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Head lice
From CopperWiki
The head lice are tiny, wingless parasitic insects that live among human hairs and feed on extremely small amounts of blood drawn from the scalp. Lice are a very common problem, especially for kids ages 3 years to 12 years, more often among girls.
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[edit] Why should I be aware of this?
- Lice aren't dangerous and don't spread disease. But they are contagious and can just be downright annoying. Their bites may cause the scalp to become itchy and inflamed, and persistent scratching may lead to skin irritation and even infection.
- It is incorrect to associate head lice with the stigma of poverty and poor personal hygiene. Anyone can be affected, irrespective of the number of baths and hair wash.
[edit] All about head lice
It's estimated that around 8 percent of school age-children have headlice, with the peak age range being 7-9. Traditionally more girls than boys have been affected (they tend to spend more time in close proximity), but cases of boys suffering have gone up recently (all that time huddled round the computer or Nintendo DS). More secondary school age children are also being infected. [1]
Experts say that lice cannot jump from one head to another. They just crawl between or on hairs and lay their eggs relatively close to the scalp. Each day they lay only around 5 eggs and these hatch in around a week. If there are hundreds of lice in your child’s hair it means they have accumulated over a long period of time. It’s often several weeks down before someone feels itchy.
[edit] Who is at risk?
Though anyone can get head lice, they are more common among school going children, especially those between 3 and 12 years of age because they share their belongings more often than adults and play close together.
One doesn’t get head lice because of dirty habits. Irrespective of the number of time you take bath or wash your hair, they can appear as they are highly contagious. Slightest head to head contact with an affected person can bring lice to your hair. You can also get head lice if you share hats, towels, pillows, combs or brushes with someone who has head lice.
[edit] What can I do?
You may try these simple ways to get rid of the lice and their eggs:
- Wash in very hot water (130° Fahrenheit, 54.4° Celsius), all bed linens and clothing that's been recently used by someone infested. Then put them in the hot cycle of the dryer for at least 20 minutes.
- If any clothing is not machine washable, give them for Dry Cleaning. Same with bed linens, clothing, and stuffed animals and plush toys that can't be washed.
- All hair care items like combs, barrettes, hair ties or bands, headbands, and brushes should be soaked in rubbing alcohol or medicated shampoo for one hour.
- Because lice are easily passed from person to person in the same house, bedmates and infested family members will also need treatment to prevent the lice from coming back.
- Never use a hair dryer on your child's hair after applying any of the currently available scalp treatments because some contain flammable ingredients.
- Avoid using a cream rinse or shampoo/hair conditioner combination before applying lice medication.
- After using a medicated treatment, don’t wash your child's hair for 1 to 2 days
- Don't use the same medication more than three times on one person. If it doesn't seem to be working, your doctor may recommend another medication.
- Don't use more than one head lice medication at a time.
[edit] Preventing lice in kids
- Tell your children to avoid head-to-head contact at school, in gym, on the playground, or during sports with other children.
- Tell them to avoid sharing combs, brushes, hats, scarves, bandanas, ribbons, barrettes, hair ties or bands, towels, helmets, or other personal care items with anyone else, whether they may have lice or not.
- Ensure they do not lie on bedding, pillows, and carpets that have recently been used by someone with lice.
- After a gap of every 3 or 4 days, examine memyour family members who have had close contact with a person with lice. Then, treat those who are found to have lice or nits close to the scalp.
[edit] CopperBytes
- Head lice should not be considered as a medical or public health hazard. As they are not known to spread disease.
- Head lice are spread most commonly by direct contact with the hair of an infested person. Spread by contact with inanimate objects and personal belongings may occur but is very uncommon.
- Head lice and their eggs (nits) soon perish if separated from their human host.
- Adult head lice can live only a day or so off the human head without blood for feeding.
- Nymphs (young head lice) can live only for several hours without feeding on a human.
- Nits generally die within a week away from their human host and cannot hatch at a temperature lower than that close to the human scalp.
[edit] 90 degrees
- A recent survey showed that 46% of parents didn’t understand the need to check their children's hair regularly, and that 33 percent didn’t know what to look for. Almost 1 in 4 thought the school were checking for them - which is very unlikely these days. [1]
- Data show that head lice can survive under water for several hours but are unlikely to be spread by the water in a swimming pool. Head lice have been seen to hold tightly to human hair and not let go when submerged under water. Chlorine levels found in pool water do not kill head lice. [2]
[edit] Unlearn
Myths about lice: [1]
- Myth: “Head lice jump from one head to another.”
Head lice can only be passed by direct head to head contact – they can not ‘jump’ or “fly”! Off the head, they're as good as dead
- Myth: “Head lice can be caught by sharing things like hairbrushes, towels or bedding.”
Head lice only survive on heads, dying quickly away from their heat and food source. Any lice found on hairbrushes, towels etc will be either dead or dying and so unable to infest a new host.
- Myth: “Once your child has lice they are impossible to get rid of.”
Research shows 80% of head lice are resistant to traditional insecticide treatment, but they are easily killed by non-pesticide treatments and can be removed by careful combing. Remember, one full course of treatment often means two separate applications to ensure all recently hatched lice have been killed. Combing usually takes much longer to get rid of all the lice.
- Myth: “Lice like to live in clean hair.”
In reality, lice have no preference whether hair is clean or dirty – the personal hygiene of their host is not a factor when a louse decides where to set up home!
- Myth: “Lice only live in Caucasian hair.”
Lice live in all hair types so regardless of your child’s ethnic origin, they still need to have their hair checked regularly.
- Myth: “Only children get head lice.”
Head lice live just as well on adult heads as on children’s so they can be spread easily between people of all ages.
- Myth: “Schools still check children for head lice so parents don’t have to.”
There are no more ‘nit nurses’ in schools. But parents and carers really are the best people to check their family’s hair for lice - once a week is ideal and the whole family should be checked, including adults.
[edit] References:
- Head Lice
- Head Lice - What They Are and How to Eliminate Them
- Head Lice FAQs
- Headlice 101: How to deal with nits...
