WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:03.920 Back from the allotment. Saturday, late afternoon. 00:04.900 --> 00:07.220 Leon's been running about on the grass half the day. 00:07.740 --> 00:11.140 Basher was picking daisies. The dog was nosing through the bushes. 00:12.260 --> 00:16.660 Everyone home's starving. Someone wants the shower. Someone's after a charger. 00:17.660 --> 00:22.000 And that's exactly when I remembered the one piece of advice you hear every summer. 00:22.800 --> 00:26.500 When you get home, check nobody's brought a tick back. 00:26.500 --> 00:33.240 Hello. I'm Tomasz Szuster. I built the Moja Pteczka app. 00:34.160 --> 00:38.140 And that just now was Iza, my wife and mum to R2. 00:38.680 --> 00:38.980 Hello. 00:39.860 --> 00:43.100 Today we've got a topic that comes round every weekend in summer. 00:43.860 --> 00:45.460 A tick after a walk. 00:46.660 --> 00:49.400 What to do in the first few minutes once you're home. 00:50.320 --> 00:53.260 No panic. No hour of trawling the internet. 00:53.260 --> 01:00.020 And straight off, honestly, this isn't an episode where anyone tells you whether you've got Lyme disease. 01:00.680 --> 01:01.660 We'll come back to that. 01:02.400 --> 01:04.360 Because you know what always surprised me? 01:05.060 --> 01:09.220 I thought ticks meant woodland. Proper, dense woodland. 01:09.760 --> 01:12.220 And we'd only been to an ordinary allotment. 01:12.220 --> 01:14.600 And that's the commonest misunderstanding. 01:15.680 --> 01:19.620 The standard advice is to check yourself over carefully after any trip out. 01:20.260 --> 01:22.220 Because ticks aren't only in woodland. 01:22.780 --> 01:25.020 They're in meadows and in the park, too. 01:25.980 --> 01:30.000 And the same guidance adds you'll meet them by ponds, lakes and rivers. 01:30.460 --> 01:31.360 In back gardens. 01:32.380 --> 01:33.460 Sometimes in towns. 01:33.460 --> 01:36.820 So exactly where families sit in summer. 01:37.720 --> 01:38.200 A picnic. 01:38.680 --> 01:39.080 A blanket. 01:39.660 --> 01:40.880 The pram in the park. 01:41.580 --> 01:42.040 Exactly. 01:43.180 --> 01:45.080 And one thing that changes how you think. 01:46.080 --> 01:49.100 Ticks don't drop from trees and they don't jump. 01:49.840 --> 01:55.540 They wait on a blade of grass or a leaf and catch onto your clothes as you brush past. 01:55.540 --> 01:59.760 So the risk doesn't only start when I head into the wild. 02:00.500 --> 02:02.720 It starts mowing the grass at the allotment. 02:03.460 --> 02:03.740 Yes. 02:04.280 --> 02:06.020 And that's actually good news. 02:06.980 --> 02:10.080 If it's an ordinary walk, the response can be ordinary, too. 02:11.060 --> 02:11.920 A simple habit. 02:12.440 --> 02:13.220 Not an operation. 02:13.500 --> 02:14.660 Then tell me the habit. 02:15.360 --> 02:19.280 Because, honestly, eight in the evening after the whole day, 02:19.620 --> 02:21.900 I can't remember what I was meant to do. 02:22.720 --> 02:24.380 And that's the nub of it. 02:24.380 --> 02:27.720 But the biggest problem with ticks isn't a lack of knowledge. 02:28.280 --> 02:30.760 It's that once you're home, your head's elsewhere. 02:31.460 --> 02:31.920 Bags. 02:32.080 --> 02:32.380 Children. 02:32.700 --> 02:32.860 Dinner. 02:33.080 --> 02:33.520 The dog. 02:33.740 --> 02:34.140 The washing. 02:35.000 --> 02:37.540 So the best thing is to make it a simple ritual. 02:38.160 --> 02:39.100 And it's not my idea. 02:39.660 --> 02:44.480 The standard public health advice is to check yourself over carefully after any trip out. 02:45.440 --> 02:47.020 We turn it into five steps. 02:47.340 --> 02:50.120 The same after every walk, anywhere green. 