A mother has spoken out about the horrifying moment that she discovered ticks inside her daughter’s ear.
The parent, Jessic Loach, took to TikTok this week to share a photo montage about the experience. Loach’s video started off with a picture of her daughter’s ear, which appeared to have a black mark inside it.
“I went to wash my daughter’s ears during bath time, and it looked like she had shoved something in her ear,” she wrote in the text over the photo.
She went on to share another photo of her daughter, Averie, itching her ear and explained what she did next.
“Immediately called her doctor and they said bring her in ASAP,” she wrote.
Loach also included a photo of her child at the doctor’s office, sharing that her daughter “acted fine, except for when someone messed with or wanted to look in her ear”.
She went on to share another photo of her daughter’s ear, which was red on the inside and appeared to have a scab in it. She addressed her fears over the situation, adding: “I had no idea what to expect and was so scared for our baby girl.”
Loach then posted a picture of one of the ticks that the doctor “pulled” out of her daughter’s ear. She noted how the tick could have gotten in there, adding: “We had been working in the yard the day before…Our poor baby girl.”
She concluded her photo montage with one last picture of Averie’s ear as it was healing. She said the child was doing better before urging fellow parents to be on the look out for ticks.
“Her ear about five hours later,” she wrote in the text over the photo. “It bruised for about three days, but Averie is doing just fine now. Be sure and check your babies’ ears after playing outside. Ticks can crawl inside!!! Gross!!!”
After Loach’s video quickly went viral, with more than 2.1m views so far, the mother spoke to People about the experience.
“The removal process was very traumatising as you have to hold the child still to remove items safely,” she explains. “A two-year-old just doesn’t understand what the doctor is trying to do.”
She added: “I had no idea it was a tick until the doctor started removing it from her ear.”
The mother also said Averie has fully recovered one month after the incident occured.
“I’m just glad she didn’t have any after effects,” she said.
Since posting the video, Loach said that many parents told her about their experiences where ticks crawled onto their children. “I’ve learned it happens more than I could have ever imagined,” she added.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), it’s important to properly remove a tick when found on one’s body.
“There is a lot of folklore about how to take a tick out of your skin. Some people even talk about having a lighted cigarette close by, things like that,” said José Ribeiro, who is the chief of the Vector Biology Section of the Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research in NIAID’s Division of Intramural Research. “The most important thing is just to use appropriate forceps such as tweezers. Grab the whole tick and pull it out.”
The publication also noted that the best way to prevent ticks is by wearing clothes that cover ones’ arms and legs, when outside. People could also opt to tuck their pants into their socks to ensure that their bodies are completely covered, especially when in the woods or on a hiking trail.
It’s also best to remove the tick as quickly as possible, as it takes about 36 hours for Lyme disease to be transmitted from a tick. Per NIH, this bacterial infection, which people can get from “the bite of an infection tick,” usually starts with symptoms like a rash, fever, or headache. If not treated early, the infection can impact a person’s heart and nervous system.
The Independent has contacted Loach for comment.
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