The head louse is a tiny, wingless parasitic insect of 2mm long and the size of a sesame seed that inhabits among human hairs and consumes very insignificant quantities of blood taken from the scalp. Children from 3 years to 12 years (girls more frequent than boys) are more prone to suffering from this problem. Long-haired girls are more difficult to be treated and they are more prone to having lice, because they often share combs and brushes. It is good that a louse lives only a month, but it is bad that it can lay up to 100 eggs.
Lice aren't dangerous, but they are contagious and annoying. The scalp gets itchy and inflamed; the skin gets irritated and even infected because of their bites. One can see lice or nits while examining the child’s head. Lice eggs or nits are yellow, tan or brown dots before they hatch. As soon as the nits hatch, the color of the shell is white or clear. Lice put their eggs close to the skin's surface, because the temperature there is ideal for hatching. Nits are like dandruff, but they cannot be brushed or shaken off. To know if the lice are available, one should observe one’s head, they don’t crawl on the scalp. Lice appear within 1 to 2 weeks after the eggs are hatched. The size of a grown-up louse is a sesame seed. They grow up within 7 days. Lice consume blood about every 4 to 6 hours, without food they can live up to 3 days.
The symptoms of head lice are scratching, itchiness and the irritation of the scalp. Itching and scratching depends on the sensitivity of the child’s on the skin. Children may scratch, say that something is on their head or move their heads. The severity of the irritation differs from a mild form to a severe one with rash with crusting and a bacterial infection that can be cured with antibiotics. Lice usually inhabit on the scalp, behind the ears, and around the nape of the neck, they are not found on eyelashes or eyebrows. While examining for them one should divide the hair into sections, one may use a glass and bright light. If there are any complains of constant itches or scratching his or her skin, apply to a doctor who will say for sure if the skin is infested with lice and should be treated. Make sure that children who are usually in contact are also treated. Such information can be given by your child's school nurse or child-care center director. One should know that lice are very contagious and can spread quickly from the head of one person to another person, especially in group settings (schools, child-care centers, slumber parties, sports activities, camps, and even playgrounds), that’s why the heads of children who are in contact with an infected child should be thoroughly examined. If one shares the clothing, bed linens, combs, brushes, and hats with an infected person, you will be also infected. Children and teens suffer from catching them, because are in a close contact and share their things. If someone is effected with lice, other members of the family are not necessary to be treated, but they should be thoroughly examined.
Fortunately, lice are successfully treated with a medicated shampoo, cream, or lotion those purpose is to kill the lice. They are prescribed and bought over-the-counter. One should follow the directions exactly for effective treatment. Don’t use too much or too often them, because they can lead to harm. Ask a doctor for a special rinse to be applied on your child's hair for easy combing out the nits while appling a fine-tooth comb. Medicated lice treatments usually kill the lice and nits and the skin stops itching a few days afterwards. One recommends to repeat the treatment 7 to 10 days afterwards to ensure the death of all the nits and to avoid any risk of reinfestation. One should not apply medicated lice treatments if you have a child is 2 years old or younger. In this case remove the nits and lice by hand. One may also use a fine-tooth comb on your child's hair after regular shampooing every 3 to 4 days for a fortnight. One shout wet the hair before shampooing to immobilize the lice and to make the process of combing easier. As soon as the lice are removed from the head, they don’t live for a long time (about 24 hours).
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