02:51.060 --> 02:53.300 First, outer clothes in one place. 02:53.300 --> 02:57.160 Because a tick can travel over the fabric before it reaches skin. 02:58.260 --> 03:03.820 Then, and this is the bit the guidance stresses, you check everyone over in good light. 03:04.500 --> 03:06.720 On a child, where exactly? 03:06.720 --> 03:10.420 The guidance points to warm, damp spots. 03:10.420 --> 03:12.080 On a child especially. 03:12.560 --> 03:13.060 The scalp. 03:13.460 --> 03:14.240 Around the ears. 03:14.600 --> 03:15.360 The armpits. 03:15.680 --> 03:16.180 The groin. 03:16.600 --> 03:17.320 The tummy button. 03:17.920 --> 03:18.840 The backs of the knees. 03:19.420 --> 03:21.640 And where the elastic of the underwear sits. 03:22.460 --> 03:25.240 So all the nooks you don't normally see. 03:25.240 --> 03:27.040 Those exactly. 03:28.040 --> 03:28.840 Third step. 03:29.160 --> 03:31.380 The variation says to check the dog, too. 03:31.800 --> 03:32.220 The blanket. 03:32.520 --> 03:33.100 The rucksack. 03:33.200 --> 03:34.100 The children's tops. 03:34.620 --> 03:36.540 The things that were lying on the grass. 03:37.720 --> 03:38.040 Fourth. 03:38.520 --> 03:42.200 If a tick's dug in, you don't panic and you don't improvise. 03:42.580 --> 03:44.960 You reach for tweezers or a tick tool. 03:45.540 --> 03:50.800 But how you pull it out, that's strictly by the public health guidance, which I'll come to in a moment. 03:50.800 --> 03:52.480 And fifth. 03:53.020 --> 03:54.480 You write down what happened. 03:55.000 --> 03:55.440 The date. 03:55.940 --> 03:56.600 Where you walked. 03:57.100 --> 03:58.020 Where the bite is. 03:59.000 --> 04:00.200 Why write it down? 04:00.720 --> 04:02.320 Sounds over the top. 04:03.140 --> 04:06.860 Because if you go to the doctor with this in a few days, a short note helps. 04:07.620 --> 04:08.140 Allotment. 04:08.400 --> 04:08.760 Saturday. 04:09.260 --> 04:10.240 Bite behind the knee. 04:10.720 --> 04:13.660 Is the kind of detail nobody remembers a week later. 04:14.500 --> 04:14.980 Right. 04:15.680 --> 04:19.400 So with the tweezers in my hand, what next? 04:19.400 --> 04:21.400 And I'll warn you. 04:21.880 --> 04:28.080 In my house, there's a theory going round that you smear a tick with butter so it comes out on its own. 04:28.280 --> 04:31.460 That's actually one of the things the public health guidance warns against outright. 04:32.160 --> 04:37.900 The advice is, don't smother the tick with fat, butter, cream or surgical spirit. 04:38.360 --> 04:39.120 Don't crush it. 04:39.560 --> 04:40.420 Don't burn it. 04:41.140 --> 04:41.600 Why? 04:41.940 --> 04:43.460 Grandma always did it that way. 04:44.240 --> 04:48.900 Because, according to the guidance, irritating the tick can raise the risk of infection. 04:49.400 --> 04:52.180 And I'll stress, this isn't my opinion as the app's maker. 04:52.640 --> 04:54.700 I'm only repeating the public health guidance. 04:55.660 --> 04:59.240 So all grandma's butter tricks in the bin. 04:59.920 --> 05:01.800 That's what the public health guidance says. 05:02.220 --> 05:03.480 And what does it recommend instead? 05:04.120 --> 05:09.680 Fine-tipped tweezers or a proper tool, grip as close to the skin as you can and pull it straight out. 05:09.680 --> 05:13.740 Then, disinfect the spot and check no part's been left in the skin. 05:14.420 --> 05:15.340 And if it has? 05:15.900 --> 05:18.800 Or if it's a little one and I'm afraid to touch it? 05:19.240 --> 05:22.060 Then, and this matters, you ring the doctor. 05:22.520 --> 05:29.640 If you can't get the tick out, part of it's left in the skin, or you simply don't feel confident with a small child, you get medical help. 05:29.960 --> 05:31.560 This isn't a moment for heroics. 