Little Black Parasite

by Austin
(Australia)

I just pulled a little black parasite off me about the size of a mole.

At first I thought it was a mole but it was sticking out. Upon removing the parasite, I realised that the part that was in my skin had little arms and I'm guessing teeth. It's "arms" were moving.


Any idea what it is? Anything I need to worry about?


Thanks.

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Hi Austin,

It sounds to me like you might have pulled a tick off of your body. I certainly can't say for sure based on your description, but that would be my first guess.


Ticks can cause further problems, depending on the type of tick, whether or not you were able to remove it completely, and the strength of your immune system.


Most of the time, an encounter with a tick is harmless. In future, if you notice a tick on you, try to remove it carefully with tweezers to get the entire tick.


Sometimes it is helpful to apply some tea tree oil or methylated spirits to the tick first. It usually causes the tick to shrivel up a bit and make it easier to remove the entire tick.


I always try to cleanse the bite area with hydrogen peroxide once the tick is removed. If you don't have any peroxide, you can also use the tea tree oil or eucalyptus oil for the job.


Well, like I said, I can't guarantee that your little black parasite is a tick, but you can pretty much use these same treatment steps for most external skin parasites.


Keep an eye on the bite location. If it starts to look inflamed like it is infected, you might want to consider going in and having it looked at just to be on the safe side.


To your good health!
Angie