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What are lice?
The head louse is a tiny greyish-brown insect, about 2.5mm long.
Head lice cling to hair and are usually found on the scalp. They live on blood from the host, which they get by biting through the scalp.
First, adult lice mate. The female then lays eggs that are firmly attached to hair close to the scalp and can be very difficult to remove.
After seven or eight days, the baby louse hatches out of the egg, leaving a shiny white empty eggshell (nit) which may be found anywhere
along a strand of hair.
Head lice are a common, controversial and frustrating problem for parents. And the controversy isn't usually about where they got infected, but instead revolves around how you are going to get rid of the lice.
On one side of the debate are the people who believe that head lice have developed resistance to regular treatments, so that they no longer work. Other experts believe that resistance is not a big problem, and treatment failures are because parents didn't remove the nits or that the child was misdiagnosed.
What causes an infection of head lice?
Head lice infections are a very common problem in the USA, especially among school children.
Lice pass from one person to another through direct head-to-head contact. This is because lice cannot jump, fly or hop; they can only transfer to another head by walking along strands of hair.
For example, children who whisper secrets to each other at school or family members who enjoy a cuddle at home provide head lice with the ideal opportunity to travel from one head to another.
Lice are equally likely to be found on clean or dirty hair. The myth that head lice are associated with poor hygiene is common but misfounded.
Head lice should be seen as nothing more than an unpleasant inconvenience that can be treated.
Head Lice Symptoms?
The main symptom of a head lice infestation is an itchy scalp from the bites of the lice. These bites can then become infected, and may appear red or crusty, and may lead to your child developing swollen lymph glands in his neck.
Diagnosis of Head Lice?
In addition to having the symptoms listed above, children with head lice will have gray or reddish brown live head lice scurrying around their scalp. Lice are small, about the size of a sesame seed, and although they don't fly or hop, they can crawl very fast, making them hard to spot.
Another sign that can help you make the diagnosis, is finding nits, or lice eggs, attached to your child's hair. Nits are small, oval shaped and usually a yellowish-white color and are firmly attached to the side of hair shafts. If you confirm that your child does have live lice or nits, it is important that you don't panic about your child's head lice.
Head Lice Treatments
The main lice treatment usually involve using a head lice shampoo,like:Head Lice Dr, and then patiently and diligently removing nits with a lice comb. Be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions for whatever products you choose to use.
For light infestations or if you are uncomfortable using an anti-lice shampoo, you can try to simply remove the live lice and nits manually or use a full-service company that is dedicated to the detection and removal of head lice.
As there are often a lot of nits on a child and they are hard to find and remove, you may continue to find nits for days after treatment. This doesn't mean that the treatment didn't work. If you continue to find live lice after treating with a anti-lice shampoo then that likely does mean that it didn't work or your child was reinfected.
Also be sure to wash your child's clothing and bedding in hot water and vacuum to remove lice and nits from furniture, carpets, stuffed animals, etc. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, you really only have to clean "items, clothing, furniture, or carpeting that have been in contact with the head of the person with infestation in the 24 to 48 hours before treatment," and not everything in your house though. And you can put anything that you can't wash in a large plastic bag for a few weeks if you are really concerned that it is infested.
What You Need To Know
Don't Panic About Head Lice - Unfortunately, the first reaction for many parents in dealing with head lice is to panic. Panicking is not going to kill the head lice though and will likely lead to over-treatment and anxiety in your child who may be concerned that they have "bugs" in their hair.
Nits hatch in 7 to 10 days and develop into an adult in another 7 to 10 days which can then lay more (up to 100) eggs. So it is important to remove all of the nits to break this cycle. Also, since anti-lice shampoos don't usually kill nits, you have to usually retreat the child in 7 to 10 days to kill any newly hatched lice.
Children are often misdiagnosed with head lice because they have hair casts that resemble nits, or they have dead or empty nits that are far away from the scalp. If you think your child has lice but you don't actually see any live lice, see your Pediatrician to confirm the diagnosis.
Be careful before trying 'alternative' treatments, like mayonaise, vaseline, olive oil or Tea tree oil. Although they are 'natural' treatments, they are untested, and products like mayonaise can be hard to get out of a child's hair (dishwashing is supposed to make it easier though).
Alternative medications for resistant lice might include Ovide (malathion, an insecticide), Lindane, the antibiotic Bactrim (which kills symbiotic bacteria inside the lice), Ivermectim, or using Elimite, a stronger version of Nix which is usually used to treat scabies.
Viq (Benzyl Alcohol Lotion 5%) was recently approved to treat children over six months of age with head lice. Unlike other head lice shampoos which are mostly pesticides, Viq is a water-soluble gel that works to suffocate head lice.
Do your homework or see your pediatrician before treating your child with multiple remedies. please see Head Lice Doctor products we are a great sources of detailed information on head lice infestations and treatments.
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