(ReclaimingAmerica.net) – According to a report, an Arkansas family thought their 2-year-old daughter had stuck food in her ear but were shocked when doctors extracted two ticks from it.
“It seriously looked like she had shoved some food in her ear,” the toddler’s mother, Jessica DeLoach, told People magazine about the incident, as cited by The HuffPost.
She also documented the case in a TikTok video that went viral.
The mother explained that she noticed something in her kid’s ear while bathing her daughter last month.
She called the child’s pediatrician, who told her to bring her in for an examination.
Much to the DeLoach’s surprise, the doctor discovered two ticks in the girl’s ear.
“I had no idea it was a tick until the doctor started removing it from her ear,” the mother commented.
“The removal process was very traumatizing as you have to hold the child still to remove items safely,” she elaborated.
“A 2-year-old just doesn’t understand what the doctor is trying to do,” DeLoach added.
In her TikTok video, she revealed the day before the pediatrician’s exam, her kid had been playing outside while the mother herself was doing yard work.
“I’m just glad she didn’t have any after effects,” she told the news outlet about her daughter’s ordeal.
She also said she made the social media video to spread awareness to other parents about the dangers of tick bites before the beginning of the “summer tick season.”
“Other parents have told me about similar experiences, even ticks crawling onto their child off of their dog. I’ve learned it happens more than I could have ever imagined,” DeLoach said.
The report points out that parents have every reason to be concerned about ticks since diseases transmitted by blood-sucking insects – such as Lyme disease and babesiosis – are rising.
According to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, children and their parents alike should avoid wooded and brushy areas with high grass.
After spending time outside, people should also check their bodies, clothing, and pets for ticks.
