RE: removing a tick: Wish this were so, but ANY liquid that suffocates the tick can cause it to regurgitate into the bite: highly undesirable if the stomach contents have Lyme pathogens, (unless you really want to increase your chances of infection). That also goes for applying a blown-out match or really anything that might created a startled reaction.

Be well,
Léna
On Jul 3, 2011, at 2:56 PM, PTF wrote:

This came from another list...
PT


"Exzema can be controlled with castor oil which is by itself is sometimes too irritating to the skin so it is recommended to be blended with another good vegetable oil such as olive, sunflower in a 20/80 blend and put on the scalp or skin and allowed to soak well. As far as ticks are concerned a tip from the internet is to use a cotton ball and vegetable oil (castor oil) and completely cover the ticks body heavily with the oil. This stops the tick from being able to breathe and they will back out of the skin grab them with the cotton ball and dispose then clean the site with alcohol."