Mum shocked to discover two ticks living inside her toddler daughter's ear

A mum who was worried about something being stuck in her toddler daughter's ear, was astonished when doctors found that it was actually two ticks.

Jessica DeLoach (@mrs.jess1986) from Arkansas took to TikTok where she documented in a series of photos how she spotted something inside her two-year-old daughter Averie's ear when giving her a bath after she had been playing outdoors.

"It seriously looked like she had shoved some food in her ear," De Loach told PEOPLE.

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Still concerned, she voiced this with Averie's pediatrician who then arranged a check up to see what was going on.

At the examination, DeLoach noted how she had to hold Averie while the doctor checked to see what was inside her ear.

“The removal process was very traumatizing as you have to hold the child still to remove items safely,” she said. “A 2-year-old just doesn’t understand what the doctor is trying to do.”

Upon investigating, the doctor discovered that had actually been two ticks inside the youngster's ear which DeLoach certainly didn't expect.

“I had no idea it was a tick until the doctor started removing it from her ear,” she said.

Luckily though, the mother noted how glad she was that her daughter "didn't have any after effects" from incident apart from some bruising on her ear for three days.

DeLoach's daughter Averie and the two ticks that were found inside her ear TikTok/mrs.jess1986

Since posting the series of photos on TikTok, the story has gone viral with 2.2 views as people in the comments expressed their fears of this happening to them and their children.

One person wrote: "Welp I’m gunna go check my kids ears now."

"I am obsessed with looking in her ears now," DeLoach replied.

Another person said: "Cool. New fear unlocked. Myself and my children will be wearing earmuffs for the foreseeable future."

"Yep- definitely a new fear unlocked," someone else added.

For DeLoach, the purpose to posting this incident to TikTok was to make parents more aware that this can happen, especially with summer approaching.

“Other parents have told me about similar experiences, even ticks crawling onto their child off of their dog. I’ve learned it happens more than I could have ever imagined," she said.

There different types of ticks in the US, which can carry diseases - the most common one being Lyme disease, which celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Bella Hadid, and Avril Lavigne have and May is currently National Lyme Disease Awareness Month.

Lyme disease can cause rash, flu-like symptoms, headaches, muscle and joint pain, as well as weakness.

In order to prevent ticks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises to be aware of where to expect ticks (grassy, brushy, or wooded areas and on animals), check your clothing, body and pets for ticks and have a shower after being outdoors.

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