Current reigning Strictly Come Dancing winner Hamza Yassin has revealed the terrifying moment he discovered that a blood-sucking tick had embedded its self in his leg.
The wildlife documentarian, 33, won a legion of new fans when he lifted the glitterball trophy with professional dance partner Jowita Przystal last December.
Since then, he has returned to exploring the wildlife, but didn’t expect to see it make its self at home on his leg.
Taking to Instagram, Hamza uploaded a rather graphic video of his swollen leg with a live tick half inside it, stuck with its body attached to his skin.
He explained: “For those that work in the [Scottish] highlands, they’ll kind of know this but if you don’t and you’re coming up to the highlands, make sure that you tuck your socks in and take preventative measures because the ticks are certainly out this year.
“If you find one of these, use the tick remover and talk to your GP. Make sure you don’t get a red swelling afterwards because Lyme’s Disease is a big issue. So I’ll be taking this one out soon.”
Lyme’s Disease, according to the NHS, ‘is a bacterial infection that can be spread to humans by infected ticks’, and can cause a dark pink rash, a high temperature, headache, muscle pain and loss of energy.
In extreme cases, those diagnosed with Lyme’s disease can continue to have symptoms that can last for years, which are often compared to chronic fatigue syndrome.
The CDC notes that those with untreated Lyme’s disease can have more extreme symptoms including facial paralysis and arthritis, depending on the stage of infection.
Thankfully, Yassin was able to get the critter out of his leg before anything bad could happen and shared with his 196k followers.
He continued: “So, I’ve got the tick remover and I removed the tick.
“Sorry I couldn’t show you it because I don’t have too many hands but you use the little tick remover underneath.
“Make sure you don’t just tug on it, twirl it like this first and the tick will come out.
“More importantly, the tick with its mouthpiece comes out and then it’s down to you to get rid of the tick any way you see fit. Alright, see you soon, bye.”