05:32.240 --> 05:32.620 Right. 05:32.620 --> 05:34.280 That does sound honest. 05:35.240 --> 05:36.780 And the tick kit itself is trivial. 05:37.260 --> 05:38.540 You don't need a separate bag. 05:38.940 --> 05:41.600 The public health advice keeps coming back to a simple set. 05:42.120 --> 05:44.320 Fine-tipped tweezers or a tick tool. 05:44.920 --> 05:46.140 Something to disinfect with. 05:46.600 --> 05:47.520 Disposable gloves. 05:48.020 --> 05:48.760 A few plasters. 05:49.400 --> 05:50.840 An age-appropriate repellent. 05:51.220 --> 05:53.100 And a short note with the emergency number. 05:53.560 --> 05:54.240 999. 05:55.120 --> 05:56.600 A repellent for a child. 05:57.140 --> 05:58.640 There'll be rules there, too. 05:59.400 --> 05:59.800 There are. 06:00.040 --> 06:01.200 And again, not mine. 06:01.660 --> 06:03.720 The guidance is, stick to the label. 06:04.180 --> 06:05.580 Don't use it on broken skin. 06:06.140 --> 06:07.620 Keep it away from eyes and mouth. 06:08.080 --> 06:10.540 Choose products meant for children if a child's using it. 06:10.860 --> 06:12.200 And wash it off once you're home. 06:12.720 --> 06:16.700 This isn't the place for a stronger spray, just because the trip out sounds serious. 06:17.340 --> 06:17.700 Alright. 06:18.200 --> 06:25.300 And now, I predict the moment you tell me your app will spot Lyme disease from a photo of the rash. 06:25.300 --> 06:25.940 No. 06:26.460 --> 06:29.280 And that's probably the most important sentence in the whole episode. 06:30.060 --> 06:32.060 The Moya Patechka app doesn't diagnose. 06:32.780 --> 06:34.020 It doesn't assess a rash. 06:34.420 --> 06:35.900 It doesn't decide on antibiotics. 06:36.500 --> 06:39.140 It doesn't replace your GP or your pharmacist. 06:39.580 --> 06:40.080 And good. 06:40.680 --> 06:44.140 Because it'd be easy to fake a certainty you haven't got. 06:44.620 --> 06:44.920 Quite. 06:45.600 --> 06:48.340 And the medicine cabinet's role in this story is much humbler. 06:48.700 --> 06:49.700 And safer for it. 06:50.180 --> 06:50.720 It's order. 06:50.720 --> 06:57.760 And by the way, the organising part I'm about to describe, those are real features of the Moya Patechka app. 06:58.420 --> 07:05.080 Everything else, getting the tick out, symptoms, the rash, that's public health guidance and a matter for the doctor, not the app. 07:05.760 --> 07:08.540 I say it plainly because the app has one job here. 07:09.160 --> 07:11.100 Order in the home medicine cabinet. 07:11.840 --> 07:13.020 Then show me that order. 07:13.640 --> 07:14.200 On a tick. 07:14.200 --> 07:15.980 Expire date alerts. 07:16.540 --> 07:21.940 So the repellent or the disinfectant doesn't turn out to be out of date right when you're packing the rucksack for the allotment. 07:22.840 --> 07:23.180 Notes. 07:23.640 --> 07:25.380 To jot down where you keep the tick tool. 07:25.840 --> 07:27.980 Who in the family is allergic to insect stings. 07:28.400 --> 07:29.400 What to take on a trip. 07:30.080 --> 07:32.960 Bits like tweezers or plasters you simply add as a note. 07:33.620 --> 07:37.900 And when Leon goes to my mum's, to Irena's, for a whole week. 07:38.420 --> 07:39.320 The shared cabinet. 07:40.120 --> 07:42.520 Grandma, you and I see the same list, live. 07:42.520 --> 07:47.660 If something needs buying, or nobody knows where the tick tool is, we look at the same thing. 07:48.180 --> 07:50.200 No text saying, where was that again? 07:51.000 --> 07:52.780 And spotting that something's running out. 07:53.520 --> 07:54.060 Low stock. 