important to inspect the skin after being outdoors in wooded or grassy areas. Ticks often hide in obscured areas, such as around the hairline or elsewhere on the scalp. Divider line
It is important to inspect the skin after being outdoors in wooded or grassy areas. Ticks often hide in obscured areas, such as around the hairline or elsewhere on the scalp.
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Signs and Symptoms
The tick itself can be quite small (almost impossible to see) or rather large (about the size of a pencil eraser). Fully developed ticks have 8 legs, but they may have only 6 visible legs early in its developmental stage. Ticks have a small head in comparison to their round body, which is usually covered by a hard, thick outer shell.

The site of the tick bite typically looks like a small, reddish area that may or may not be raised, similar to a mosquito bite. Within days, weeks, or even months, tick bites may develop as a larger red ring (larger than 2 inches), often looking like a bull's-eye.
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Last Modified: 22 Dec 2008
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