Where does head lice come from and how to get rid of lice

What is head lice

PediculosisPediculosis / CDC (from lat. pediculus - louse) is an infection of the skin and hair with lice.

UsuallyHead lice / MSD Manuals from the attack of small blood-sucking insects, parts of the body covered with hair suffer: head lice live on the head, and pubic ones in the genital area. However, the latter are not averse to traveling, so that they are found, among other things, on the hair of the hips, torso and face: in the beard, mustache, eyebrowsLice / FBUZ "Center for Hygienic Education of the Population" of Rospotrebnadzor and even on the eyelashes.

There is another type of lice - body lice. They do not settle on the skin, but in clothing or bedding, usually near the seams. But, like the other two species, they feed on human blood. That is, they bite.

How to recognize head lice

Lice infestation is not necessaryPediculosis / CDC there are symptoms. But if signs of head lice appear, they usually look like thisHead lice / Mayo Clinic.

• Severe itching. It is caused by an allergic reaction to substances in insect saliva.
• Feeling of movement in the hair. Sometimes adult lice can be seen with the naked eye. However, this is not always the case: these insects are small, move quickly and hide from the light. In addition, they know how to disguise themselves as hair color: for example, in brown-haired and brunettes, lice lookPediculosis / CDC darker. Therefore, most often you can notice the presence of insects by a slight sensation of movement in the hair.
• Skin ulcers. Small red and inflamed spots appear in place bites - due to the fact that a person is furiously combing an itchy place.
• Visible lice eggs (nits) on hair shafts. An adult female is capable of laying up to 8 eggs per day. Usually she fixes them at the base of the hair - at a distance of no more than 5–6 mm from the skin. NitsPediculosis / CDC are approximately 0.8 x 0.3 mm in size, oval and white or yellowish in color. The easiest way to notice the empty eggs, from which the nymphs have already hatched (young lice that have to survive several molts before they become adults and can reproduce): they are larger and slide slightly through the hair, moving away from the skin.

Why lice are dangerous

Body lice are the main vectorsPediculosis / CDC diseases such as epidemic typhus, trench fever and recurrent fever (also known as relapsing fever). However, in normal life, such situations are extremely rare. First, this type of insect is transmitted mainly in conditions of poor hygiene and overcrowding (for example, in military barracks, trenches) or among people with a very low social status. Secondly, for the spread of the infection, there must be at least one infected person.

Head and pubic lice of dangerous diseases, bacterial or viral, do not tolerateHead lice / Mayo Clinic. However, the constant itching is uncomfortable. Plus, combing the bites, you can bring some kind of infection into the wound, which will lead to inflammation.

When to see a doctor

If you find lice in yourself or your child and plan to start treatment (even with over-the-counter drugs), doctors from the American medical organization Mayo Clinic still recommend consulting a physician or pediatrician. CauseHead lice / Mayo Clinic the fact that parents often treat children for head lice, who actually do not have parasite infestation. For found nits and lice are taken:

• dandruff;
• the remains of various hair products - varnish, dry shampoo, gel;
• natural thickenings on some hairs;
• dirt or debris;
• other small insects accidentally caught in the hair.

There is one more nuance. Signs of a lice infestation are similar to symptoms scabies. Therefore, it is better to check with a doctor's opinion in order to make an accurate diagnosis.

How a doctor diagnoses head lice

The gold standard for head lice detection, according toHead Lice / Pediatrics. Official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) American Academy of Pediatrics, is a wet hair test. They spend it like thisHead lice / Mayo Clinic. The doctor applies conditioner or balm to the hair, and then comb it with a long, fine-toothed comb, from the skin to the ends. This procedure helps the physician to visually detect nits and live lice, if any.

Pubic lice are diagnosedHead lice / MSD Manualsby examining the affected area at close range. To do this, use a Wood lamp - a luminescent device that emits light in the ultraviolet range. Under its rays, the affected areas of the skin begin to glow, and the doctor has the opportunity to accurately examine the rash or sores. In addition, nits become more visible. An indirect way to detect pubic lice is the presence of small dark brown specks (parasite excrement) on the skin and underwear.

How to get rid of lice

Treatment depends on where the parasites were found.

How to get rid of head lice

Over-the-counter products are usually sufficient for this. In particular, one of the most popularHead lice / Mayo Clinic options - pyrethrin-based shampoo, lotion or spray. This is the name of the chemical compounds that are obtained from chrysanthemum. Pyrethrins are toxic to lice. There is also a synthetic, that is, an artificial form of pyrethrin - permethrin. It is also often used in anti-lice medicines.

The scheme for using such drugs is indicated in the instructions and usually looks like this:

1. Rinse your hair with a vinegar solution (1 tbsp. l. per liter of warm water). It will dissolve the sticky substance that holds the nits on your hair and makes it easier to remove.
2. Wash your hair with shampoo. ImportantHead Lice / Pediatrics. Official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)so that it does not contain conditioning agents such as silicone. Such compounds envelop each hair, fix nits on it and impair the action of pyrethrins.
3. Dry your hair with a towel and apply an anti-lice remedy. Leave for the period specified in the instructions.
4. Thoroughly rinse the preparation from the hair. It is better to do this over the sink, rather than in the shower or bath, so that the active ingredients of the lotion or spray do not get on the skin: in some cases, they can cause irritation.
5. Dry your hair and comb them thoroughly with a thick comb to remove any nits found.
6. Repeat the procedure after 9-10 days.

