REMEDIES FOR LICE AND NITS

REMEDIES FOR LICE AND NITS

The louse is an insect measuring approximately 4 mm in length and has a transparent and grayish; It is an ectoparasite, or a parasite living outside of its host.


 

In this paper we address the following points about lice and nits:

What is a louse.
What is a nit.
Lice transmission.
Symptoms of lice.
Treatment of lice.

WHAT ARE THE LICE AND NITS?

The louse is an insect that lives exclusively in our hair. A louse outside a scalp can not survive and die within 48 hours.

The female louse has a half life of 30 to 40 days, being able to produce up to ten eggs per day. Throughout his short life, the female louse is able to fund our hair more than 200 eggs.

The louse eggs, which are called nits, are attached to the base of the hair for up to eight days, average time for the birth of a new lice. Contrary to what some people think, nit is not the feminine form of lice . The nit is not the louse's wife, popularly speaking, but the louse egg name. There is a male lice, the female lice and nits.

A person infested with lice is told as having lice. A patient with pediculosis, therefore, is a patient with head lice. The pediculosis is, after the flu, the most common disease in children of school age. . It is estimated that up to 1/4 of children have head lice Three types of lice:


- Pediculus humanus capitis : the louse that infects the scalp.
- Pediculus humanus humanus : a type of lice that infects the body
- pubis Pthirus: the Plunder that infects pubic hair, also known as boring

In this text we will stick only to Pediculus humanus capitis, the most common of all, the famous head lice.


First of all, it is important to note that:

- Lice do not jump.
- Lice do not fly.
- Lice are not a sign of poor hygiene.
- Lice can not infect your pet.

Transmission of lice is by personal contact and by objects. The mode of interaction among children is much more up close and personal than among adults, which explains the ease of transmission in this age group. Lice can also pass from one person to another through objects such as clothing, towels, hats, headphones , hair bows, combs, brushes and bedding. An adult lice can survive for up to two days in an object, keeping viable for transmission.

For reasons still unknown, black children have a lower risk of transmission than white, as well as boys have less risk than girls. The hair size does not influence the transmission.

Having lice is not a sign of poor hygiene capillary. The fact that the hair of their children are always well lavadinhos does not diminish the risk of them being affected by lice.

SYMPTOMS OF LICE (PEDICULOSIS SYMPTOMS)

Contrary to what one might imagine, most cases of lice are asymptomatic. More than that, it is quite possible to find a child with infested hair of nits and lice without the same report any abuse. For this reason, it is routine in some colleges frequent inspection of children looking for lice, preventing the parasite from spreading throughout the class.

In symptomatic cases, and many of them are the main symptom is intense itching in the head. This usually arises itching on the day of infection or, at most the next day. It occurs in reaction to the saliva of the louse, which is released while it feeds on blood and scalp skin debris. Itching in the neck and behind the ears are quite common. Some cases are so intense that the child has difficulty sleeping; other scratch so much that produce sores on the skin.

One of pediculosis complications is bacterial infection of these wounds caused by itching, called pyoderma. This infection is caused when the staph bacteria living on our skin, contaminate the wound opened by scratching his head frantically (read: STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS | what risks this bacteria ).

TREATMENT OF LICE AND NITS

There are a variety of treatments and remedies for head lice. But as important as the use of medicine is the inspection and pediculosis identification of all the people around the identified case. If a child is treated for head lice, but their siblings or classmates, also infected, they are not, the chance of re-infection is very high.

As the louse is nothing more than an insect, the treatment is done preferably with special insecticides. These can be applied in the form of shampoos, lotions or creams. Some of the substances used include:

- Permethrin
- pyrethrin
- Malathion
- Lindane

Ivermectin an antiparasitic drug as a single dose orally is an option for cases resistant to insecticides topics.

Never use drugs, shampoos or lotions that have not been prescribed by the pediatrician. There are some solutions to agricultural insecticide that is toxic and can cause serious damage to children.

In children under two years we do not recommend the use of substances containing insecticide. In these cases or when parents do not want to use pesticides in children, wet combing for mechanical extraction of lice is an option. But beware, it takes a lot of patience. The hair must be combed four times a day for at least 10 to 14 days, although apparently there are no more lice or nits. The goal is to remove all existing lice.

You can use vinegar or oil to facilitate removal work with comb. Warning: these substances help of mechanical removal but do not kill the lice or nits. Vinegar may be heated to become warm and then mixed with a conditioner. When applied and stuffy with a plastic cap for at least 30 minutes, vinegar dissolves the layer surrounding the egg (nit), preventing the fixing of the same on the hair. Pass the comb after that lice and nits will come easily. Vinegar can also be mixed with water in a solution with ratio of 50% each.

After treatment, identification of nits does not necessarily mean failure of the same. If there are no more lice, they can be just waste of old eggs that remained stuck to the hair.

Bedding should be changed daily, washed with hot water and then ironed. The combs used should be boiled and washed with alcohol.

While there are lice, the child should stay away from school. Do not forget to tell the direction of the school so that other mothers can stay focus on the existance of lice in their children.