How should one go about treating a tick bite?

None needed: Tick bites are not usually much of a problem. Sometimes you can get a infection at the site of the bite, so if you see redness and swelling at the site of a bite contact your doctor. Rarely, ticks can transmit illnesses such as lyme, ehrlichia, rocky mountain spotted fever and others. These infections make you quite sick and require medication when you have sypmtoms.

Antibiotics: You should see a physician if the tick is still in place. They can send the tick for analysis or identify it themselves. If it is a deer tick (ixodes) and it has been in place for at least 24 hours, then a single day course of Doxycycline helps reduce the chances of developing lyme disease. If you have headaches, palpitations, fatigue or other symptoms, then blood tests and a full course is needed.