Shape: The handle ends with an elongated round head, that the user holds easily between the thumb and index finger. The shape of the handle is such that the head of the handle is on the axis of rotation of the instrument regardless of the degree of engagement of the tick between the teeth. The fork-shaped lower part has two teeth of trapezoïdal cross-section, enclosing a V-shaped open space that allows adaptation to all sizes of ticks. The small hook has an open space of 0,1 to 0,15 mm wide, (0,40 mm for the big hook) that allows the holding of even the smallest ticks. The fork of the hook is 7 mm long (15 mm for the big hook): this allows use of the small hook in cramped conditions, without restricting the rotation.

Working principle: The O'TOM hook works with the two following principles: Tick's prehension without compressing the tick's body ; Tick's extraction by rotation and not by pulling.
Tick's prehension WITHOUT COMPRESSING the tick's body When a tick is fixed in the host, it injects saliva in the skin, which contains : . allergenic matters, which cause odema (swelling) and erythema (redness) on the bite's point, and pruritus (itching). . often infectious agents which are transmitted from the tick to people or animals. When the tick is grabbed with tweezers or similar instruments, the tool exerts a pressure on the tick's body: this pressure promotes saliva back-flow in the host skin, and increases the risk of injection of allergenic matters and above all the risk of transmission of tick-borne microorganisms. When the tick is grasped with the O'TOM hook, there is no pressure on the tick's body, thus, reducing the risk of the injection of allergenic matters and the transmission of microorganisms.

Caution: though tick removal with the O'TOM hooks minimizes risks, it doen't guarantee that the person or animal is not contaminated by tick-borne microorganisms. This contamination may have occured before the removal.
Notice: more and more studies have proved that if you use chemical products to "put to sleep" or kill the tick (with ether or oil for example) it is an attack for the tick: it reacts by a saliva back-flow in the skin, which increases inflammatory phenomena. With the O'TOM hooks, no chemical substance is used. Tick's extraction by ROTATION and not by pulling The mouth-parts of a tick include an hypostome (rostrum) which is implanted in the skin during biting. This hypostome is fully covered with backward directed projections; this allows the tick to "anchor" in the skin.

Tick's mouth-parts under a microscope	Tick rostrum under electron microscope

If you pull upon the tick, the spikes will rise and the mouth-parts of the tick will break and stay in the skin, causing pain and infection. When you use the O'TOM hooks, you TURN the body of the tick; the spikes fold into the axis of rotation, and the tick is easily removed, without traction effort, and decreasing the risks of breaking the rostrum.

The O'TOM® hooks (also marketed in USA under the trademark "TICK-TWISTER®" ) allow tick removal from the skin of animals and people. They are always sold in a two pack (the large hook for the medium and large ticks, the small hook for small and very small ticks) , and are currently the most efficient tools to remove all ticks, any size and location: without leaving the mouth-parts of the tick planted in the skin; without compressing the abdomen of the ticks, minimizing the transfer agents (Lyme's disease, babesiosis...); without ether or other products; in a few seconds, without pain.

Generalities: Ticks are in the order of acari: they have 8 articulated legs, and a non segmented body. They are external parasites, which suck the blood of vertebrated animals (especially mammals and people). They can be found practically in all regions of the world : throughout the year in warm regions, seasonally in regions with cold climate.

Tick's diagram (dorsal view): There are several species of ticks (approximately 800); the smallest ticks are less than 1 mm wide, the biggest can be up to 5 cm wide. In addition, the size is variable, depending on if the tick is empty or blood-engorged : but note that only the size of the abdomen changes; legs and shield's size don't vary. The volume of blood ingested may be from 200 to 600 times their unfed body weight.

Biology: Ticks live in grass, bushes, undergrowth... They drop or climb on the host (the host is located with the heat it gives off). Then they attach (in the thin skined places), inserting their mouth-parts in the skin. They secrete substances which weaken blood capillaries; once the capillaries break, the tick sucks the blood inside. The "blood meal" may last from one to several days. There are male and female ticks. After mating with the male, female ticks lay thousands of eggs and then die. From the eggs emerge larvae, which become nymphs and then adults.

Engorged adult female (Ixodes ricinus) It drops from its host to lay	Laying female: It lays thousand of eggs	Eggs hatching: Each egg becomes a larva	Larva under a microscope: (Larvas have only 6 legs)	Nymph under a microscope: (Nymphs and adults have 8 legs)

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