Head lice are parasitic wingless insects. They live on people’s heads and feed on their blood. An adult is called a louse and is about the size of a sesame seed. The eggs, called nits, are even smaller – almost like a dandruff flake. Lice and nits are easiest to detect at the neckline and behind the ears.

Head lice Causes

Head lice are transferred by close hair-to-hair contact. They cannot jump, fly or swim, but walk from one hair to another. It is a misconception that head lice infestation is as a result of dirty hair and poor hygiene. Head lice can be found in all hair types, long or short, and in hair of any condition.

Contact with contaminated furniture. Lying on a bed, or sitting in furniture can spread lice. Head lice live for up to two days off the body.

Sexual contact. All three forms of lice can spread in this manner.

Head Lice Symptoms

A head lice infection doesn’t often cause symptoms. When it does the main symptom is itchiness – beware a child constantly scratching his or her scalp. Sometimes you see tiny red spots on the scalp or the lice and nits (nits are the empty eggshells after the lice have hatched) in the hair.

Because lice move very fast, they are not always easy to see. Here’s what you can watch for:

Frequent scratching

Small red bumps or sores on the scalp, neck and shoulders

Children who have lice will often scratch at their heads, creating sores.

Infected sores will get crusty, ooze, and may cause swollen glands at the back of the neck.

Treatment of Head Lice

Your doctor can recommend a medicated shampoo, cream, or lotion to kill the lice. These may be over-the-counter or prescription medications, depending on what treatments have already been tried. It isn’t uncommon for treatments to be unsuccessful because of incorrect use or because the lice may be resistant to the chemical in the shampoo.

Some people use home remedies like mayonnaise, petroleum jelly, olive oil or margarine. Although these products may make it hard for lice to breathe, they probably won’t kill them.

There isn’t any evidence that products like tea tree oil or aromatherapy are effective in treating head lice.

Never use gasoline or kerosene. These products can be extremely dangerous.

Nits may be treated as indicated above. For involvement of eyelashes, petrolatum is applied thickly, twice daily for eight days and the remaining nits are then plucked off. There is a controversy about whether or not lice and the acarus of scabies can develop resistance to lindane.

Treat children and adults with lice promptly and thoroughly.

Wash all clothes and bed linens in hot water with detergent. This also helps prevent head lice from spreading to others during the short period when head lice can survive off the human body.

Originally posted 2009-12-17 06:57:09. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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In fact, head lice actually prefer cleaner hair. As far as anything else that you could have done or not done, education is the key. At some point your child’s hair came into contact with another child’s hair who was infested or something that had recent contact with their hair.

To get rid of head lice can be a daunting task, but popular home products have proven to be effective. They include chlorine treatment cycle, lysol, dye, Vinegar, alcohol, Vaseline, special combs and over the counter medication. If you need to treat the problem naturally you can do so with alternative cures including tea tree cure, olive oil, natural aloe soaps and shampoos.

The most common way on how to get rid of lice is, without a doubt, the use of specially-formulated anti-lice shampoos. There are a multitude of these types of shampoos being sold in the market today. They can be purchased off the counter, with no need for prescriptions. But, since hair sensitivity is of varying degrees with each person involved, the instructions for each name of anti-lice shampoo should be cautiously followed.

One of the most popular home remedies for head louse is plain white vinegar, just pour a little onto the head and work through until all the hair is thoroughly saturated, allow it to soak for a few minutes and then rinse and comb using a head lice comb. Also olive oil can be used as well as mayonnaise, all of which work very effectively in most cases.

Have the infected person remove all clothing from the waist up before you apply head lice treatment. Follow application instructions carefully. One application is usually enough but if you have long hair you may need two. Leave the medicine on your hair for the required length of time. You then rinse completely and pick out any nits. Follow all directions on the bottle. Put on clean clothes when you are finished.

Head lice combs are special combs designed with the teeth spaced apart far enough to allow hair to pass through, but not the lice and eggs. The plastic varieties are not reliable for getting rid of all the lice eggs. That is why I suggest only buying the metal-toothed type. The easiest way to comb when you have head lice is when the hair is moist and soft. This makes after shampooing an ideal time to comb. The lice comb seems to be the safest and most effect option out of all the choices

Originally posted 2010-01-14 08:36:49. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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