In the interval between procedures, it makes sense to comb the hair with the same thick comb once every 3-4 days in order to remove the remaining lice eggs from it.

If pyrethrins don't work, your doctor will prescribe a prescription drug, such as ivermectin or malofos, that is more powerful but also more toxic.

There are also folk ways to get rid of lice. However, you should not rely on their effectiveness.

• Essential oils. Indeed, there isKosta Y Mumcuoglu, Jacqueline Miller, Chen Zamir, Gary Zentner, Valery Helbin, Arieh Ingber. The in vivo pediculicidal efficacy of a natural remedy / The Israel Medical Association journal small clinical studies demonstrating: oils of tea tree, aniseed, ylang-ylang can kill lice (this is due to the fact that insects are blocked from access to air). However, doctors believeHead lice / Mayo Clinic the effectiveness of such products is questionable. And they warn: essential oils can irritate the skin.
• Vegetable and butter, petroleum jelly, mayonnaise. These foods, in theory, work in the same way as essential oils: they block the air supply, and the lice, which have gotten on the fat, simply suffocate. To enhance this effect, it is recommended to hide hair in a mask made of oil or petroleum jelly under a shower cap and leave it overnight. However, how effective this method is is not yet clear.
• Using a hair dryer. The hot air helps in killing some of the nits by depriving them of moisture. However, for adult insects, it is not so dangerous. In addition, the speed of air flow from an ordinary hair dryer is considered by doctors to be insufficient to properly dry the eggs of lice.
• Kerosene, gasoline. These products are highly flammable, which means that their use is associated with serious risks to health and life. In addition, it is also dangerous to breathe in vapors of kerosene or gasoline.

How to get rid of pubic lice

For the treatment of such head lice, doctors also recommendHead lice / MSD Manuals pyrethrin-based products, available as a shampoo, lotion, or cream.

It is also important for the sexual partner to undergo treatment for pubic lice in order to prevent re-infection.

If pubic lice are occupied eyelashes, the situation becomes somewhat more complicated. Shampoos and lotions will not work in this case. Most likely, a therapist or dermatologist will recommend that you apply vaseline ointment to your eyelashes, as well as treat your eyelids with special anti-lice drops.

How to get rid of body lice

Since body lice only live on clothes and not on the body or hair, getting rid of them is easiest. It is enough to change clothes and bed linen or carry out their thorough processing. For example, you can wash everything at a temperature of at least 65 ° C. Or put it in sealed plastic bags for a couple of weeks: the lice will die without blood.

What to do to avoid getting lice

Lice crawl, but they cannot jump or fly. Although brushing your hair builds up static electricity, which canHead Lice / Pediatrics. Official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) push the louse out of the head at a distance of up to 1 m. But such cases are rare. Therefore, most often, infection occurs through direct close contact. For example, when you touch your heads or have sex with a person who has head lice.

Indirect transmission - through hats, combs, bedding - is also possible, but unlikely. So, in one small studyRick Speare, Christine Cahill, Genelle Thomas. Head lice on pillows, and strategies to make a small risk even less / International journal of dermatology Scientists tried to find live lice on pillowcases on which people infected with head lice slept. Insects were found on only 4% of bedding.

From all this, several important rules for the prevention of head lice can be deduced.

1. Avoid direct close contact with strangers.
2. Avoid stacking clothes with other people's belongings. It is better to hang it separately - on a hook or on a hanger.
3. Do not share your crests with anyone, combs, hair brushes.
4. Do not share your personal hat and scarf with strangers. The only exception is the protective headgear required for sports. They can be used together: lice do not live on cork and plastic helmets.
5. Do not lie on sofas, beds, pillows on which a person with head lice may have rested.

Is it possible to go to school, kindergarten, to work if there are lice

From the point of view of evidence-based medicine - yes, you can.

Experts at the American Academy of Pediatrics, for example, believeHead Lice / Pediatrics. Official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)that children should not limit their attendance at kindergarten or school because of lice. For the reason that the risk of transmitting head lice to others in the classroom is minimal. The same goes for offices and student auditoriums. However, all this works only if two important rules are observed:

1. You have already started to treat head lice. That is, you went to a doctor or used over-the-counter products and regularly remove nits from your hair with a thick comb.
2. You do everything to avoid direct close contact with others. That is, at least do not touch your hair. If we are talking about children, it can be difficult to control this, therefore, a request to parents to leave kindergarten or elementary school students with head lice at home is justified.

In Russia, children who have lice are definitely removedPediculosis prevention / FBUZ "Center for hygienic education of the population" Rospotrebnadzor from attending school or kindergarten. You can return to class or group again only after the pediatrician confirms the absence of parasites in the child with a medical certificate.