07:54.560 --> 08:00.360 The app can let you know a medicine you've entered is running low, ideally before you head off, not the moment you need it. 08:01.120 --> 08:04.280 And the tweezers or plasters, like I said, you keep as a note. 08:05.000 --> 08:08.340 So the app keeps an eye on the list, not on health. 08:08.780 --> 08:09.200 Exactly. 08:09.200 --> 08:11.820 The information about medicines is just that. 08:12.280 --> 08:12.800 Information. 08:13.580 --> 08:16.600 When there are symptoms after a bite, the doctor makes the decision. 08:17.120 --> 08:17.760 Full stop. 08:17.980 --> 08:20.020 Let's come back to the children for a second. 08:20.640 --> 08:22.620 Because it's all fine in theory. 08:23.320 --> 08:28.460 But Basha, once she's home, only wants a drink, food or sleep. 08:29.140 --> 08:32.420 No tick inspection is going to win against that. 08:32.420 --> 08:34.900 That's why splitting the jobs helps. 08:35.940 --> 08:43.880 In line with the public health advice, one person unpacks, another checks the child in good light, someone checks the dog or the blanket. 08:44.920 --> 08:49.140 And if there was a tick, one person writes down the date and place. 08:49.140 --> 08:51.120 And without scaring them. 08:51.620 --> 08:52.660 Without scaring them. 08:53.240 --> 08:56.980 With Basha, you make it a neutral check after the adventure. 08:57.980 --> 09:07.680 You look in the spots the guidance mentions, head, neck, armpits, backs of the knees, as calmly as you check for sand in her shoes after the beach. 09:07.680 --> 09:12.820 Leon's nine, and he actually points out where to look himself now. 09:13.540 --> 09:15.240 For him, it's a bit of a game. 09:15.800 --> 09:17.480 And that's the best outcome. 09:18.220 --> 09:19.680 Not a fear of the woods. 09:20.300 --> 09:22.540 Just a calm habit once you're home. 09:23.120 --> 09:24.840 Give us a quick recap at the end. 09:25.240 --> 09:27.520 The public health advice runs like this. 09:27.520 --> 09:35.880 After you're back from the woods, the park, a meadow or the allotment, check your cells, your clothes and your things. 09:36.640 --> 09:43.280 If a tick's dug in, tweezers or a tick tool, grip close to the skin and pull it out. 09:44.020 --> 09:47.500 Then disinfect and check no parts left behind. 09:48.020 --> 09:50.720 Don't smear it, don't burn it, don't crush it. 09:51.200 --> 09:52.120 That's the advice. 09:52.120 --> 10:02.080 Write down the date and place and get in touch with the doctor if the wound isn't healing, a rash appears or anything worries you at all. 10:02.600 --> 10:04.940 That last one's probably the most important. 10:05.620 --> 10:06.780 The most important. 10:07.540 --> 10:12.300 Any suspected infection after a tick bite is for a professional to assess. 10:13.020 --> 10:16.000 Not an app and not an internet forum. 10:16.000 --> 10:23.620 And if you'd like the home kit and the list all in one place, that's the Moya Potechka app. 10:24.400 --> 10:26.660 The app is free and works offline. 10:27.360 --> 10:29.560 You'll find the link in the episode description. 10:30.160 --> 10:36.640 And if the episode's been useful, share it with someone whose children also run about on the grass all summer. 10:38.000 --> 10:39.640 One more thing before we go. 10:40.340 --> 10:43.460 This podcast is made with the help of artificial intelligence. 10:43.460 --> 10:48.380 I wrote the dialogue myself, but the voices you're hearing aren't ours. 10:49.000 --> 10:51.400 They're AI-generated, synthetic voices. 10:52.580 --> 10:58.700 We're telling you this straight out, because we think it should be the standard for any podcast made this way. 10:59.560 --> 11:03.280 Full details are in the show notes and in every episode description. 11:04.420 --> 11:05.460 Until next time. 11:06.740 --> 11:08.160 Until next time.