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 When
you send your children to school this year the last thing you want
them to bring home is head lice. Fortunately, head lice does not
cause serious medical illness, but it is distressing to find lice
on your child's head.
That
your child has head lice does not mean your home is dirty or unsanitary.
Every year lice infect millions of school aged children without
regards to economic status or geographic location. Head lice are
the result of kids being kids.
Head
lice are passed by contact with an infected person or from sharing
of infested clothing, furniture, and brushes and combs.
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Nit:
Nits are lice eggs and hatch one week after being laid,
and must bite within 1 day of hatching. Nits look like
white grains of sand and are firmly attached to the
hair shaft with a strong glue. They are hard to see
and are often mistaken for dandruff.
Nymph:
The nit hatches into a baby louse called a nymph. Nymphs
look like the mature adults only smaller, and are fully
mature 7 days after hatching.
Adult:
The adult louse is a parasite and can be seen with the
naked eye. It is tan to grayish white in color and has
6 legs and is about the size of a sesame seed.. Lice
live among human hairs on the scalp, behind the ears
and near the neckline at the back of the neck. Head
lice are rarely found on the body, eyelashes, or eyebrows.
Lice draw blood by biting the scalp. The person bitten
may have an allergic reaction to the bite resulting
in inflammation and itching. Adult lice can live up
to 30 days and lay hundreds of eggs on a persons head.
If the louse falls off a person, it dies within 2 days.
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It
is a Lousy Job
Treatment
consists of killing the adults, nymphs, and eggs. Washing your child's
hair will not be enough to get rid of the lice, because the nits
are held on by a gluey substance and lice can not be drowned in
water. The most commonly used medications are pyrethrins, permethrin
and lindane. Pyrethrins (RID) are natural extracts from the chrysanthemum
flower. Though safe and effective, pyrethrins only kill crawling
lice, not unhatched nits. A second treatment is recommended in 7-10
days to kill any newly hatched lice.
Permethrins
(NIX) are similar to natural pyrethrins. Permethrins are safe and
effective and may continue to kill newly hatched eggs for several
days after treatment. A second treatment may also be needed in 7-10
days to kill any newly hatched lice. Lindane is falling out of favor
as a treatment for head lice. When used as directed, the drug is
safe, but misuse, or accidentally swallowing Lindane can be harmful
to the brain and nervous system. Unless all nits are removed lice
will reappear in 7-10 days.
Afterward
treatment you'll need to comb your child's hair with a fine-toothed
comb to remove all the nits. If other family members also are infected
with lice they should be treated at the same time. Also because
lice infestations are very contagious, people in the same house
may need to be treated even if there are no symptoms. For children
under 2 years old, nits and adult lice should be removed by hand.
Those
infected as well as the environment around them must be treated
at the same time. Lice can live in clothing, bed linens, combs,
carpet, and stuffed toys. Your family's clothing, towels and bed
linen will need to washed at 130 degrees. Then dry laundry using
the hot cycle for at least 20 minutes this will kill nits and lice.
Dry
clean or store clothing that is not washable, (stuffed animals,
etc.) in a plastic bag and seal for 2 weeks.Vacuuming
the floor and furniture then throwing away the vacuum bag is enough
to treat the household. Soak combs and brushes, barrettes, for 1
hour in rubbing alcohol, or wash with soap and hot (130F) water.
Luckily lice do not live on dogs or cats.
With
today's effective treatments, a lot of hard work, and a little fortitude
(patience) head lice can be successfully treated. And although lice
bear significant stigma, the key to curtailing the spread of lice
depends on a coordinated approach between the school and parents.
If only 1 nit remains you already have the nidus of a continued
outbreak.
Copyright
© 1999 PersonalMD.com. All rights reserved.
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© 1999 PersonalMD.com. All rights reserved.
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